Teaching Sequence

10 minutes – Part A: Activating Prior Knowledge
15 minutes – Part B: Farm Animals
30 minutes – Part C: Design Your Dream Farm
5 minutes – Reflection

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

Part A: Activating Prior Knowledge

Step 1.

Give each student a piece of paper and a pencil/pen. Begin by inviting students to work independently to think of an animal that they know or like. Students should spend one minute drawing this animal.

Next, invite students to add in (writing or drawing) what this animal eats.

Then students should add in (writing or drawing) what this animal drinks.

Finally, invite students to add in (writing or drawing) where this animal lives, and in particular, what shelter it needs (e.g. a rock to hide under, a tree hollow, a shady tree).

Step 2.

Once complete, invite students to share their drawings with the class, and talk to students about the different types of food, drink and shelter these animals need to survive. Explain to students that all animals need food, water and shelter and that different animals live in different places where they can get all the things their species need to survive. Wild animals need to find these things themselves and so need to make sure the area they live in can provide all these things. However, domesticated animals (like pets or farm animals) rely on humans to provide all these things.

Part B: Farm Animals

Step 1.

Begin by explaining to students that in this lesson they will be thinking about what the animals that live on farms need to survive, and how the farmer can provide these things.

The students will first need to think about what different types of animals they might find on a farm. You could invite them to answer the following question, recording answers in the spaces provided on the Farm Animal Recording Sheet:

What are some of the different types of animals you might find on a farm?

Alternatively, share the following clip of the Show and as they watch, invite students to write down the animals they see in the clip (watch from the start, stopping at 0:40).

Unforgettable Moments - Royal Melbourne Show 2017 (https://youtu.be/kSPtjMVtY2Y)

Once complete, work with students to write down all the animals in the spaces provided on the Farm Animal Recording Sheet. Animals will include:

Horses
Cows
Sheep
Goats
Dogs

Now invite students to suggest some other animals not featured in this clip that you might find on a farm. Ensure your animals include the following and add these to your sheet:

Cats
Pigs
Alpacas
Donkeys
Ducks
Chickens
Geese
Turkeys
Snails
Worms
Native birds
Native animals
Amphibians
Insects

Step 2.

Once complete, cut out all the animal names. Invite students to form a discussion circle and place the animal names on the floor in the centre of the circle. Work with students to group the animals into different categories. You could try to categorise them in different ways, such as:

What they eat
The products they provide humans (e.g. milk, meat, fibre, feathers)
Whether or not they can fly
What type of shelter they need (e.g. trees for shade or a shed to keep them safe from foxes)
Whether they are birds, mammals, snails (molluscs) or worms (annelids)
Whether they have fur or feathers
Whether or not they make good pets
Whether or not you can find them in the wild

Through your discussion lead students to the idea that there are lots of different animals who all need food, water and shelter to survive. While all animals need water, different animals need different types of food and different types of shelter, and both wild animals and domesticated animals (like those you find on a farm) need these elements to survive. While wild animals need to find these themselves, domesticated animals rely on the farmer to provide these things and to look after them.

Part C: Design Your Dream Farm

Step 1.

Explain to students that they now need to imagine that they are a farmer and they are designing their dream farm. They will need to create a map of their dream farm that shows how their farm would look and how all the animals that live on the farm would have access to the things they need to survive, such as food, water and shelter.

Depending on age and ability, students can work individually or collaboratively in small teams (one to three students). Mixed ability groups work well in this activity.

The following parameters should be used to help guide the design of the farm (these can also be used as assessment):

Cows – Cows need to live in large fields and have access to water and some shade to keep cool
Goats – Goats need a medium sized field and also need to have access to water and some shade
Chickens – Chickens can live in a small area, but will need a chook house to live in at night
One other animal of your choosing – You will need to research what this animal needs to survive, such as what shelter they need and whether they need a large water source (like a dam)
The farm should also have a house for the farmer and good fencing to keep the animals in.

Students should annotate their map to show the main features of the farm and where different animals will live.

If students need further guidance, you can show the Dream Farm Example to them.

Extend: You could also invite students to create areas in their farm where native birds and animals can live.

Step 2.

Allow students time to create their dream farms.

Step 3.

Work with students to create a gallery walk of dream farms. Use a gallery walk format to provide peer feedback on student work. Display the students' work around the classroom and place a piece of blank paper next to each work for writing feedback. Invite groups to rotate around the room and provide feedback to the creators of the work. As groups view the works, they are required to record one thing they like about the work displayed. One thing they wonder about it, and one thing to improve the work or where to go next. Consider doing this before work is submitted to the teacher so that students can incorporate any feedback to improve their work.

Reflection

Invite students to work independently to answer the following questions (questions also available on the Student Worksheet):

What was most interesting or surprising for you in this lesson?
What things did you learn in this lesson that were connected to what you already knew?
What things that you looked at in this lesson extended your thinking?

Take It To The Show

Invite students to visit the Show and take a photo of or with their favourite animal. Alternatively, invite students to take photos of three different types of the same animal (e.g. different breeds, colours or sizes). Create a display of photos in the classroom and use these to initiate further discussion around animal categories and different animal species.

Teacher Reflection

Take this opportunity to reflect on your own teaching:

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

The Show - Exploring Farm Animals

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