Level 2 · Science S2.2

Food chains and habitats

Where each living thing finds a home, and what it eats.

Sort living and non living things, group animals, explore habitats near home, see how bodies fit their homes, follow food chains, and find ways to protect a habitat.

You are ready for this book if

You can say what a goat, a lion and a hen eat.

Written and drawn by attnom. Free to read, print and share.

S2.2.1 Chapter 1

Living and non-living

How can I tell if something is alive?

Your guess

Pick one before you read on. It is fine to be wrong.

Your guess

  • You picked A. Read on. At the end, the chapter comes back to your guess.

  • You picked B. Read on. At the end, the chapter comes back to your guess.

  • You picked C. Read on. At the end, the chapter comes back to your guess.

By the end you can

A goat is alive. A stone is not. A wooden spoon is not alive now. It came from a tree. How do we sort these things?

A living thing is alive now. A goat, a tree, a seed and you are living.

A thing is once living if it was alive once. It may have come from something alive. Wood, paper, cotton, a dead leaf and a bone are once living. So is a book, which is made of paper.

A thing is never living if it was never alive. A stone, metal, glass, water and air are never living.

Draw it first

Draw the three groups

  1. Three rows. In the first row, labelled living, are a tree and a person. The tree is labelled tree and the person is labelled you. In the second row, labelled once living, are a stick and a book. They are labelled stick and book. In the third row, labelled never living, are a stone and the Moon. They are labelled stone and moon.livingtreeyou

    1 Draw a tree and a person. Write living.

  2. Three rows. In the first row, labelled living, are a tree and a person. The tree is labelled tree and the person is labelled you. In the second row, labelled once living, are a stick and a book. They are labelled stick and book. In the third row, labelled never living, are a stone and the Moon. They are labelled stone and moon.livingtreeyouonce livingstickbook

    2 Draw a stick and a book. Write once living.

  3. Three rows. In the first row, labelled living, are a tree and a person. The tree is labelled tree and the person is labelled you. In the second row, labelled once living, are a stick and a book. They are labelled stick and book. In the third row, labelled never living, are a stone and the Moon. They are labelled stone and moon.livingtreeyouonce livingstickbooknever livingstonemoon

    3 Draw a stone and the Moon. Write never living.

How do we know a thing is alive? We look for the signs of life. A living thing moves, breathes, feels and grows. It has young, gets rid of waste and feeds.

Two cards side by side. The left card is labelled goat. It shows a goat with a tick beside each of the words feeds, grows, breathes and has young. The right card is labelled stone. It shows a hatched stone with a cross beside each of the same four words: feeds, grows, breathes and has young.goatfeedsgrowsbreatheshas youngstonefeedsgrowsbreatheshas young
A goat shows every sign of life. A stone shows none.

One sign is not enough. A living thing shows all the signs at some time.

See it three ways

As a picture

A table of signs of life. The head row says Sign, Goat, Tree and Car. The row moves says yes for the goat, a bit for the tree and yes for the car. In the rows grows, feeds, breathes and has young, the goat and the tree say yes and the car says no. Labels: Sign, Goat, Tree, Car, moves, grows, feeds, breathes, has young, yes, no, a bit.SignGoatTreeCarmovesyesa bityesgrowsyesyesnofeedsyesyesnobreathesyesyesnohas youngyesyesno

In words

A goat and a tree show every sign of life. A car moves, but it does not grow or have young. So a car is not alive.

A seed is alive. It does not seem to do anything. It is resting. It wakes up when it gets water.

Three steps from left to right. A dry seed on the ground is labelled dry seed. An arrow labelled water points to a young plant with two leaves and a root, labelled seedling.dry seedwaterseedling
A dry seed looks still. Water wakes it, and it grows.

Fire seems to grow and to feed on wood. It even needs air. But fire cannot feel. A living thing comes from a parent. A fire can start from a spark. Fire is not alive.

A grid with two columns, alive and not alive, and two rows, moves and still. In the row moves, the alive column holds a goat and the not alive column holds a rolling ball with an arrow after it. In the row still, the alive column holds a tree and the not alive column holds a hatched stone. Labels: alive, not alive, moves, still, goat, ball, tree, stone.alivenot alivemovesstillgoatballtreestone
Moving does not make a thing alive. Being still does not make it not alive.

Try it

Sort things into three circles

You need: paper and a pencil, or a stick and bare ground, a dry bean, a green leaf and a dead leaf, a small stick, a stone, a metal spoon, a key or a coin, a piece of cotton cloth or paper.

Be safe: Do not pick up sharp, broken or mouldy things, or dead animals. Wash your hands after you touch soil or plants.

  1. Draw three big circles. Write living, once living and never living.
  2. Find these seven small things in your home and yard.
  3. Put each thing in the circle where it belongs.
  4. Ask about each one: is it alive now? Was it ever alive?
  5. Put the things back where you found them. Wash your hands.

What you will see: The bean and the green leaf go in living. The dead leaf, stick and cloth go in once living. The stone and the metal spoon go in never living. The bean was the hard one. It is a seed, so it is alive.

If you cannot try it, this is what happens.
Three boxes, one above the other. The first box says living: bean, green leaf. The second box says once living: dead leaf, stick, cloth. The third box says never living: stone, metal spoon.living: bean, green leafonce living: dead leaf, stick, clothnever living: stone, metal spoon

A wrong idea many people have

If it moves, it is alive.

Why it feels right: Animals move, and a running goat is clearly alive.

The test that breaks it: Watch a car roll down a hill. It moves, but it never grows or has young. Now put a dry bean and a small stone on damp cloth. Leave them five days and keep the cloth damp. The bean grows a root. The stone does not change.

What is true: Moving is only one sign. A cloud, a river and a car move. They cannot feel, and they never have young. A tree hardly moves, and it is alive.

Key words

living
alive now.
once living
was alive, or came from something alive.
never living
was never alive.
signs of life
moving, breathing, feeling, growing, having young, getting rid of waste and feeding.

Back to your guess

The answer is B: If it feeds, grows and has young, it is alive.

A living thing shows the signs of life. It feeds, grows and has young. Moving alone is not enough.

Check yourself

Try each one before you look. A wrong answer tells you where to go next.

  1. Which of these is living?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Not this one. A stone was never alive. It is never living. Try another.

    2. Not this one. A spoon is made of wood from a tree. The tree was alive once. The spoon is once living. Try another.

    3. Not this one. A flame seems to grow and feed. But it cannot feel, and it has no parent. A flame is not alive. Try another.

    4. Yes, that is right. A seed is alive. It is resting until it gets water.

    See the answer

    A bean seed

    A seed is alive. It is resting until it gets water.

    • If you chose A: A stone was never alive. It is never living.
    • If you chose B: A spoon is made of wood from a tree. The tree was alive once. The spoon is once living.
    • If you chose C: A flame seems to grow and feed. But it cannot feel, and it has no parent. A flame is not alive.

  2. Paper is made from wood. Which group is paper in?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Not this one. Paper is not alive now. It came from a tree that was alive. Try another.

    2. Not this one. Paper came from a tree, and a tree is alive. So paper was not never alive. Try another.

    3. Yes, that is right. Paper is not alive now, but it came from a tree.

    See the answer

    Once living

    Paper is not alive now, but it came from a tree.

    • If you chose A: Paper is not alive now. It came from a tree that was alive.
    • If you chose B: Paper came from a tree, and a tree is alive. So paper was not never alive.

  3. A car moves. Is it alive?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Not this one. Moving is only one sign of life. A car does not grow or have young. Try another.

    2. Yes, that is right. A living thing shows all the signs of life. A car moves, but it never grows or has young.

    3. Not this one. A car burns fuel, a bit like eating. But it does not grow or have young. One sign is not enough. Try another.

    See the answer

    No, it does not grow or have young.

    A living thing shows all the signs of life. A car moves, but it never grows or has young.

    • If you chose A: Moving is only one sign of life. A car does not grow or have young.
    • If you chose C: A car burns fuel, a bit like eating. But it does not grow or have young. One sign is not enough.

  4. Fire seems to grow and to feed on wood. Why is fire not alive?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Yes, that is right. A living thing feels, and it comes from a parent. Fire does neither. A spark can start it. So it is not alive.

    2. Not this one. Heat is not the reason. A living thing shows all the signs of life. Fire does not. Try another.

    3. Not this one. Fire moves a lot. But moving is only one sign of life. Try another.

    See the answer

    It cannot feel, and it does not come from a parent.

    A living thing feels, and it comes from a parent. Fire does neither. A spark can start it. So it is not alive.

    • If you chose B: Heat is not the reason. A living thing shows all the signs of life. Fire does not.
    • If you chose C: Fire moves a lot. But moving is only one sign of life.

  5. Sort a goat, a wooden stick, a stone and a dead leaf. Which are living, once living or never living?

    See the answer

    Living: goat. Once living: wooden stick and dead leaf. Never living: stone.

    The goat is alive now. The stick and the dead leaf came from living plants. The stone was never alive.

  6. Amina says a tree is not alive, because it does not walk. Which fact shows she is wrong?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Not this one. Size is not a sign of life. A big rock is taller than you, but it is not alive. Try another.

    2. Not this one. Colour is not a sign of life. A green plastic toy is not alive. A brown bean seed is. Try another.

    3. Yes, that is right. A tree shows the signs of life. It grows, makes its own food and makes seeds. It does not need to walk.

    See the answer

    A tree grows, feeds and has young.

    A tree shows the signs of life. It grows, makes its own food and makes seeds. It does not need to walk.

    • If you chose A: Size is not a sign of life. A big rock is taller than you, but it is not alive.
    • If you chose B: Colour is not a sign of life. A green plastic toy is not alive. A brown bean seed is.

  7. Which three things were never living?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Yes, that is right. A stone, glass and metal were never alive. Wood and a dry leaf came from plants.

    2. Not this one. Wood came from a tree. It is once living, not never living. Try another.

    3. Not this one. A dry leaf came from a plant that was alive. It is once living. Try another.

    See the answer

    A stone, glass and metal

    A stone, glass and metal were never alive. Wood and a dry leaf came from plants.

    • If you chose B: Wood came from a tree. It is once living, not never living.
    • If you chose C: A dry leaf came from a plant that was alive. It is once living.

Keep it

Copy this into your exercise book.

Living things move, breathe, feel, grow, feed and have young. Once living things came from something alive. Never living things were never alive. Moving alone does not make a thing alive.

Draw: Draw three circles: living, once living and never living. Put two things in each.

S2.2.2 Chapter 2

Grouping animals

Is a whale a fish?

Your guess

Pick one before you read on. It is fine to be wrong.

Your guess

  • You picked A. Read on. At the end, the chapter comes back to your guess.

  • You picked B. Read on. At the end, the chapter comes back to your guess.

  • You picked C. Read on. At the end, the chapter comes back to your guess.

