Teaching Sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

15 minutes	Part B: What Are Invertebrates?
30 minutes	Part C: Invent Your Own Invertebrate
5 minutes	Reflection

Part A: Being Descriptive

Step 1.

Begin this lesson by displaying the following image (or creating your own on the board):

Invite students to suggest what this is an image of (hopefully students suggest ‘apple’!).

Then prompt students to think about whether this picture tells us everything we need to know about the apple. Pose the question:

What words or sentences would you also use to describe an apple?

Record student ideas on the board. For example:

Red
Green
Hard
Smooth
Sweet
Sour
Round

Through this process, explain to students that we use descriptive words to tell people what something is like, to describe something. This can include how it looks, how it smells, how it tastes, the sounds it makes, what it feels like, how it moves and how it behaves (what it does).

Year 2 Differentiation: Explain to students that the descriptive words we use to describe nouns/naming words are called adjectives.

Part B: What Are Invertebrates?

Step 1.

Invite students to suggest what they think invertebrates are. You can use the following definitions to provide clarification:

Vertebrates: Humans have a backbone and a skeleton on the inside - you can feel your bones through your skin. A skeleton is useful because it helps our body stay the right shape.
Invertebrates: Invertebrates are animals that don’t have a backbone or a bony skeleton. Some invertebrates are soft and squishy, such as jellyfish or octopus. Some have a shell to give their soft bodies some protection. Others have a skeleton on the outsides of their bodies; this is called an exoskeleton. This helps to protect their soft, squishy insides, a bit like armour. But unlike armour, they can’t just get the next size up when they grow; instead, they have to shed the old exoskeleton and grow a new one.

Step 2.

Share the Invertebrate Flashcards to explore some of the common types of invertebrates you might find in the schoolyard or garden at home.

Step 3.

Select one invertebrate image from the flashcards to focus on. Work together as a class to suggest descriptive words (adjectives) to help describe the animal you are looking at. If students are stuck, you could prompt them with the following questions:

What shape is the body? Long and thin, short and fat, round, skinny, straight etc.
What shape is the head? Pointy, round, small, huge etc.
How many legs does it have and what do they look like? Spindly, brittle, chunky etc.
Does it have wings? What do they look like? Clear, fragile etc.
What colour is it? Shiny green, stripy gold and black, light brown etc.
What special features does it have? Lines/segments on the body, big black eyes, tiny antenna etc.

Keep a vocabulary list on the board.

Step 4. (Optional)

If time permits you could take students outside to observe the movements of some invertebrates in the schoolyard. Spend some time observing the invertebrates and working together to think about how these movements could be described. You could even try to mimic the movements to give yourself more of an idea of how these movements could be described.

Part C: Invent Your Own Invertebrate

Step 1.

Share the following adjective lists with students.

Differentiation:

Foundation - Invertebrate Adjectives - To Cut Out
Year 1 - Invertebrate Adjectives - To Cut Out or Invertebrate Adjectives (depending on ability)
Year 2 - Invertebrate Adjectives

Note: Depending on student age and ability you could distribute the lists to students or select words to share with students. This list doesn’t include colours.

Spend a few minutes discussing the words on the list and working with students to clarify any words that are unfamiliar.

Step 2.

Now explain to students that they will be inventing a new invertebrate. They will be doing this by using some of the words on the adjective list to inspire them.

Differentiation:

Foundation: Cut up the Invertebrate Adjectives - To Cut Out and give each student around three words.
Year 1: Cut up the Invertebrate Adjectives - To Cut Out and give each student between three and five words (adjust the number of words according to ability - students requiring support could work in pairs).
Year 2: Distribute the Invertebrate Adjectives to small groups of students. Ensure each student in each group is using a different coloured pencil, and invite students to circle the words they want to use, selecting between five and eight words. They can then write these words in their workbooks.

Students can create a rough drawing of their new invertebrate based on their words.

The invertebrate should have:

Head
Body
Legs

Other features the invertebrate could have include:

Wings
Antennae
Mouthparts
Thorax
Tail
Sting

Step 2.

Once students have created their rough drawing, invite them to create a 3D model of their invented invertebrate using modelling clay, playdough or other art materials. Students should add labels of adjectives they used to show where these words have been used in their invertebrate.

Extend: Students could also add information about what their invertebrate might eat and where it might live - you could refer to the final pages of the Invertebrate Flashcards for ideas.

Step 3.

Finally, share student work through a gallery walk:

A gallery walk enables students to provide feedback on their peers' work. Display students' work around the classroom and place a piece of blank paper next to each work to collect votes on. Invite students to move around the room viewing each others' work, then vote for their three favourite invertebrates.

As an extension,, students could also record one thing they like about the invetebrates displayed, one thing the wonder, and one thing that may improve the work.

Reflection

Invite students to participate in a class discussion around the following questions:

How do adjectives/descriptive words help us to understand the way things look and behave?
What is one thing you learned about invertebrates from this lesson?

Teacher Reflection

Take this opportunity to reflect on your own teaching:

What did you learn about your teaching practice today?
What worked well?
What didn't work so well?
What would you share?
Where to next?
How are you going to get there?

Inventing Invertebrates - English and Science

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