Year 4 - Science
Animals in danger (Climate Change & Sustainability)
Living things and the environment
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This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
This unit focuses on grouping living things and using classification keys to identify and name them in various environments. It explores how environmental changes can pose dangers to organisms. Emphasis is on asking questions, collecting data, and using evidence to support conclusions.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to understand that changes to environments can sometimes pose dangers to animals.
Key Notes
- An animal's environment must contain all the things required for living things to survive and grow.
- Changes to environments can cause danger to the animals within them.
- Estimating the number of animals in an environment can be a challenging task and can be done in different ways.
- Researchers may directly observe animals in the wild, and also use technology such as drones to survey large areas.
Vocabulary To Learn
- environment: The environment is the surroundings of a living thing, including other plants or animals, and the conditions they live in.
- endangered: An endangered plant or animal is one that is at risk of becoming extinct.
- estimate: To estimate is quick calculation of what the size, value or amount of something might be.
- researcher: A researcher is someone who studies a subject, especially in order to discover new information or reach a new understanding.
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- Humans are separate from an ecosystem and human actions cannot affect an ecosystem.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain the scientific idea in this lesson using two key points.
An animal's environment must contain all the things required for living things to survive and grow. Changes to environments can cause danger to the animals within them.
2. Define this scientific word and use it in context. 'environment'
The environment is the surroundings of a living thing, including other plants or animals, and the conditions they live in. Include the word in a full scientific explanation, not as a single label.
3. Correct this common scientific misunderstanding.
Mistake: Humans are separate from an ecosystem and human actions cannot affect an ecosystem. Correction: Using the slides and secondary sources, share with pupils the many different ways that human actions can negatively impact on animals' environments and endanger the animals that live there.
More Lessons In This Unit
- Classification keys Study Guide
- Classification keys to identify animals Study Guide
- Classification keys to identify plants Study Guide
- Environmental changes in the news (non-stat Climate Change & Sustainability) Study Guide
- Environments and seasonal changes (Climate Change & Sustainability) Study Guide
- Extreme weather: flooding (non-statutory Climate Change & Sustainability) Study Guide
- Extreme weather: heatwaves and wild fires (non-statutory CC & Sustainability) Study Guide
- Grouping animals Study Guide
- Grouping plants Study Guide
- How scientists communicate with the public (non-statutory) Study Guide
- Identifying living things (non-statutory) Study Guide
- Introducing observable characteristics Study Guide
- Land development and deforestation (Climate Change & Sustainability) Study Guide
- Nature reserves (Climate change and sustainability) Study Guide
- Plants in danger (Climate Change & Sustainability) Study Guide
- Protecting animals in decline (non-statutory Climate Change & Sustainability) Study Guide
- Reforestation and recycling (Climate Change & Sustainability) Study Guide
- Waste creation and pollution (Climate change and sustainability) Study Guide
Browse all guides in the Year 4 Science guide library.