Reception different environments science lesson – finding similarities and differences
This Reception different environments science lesson – finding similarities and differences introduces children to the idea that places around the world can look and feel very different. Pupils explore a familiar woodland environment and compare it with contrasting settings such as the Arctic, rainforest and desert.
Part of our Reception science scheme of work, this lesson builds the disciplinary science skill of observation and comparison, encouraging children to describe what they see and sort key features using early science vocabulary.
What’s included:
- Interactive slides with vocabulary support and environment prompts
- Photo pack with images of woodland, Arctic, rainforest and desert
- Environment features sorting worksheet
- Woodland drawing worksheet for classification
- Full Reception science lesson plan with differentiation and assessment
Activities include:
- Role-play: what would it feel like to live in the Arctic or desert?
- Compare environments using photo prompts and discussion questions
- Sort animals and features by habitat
- Draw and label a woodland scene, deciding which features belong
This EYFS science lesson on environments supports the Understanding the World Early Learning Goal, alongside Communication and Language, and Expressive Arts and Design.
Use this lesson to help children build scientific vocabulary such as environment, habitat, temperature and feature, while strengthening observation and reasoning skills through discussion and hands-on tasks.
