Features resources

Students match photographs of bird beaks to the correct beak description and type of food it would eat.

Task: Use close observation of photos and prior knowledge, to write explanations of how the special features of animal tongues help animals survive in their habitats. Assessment focus: structure and function.

Task: choose 3 features of a mosquito and say how they help it survive. Assessment focus: adaptations for survival.

Students explain the function of the veins, waxy layer of the upper surface of the leaf, how the shape of the leaf traps light energy and why the upper surface of the leaf is a darker green than the lower surface.

Task: students answer questions about features of the fennec fox. Assessment focus: adaptations.

Task: Students decide whether six animals are insects or spiders and justify their answers. Assessment focus: Using evidence.

Task: Students give oral explanations about how the features of a wētā or a mallard duck help it survive in its environment. Peer assessment sheets are included. Assessment focus: structure and function.

Task: Describe on a chart how a duck's features help it to survive, then infer what might happen if these features were changed in some way. Assessment focus: how adaptations aid survival.

Task: identify two features that enable a sea lion to live in water. Assessment focus: adaptations.

Students answer one question about diet given the type of beak that birds have. Students are also asked about how scientists might investigate information about moa.

Task: Design a plant that meets the criteria for a particular environment. Assessment focus: identifying specific features of a plant and explaining how they help it survive in its environment.

Task: Use a diagram and fact file to answer questions about sharks' fins. Assessment focus: adaptations of sharks to facilitate movement in water.