Bug Hunt: Are Bugs Alive?

This lesson is designed to build students’ competencies in the following skills:

• curiosity
• initiative
• global citizenship

Australian Curriculum (v9.0) content description:

Year 3 & 4, Science

Students will:

• compare characteristics of living and non-living things and examine the differences between the life cycles of plants and animals (AC9S3U01)
• explain the roles and interactions of consumers, producers and decomposers within a habitat and how food chains represent feeding relationships (AC9S4U01).

Relevant parts of Year 3 & 4 achievement standards: Students classify and compare living and non-living things and different life cycles. They identify the roles of organisms in a habitat and construct food chains.

General capabilities: Personal and Social Capability 

Cross-curriculum priority: Sustainability 

Level of teacher scaffolding: Medium - facilitate class discussion and supervise students outside of the classroom.

UN SDG 15: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss

• Target: 15.8: By 2020, introduce measures to prevent the introduction and significantly reduce the impact of invasive alien species on land and water ecosystems and control or eradicate the priority species.

• Device capable of displaying audiovisual material
• Student devices
• Student Worksheet
• Visual explainer - Bug Hunt
• Whiteboard

The Invasive Species Council is Australia’s leading advocate for protecting native wildlife and ecosystems from invasive plants, animals, and pathogens. They work to raise awareness, influence policy, and engage communities in practical solutions to prevent and manage invasive species. Invertebrates Australia champions the conservation and appreciation of Australia’s native invertebrates. They provide research, education, and community programs that highlight the vital role these species play in healthy ecosystems and biodiversity.

What Makes a Species ‘Threatened’? Teaching Biodiversity and Species Protection

Quick summary: Learn about biodiversity and threatened species with Ecologist Thomas Nixon. You will learn what biodiversity is and how it is regulated in Australia, and you will look at some specific case studies that show what is being done across the country to protect our unique biodiversity.