By the end you can

There are millions of kinds of animals. We sort them into groups. Animals in one group share signs. Here are five groups.

A mammal has hair or fur. Mothers feed their young on milk. Most mammals give birth to live young. A goat, a bat and a whale are mammals. So are you.

A bird has feathers and a beak. It lays eggs with hard shells. A hen, an owl and a penguin are birds.

A fish lives in water and breathes with gills. It has fins. Most fish have scales.

A reptile has dry skin with scales. Most reptiles lay eggs on land. Snakes, lizards, crocodiles and tortoises are reptiles.

An amphibian has damp skin with no scales. Its young live in water and breathe with gills. Frogs and toads are amphibians. A young frog is a tadpole. Adults often live on land.

Five rows, each with an animal and two words. A goat is labelled mammal and hair or fur. A hen is labelled bird and feathers. A fish is labelled fish and wet scales. A snake is labelled reptile and dry scales. A frog is labelled amphibian and damp skin.mammalhair or furbirdfeathersfishwet scalesreptiledry scalesamphibiandamp skin
One animal from each group, and what covers its body.

See it three ways

As a picture

A table of five animal groups. The head row says Group and Covering. The rows say mammal: hair or fur, bird: feathers, fish: wet scales, reptile: dry scales, amphibian: damp skin. Labels: Group, Covering, mammal, hair or fur, bird, feathers, fish, wet scales, reptile, dry scales, amphibian, damp skin.GroupCoveringmammalhair or furbirdfeathersfishwet scalesreptiledry scalesamphibiandamp skin

In words

Each group has its own kind of covering. Look at the covering first. Then ask how it breathes and how it has young.

Some animals fool us. A bat flies, but it has fur and feeds its young milk. So a bat is a mammal. A penguin cannot fly, but it has feathers and lays eggs. So a penguin is a bird.

A bat with its wings spread and a small bird, side by side. A dashed line from the word fur points to the body of the bat. A dashed line from the word feathers points to the bird. Under them are bat: mammal and sparrow: bird.furfeathersbat: mammalsparrow: bird
Both fly. The bat has fur. The bird has feathers.

A wrong idea many people have

A whale lives in the sea, so it is a fish.

Why it feels right: A whale swims, lives in water and looks like a fish.

The test that breaks it: Ask two questions about any animal. Does it breathe air? Does it feed its young milk? A whale does both. It comes up to breathe, and its calf drinks milk. A fish breathes with gills, and no fish makes milk.

What is true: A whale is a mammal. So is a dolphin. Living in the sea does not make an animal a fish.

A whale and a fish side by side. A zigzag water line runs across the back of the whale. A dashed line from the word blowhole points to the spout above the water, where the whale breathes air. A dashed line from the word gills points to the fish. Under the whale are the words whale, breathes air and feeds milk. Under the fish are the words fish and no milk.blowholegillswhalebreathes airfeeds milkfishno milk
A whale breathes air and feeds its calf milk. A fish has gills.

Small animals have groups too. An insect has six legs. Its body has three parts. They are the head, middle and back. Most insects have feelers on the head. Many have wings. Ants, flies and beetles are insects.

Draw it first

Draw an insect and a spider

  1. An insect and a spider seen from above. The insect has three round body parts in a line, two feelers and six legs, three on each side. It is labelled insect, 3 parts and 6 legs. The spider has two round body parts and eight legs, four on each side. It is labelled spider, 2 parts and 8 legs.insect3 parts

    1 Draw three round parts in a line and two feelers. Write insect and 3 parts.

  2. An insect and a spider seen from above. The insect has three round body parts in a line, two feelers and six legs, three on each side. It is labelled insect, 3 parts and 6 legs. The spider has two round body parts and eight legs, four on each side. It is labelled spider, 2 parts and 8 legs.insect3 parts6 legs

    2 Draw six legs on the middle part. Write 6 legs.

  3. An insect and a spider seen from above. The insect has three round body parts in a line, two feelers and six legs, three on each side. It is labelled insect, 3 parts and 6 legs. The spider has two round body parts and eight legs, four on each side. It is labelled spider, 2 parts and 8 legs.insect3 parts6 legsspider2 parts8 legs

    3 Draw a spider with two parts and eight legs. Write spider, 2 parts and 8 legs.

A spider is not an insect. It has eight legs and two body parts. It has no feelers and no wings.

Two circles that overlap. The left circle is labelled Insect. It holds 6 legs, 3 parts and feelers. The right circle is labelled Spider. It holds 8 legs and 2 parts. The part where they overlap holds the word legs.InsectSpider6 legs3 partsfeelerslegs8 legs2 parts
Insects and spiders both have legs. Count them.
A tadpole and a frog, with an arrow from the tadpole to the frog. Above the tadpole are the words in water. Above the frog are the words often on land. The tadpole is labelled tadpole and the frog is labelled frog.in wateroften on landtadpolefrog
A young frog is a tadpole. It grows into a frog.

Try it

Sort animals into five boxes

You need: paper and a pencil, or a stick and bare ground, pictures of animals in a book, or animals you know.

Be safe: Look at wild animals from far away. Never touch them. Wash your hands after you touch any animal.

  1. Draw five boxes. Write mammal, bird, fish, reptile and amphibian.
  2. Choose ten animals. Pick ones you know, or ones in a book.
  3. For each one, ask: what covers its body? How does it breathe?
  4. Write its name in the right box.
  5. Which animals were hard to place? Ask the two questions again.

What you will see: Each animal goes in one box. A bat goes with the mammals. A penguin goes with the birds. A whale goes with the mammals.

If you cannot try it, this is what happens.
A table with two columns, Group and Animals. mammal: goat, bat, whale. bird: hen, penguin. fish: carp, trout. reptile: snake, tortoise. amphibian: frog, toad. Labels: Group, Animals, mammal, goat, bat, whale, bird, hen, penguin, fish, carp, trout, reptile, snake, tortoise, amphibian, frog, toad.GroupAnimalsmammalgoat, bat, whalebirdhen, penguinfishcarp, troutreptilesnake, tortoiseamphibianfrog, toad

Key words

mammal
an animal with hair or fur that feeds its young on milk.
reptile
an animal with dry, scaly skin that mostly lays eggs on land.
amphibian
an animal with damp skin whose young live in water.
insect
an animal with six legs and three body parts.

Back to your guess

The answer is B: No, a whale is a mammal.

A whale is a mammal. It breathes air and feeds its young on milk. A fish breathes with gills, and no fish makes milk.

Check yourself

Try each one before you look. A wrong answer tells you where to go next.

  1. Which of these animals is a mammal?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Not this one. An owl has feathers and lays eggs. It is a bird. A bat also flies, but it has fur and milk. Try another.

    2. Not this one. A frog has smooth, damp skin. Its young live in water. It is an amphibian. Try another.

    3. Yes, that is right. A bat has fur and feeds its young on milk. It is a mammal, not a bird.

    See the answer

    A bat

    A bat has fur and feeds its young on milk. It is a mammal, not a bird.

    • If you chose A: An owl has feathers and lays eggs. It is a bird. A bat also flies, but it has fur and milk.
    • If you chose B: A frog has smooth, damp skin. Its young live in water. It is an amphibian.

  2. A dolphin lives in the sea. Which group is it in?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Not this one. A dolphin breathes air and feeds its young milk. A fish breathes with gills and makes no milk. Try another.

    2. Not this one. An amphibian has damp skin and its young breathe with gills. A dolphin does not. Try another.

    3. Not this one. A reptile has dry scales. A dolphin has smooth skin and feeds its young milk. Try another.

    4. Yes, that is right. A dolphin breathes air and feeds its young milk. So it is a mammal.

    See the answer

    Mammal

    A dolphin breathes air and feeds its young milk. So it is a mammal.

    • If you chose A: A dolphin breathes air and feeds its young milk. A fish breathes with gills and makes no milk.
    • If you chose B: An amphibian has damp skin and its young breathe with gills. A dolphin does not.
    • If you chose C: A reptile has dry scales. A dolphin has smooth skin and feeds its young milk.

  3. How many legs and body parts does an insect have?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Yes, that is right. An insect has six legs and a body in three parts.

    2. Not this one. That is a spider. A spider is not an insect. Try another.

    3. Not this one. An insect has 3 body parts. Count the head, the middle and the back part. Try another.

    See the answer

    6 legs and 3 parts

    An insect has six legs and a body in three parts.

    • If you chose B: That is a spider. A spider is not an insect.
    • If you chose C: An insect has 3 body parts. Count the head, the middle and the back part.

  4. Kofi finds 3 ants and 1 spider on a wall. How many legs are there in all?

    See the answer

    26

    Each ant has 6 legs, so 3 ants have 18 legs. The spider has 8 legs. 18 and 8 make 26.

  5. From an earlier chapter

    A dead leaf is on the ground. Which group is it in?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Not this one. A dead leaf is not alive now. It came from a plant that was alive. Go to S2.2.1. Try another.

    2. Yes, that is right. A dead leaf is not alive now. It came from a living plant.

    3. Not this one. A leaf came from a plant that was alive. So it was not never alive. Go to S2.2.1. Try another.

    See the answer

    Once living

    A dead leaf is not alive now. It came from a living plant.

    • If you chose A: A dead leaf is not alive now. It came from a plant that was alive. Go to S2.2.1.
    • If you chose C: A leaf came from a plant that was alive. So it was not never alive. Go to S2.2.1.

  6. Sort these animals: crocodile, hen, trout, frog, goat. Write the group of each.

    See the answer

    Crocodile: reptile. Hen: bird. Trout: fish. Frog: amphibian. Goat: mammal.

    A crocodile has dry scales. A hen has feathers. A trout has gills and fins. A frog has damp skin. A goat has hair.

  7. A tortoise has dry skin and a hard shell. It lays eggs on land. Which group is it in?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Not this one. An amphibian has damp skin, and its young live in water. A tortoise has dry skin. Try another.

    2. Yes, that is right. A reptile has dry, scaly skin. It mostly lays eggs on land. A tortoise does both.

    3. Not this one. Birds lay eggs too. But a bird has feathers. A tortoise has none. It has dry, scaly skin. Try another.

    See the answer

    Reptile

    A reptile has dry, scaly skin. It mostly lays eggs on land. A tortoise does both.

    • If you chose A: An amphibian has damp skin, and its young live in water. A tortoise has dry skin.
    • If you chose C: Birds lay eggs too. But a bird has feathers. A tortoise has none. It has dry, scaly skin.

  8. A penguin cannot fly. Which group is it in?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Yes, that is right. A penguin has feathers and lays eggs. Some birds cannot fly, and it is one of them.

    2. Not this one. A penguin swims, but it has feathers and breathes air. A fish has gills and fins. Try another.

    3. Not this one. Not flying does not make a mammal. A mammal has fur and milk. A penguin has feathers. Try another.

    See the answer

    Bird

    A penguin has feathers and lays eggs. Some birds cannot fly, and it is one of them.

