Literacy Mat: Year 7 Biology Theme 3 – How do we vary?
Lesson 1: Similarities
and differences
Lesson 2: Grouping
Animals
Keywords: similarity
difference environmental
inherited variation colour
genes
Keywords: kingdom organism
animals plants fungus
protoctista
prokaryotae
classification
Sentence starters:
Sentence starters:
Scientists classify living
organisms into ...
The differences between the
kingdoms is that ...
I think a ... should go in the
... kingdom
I think this because...
The similarities / differences
between ...
I think that eye colour is ...
This is because...
Identical twins can be different
because ...
Furthermore ...
Lesson 5: Female
Reproductive System
Lesson 6: Male
Reproductive System
Keywords: vagina uterus
oviduct cervix ovary
egg
uterus lining
Keywords: penis urethra
scrotum testes glands
sperm tube sperm
semen
adaptations
Sentence starters:
Sentence starters:
The main parts of the female
reproductive system are ...
The job of the .... is to...
This reproductive system is
important because ...
An egg is adapted as it has...
It needs this because ...
The main parts of the male
reproductive system are ...
The job of the .... is to...
This reproductive system is
important because ...
A sperm is adapted as it has ...
This helps it to ...
Lesson 3: Animals:
Vertebrates
Keywords: vertebrate
backbone
platypus
birds
fish
mammals
reptiles
amphibians
Sentence starters:
The 5 vertebrate groups are...
The features of birds / mammals /
fish / reptiles / amphibians are ...
Each group has evolved different
characteristics because ..
I think a platypus is a ...
This is because ...
It could also be a ...
But I think ...
Lesson 7: Fertilisation
and implantation
Keywords: fertilisation egg
sperm
fuse
nucleus
zygote implant divide cells
Sentence starters:
Fertilisation is where ...
What happens is that...
This happens in the ...
In the nucleus of the sperm
there are ...
The nuclei of the sperm and egg...
This needs to happen so that ...
Humans usually implant only one
egg at a time because ...
Lesson 4: Animals
Invertebrates
Keywords: invertebrate
arthropods molluscs
echinoderm sponges
cnidarians annelids
flatworms roundworms
Sentence starters:
An invertebrate is...
3 invertebrates are ...
I think a ... is a ....
This is because...
I know a .... is a ... because ...
Knowledge of the group features
help to classify this unknown
organism because ...
Lesson 8: Pregnancy
Keywords: pregnancy foetus
placenta blood
nutrients
oxygen carbon dioxide
umbilical cord
Sentence starters:
The usual length of
human pregnancy is ...
The foetus gets it’s food by ...
The role of the placenta is to ...
This helps the foetus develop by..
A mother’s lifestyle could affect
a foetus because ...
This would affect the foetus by
...
Lesson 8: Optional lesson Lesson 9: Menstruation
Keywords: period ovulation
Twins
Keywords: twins cells DNA egg uterus lining hormones
divide identical
conjoined cycle oestrogen FSH
LH progesterone
non-identical
genes
Sentence starters:
A multiple birth is ...
Identical twins are ...
Non-identical twins are ...
Conjoined twins are ...
Identical twins / non-identical /
conjoined twins are formed by ...
Triplets are made when...
It is dangerous to have multiple
births because ...
IVF often produces multiple
births because ...
Lesson 10: Puberty
Keywords: puberty testes
hormones penis breasts
periods sperm eggs
Sentence starters:
The scientific name for
the female reproductive
cycle is ...
The first stage happen
between days ...
At this stage ...
Females need the menstruation
cycle because ...
The graph shows that at days ...
This is controlled by the hormone
...
I think this because ...
Sentence starters:
3 changes that happen to boys
during puberty are ...
3 changes that happen to girls
during puberty are ...
The physical changes that take
place are ...
The emotional changes that take
place are ...
Boys need to go through these
changes because ...
Girls need to go through these
changes because ...
Hormones play an important role
in puberty because ...
Also they ...
Lesson 11: Journey of
an egg APP
Keywords: egg
sperm
ovary oviduct uterus
sex
uterus lining testes
baby
sperm tube
glands semen
urethra
penis cervix
vagina erection
Sentence starters:
Sammy the sperm starts off in
the ... where he ...
He then goes ....
Here he will...
Then he will go ...
He is now in the ...
The egg starts in the ...
She then travels through the ...
When Sammy meets the egg ...
The egg has now been ....
The egg then ...
The egg finally ...
The egg is adapted for this
journey because ...
The sperm is adapted for this
journey because ...
Holgate School
iteracy mat
My Work
Can I write in paragraphs?
Can I use different
sentence types?
I am proud of my work because...
I use connectives in each paragraph
to link my ideas and to put them in a
logical order.
Can I spell accurately?
Sound out the word
Think about a similar word
Find the word in a Key words list
Ask a friend or teacher
To learn it: look, cover, write ,
check
Once you’ve solved it, add the
correct spelling to your own word
bank.
•
I have written clearly so that my reader can
understand my writing easily.
•
I have used my literacy mat to check my
spelling and corrected any errors.
•
I have used full sentences with a subject and
a verb.
•
I have used correct punctuation and
grammar.
•
I have paragraphed my work using TIPTOP.
•
My writing is suitable for the person I am
writing for.
Simple sentences: contains a subject and
a verb and can contain an object
• The nucleus (subject) is the
controller (verb) of the cell
Compound sentences: joins two simple
sentences using the connectives: for, and,
nor, but, or, yet, so.
Tissues are lots of similar cells working
together and organs are different tissues
working together to perform a function.
Complex sentences: A complex sentence
contains a conjunction such as because,
since, after, although, or when .
A heart is classed as an organ, because it
has different tissues working together to
perform a function.
Can I use Punctuation and Grammar?
Basics



for punctuation and grammar:
Every sentence must start with a capital letter.
Every sentence must finish with some form of punctuation: .?!
Proper nouns need capital letters. These are unique people, places or things e.g. there are many cities so
‘city’ doesn’t take a capital letter. However there is only one London, therefore it takes a capital letter.
 Remember don’t mix up ‘was’ and ‘were.’ For example ‘I was (singular)’ and ‘We were (plural)’