Science Year 1
Session F
Biology Strand: Animals including humans
Programme of study: Identify and name a variety of common animals including fish, amphibians,
Carnivores,
herbivores &
omnivores
reptiles, birds and mammals
Identify and name a variety of common animals that are carnivores, herbivores and omnivores
Working
scientifically
Identify and classify
Use their observations and ideas to suggest answers to questions
Resources
2 hoops. Access to internet
Whole class teaching:
Remind children about the pets that they identified and named in the last session. Explain that we are going to place them into
groups & then add more animals to the groups. Write carnivore, herbivore & omnivore on f/c as headings for columns. Do any
children know what these words mean? Explain that these names tell us what sorts of things an animal is designed to eat, it
tells us their diet. Carnivores eat other meat (animals), herbivores eat plants and omnivores eat both meat (animals) and plants.
What are human beings? Omnivores, because we eat both meat (animals) and plants. Herbivores have special digestive systems
that allow them to break down all plants like grasses, twigs & leaves. Omnivores often only eat the fruits & vegetables created
by plants. Many herbivores eat all day long, to get enough energy from the plants that are their food. Point out that carnivores,
herbivores and omnivores have different arrangements of teeth, which indicate their diets too – children will find out about this
in Year 4.
Can children place any of the pets that were discussed in the last session into the correct column, e.g. rabbit – herbivore, pony –
herbivore, guinea pigs – herbivore, snake – carnivore, dog – carnivore (though some eat like omnivores), cat – carnivores, stick
insects – herbivore, budgerigar – herbivore, tropical fish – most are omnivores, but there are species that are herbivores or
carnivores too, hamsters – omnivore, etc. Allow children time to describe what they feed their pets. Discuss how pets should
not have too much to eat or the wrong types of food as it can make them overweight or ill – we must care properly & carefully
for our pets.
Can children add some other animals to the three lists? Ask them to think of common wild animals, zoo animals or animals that
are kept on farms. Remind them to think of land animals, sea or river animals & animals that are mostly airborne. Examples
might include: ladybird, spider – carnivore; garden snail – herbivore; squirrel, badger, fox, robin, mallard duck, rat & ant –
omnivore; deer – herbivore; eagle – carnivore; bear, monkey – omnivore; lion, wolf, penguin, salmon, whale, frog, newt –
carnivore; giraffe, elephant, rhinoceros, camel – herbivore; sheep, cow, goat, goose – herbivores; pig, chicken – omnivore.
Group activities:
Adult-led activity:
Place two hoops overlapping on classroom floor. Label one Meat and the other Plants (session resources). Explain that the
children are going to sort animals (session resources) into the correct hoop depending on what they eat. Discuss why the hoops
are overlapping – some animals eat both meat & plants (add final label Meat and Plants). When finished ask children to label
the areas within the hoops with cards: carnivore, herbivore & omnivore (session resources). You may wish to use the term Venn
diagram.
Independent activity:
Visit http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/content/animals/kidscorner/games/animaldietgame.htm to play the Animal Diet
game. Children choose whether each animal that appears is a carnivore, herbivore or omnivore by clicking on the correct label.
Independent activity:
Write a short explanation of a carnivore, herbivore and omnivore & draw an animal for each that has that diet (children can use
session resource).
Independent activity:
Visit http://www.abpischools.org.uk/activescience/module1/group4.html and answer questions about the diets of animals. The
questions can be heard as well as seen & the answers are shown as words and pictures. The answer details are also spoken.
Plenary:
Ask for volunteers to explain what is meant by carnivore, herbivore or omnivore & to share the picture they drew of an animal
example. Discuss how to spell the three words: they all end with –ivore and the first parts can be sounded out phonetically.
I can:
1. Define the words carnivore, herbivore and omnivore.
2. Sort pets and other animals into groups based on their diet.
© Original plan copyright Hamilton Trust, who give permission for it to be adapted as wished by individual users
We refer you to our warning, at the top of the You Will Need document, about links to other websites