    • If you chose B: A penguin swims, but it has feathers and breathes air. A fish has gills and fins.
    • If you chose C: Not flying does not make a mammal. A mammal has fur and milk. A penguin has feathers.

  9. Hana thinks a spider is an insect, because it is small. What should she check?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Not this one. Small animals can be spiders, snails or woodlice. Size does not make an insect. Try another.

    2. Not this one. Many spiders hunt without a web. Count its legs and body parts instead. Try another.

    3. Yes, that is right. A spider has 8 legs and 2 body parts. An insect has 6 legs and 3 body parts.

    See the answer

    Its legs and body parts.

    A spider has 8 legs and 2 body parts. An insect has 6 legs and 3 body parts.

    • If you chose A: Small animals can be spiders, snails or woodlice. Size does not make an insect.
    • If you chose B: Many spiders hunt without a web. Count its legs and body parts instead.

Keep it

Copy this into your exercise book.

Mammals have fur and feed milk to young. Birds have feathers. Fish have gills and fins. Reptiles have dry scales. Amphibians have damp skin. An insect has 6 legs and 3 parts. A spider has 8 legs and 2 parts.

Draw: Draw an insect with three parts and six legs. Draw a spider with two parts and eight legs. Label each.

S2.2.3 Chapter 3

Habitats

What is a habitat?

Your guess

Pick one before you read on. It is fine to be wrong.

Your guess

  • You picked A. Read on. At the end, the chapter comes back to your guess.

  • You picked B. Read on. At the end, the chapter comes back to your guess.

  • You picked C. Read on. At the end, the chapter comes back to your guess.

By the end you can

A frog lives in a pond. A monkey lives in a forest. A fish lives in the sea. Each lives in its own kind of place.

A habitat is the place where a living thing lives. Plants have habitats too. A living thing finds what it needs there.

A habitat gives food. It gives water. It gives shelter. Shelter is a safe place to hide, sleep and raise young.

Draw it first

Draw what a habitat gives

  1. A scene on a ground line. A tree on the left is labelled shelter. A pond in the middle is labelled water. Blades of grass on the right are labelled food. A round animal in the middle is labelled animal.shelter

    1 Draw a tree on a ground line. Write shelter.

  2. A scene on a ground line. A tree on the left is labelled shelter. A pond in the middle is labelled water. Blades of grass on the right are labelled food. A round animal in the middle is labelled animal.shelterwater

    2 Draw a pond. Write water.

  3. A scene on a ground line. A tree on the left is labelled shelter. A pond in the middle is labelled water. Blades of grass on the right are labelled food. A round animal in the middle is labelled animal.shelterwaterfood

    3 Draw grass. Write food.

  4. A scene on a ground line. A tree on the left is labelled shelter. A pond in the middle is labelled water. Blades of grass on the right are labelled food. A round animal in the middle is labelled animal.shelterwaterfoodanimal

    4 Draw an animal in the middle. Write animal.

Take away any one of these, and the animal must move away. Or it dies.

There are many kinds of habitat. A pond has still water. A forest has many trees. A grassland is a wide place with grass and few trees. The sea is salt water. A desert is very dry.

Three habitats on land, each with a small picture and what it gives. A forest picture shows two trees and a bird. A grassland picture shows a goat and grass. A desert picture shows a cactus, a lizard and the sun. Labels: forest, food: leaves, water: rain, shelter: trees, grassland, food: grass, water: rain, shelter: grass, desert, food: seeds, water: rare rain, shelter: a hole.forestfood: leaveswater: rainshelter: treesgrasslandfood: grasswater: rainshelter: grassdesertfood: seedswater: rare rainshelter: a hole
Each land habitat gives food, water and shelter.
Two habitats in water, each with a small picture and what it gives. A pond picture shows a frog on the bank, reeds and water. A sea picture shows two fish and seaweed. Labels: pond, food: insects, water: the pond, shelter: reeds, sea, food: seaweed, water: salt water, shelter: rocks.pondfood: insectswater: the pondshelter: reedsseafood: seaweedwater: salt watershelter: rocks
A pond and the sea give food, water and shelter too.

See it three ways

As a picture

A table with two columns, Habitat and Lives there. pond: frog, fish. forest: birds, trees. grassland: grass, mice. desert: cactus, lizard. sea: fish, seaweed. Labels: Habitat, Lives there, pond, frog, fish, forest, birds, trees, grassland, grass, mice, desert, cactus, lizard, sea, seaweed.HabitatLives therepondfrog, fishforestbirds, treesgrasslandgrass, micedesertcactus, lizardseafish, seaweed

In words

Each habitat has its own living things. Each gives them food, water and shelter.

A habitat can be big, like a forest or a sea. It can be small. Under a stone is a habitat. A rotting log is a habitat. One tree is a habitat too.

Three small habitats on the ground. A hatched stone rests on a pebble, with a woodlouse in the gap under it. A long dotted log with a round ringed end has an ant on top. A tree has a bird in its crown. Labels: stone, log, tree, woodlouse, ant, bird.stonelogtreewoodlouseantbird
A stone, a log and a tree are small habitats.

A small habitat can hold many animals. Ants, worms and beetles can all live in one log.

Try it

Find a habitat near your home

You need: paper and a pencil, a tree, a patch of grass or a corner of a wall.

Be safe: Keep away from deep water, nests and anything that bites or stings. Look, do not touch. Wash your hands after.

  1. Pick a small place outside, such as one tree or some grass.
  2. Sit still a little way away. Look for five minutes. Do not touch.
  3. Write down every living thing you see.
  4. Draw a table with food, water and shelter. Write what you can find for each.
  5. Ask: which animal could live here? What would it eat?

What you will see: Even a small place has living things. You may see insects, birds, plants or snails. The place gives them food, water or shelter.

If you cannot try it, this is what happens.
A table with two columns, Need and What I saw. food: leaves. water: a puddle. shelter: a bush. Labels: Need, What I saw, food, leaves, water, a puddle, shelter, a bush.NeedWhat I sawfoodleaveswatera puddlesheltera bush
A cut through a desert. The sun is at the top right. Dotted sand fills the lower page. A sloping tunnel runs from the surface down to a hatched hole with a lizard inside it. Labels: hot sun, hot sand, cool hole.hot sunhot sandcool hole
Many desert animals hide in a cool hole by day.

A wrong idea many people have

A desert has no life.

Why it feels right: A desert is very dry and very hot by day. It seems nothing could live there.

The test that breaks it: Look in a book, or ask someone who knows. Name what lives in a desert. Some deserts have cactus. Some have camels. Many have lizards and beetles. Or sit by dry dusty ground near you for ten minutes. Look for ants and beetles.

What is true: A desert is full of life. Cactus and other plants store water. Many animals hide from the heat in holes by day.

Key words

habitat
the place where a living thing lives and finds what it needs.
shelter
a safe place to hide, sleep and raise young.
grassland
a wide habitat with grass and few trees.
desert
a very dry habitat with little water.

Back to your guess

The answer is C: The place where a living thing finds food, water and shelter.

A habitat is the place where a living thing lives. It finds food, water and shelter there.

Check yourself

Try each one before you look. A wrong answer tells you where to go next.

  1. What does a habitat give a living thing?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Not this one. Food is not enough. A living thing needs water and shelter too. Try another.

    2. Yes, that is right. A habitat gives food, water and shelter.

    3. Not this one. Shelter is one of three things. A habitat also gives food and water. Try another.

    See the answer

    Food, water and shelter

    A habitat gives food, water and shelter.

    • If you chose A: Food is not enough. A living thing needs water and shelter too.
    • If you chose C: Shelter is one of three things. A habitat also gives food and water.

  2. Which of these is a small habitat?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Not this one. The sea is a very big habitat. Try another.

    2. Not this one. A forest is a big habitat. Try another.

    3. Not this one. A habitat gives food, water and shelter. An empty box gives none. Try another.

    4. Yes, that is right. A habitat can be small. Ants, worms and beetles can live in one log.

    See the answer

    A rotting log

    A habitat can be small. Ants, worms and beetles can live in one log.

    • If you chose A: The sea is a very big habitat.
    • If you chose B: A forest is a big habitat.
    • If you chose C: A habitat gives food, water and shelter. An empty box gives none.

  3. Mei says a desert has no life. Which fact shows she is wrong?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Yes, that is right. A habitat that holds lizards and beetles is not empty. A desert is full of life.

    2. Not this one. Heat does not mean no life. Living things in a desert have ways to cope with it. Try another.

    3. Not this one. Little water makes life hard, but not impossible. Cactus store water. Try another.

    See the answer

    Lizards and beetles live in deserts.

    A habitat that holds lizards and beetles is not empty. A desert is full of life.

    • If you chose B: Heat does not mean no life. Living things in a desert have ways to cope with it.
    • If you chose C: Little water makes life hard, but not impossible. Cactus store water.

  4. From an earlier chapter

    Joseph finds an animal under a log. It has 8 legs and 2 body parts. What is it?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Not this one. An insect has 6 legs and 3 body parts. Go to S2.2.2. Try another.

    2. Not this one. A reptile has dry skin with scales and four legs or none. Count the legs again. Go to S2.2.2. Try another.

    3. Yes, that is right. A spider has eight legs and two body parts. It is not an insect.

    See the answer

    A spider

    A spider has eight legs and two body parts. It is not an insect.

    • If you chose A: An insect has 6 legs and 3 body parts. Go to S2.2.2.
    • If you chose B: A reptile has dry skin with scales and four legs or none. Count the legs again. Go to S2.2.2.

  5. Draw a pond habitat. Show what a frog finds there for food, water and shelter.

    See the answer

    A pond with water. Insects, slugs and worms for food. Reeds or stones for shelter.

    The pond gives water. Insects give food. Reeds and stones give shelter.

  6. A habitat is a wide place with grass and few trees. What is it?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Not this one. A desert is very dry. It has little grass. Try another.

    2. Yes, that is right. A grassland is a wide place with grass and few trees.

    3. Not this one. A forest has many trees. A grassland has few. Try another.

    See the answer

    A grassland

    A grassland is a wide place with grass and few trees.

    • If you chose A: A desert is very dry. It has little grass.
    • If you chose C: A forest has many trees. A grassland has few.

  7. A pond dries up in a long hot spell. What happens to the frogs?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Yes, that is right. A living thing needs food, water and shelter. Take away water, and the frogs must go.

    2. Not this one. A habitat must give all three things. Without water, the frogs cannot stay. Try another.

    3. Not this one. The young of a frog live in water. Its skin must stay damp. It needs water. Try another.

    See the answer

    They must move away, or they die, because the water is gone.

    A living thing needs food, water and shelter. Take away water, and the frogs must go.

