Year 2 Science Block 1
Download free year 2 autumn term overview
Topic – Living Things and their Habitats
In this block of learning, you will cover the following lessons:
🌡️ Week 1: What is the Difference Between Living and Non-living?
🌡️ Week 2: What is a Habitat?
🌡️ Week 3: Is This Habitat Suitable?
🌡️ Week 4: What is a Microhabitat?
🌡️ Week 5: Can we Make a Microhabitat?
🌡️ Week 6: What is a Food Chain?
Unit Outcomes (secure)
Living things and their habitats
✅ Explore and compare the differences between things that
are living, dead, and things that have never been alive.
✅ Identify that most living things live in habitats to which they
are suited and describe how different habitats provide for
the basic needs of different kinds of animals and plants, and
how they depend on each other.
✅ Identify and name a variety of plants and animals in their
habitats, including microhabitats.
✅ Describe how animals obtain their food from plants and
other animals, using the idea of a simple food chain, and
identify and name different sources of food
Working scientifically
✅ Asking simple questions and recognising that they can be
answered in different ways.
✅ Observing closely, using simple equipment.
✅ Identifying and classifying.
✅ Using their observations and ideas to suggest answers to
question.
Year 2 science scheme – Living Things and Their Habitats – Unit rationale
This unit of work enables children to explore their local environment and analyse the habitats and micro-habitats therein. The inclusion of Confused Colin the zookeeper provides a stimulating hook throughout.
Lessons are approximately 60 minutes long and should be taught in order. It is recommended that this is the first unit taught in Year 2, because it will provide knowledge and skills for later units, such as ‘Animals Including Humans and Plants’.
Disciplinary knowledge is embedded throughout the unit alongside the most
appropriate substantive knowledge.
Substantive knowledge of living things, habitats and micro-habitats is taught
through a varied range of activities, where children complete activities, and make a habitat and micro-habitat. Children are given many opportunities to rehearse science vocabulary.
The following disciplinary knowledge is included within this unit:
- Asking simple questions and recognising that they can be answered in
different ways. - Identifying and classifying.
- Performing simple tests.
- Using their observations and ideas to suggest answers to question
These skills build on the foundation laid in Year 1 and continue to develop a scientific mindset towards children’s observable World, and the connections with habitats they may not have experienced.
It is advisable to use the following resources for the units:
- Non-fiction books on living things and habitats, kept displayed throughout the unit, or easily accessible electronic resources.
- For lesson 3, you have the option of making a habitat, for which you will
require each child to have some kind of cardboard box (shoebox or
equivalent). - For lesson 6, you have the option of creating a micro-habitat in a plastic box.
Where the independent task is differentiated, it is done so on a star system, where two stars is aimed at children who meet the expected level in science, one star is for those below the expected level and three stars is for those exceeding the expected level.
