Exploring living things and habitats
Explore the needs and features of living things and how habitats provide resources. Review the broad bank for your year group.
- Connect features, needs and habitats using evidence.
One screen. The whole class.
Science classroom games · England
Explore science: Exploring living things and habitats, Habitats and food links, Light and shadows. See learning goals and a suggested sequence; start with any available activity.
Ready-to-teach learning paths
Habitats and food links
Habitats and food links: Living, dead or never alive → Homes for living things → Food chains → Protect a microhabitat.
- Classify examples using life-process evidence, handling wooden objects carefully.
- Match organisms to local habitats/microhabitats and basic needs.
- Identify plant-based energy links in simple producer–consumer chains.
Light and shadows
Light and shadows: Seeing needs light → Reflection and safety → Shadows appear → Changing a shadow.
- Distinguish sources from reflectors and explain darkness.
- Recognise reflected light and safe ways to study sunlight without looking at the Sun.
- Explain shadows where opaque objects block light.
Simple electric circuits
Simple electric circuits: A complete loop → Switches control flow → Conductors and insulators → Find the fault safely.
- Identify complete simple circuits with cell, wires, lamp, buzzer or motor.
- Predict the effect of opening/closing a switch.
- Classify tested materials using circuit evidence.
England · 7–9 yearsThe discovery gardenConnected short activities, one shared discovery.
England · 8–11 yearsThe experiment workshopConnected short activities, one shared discovery.
England · 7–11 yearsHabitat explorersDiscover living things and the places they call home.
England · 6–7 yearsLiving, dead or never aliveSort real-life evidence, find pictured examples and explain tricky cases.
England · 6–7 yearsHomes for living thingsConnect pictured living things to places and resources that meet the stated need.
England · 6–7 yearsFood chainsBuild pictured food links, find plant foods and explain how food energy passes.
England · 6–7 yearsProtect a microhabitatUse pictured resource records to predict effects of a small habitat change.
England · 7–8 yearsSeeing needs lightSort light evidence, distinguish sources from reflectors and explain darkness.
England · 7–8 yearsReflection and safetyExplain reflected light and choose safe ways to investigate it.
England · 7–8 yearsShadows appearUse material-test evidence to explain where light is blocked.
England · 7–8 yearsChanging a shadowExplore a torch model, arrange evidence and decide what makes a fair test.
England · 8–9 yearsA complete loopTrace the connections, test a loop and explain when a component can work.
England · 8–9 yearsSwitches control flowTest switch outcomes, locate gaps and reason about changes.
England · 8–9 yearsConductors and insulatorsClassify controlled test records and distinguish evidence from appearance.
England · 8–9 yearsFind the fault safelyChoose one informative next test and keep uncertain causes open.