    • If you chose B: A habitat must give all three things. Without water, the frogs cannot stay.
    • If you chose C: The young of a frog live in water. Its skin must stay damp. It needs water.

Keep it

Copy this into your exercise book.

A habitat is where a living thing finds food, water and shelter. Ponds, forests, grasslands, deserts and seas are habitats. A habitat can be big or small, like a log.

Draw: Draw a tree, a pond and grass. Label shelter, water and food.

S2.2.4 Chapter 4

Exploring a small habitat

What lives under a stone?

Your guess

Pick one before you read on. It is fine to be wrong.

Your guess

  • You picked A. Read on. At the end, the chapter comes back to your guess.

  • You picked B. Read on. At the end, the chapter comes back to your guess.

  • You picked C. Read on. At the end, the chapter comes back to your guess.

By the end you can

A stone sits on the ground. Under it the ground is dark and damp. Small animals like that. They hide from the heat, the wind and hungry birds.

You may find woodlice, ants, worms, beetles, centipedes and snails. Let us look and count them.

Try it

Look under a stone or a log

You need: a long stick, paper and a pencil, a small stone or a rotting log, water and soap, to wash your hands after.

Be safe: Never put your hand under a stone or a log. Do not lift a heavy stone. Wash your hands after.

  1. Choose a stone or log you can move with a stick. If it is heavy, leave it.
  2. Write the names of animals on your paper. Leave a space after each.
  3. Stand back. Slide the stick under the far side. Lift that side up.
  4. Look for one minute. Make one tally mark for each animal. Do not touch.
  5. Put the stone back gently, just as it was. Wash your hands.

What you will see: You see small animals that like dark, damp places. You may see ants, woodlice, worms, beetles, snails and centipedes. Some run away fast. Some may bite, so never touch them.

If you cannot try it, this is what happens.
A cut through the ground under a stone. A hatched slab of stone at the top is labelled stone. Below it, in damp ground, are three small animals drawn from above. They are labelled ant, woodlouse and worm.stoneantwoodlouseworm

Now you must keep count. A tally is a mark you make each time you see something. Make four marks down. Cross them with the fifth. Then you can count in fives.

See it three ways

As a picture

A tally chart with four rows. ants has seven marks: one group of five and two more. woodlice has five marks in one group. worms has two marks. snails has one mark. Labels: ants, woodlice, worms, snails.antswoodlicewormssnails

In words

Make one mark for each animal. Cross every fifth mark over the four. Then count the groups of five.

In symbols

7 ants, 5 woodlice, 2 worms and 1 snail. In all that is 15 animals.

Six small animals, each with its name and its legs. Ant: 6 legs. Beetle: 6 legs. Woodlouse: 14 legs. Centipede: many legs. Snail: no legs. Worm: no legs.ant6 legsbeetle6 legswoodlouse14 legscentipedemany legssnailno legswormno legs
Count legs to tell small animals apart.
A table with two columns, Animal and Total. ants: 7. woodlice: 5. worms: 2. snails: 1. Labels: Animal, Total, ants, woodlice, worms, snails, 7, 5, 2, 1.AnimalTotalants7woodlice5worms2snails1
After you count, write the totals in a table.

A table is quick to read later. You can see which animal is most common. Do it again on another day. Do the counts match?

A map is a drawing from above. It shows where things are. Imagine you are a bird looking down on your habitat.

The same place drawn two ways. On the left, from the side: a tree, a hatched pond and a stone stand on a ground line, labelled tree, pond and stone. On the right, from above: a circle, a hatched box and a small box sit in a frame, named tree, pond and stone. The words are from the side and from above.from the sidefrom abovetreepondstonetreepondstone
A map is a drawing from above.

A map uses signs. A circle can be a tree. A small box can be a stone. A key says what each sign means.

Draw it first

Draw a map of a small habitat

  1. A map of a small habitat seen from above, with a key beside it. The map has a dashed path, a hatched pond, two circles for trees and two small boxes for stones. The key is labelled Key, and shows a circle for tree, a box for stone, a dashed line for path and a hatched box for water. Labels: Key, tree, stone, path, water.

    1 Draw a box for the edge of your habitat.

  2. A map of a small habitat seen from above, with a key beside it. The map has a dashed path, a hatched pond, two circles for trees and two small boxes for stones. The key is labelled Key, and shows a circle for tree, a box for stone, a dashed line for path and a hatched box for water. Labels: Key, tree, stone, path, water.

    2 Draw the path as a dashed line. Draw a pond and shade it with lines.

  3. A map of a small habitat seen from above, with a key beside it. The map has a dashed path, a hatched pond, two circles for trees and two small boxes for stones. The key is labelled Key, and shows a circle for tree, a box for stone, a dashed line for path and a hatched box for water. Labels: Key, tree, stone, path, water.

    3 Draw circles for trees. Draw small boxes for stones.

  4. A map of a small habitat seen from above, with a key beside it. The map has a dashed path, a hatched pond, two circles for trees and two small boxes for stones. The key is labelled Key, and shows a circle for tree, a box for stone, a dashed line for path and a hatched box for water. Labels: Key, tree, stone, path, water.Keytreestonepathwater

    4 Make a key. Draw each sign and write its word beside it.

A wrong idea many people have

A habitat has to be big, like a forest.

Why it feels right: We hear about forests and seas. They are the habitats we see in pictures.

The test that breaks it: Look under a stone or a log. Count the animals in one minute. They find food, damp and shelter there. A habitat gives all that.

What is true: A habitat can be as small as a stone. A woodlouse finds food, damp and shelter under it. That is its habitat.

Key words

tally
a mark you make each time you see something.
map
a drawing from above that shows where things are.
key
the part of a map that says what each sign means.

Back to your guess

The answer is C: Many small animals can live there.

Many small animals live under stones and logs. It is dark and damp. It is safe from wind and sun.

Check yourself

Try each one before you look. A wrong answer tells you where to go next.

  1. How should you lift a stone to look under it?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Not this one. Snakes, scorpions and biting animals may hide there. Never put your hand under a stone. Try another.

    2. Not this one. A stick is safer. Your foot can squash animals or slip. Tip the stone with a stick. Try another.

    3. Not this one. That opens the gap toward you. An animal could run at you. Lift the far side. Try another.

    4. Yes, that is right. A stick keeps your hand out of the way. Lift the far side. The stone stays between you and any animal.

    See the answer

    With a stick, lifting the side away from you

    A stick keeps your hand out of the way. Lift the far side. The stone stays between you and any animal.

    • If you chose A: Snakes, scorpions and biting animals may hide there. Never put your hand under a stone.
    • If you chose B: A stick is safer. Your foot can squash animals or slip. Tip the stone with a stick.
    • If you chose C: That opens the gap toward you. An animal could run at you. Lift the far side.

  2. Look at the tally marks. How many ants did Tariq count?

    Tally marks for ants. There is one group of five, with a fifth mark across four, and then three more marks. The label is ants.ants
    See the answer

    8

    One group of five makes 5. Three more marks make 8.

  3. Ana counts 6 ants, 4 woodlice and 2 worms. How many animals is that in all?

    See the answer

    12

    Add 6 and 4 to make 10. Add 2 more to make 12.

  4. What does the key on a map tell you?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Yes, that is right. A key says what each sign means. A circle may mean a tree.

    2. Not this one. The key explains the signs. It does not give the size. Try another.

    3. Not this one. The key explains the signs, not who drew the map. Try another.

    See the answer

    What each sign on the map means

    A key says what each sign means. A circle may mean a tree.

    • If you chose B: The key explains the signs. It does not give the size.
    • If you chose C: The key explains the signs, not who drew the map.

  5. From an earlier chapter

    Kofi sees a small animal under a log. It has 8 legs and 2 body parts. What is it?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Not this one. An insect has 6 legs and 3 body parts. Count again. Go to S2.2.2. Try another.

    2. Yes, that is right. A spider has 8 legs and 2 body parts.

    3. Not this one. A mammal has hair or fur and feeds its young milk. A tiny animal with 8 legs is not one. Go to S2.2.2. Try another.

    See the answer

    A spider

    A spider has 8 legs and 2 body parts.

    • If you chose A: An insect has 6 legs and 3 body parts. Count again. Go to S2.2.2.
    • If you chose C: A mammal has hair or fur and feeds its young milk. A tiny animal with 8 legs is not one. Go to S2.2.2.

  6. Draw a map of a small habitat near your home. Add a key.

    See the answer

    A box with signs inside. Circles are trees and boxes are stones. A key beside it names each sign.

    A map is drawn from above. The key tells the reader what each sign means.

  7. Look at the table. How many more ants than snails are in it?

    A table with two columns, Animal and Total. ants: 7. woodlice: 5. worms: 2. snails: 1. Labels: Animal, Total, ants, woodlice, worms, snails, 7, 5, 2, 1.AnimalTotalants7woodlice5worms2snails1
    Tap your answer.

    1. Not this one. 8 is ants and snails added together. To find how many more, take the snails away. Try another.

    2. Not this one. 7 is the number of ants. Take away the 1 snail to find how many more. Try another.

    3. Yes, that is right. There are 7 ants and 1 snail. Take 1 from 7. That leaves 6.

    See the answer

    6

    There are 7 ants and 1 snail. Take 1 from 7. That leaves 6.

    • If you chose A: 8 is ants and snails added together. To find how many more, take the snails away.
    • If you chose B: 7 is the number of ants. Take away the 1 snail to find how many more.

  8. From where do you look when you draw a map?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Not this one. A drawing from the side shows heights. A map shows where things are, so it is drawn from above. Try another.

    2. Yes, that is right. A map is a drawing from above. It shows where things are.

    3. Not this one. A cut through the ground shows what lives under a stone. A map is drawn from above. Try another.

    See the answer

    From above, like a bird looking down.

    A map is a drawing from above. It shows where things are.

    • If you chose A: A drawing from the side shows heights. A map shows where things are, so it is drawn from above.
    • If you chose C: A cut through the ground shows what lives under a stone. A map is drawn from above.

  9. Why do woodlice live under stones?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Yes, that is right. A stone keeps out the sun and the wind. The ground under it stays damp.

    2. Not this one. Under a stone it is dark. Woodlice hide from the sun and the heat. Try another.

    3. Not this one. Under a stone it is damp and still. Wind is kept out. Try another.

    See the answer

    It is dark and damp, and safe from hungry birds.

    A stone keeps out the sun and the wind. The ground under it stays damp.

    • If you chose B: Under a stone it is dark. Woodlice hide from the sun and the heat.
    • If you chose C: Under a stone it is damp and still. Wind is kept out.

Keep it

Copy this into your exercise book.

Lift a stone with a stick. Never use your hand. Make a tally mark for each animal you see. Then write the totals in a table. Put the stone back as it was. Wash your hands.

Draw: Draw a map from above. Show a tree, a stone, a path and water. Add a key.

