Year 6 - Science
The 5 Rs (non-statutory Climate Change & Sustainability)
Why we group and classify living things
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Study Guides
This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
This unit covers the classification of living things, including micro-organisms, plants, and animals, based on observable characteristics. It explores reasons for classification and focuses on planning scientific enquiries, recording data, presenting findings, and evaluating scientific evidence.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to describe the 5Rs and how foods decompose (rot) to form useful nutrients for crops.
Key Notes
- The 5Rs are Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Rot.
- Compost is made by allowing certain types of food waste and other materials to decompose over time.
- Compost provides nutrients to help plants grow and be healthy.
- Compost needs air, moisture and the right mix of waste food and materials.
- Compost can be used in the school grounds to help plants and animals grow.
Vocabulary To Learn
- rot: When something rots it decays or decomposes.
- compost: Compost is useful for growing plants. It can be made by rotting down certain types of food and garden waste.
- nutrient: Nutrients are substances that living things use to stay alive and healthy. Animals take in nutrients from their food.
- decompose: To decompose is to break down or decay.
- micro-organism: A micro-organism is a very tiny living thing.
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- Pupils may think that compost is just dirt or mud, or is no different from soil.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain the scientific idea in this lesson using two key points.
The 5Rs are Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Rot. Compost is made by allowing certain types of food waste and other materials to decompose over time.
2. Define this scientific word and use it in context. 'rot'
When something rots it decays or decomposes. Include the word in a full scientific explanation, not as a single label.
3. Correct this common scientific misunderstanding.
Mistake: Pupils may think that compost is just dirt or mud, or is no different from soil. Correction: Explain that compost has a different composition to soil, and is full of nutrients that are beneficial to growing plants.
More Lessons In This Unit
- Carl Linnaeus and classification Study Guide
- Comparing characteristics of living things Study Guide
- Discovering and naming new species Study Guide
- Grouping micro-organisms Study Guide
- Growing yeast: do and review (non-statutory) Study Guide
- Growing yeast: plan (non-statutory) Study Guide
- How and why we group animals Study Guide
- How and why we group plants Study Guide
- Micro-organisms are living things Study Guide
- Micro-organisms living on food: plan and do (non-statutory) Study Guide
- Micro-organisms living on food: review (non-statutory) Study Guide
- Microorganisms that help us (non-statutory) Study Guide
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