Science resources

Students give reasons for and against saving endangered animals or plants.

Students are asked to provide reasons for and against having zoos.

Task: Read information and compare the special features that influence the chances of survival of black robins and fantails. Assessment focus: interpreting text to identify risk factors for survival.

Task: Match vocabulary and definitions, and select why these terms are useful to know when thinking about butterflies at risk. Assessment focus: understanding science texts.

Task: Make observations from a photograph, identify potential environmental problems giving reasons, decide which problem is the most important, and give reasons for the choice. Assessment focus: (1) observation, and (2) identifying and prioritising cause and effect relationships.

Task: Make observations from a photograph, identify potential environmental problems giving reasons, decide which problem is the most important, and give reasons for the choice. Assessment focus: (1) observation, and (2) identifying and prioritising cause and effect relationships.

Task: Make observations from a photograph, identify potential environmental problems giving reasons, decide which problem is the most important, and give reasons for the choice. Assessment focus: (1) observation, and (2) identifying and prioritising cause and effect relationships.

Task: Make observations from a photograph, identify potential problems giving reasons, decide which problem is the most important and give reasons for the choice. Assessment focus: observing, identifying risk.

Task: Make observations from a photograph, identify potential environmental problems giving reasons, decide which problem is the most important, and give reasons for the choice. Assessment focus: (1) observation, and (2) identifying and prioritising cause and effect relationships.

Task: Make observations from a photograph, identify potential environmental problems giving reasons, decide which problem is the most important, and give reasons for the choice. Assessment focus: (1) observation, and (2) identifying and prioritising cause and effect relationships.

In this activity students progressively build up evidence for and against a new idea in pest control: using bumblebees to transmit a fungicide. Students practise argumentation skills and reflect on how they formulate opinions on environmental issues.

Students look closely at a photograph taken on the beach and record their observations. They think and write about the consequences of the things they see.

Students combine their observations with some information provided to complete a story about what might have happened in the photograph.

Task: Students read a short written text to explain how the special features of wild ginger help it survive. Assessment focus: explanation of wild ginger's special features and why it is a pest plant.

Task: Discuss opinions, presented as a concept cartoon, about why a toy car rolled down a slope eventually stops and develop group explanation. Assessment focus: explanations

Students are provided with four illustrations of situations where using electricity could be dangerous. Students are asked to explain why each situation is dangerous.

Task: Look for the similarities and differences in leaf patterns to answer questions about observations and evidence.

Task: Students use observation and a key to identify native plants. Assessment focus: Using a classification key.

Task: Match insects to their adaptations for protection against enemies, and infer two ways stick insects are adapted for their protection against predators. Assessment focus: using observations to make suggestions about survival methods.

Diagrams of four different vertebrate tails are illustrated. Students are required to name an animal that has each type of tail, and then explain how the animal uses this type of tail.

Four different vertebrate animals are illustrated. For each animal the student needs to name the body part used by each animal to move, and then explain how this part makes the animal move.

Task: sort pictures into specified groups and identify features that are common to each group. Assessment focus: classification of insects/non-insects.

Select from multiple choice options. Assessment focus: classification features of insects and mammals.

Students are provided with a picture of a New Zealand native bird. Students select a word from a given list to name each of these bird parts. Students are then required to explain why the bird needs each of these named parts.

Task: compare features of sea mammals and fish, and describe two features of mammals. Assessment focus: classification of fish and mammals.