S2.2.5 Chapter 5

Fit for the habitat

How can a camel live in a hot desert?

Your guess

Pick one before you read on. It is fine to be wrong.

Your guess

  • You picked A. Read on. At the end, the chapter comes back to your guess.

  • You picked B. Read on. At the end, the chapter comes back to your guess.

  • You picked C. Read on. At the end, the chapter comes back to your guess.

By the end you can

A camel lives in a hot desert. A fish lives in a river. A cactus grows where rain is rare.

Each one has a body that suits its home. A feature is a body part that helps a living thing. It helps the living thing live in its home.

Look at a camel. Its feet are wide and flat. They do not sink in sand.

Its eyelashes are long. They keep sand out of its eyes. It can close its nostrils against blowing sand.

A desert has very little water. A camel can go many days without a drink. Then it drinks a lot at once.

Its hump stores fat. Fat is stored food. It is not water.

A camel seen from the side, facing right. It has a hump on its back, labelled hump stores fat. Its head has long lashes above the eye, labelled eyelashes. Its four legs end in wide, flat feet, labelled wide flat feet.hump stores fateyelasheswide flat feet
A camel has features for the desert.

A fish lives in water. It breathes with gills. Gills let a fish breathe in water.

Fins help a fish swim and steer. Its shape is smooth and pointed. It slides through water. Scales cover its skin.

A fish seen from the side, facing right. Its body is smooth and pointed. A fin on top and a fin below are labelled fins. A curved line behind the eye is labelled gills. A hatched patch on its body is labelled scales.finsgillsscales
A fish has features for water.

A cactus lives where rain is rare. Its stem is thick. The stem stores water.

It has spines, not wide leaves. Spines lose less water than wide leaves. They also keep animals off.

Its skin is waxy. Its roots spread wide near the top of the soil. They catch rain fast.

Draw it first

Draw a cactus

  1. A cactus standing in soil. Its stem is thick, labelled thick stem. Short spines stick out of it, labelled spines. Long roots spread wide just under the top of the soil, labelled roots.thick stem

    1 Draw the ground and a thick stem. Write thick stem.

  2. A cactus standing in soil. Its stem is thick, labelled thick stem. Short spines stick out of it, labelled spines. Long roots spread wide just under the top of the soil, labelled roots.thick stemspines

    2 Draw short spines all round the stem. Write spines.

  3. A cactus standing in soil. Its stem is thick, labelled thick stem. Short spines stick out of it, labelled spines. Long roots spread wide just under the top of the soil, labelled roots.thick stemspinesroots

    3 Draw roots that spread wide near the top of the soil. Write roots.

Ducks and frogs have webbed feet. Skin joins their toes. Each foot is like a paddle.

A webbed foot pushes more water. Animals in cold places have thick fur. It keeps them warm.

A goat with a thick hatched coat stands on snow. A dashed line from the words thick fur keeps warm points to its coat. The snow is a dotted strip, labelled snow.thick fur keeps warmsnow
Thick fur keeps an animal warm in the cold.

See it three ways

As a picture

Two feet with three toes each. The foot on the left has bare toes, labelled plain foot. The foot on the right has skin joining the toes, labelled webbed foot.plain footwebbed foot

In words

A webbed foot has skin between the toes. It works like a paddle. It pushes more water than bare toes.

A table with two columns, Feature and Habitat. Webbed feet go with water. Thick fur goes with cold place. Gills go with water. Wide flat feet go with sand. Spines go with desert.FeatureHabitatWebbed feetwaterThick furcold placeGillswaterWide flat feetsandSpinesdesert
Each feature suits a habitat.
A table with two columns, Feature and Job. gills: breathe. fins: swim and steer. hump: store fat. wide feet: do not sink. eyelashes: keep out sand. spines: save water. webbed feet: paddle. thick fur: keep warm.FeatureJobgillsbreathefinsswim and steerhumpstore fatwide feetdo not sinkeyelasheskeep out sandspinessave waterwebbed feetpaddlethick furkeep warm
Each feature has a job.

How did living things get such features? Not in one life. A duck cannot grow webbed feet by wanting them.

It took very many generations of parents and young. Those that suited the habitat best lived and had young. The young had the same features.

Try it

Does a web make a paddle?

You need: a bowl or bucket of clean water, your hand.

Be safe: Never drink the water in this activity. Wash your hands after.

  1. Half fill the bowl with clean water. Do not drink it.
  2. Spread your fingers wide. Push your hand through the water.
  3. Feel the water slip between your fingers.
  4. Now press your fingers together, flat like a paddle. Push again.
  5. Which way pushes more water?

What you will see: With your fingers apart, water slips past. With your fingers together, your hand pushes more water. The skin on a duck's foot works like your flat hand.

If you cannot try it, this is what happens.
Two pictures of a hand moving through water, seen from above. On the left, four fingers are apart and arrows pass between them, labelled open hand and water slips past. On the right, one flat block is a hand with fingers together, and arrows are pushed ahead of it, labelled flat hand and water pushed.open handwater slips pastflat handwater pushed

A wrong idea many people have

A camel's hump is full of water.

Why it feels right: A camel can go many days without a drink. So the water must be stored somewhere.

The test that breaks it: Look at what changes. A camel with no food for days has a small hump. The hump flops to one side. When it eats well, the hump is firm again. Look at pictures of thin and well fed camels.

What is true: The hump stores fat, not water. The camel lives on the fat when food is short.

Key words

feature
a body part that helps a living thing live in its home.
gills
parts that let a fish breathe in water.
spines
sharp points on a cactus, used instead of wide leaves.
webbed feet
feet with skin between the toes, for pushing water.

Back to your guess

The answer is A: Its body has features that suit the desert.

A camel has features that suit the desert. Its hump stores fat, not water. No animal changes its body just by wanting to.

Check yourself

Try each one before you look. A wrong answer tells you where to go next.

  1. What does a camel store in its hump?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Not this one. A hungry camel's hump shrinks and flops. Fat is stored food, so the hump holds fat. Try another.

    2. Yes, that is right. The hump stores fat. The camel lives on it when food is short.

    3. Not this one. Sand stays out. Long eyelashes and closing nostrils keep it away. Try another.

    See the answer

    Fat

    The hump stores fat. The camel lives on it when food is short.

    • If you chose A: A hungry camel's hump shrinks and flops. Fat is stored food, so the hump holds fat.
    • If you chose C: Sand stays out. Long eyelashes and closing nostrils keep it away.

  2. Which feature helps a fish breathe in water?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Not this one. Fins help a fish swim and steer. They do not help it breathe. Try another.

    2. Not this one. Scales cover the skin of a fish. Gills help it breathe. Try another.

    3. Not this one. A fish has no nose for breathing. Its gills let it breathe in water. Try another.

    4. Yes, that is right. Gills let a fish breathe in water.

    See the answer

    Gills

    Gills let a fish breathe in water.

    • If you chose A: Fins help a fish swim and steer. They do not help it breathe.
    • If you chose B: Scales cover the skin of a fish. Gills help it breathe.
    • If you chose C: A fish has no nose for breathing. Its gills let it breathe in water.

  3. A cactus has spines, not wide leaves. How does that help it?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Not this one. Wide roots near the top of the soil catch the rain. Spines do not. Try another.

    2. Not this one. The thick stem stores the water. Spines help it lose less. Try another.

    3. Yes, that is right. Wide leaves lose water fast. Spines lose less, and they keep animals off.

    See the answer

    It loses less water.

    Wide leaves lose water fast. Spines lose less, and they keep animals off.

    • If you chose A: Wide roots near the top of the soil catch the rain. Spines do not.
    • If you chose B: The thick stem stores the water. Spines help it lose less.

  4. Ana sees a frog with webbed feet. Which habitat suits it best?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Yes, that is right. Webbed feet are paddles. They suit a frog that swims.

    2. Not this one. Webbed feet push water. A desert has very little. Try another.

    3. Not this one. Thick fur suits cold places. Webbed feet suit water. Try another.

    See the answer

    In or near water

    Webbed feet are paddles. They suit a frog that swims.

    • If you chose B: Webbed feet push water. A desert has very little.
    • If you chose C: Thick fur suits cold places. Webbed feet suit water.

  5. Can a duck grow bigger webbed feet just by wanting them?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Not this one. One animal cannot change its body by wanting to. Features take very many generations. Try another.

    2. Not this one. Swimming does not change the feet a duck has. Features come over very many generations. Try another.

    3. Yes, that is right. Those that suited the habitat best had young. The young had the same features.

    See the answer

    No. Features come over very many generations.

    Those that suited the habitat best had young. The young had the same features.

    • If you chose A: One animal cannot change its body by wanting to. Features take very many generations.
    • If you chose B: Swimming does not change the feet a duck has. Features come over very many generations.

  6. From an earlier chapter

    A rabbit sleeps in a burrow. What does the burrow give it?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Not this one. A rabbit eats plants. The burrow is a home that shelters it. Go to S2.2.3. Try another.

    2. Yes, that is right. A habitat gives food, water and shelter. A burrow is shelter.

    3. Not this one. A rabbit drinks from outside. The burrow is a home that shelters it. Go to S2.2.3. Try another.

    See the answer

    Shelter

    A habitat gives food, water and shelter. A burrow is shelter.

    • If you chose A: A rabbit eats plants. The burrow is a home that shelters it. Go to S2.2.3.
    • If you chose C: A rabbit drinks from outside. The burrow is a home that shelters it. Go to S2.2.3.

  7. Which feature suits an animal in a very cold place?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Not this one. Webbed feet push water. They suit a pond or a river. Try another.

    2. Not this one. Spines help a cactus lose less water in a desert. Try another.

    3. Not this one. Gills let a fish breathe in water. Try another.

    4. Yes, that is right. Thick fur keeps an animal warm in a cold place.

    See the answer

    Thick fur

    Thick fur keeps an animal warm in a cold place.

    • If you chose A: Webbed feet push water. They suit a pond or a river.
    • If you chose B: Spines help a cactus lose less water in a desert.
    • If you chose C: Gills let a fish breathe in water.

Keep it

Copy this into your exercise book.

Living things have features that suit their habitat. A camel has wide feet and a fat store in its hump. A fish has gills. A cactus has a thick stem and spines. These came over many generations.

Draw: A cactus with a thick stem, spines and wide roots. Label each one.

S2.2.6 Chapter 6

Plant eaters, meat eaters and both

How can I tell what an animal eats?

Your guess

Pick one before you read on. It is fine to be wrong.

Your guess

  • You picked A. Read on. At the end, the chapter comes back to your guess.

  • You picked B. Read on. At the end, the chapter comes back to your guess.

  • You picked C. Read on. At the end, the chapter comes back to your guess.

  • You picked D. Read on. At the end, the chapter comes back to your guess.

By the end you can

Every animal needs food. Some eat plants. Some eat other animals. Some eat both.

A herbivore eats only plants. A goat, a cow, a rabbit and an elephant are herbivores.

A carnivore eats other animals. A lion, an eagle and a shark are carnivores.

An omnivore eats plants and animals. People, pigs, bears and crows are omnivores.

A hen eats seeds. It also eats worms and insects. So a hen is an omnivore.

Three rows, each with an animal and two words. A goat is labelled herbivore and eats grass. A frog is labelled carnivore and eats insects. A hen is labelled omnivore and eats seeds, worms.herbivoreeats grasscarnivoreeats insectsomnivoreeats seeds, worms
A goat eats plants. A frog eats animals. A hen eats both.

See it three ways

As a picture

Two overlapping circles. The left circle is labelled eats plants and holds goat, cow and rabbit. The right circle is labelled eats animals and holds lion, eagle and shark. The shared middle holds hen, bear and crow.eats plantseats animalsgoatcowrabbithenbearcrowlioneagleshark

In words

A herbivore eats only plants. A carnivore eats only animals. An omnivore eats both, so it sits in the middle.

Teeth tell you what an animal eats. A plant eater has wide, flat back teeth. They grind plants.

Its front teeth cut or tear grass. A cow has no top front teeth. It has a hard pad.

A meat eater has long, pointed teeth to grip. Its sharp back teeth slice meat.

An omnivore has some teeth of each kind.

Two jaws seen from the side, front of the mouth on the right. The first is labelled plant eater. It has wide flat teeth at the back and chisel teeth at the front. A dashed line from the words front teeth cut points to the chisel teeth, and one from the words flat teeth grind points to a flat tooth. The second is labelled meat eater. It has saw edged teeth at the back and a long pointed tooth in each jaw. A dashed line from the words long tooth grips points to the long tooth, and one from the words back teeth slice points to a saw edged tooth.plant eaterfront teeth cutflat teeth grindmeat eaterlong tooth gripsback teeth slice
Flat teeth grind plants. Pointed and sharp teeth grip and slice meat.

Draw it first

Draw three rows of teeth

  1. Three rows of teeth hanging from a gum. In the first row every tooth is flat, labelled herbivore and flat, grinds. In the second row every tooth is pointed, labelled carnivore and pointed, grips. In the third row two teeth are flat on each side of a pointed one, labelled omnivore and some of each.herbivoreflat, grinds

    1 Draw a gum and flat teeth. Write herbivore and flat, grinds.

  2. Three rows of teeth hanging from a gum. In the first row every tooth is flat, labelled herbivore and flat, grinds. In the second row every tooth is pointed, labelled carnivore and pointed, grips. In the third row two teeth are flat on each side of a pointed one, labelled omnivore and some of each.herbivoreflat, grindscarnivorepointed, grips

    2 Draw a gum and pointed teeth. Write carnivore and pointed, grips.

  3. Three rows of teeth hanging from a gum. In the first row every tooth is flat, labelled herbivore and flat, grinds. In the second row every tooth is pointed, labelled carnivore and pointed, grips. In the third row two teeth are flat on each side of a pointed one, labelled omnivore and some of each.herbivoreflat, grindscarnivorepointed, gripsomnivoresome of each

    3 Draw a gum with flat and pointed teeth. Write omnivore and some of each.

Birds have beaks, not teeth. A beak fits the food too.

An eagle has a hooked beak. It tears meat. A sparrow has a short, strong beak. It cracks seeds.

A sunbird or a hummingbird has a long, thin beak. It reaches nectar in flowers. A duck has a flat, wide beak. It sifts food from water.

Four bird heads in two rows. An eagle has a hooked beak, labelled eagle and tears meat. A sparrow has a short, strong beak, labelled sparrow and cracks seeds. A sunbird has a long, thin beak, labelled sunbird and sips nectar. A duck has a flat, wide beak, labelled duck and sifts food.eagletears meatsparrowcracks seedssunbirdsips nectarducksifts food
A beak fits the food a bird eats.

Try it

Feel your teeth

You need: your tongue, clean hands, paper and a pencil.

Be safe: Never put your fingers in an animal's mouth. Wash your hands after.

  1. Wash your hands first.
  2. Run your tongue along your front teeth. Are they flat or pointed?
  3. Move back along one side. Find the pointed tooth.
  4. Feel your back teeth. Are they wide and bumpy?
  5. Draw one side of your mouth. Show flat, pointed and wide teeth.

What you will see: Your front teeth are flat. They cut. Next to them is a pointed tooth that grips. Your back teeth are wide. They grind. You have some of each, because people eat plants and meat. People are omnivores.

If you cannot try it, this is what happens.
One side of a human jaw seen from the cheek, with the front of the mouth on the left. Two flat teeth at the front are labelled incisors. A pointed tooth next to them is labelled canine. Two wide teeth at the back are labelled molars. The words front and back are written under the gum.incisorsmolarscaninefrontback

The flat front teeth are incisors. The pointed tooth is the canine. The wide back teeth are molars.

Some people think big, strong animals must eat meat. Elephants, gorillas and rhinos are huge. They eat only plants.

A table with three columns, Animal, Size and Eats. elephant: huge, plants. rabbit: small, plants. lion: big, animals. owl: small, animals.AnimalSizeEatselephanthugeplantsrabbitsmallplantslionbiganimalsowlsmallanimals
Big animals and small animals can eat plants. Some eat animals.

A wrong idea many people have

Big, strong animals must eat meat.

Why it feels right: A lion is strong and eats meat. So strength must come from meat.

The test that breaks it: Think of an ox that pulls a plough. It is very strong. It eats only grass and hay. Elephants, gorillas and rhinos eat only plants too. Find out what the biggest animal near you eats.

What is true: Size and strength do not tell you what an animal eats. Look at its teeth or its beak.

Key words

herbivore
an animal that eats only plants.
carnivore
an animal that eats other animals.
omnivore
an animal that eats both plants and animals.

Back to your guess

The answer is D: Look at its teeth or its beak.

Teeth and beaks fit the food. Size, colour and home do not tell you.

Check yourself

Try each one before you look. A wrong answer tells you where to go next.

  1. Which animal eats only plants?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Not this one. A lion eats other animals. It is a carnivore. Try another.

    2. Yes, that is right. An elephant is a herbivore. It is huge, but it eats only plants.

    3. Not this one. A bear eats plants and animals. It is an omnivore. Try another.

    See the answer

    Elephant

    An elephant is a herbivore. It is huge, but it eats only plants.

    • If you chose A: A lion eats other animals. It is a carnivore.
    • If you chose C: A bear eats plants and animals. It is an omnivore.

  2. A hen eats seeds, worms and insects. What is a hen?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Not this one. A hen eats worms and insects too. A herbivore eats only plants. Try another.

    2. Not this one. A hen eats seeds too. A carnivore eats only animals. Try another.

    3. Yes, that is right. A hen eats plants and animals. That makes it an omnivore.

    See the answer

    An omnivore

    A hen eats plants and animals. That makes it an omnivore.

    • If you chose A: A hen eats worms and insects too. A herbivore eats only plants.
    • If you chose B: A hen eats seeds too. A carnivore eats only animals.

  3. An animal has long pointed teeth and sharp back teeth. What does it eat?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Yes, that is right. Pointed teeth grip and sharp back teeth slice. They suit a meat eater.

    2. Not this one. Plant eaters have wide, flat back teeth for grinding. Try another.

    3. Not this one. A bird with a short, strong beak cracks seeds. Pointed teeth grip meat. Try another.

    See the answer

    Other animals

    Pointed teeth grip and sharp back teeth slice. They suit a meat eater.

    • If you chose B: Plant eaters have wide, flat back teeth for grinding.
    • If you chose C: A bird with a short, strong beak cracks seeds. Pointed teeth grip meat.

  4. A bird has a short, strong beak. What does it eat?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Not this one. A hooked beak tears meat. A short, strong beak cracks seeds. Try another.

    2. Not this one. A long, thin beak reaches nectar. Try another.

    3. Not this one. A flat, wide beak sifts food from water. A short, strong beak cracks seeds. Try another.

    4. Yes, that is right. A short, strong beak cracks seeds. A sparrow has one.

    See the answer

    Seeds

    A short, strong beak cracks seeds. A sparrow has one.

    • If you chose A: A hooked beak tears meat. A short, strong beak cracks seeds.
    • If you chose B: A long, thin beak reaches nectar.
    • If you chose C: A flat, wide beak sifts food from water. A short, strong beak cracks seeds.

  5. Sort these into herbivore, carnivore and omnivore: cow, eagle, bear, rabbit.

    See the answer

    Herbivores: cow and rabbit. Carnivore: eagle. Omnivore: bear.

    A cow and a rabbit eat only plants. An eagle eats other animals. A bear eats both.

  6. From an earlier chapter

    Mei sees a hen. It has feathers and lays eggs. Which group is it in?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Not this one. Mammals have fur or hair and feed milk to their young. A hen has feathers. Go to S2.2.2. Try another.

    2. Yes, that is right. Birds have feathers and lay eggs. A hen is a bird.

    3. Not this one. Reptiles have dry scales. A hen has feathers. Go to S2.2.2. Try another.

    See the answer

    Birds

    Birds have feathers and lay eggs. A hen is a bird.

    • If you chose A: Mammals have fur or hair and feed milk to their young. A hen has feathers. Go to S2.2.2.
    • If you chose C: Reptiles have dry scales. A hen has feathers. Go to S2.2.2.

  7. A rhino is huge and strong. What does it eat?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Not this one. Strength does not tell you what an animal eats. A rhino has flat grinding teeth. Try another.

    2. Not this one. Size does not tell you either. A rhino eats only plants. Try another.

    3. Yes, that is right. A rhino is a herbivore. It is huge, but its flat teeth grind plants.

    See the answer

    Only plants.

    A rhino is a herbivore. It is huge, but its flat teeth grind plants.

    • If you chose A: Strength does not tell you what an animal eats. A rhino has flat grinding teeth.
    • If you chose B: Size does not tell you either. A rhino eats only plants.

Keep it

Copy this into your exercise book.

A herbivore eats plants. A carnivore eats animals. An omnivore eats both. Flat back teeth grind plants. Pointed teeth grip meat. Beaks fit food too. Size does not tell you what an animal eats.

Draw: A row of flat teeth and a row of pointed teeth. Label them plants and meat.

S2.2.7 Chapter 7

Food chains

Who eats what in the grass?

Your guess

Pick one before you read on. It is fine to be wrong.

Your guess

  • You picked A. Read on. At the end, the chapter comes back to your guess.

  • You picked B. Read on. At the end, the chapter comes back to your guess.

  • You picked C. Read on. At the end, the chapter comes back to your guess.

By the end you can

Living things need food. A food chain is a line of living things. It shows who eats what.

On land, a food chain starts with a green plant. A green plant makes its own food from sunlight. It is the producer.

Animals cannot make food. They must eat. A grasshopper eats grass. A frog eats the grasshopper.

A snake eats the frog. An eagle eats the snake.

Draw it first

Draw a food chain

  1. A food chain drawn in boxes joined by arrows. The boxes are grass, grasshopper, frog, snake and eagle, in that order. Each arrow points from the food to the one that eats it.grassgrasshopper

    1 Draw a box for grass. Draw an arrow to a box for grasshopper.

  2. A food chain drawn in boxes joined by arrows. The boxes are grass, grasshopper, frog, snake and eagle, in that order. Each arrow points from the food to the one that eats it.grassgrasshopperfrog

    2 Draw an arrow from grasshopper to a box for frog.

  3. A food chain drawn in boxes joined by arrows. The boxes are grass, grasshopper, frog, snake and eagle, in that order. Each arrow points from the food to the one that eats it.grassgrasshopperfrogsnakeeagle

    3 Add boxes for snake and eagle. Draw an arrow to each.

Look at the arrows. An arrow means "is eaten by". It points to the eater.

A tuft of grass, an arrow and a goat. The words eaten by are above the arrow. The arrow points from the grass to the goat. Labels: eaten by, grass, goat.eaten bygrassgoat
Grass is eaten by the goat. The arrow points to the goat.

It shows where the food goes. Follow the food. It goes from the grass into the grasshopper.

See it three ways

As a picture

Two boxes joined by an arrow. The box on the left is labelled grass. The box on the right is labelled goat. Above the arrow are the words eaten by. The arrow points to the goat.grassgoateaten by

In words

Grass is eaten by the goat. The arrow points to the goat. The food goes from the grass to the goat.

A predator is an animal that hunts and eats other animals. Its prey is the animal it eats.

The frog is the predator of the grasshopper. The grasshopper is its prey.

The frog is also the prey of the snake. One animal can be both.

A food chain of three boxes joined by arrows: grass, mouse and owl. The word producer is above grass. The word prey is above mouse. The word predator is above owl.grassmouseowlproducerpreypredator
The owl hunts the mouse. The mouse is its prey.
The Sun at the top left, labelled sun. An arrow labelled sunlight points down to the first box of a food chain. The boxes are grass, mouse and owl, joined by arrows labelled eaten by. Each arrow points to the one that eats. Labels: sun, sunlight, grass, mouse, owl, eaten by.sunsunlightgrassmouseowleaten byeaten by
The plant uses sunlight to make food. The chain starts with the plant.
A food chain in a pond. The boxes are pond weed, snail and fish, joined by arrows labelled eaten by. Each arrow points to the one that eats. Labels: pond weed, snail, fish, eaten by.pond weedsnailfisheaten byeaten by
A food chain in water starts with a water plant.

On land, almost every food chain starts with a green plant. Even an eagle's food chain starts with a green plant. In ponds, rivers and the sea, food chains start in the water. They start with water plants or seaweed. Or they start with tiny living things, too small to see. They make food from sunlight too.

Try it

Find a food chain

You need: paper, a pencil, a bush, a tree or a patch of grass.

Be safe: Do not touch insects, snakes or lizards. Some bite or sting. Wash your hands after touching plants or soil.

  1. Find a plant with holes in its leaves.
  2. Stand still and watch for a few minutes. Keep your hands off animals.
  3. Look for an insect on the plant.
  4. Watch for a bird or a lizard that hunts insects.
  5. Draw the plant, the insect and the hunter in boxes.
  6. Draw arrows. Point each arrow to the one that eats.

What you will see: The plant is the producer. The insect eats the plant. A bird or a lizard may eat the insect. Each arrow points to the eater. If you see no hunter, write what might eat the insect.

If you cannot try it, this is what happens.
A food chain of three boxes joined by arrows: leaf, insect and bird. Each arrow points from the food to the one that eats it.leafinsectbird

A wrong idea many people have

The arrow in a food chain points to the animal eaten.

Why it feels right: An arrow often points at what you aim for. So frog → grasshopper looks like a frog going after a grasshopper.

The test that breaks it: Read each arrow as "is eaten by". Does a frog get eaten by a grasshopper? No. Now try your own meal. Draw beans → you. The beans go into you. The food ends up in the eater. The arrow ends there too.

What is true: The arrow points to the eater. It shows where the food goes: grass → grasshopper.

Key words

food chain
a line of living things that shows who eats what.
producer
a living thing that makes its own food from sunlight. A green plant is one.
predator
an animal that hunts and eats other animals.
prey
an animal that a predator hunts and eats.

Back to your guess

The answer is C: An arrow points to the one that eats.

An arrow in a food chain shows where the food goes. It points to the eater.

Check yourself

Try each one before you look. A wrong answer tells you where to go next.

  1. Look at the picture. Which one is the producer?

    A food chain of boxes joined by arrows: grass, grasshopper, frog, snake and eagle. Each arrow points from the food to the one that eats it.grassgrasshopperfrogsnakeeagle
    Tap your answer.

    1. Not this one. The grasshopper eats grass. It cannot make its own food. Try another.

    2. Yes, that is right. Grass is a green plant. It makes its own food from sunlight.

    3. Not this one. The eagle eats other animals. A producer makes its own food from sunlight. Try another.

    See the answer

    Grass

    Grass is a green plant. It makes its own food from sunlight.

    • If you chose A: The grasshopper eats grass. It cannot make its own food.
    • If you chose C: The eagle eats other animals. A producer makes its own food from sunlight.

  2. In the same picture, which one is the predator of the frog?

    A food chain of boxes joined by arrows: grass, grasshopper, frog, snake and eagle. Each arrow points from the food to the one that eats it.grassgrasshopperfrogsnakeeagle
    Tap your answer.

    1. Not this one. The frog eats the grasshopper. The grasshopper is the frog's prey. Try another.

    2. Not this one. Grass is a plant. It does not hunt. Try another.

    3. Not this one. The eagle eats the snake, not the frog. Look at the arrow after the frog. Try another.

    4. Yes, that is right. The arrow from frog points to snake. The snake eats the frog.

    See the answer

    Snake

    The arrow from frog points to snake. The snake eats the frog.

    • If you chose A: The frog eats the grasshopper. The grasshopper is the frog's prey.
    • If you chose B: Grass is a plant. It does not hunt.
    • If you chose C: The eagle eats the snake, not the frog. Look at the arrow after the frog.

  3. Which food chain is drawn the right way?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Yes, that is right. Grass starts the chain. The goat eats it. The lion eats the goat.

    2. Not this one. Arrows point to the eater. Here they point to the food. Try another.

    3. Not this one. A chain starts with a green plant. A goat eats grass, not the other way round. Try another.

    See the answer

    grass → goat → lion

    Grass starts the chain. The goat eats it. The lion eats the goat.

    • If you chose B: Arrows point to the eater. Here they point to the food.
    • If you chose C: A chain starts with a green plant. A goat eats grass, not the other way round.

  4. Tariq sees an eagle catch a snake. What is the snake?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Not this one. The eagle hunts the snake. The eagle is the predator. Try another.

    2. Not this one. A producer makes its own food from sunlight. A snake eats other animals. Try another.

    3. Yes, that is right. The snake is the animal that is hunted. That makes it prey.

    See the answer

    Prey

    The snake is the animal that is hunted. That makes it prey.

    • If you chose A: The eagle hunts the snake. The eagle is the predator.
    • If you chose B: A producer makes its own food from sunlight. A snake eats other animals.

  5. From an earlier chapter

    A food chain has only living things. Which of these cannot be in it?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Not this one. A frog eats, grows and moves. It is living. Go to S2.2.1. Try another.

    2. Not this one. Grass grows. It is living. Go to S2.2.1. Try another.

    3. Yes, that is right. A stone was never alive. It does not eat or grow.

    See the answer

    A stone

    A stone was never alive. It does not eat or grow.

    • If you chose A: A frog eats, grows and moves. It is living. Go to S2.2.1.
    • If you chose B: Grass grows. It is living. Go to S2.2.1.

  6. Draw a food chain with grass, a mouse and an owl. Put the arrows the right way.

    See the answer

    grass → mouse → owl. Each arrow points to the eater.

    The mouse eats the grass. The owl eats the mouse. Arrows go from the food to the eater.

  7. Where does a green plant get its food?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Not this one. The soil gives water. A plant makes its own food in its leaves, using sunlight. Try another.

    2. Yes, that is right. A green plant makes its own food from sunlight. That is why a food chain on land starts with a plant.

    3. Not this one. Rain gives water, not food. The plant makes its food from sunlight. Try another.

    See the answer

    It makes its own food, using sunlight.

    A green plant makes its own food from sunlight. That is why a food chain on land starts with a plant.

    • If you chose A: The soil gives water. A plant makes its own food in its leaves, using sunlight.
    • If you chose C: Rain gives water, not food. The plant makes its food from sunlight.

  8. In grass → mouse → owl, what does the arrow after the mouse mean?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Not this one. An arrow means "is eaten by". It points to the one that eats, the owl. Try another.

    2. Not this one. The arrow shows where the food goes. It does not show size. Try another.

    3. Not this one. The arrow does not show who chases whom. It shows where the food goes. Try another.

    4. Yes, that is right. An arrow in a food chain means "is eaten by". It points to the eater.

    See the answer

    The mouse is eaten by the owl.

    An arrow in a food chain means "is eaten by". It points to the eater.

    • If you chose A: An arrow means "is eaten by". It points to the one that eats, the owl.
    • If you chose B: The arrow shows where the food goes. It does not show size.
    • If you chose C: The arrow does not show who chases whom. It shows where the food goes.

Keep it

Copy this into your exercise book.

On land, a food chain starts with a green plant, the producer. Arrows point to the eater, the way the food goes. A predator hunts. Its prey is hunted.

Draw: Grass, grasshopper and frog in boxes. Arrows point to the eater.

S2.2.8 Chapter 8

Changes to habitats

What happens to animals when people cut down a forest?

Your guess

Pick one before you read on. It is fine to be wrong.

Your guess

  • You picked A. Read on. At the end, the chapter comes back to your guess.

  • You picked B. Read on. At the end, the chapter comes back to your guess.

  • You picked C. Read on. At the end, the chapter comes back to your guess.

By the end you can

Habitats change. People change them a lot. Some changes harm the living things there.

People cut forests for wood, for farms and for roads. Cutting a forest takes away homes and food.

Animals move away or die. Tree roots hold the soil. With no trees, rain washes the soil away.

Draw it first

Draw what cutting a forest does

  1. Ground with soil below it. First three trees stand in a row, labelled forest. Then the trees are gone and only three stumps are left, labelled stumps. Then rain falls, labelled rain, and an arrow runs along the soil, labelled soil washed away.forest

    1 Draw three trees on the ground. Write forest.

  2. Ground with soil below it. First three trees stand in a row, labelled forest. Then the trees are gone and only three stumps are left, labelled stumps. Then rain falls, labelled rain, and an arrow runs along the soil, labelled soil washed away.stumps

    2 Cut them down. Draw stumps. Write stumps.

  3. Ground with soil below it. First three trees stand in a row, labelled forest. Then the trees are gone and only three stumps are left, labelled stumps. Then rain falls, labelled rain, and an arrow runs along the soil, labelled soil washed away.stumpsrainsoil washed away

    3 Draw rain and an arrow in the soil. Write rain and soil washed away.

Two panels. On the left, before, two trees stand on the ground and a bird sits near them, labelled home and food. On the right, after, only two stumps with ring lines are left and no animals. The stumps are labelled stumps and the place is labelled no home. Labels: before, after, home and food, stumps, no home.beforeafterhome and foodstumpsno home
Cut the trees and the animals lose their home and food.

Dirty water harms living things too. Rubbish, oil and soap make water dirty. So do waste from toilets and sprays from farms.

Two ponds side by side. The left pond is plain with a few wave lines, labelled clean water, and has three fish, labelled 3 fish. The right pond is crossed with lines, labelled dirty water. A black bar of oil and two small boxes of litter float on top, and one fish swims below, labelled 1 fish. Labels: clean water, dirty water, 3 fish, 1 fish.clean waterdirty water3 fish1 fish
Oil and litter make water dirty. Fewer fish can live in it.

Fish and frogs get sick or die. The animals that eat them lose food. This harm is pollution.

Plastic is a problem too. It does not rot for a very long time. To rot is to break down and go back into the soil.

Animals can choke on plastic. Litter is rubbish dropped where it does not belong.

A food chain has links. When one living thing is lost, the others are harmed too.

See it three ways

As a picture

A food chain of boxes joined by arrows: grass, grasshopper, frog and snake. A cross is drawn on the corner of the frog box, labelled frog lost. Under the snake box are the words less food.grassgrasshopperfrogsnakefrog lostless food

In words

The frogs are lost. The snakes lose their food. The grasshoppers are eaten less, so there are more of them.

We can protect a habitat near us. Do not throw rubbish in water or on the ground.

Pick up litter with a stick or a bag on your hand. Wash your hands after.

Three ways to look after a habitat. A young plant is labelled new tree. A person with a bag is labelled litter bag. A tuft of grass is labelled wild patch.new treelitter bagwild patch
Plant a tree. Pick up litter. Leave a patch wild.

Plant trees. Leave a patch of ground wild. Plants and small animals can live there.

Never pour oil or paint on the ground or into water.

Try it

Does plastic rot?

You need: a soft green leaf, a small piece of plastic bag, damp soil outside, three sticks.

Be safe: Wash your hands after you touch soil. Do not leave plastic in the ground.

  1. Dig two small holes in damp soil with a stick.
  2. Put the leaf in one hole. Put the plastic in the other.
  3. Cover both holes with soil. Push a stick in to mark each place.
  4. Keep the soil damp. Wait three or four weeks.
  5. Dig them up with a stick. Look at each one.
  6. Take out the plastic. Put it in the rubbish.

What you will see: The leaf is soft, dark and breaking up. It is starting to rot. The plastic has not changed. Plastic does not rot. It stays as litter for a very long time.

If you cannot try it, this is what happens.
Two columns. On the left a leaf, labelled leaf, is a hatched patch. An arrow points down to a few small bits, labelled breaking up. On the right a piece of plastic, labelled plastic, is a plain box. An arrow points down to the same whole box, labelled not changed.leafplasticbreaking upnot changed

A wrong idea many people have

Rubbish in a river just goes away.

Why it feels right: The river carries it out of sight. Out of sight seems like gone.

The test that breaks it: Do the burying test. After weeks, the leaf is breaking up. The plastic has not changed. Plastic does not rot away. A river only carries it to another place, where other animals live.

What is true: Rubbish does not go away. The river moves it. Plastic stays for a very long time.

Key words

pollution
harm to water, air or soil from things that do not belong.
rot
to break down and go back into the soil.
litter
rubbish dropped where it does not belong.

Back to your guess

The answer is A: They lose their homes and food. Many move away or die.

A forest is home and food for many animals. When it goes, they lose both. Many must move away, and some die.

Check yourself

Try each one before you look. A wrong answer tells you where to go next.

  1. Why do many animals leave when a forest is cut down?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Not this one. A forest gives food and shelter. With no trees, they have neither. Try another.

    2. Not this one. Cutting trees takes away plants and the animals on them. Try another.

    3. Not this one. A stump gives little shelter and little food. The trees that gave both are gone. Try another.

    4. Yes, that is right. The forest was home and food for them. Without it, they move away or die.

    See the answer

    They lose their homes and food.

    The forest was home and food for them. Without it, they move away or die.

    • If you chose A: A forest gives food and shelter. With no trees, they have neither.
    • If you chose B: Cutting trees takes away plants and the animals on them.
    • If you chose C: A stump gives little shelter and little food. The trees that gave both are gone.

  2. Which of these can make river water dirty and harm fish?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Yes, that is right. Oil, rubbish, soap and farm sprays make water dirty. Fish and frogs get sick or die.

    2. Not this one. A leaf rots and goes back into the soil. Oil and plastic do not. Try another.

    3. Not this one. Clean rain does not harm fish. Try another.

    See the answer

    Oil poured into the water

    Oil, rubbish, soap and farm sprays make water dirty. Fish and frogs get sick or die.

    • If you chose B: A leaf rots and goes back into the soil. Oil and plastic do not.
    • If you chose C: Clean rain does not harm fish.

  3. Kofi buries a leaf and plastic in damp soil. Four weeks later, what does he find?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Not this one. Plastic does not rot for a very long time. Try another.

    2. Not this one. A leaf starts to rot in damp soil. It goes soft and breaks up. Try another.

    3. Yes, that is right. A leaf starts to rot in damp soil. In time it goes back into the soil. Plastic does not.

    See the answer

    The leaf is breaking up. The plastic has not changed.

    A leaf starts to rot in damp soil. In time it goes back into the soil. Plastic does not.

    • If you chose A: Plastic does not rot for a very long time.
    • If you chose B: A leaf starts to rot in damp soil. It goes soft and breaks up.

  4. In grass → grasshopper → frog → snake, dirty water kills the frogs. What happens to the snakes?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Not this one. Each link needs the one before it. A snake eats frogs. Go to S2.2.7. Try another.

    2. Yes, that is right. The frogs are food for the snakes. When the frogs are lost, the snakes are harmed too.

    3. Not this one. A snake eats animals, not grass. Go to S2.2.6. Try another.

    See the answer

    They have less to eat.

    The frogs are food for the snakes. When the frogs are lost, the snakes are harmed too.

    • If you chose A: Each link needs the one before it. A snake eats frogs. Go to S2.2.7.
    • If you chose C: A snake eats animals, not grass. Go to S2.2.6.

  5. From an earlier chapter

    Ravi lifts a stone to see what lives under it. What should he do after?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Not this one. Small animals need the dark, damp place under a stone. Put it back as it was. Go to S2.2.4. Try another.

    2. Yes, that is right. The stone is a home for small animals. Putting it back keeps their habitat safe.

    3. Not this one. Animals need their own habitat to live. Leave them there. Go to S2.2.4. Try another.

    See the answer

    Put the stone back as it was.

    The stone is a home for small animals. Putting it back keeps their habitat safe.

    • If you chose A: Small animals need the dark, damp place under a stone. Put it back as it was. Go to S2.2.4.
    • If you chose C: Animals need their own habitat to live. Leave them there. Go to S2.2.4.

  6. Name two ways you could protect a habitat near you.

    See the answer

    Any two. Pick up litter safely. Plant a tree. Leave a patch wild. Keep rubbish out of water.

    Each one keeps homes and food safe for living things.

  7. Which action helps to protect a habitat?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Not this one. A river only moves rubbish to another place, where other animals live. Try another.

    2. Not this one. Plastic does not rot. It stays in the ground for a very long time. Try another.

    3. Not this one. Rain washes litter into rivers and drains. Pick it up. Try another.

    4. Yes, that is right. Litter in a bin cannot harm animals or water. Never touch sharp litter. Leave it for a grown up.

    See the answer

    Put litter in a bin, or take it home.

    Litter in a bin cannot harm animals or water. Never touch sharp litter. Leave it for a grown up.

    • If you chose A: A river only moves rubbish to another place, where other animals live.
    • If you chose B: Plastic does not rot. It stays in the ground for a very long time.
    • If you chose C: Rain washes litter into rivers and drains. Pick it up.

Keep it

Copy this into your exercise book.

Cutting forests and dirty water take away homes and food. Plastic does not rot. When one living thing is lost, the others suffer. We can protect habitats. Keep rubbish out, plant trees, leave a wild patch.

Draw: A tree and a stream. Add one thing you can do to help.

Key words, A to Z

Every key word in this book, what it means, and the chapter that teaches it.

amphibian
an animal with damp skin whose young live in water. S2.2.2
carnivore
an animal that eats other animals. S2.2.6
desert
a very dry habitat with little water. S2.2.3
feature
a body part that helps a living thing live in its home. S2.2.5
food chain
a line of living things that shows who eats what. S2.2.7
gills
parts that let a fish breathe in water. S2.2.5
grassland
a wide habitat with grass and few trees. S2.2.3
habitat
the place where a living thing lives and finds what it needs. S2.2.3
herbivore
an animal that eats only plants. S2.2.6
insect
an animal with six legs and three body parts. S2.2.2
key
the part of a map that says what each sign means. S2.2.4
litter
rubbish dropped where it does not belong. S2.2.8
living
alive now. S2.2.1
mammal
an animal with hair or fur that feeds its young on milk. S2.2.2
map
a drawing from above that shows where things are. S2.2.4
never living
was never alive. S2.2.1
omnivore
an animal that eats both plants and animals. S2.2.6
once living
was alive, or came from something alive. S2.2.1
pollution
harm to water, air or soil from things that do not belong. S2.2.8
predator
an animal that hunts and eats other animals. S2.2.7
prey
an animal that a predator hunts and eats. S2.2.7
producer
a living thing that makes its own food from sunlight. A green plant is one. S2.2.7
reptile
an animal with dry, scaly skin that mostly lays eggs on land. S2.2.2
rot
to break down and go back into the soil. S2.2.8
shelter
a safe place to hide, sleep and raise young. S2.2.3
signs of life
moving, breathing, feeling, growing, having young, getting rid of waste and feeding. S2.2.1
spines
sharp points on a cactus, used instead of wide leaves. S2.2.5
tally
a mark you make each time you see something. S2.2.4
webbed feet
feet with skin between the toes, for pushing water. S2.2.5