Science Lesson Kit · Teacher Resource
Animal Body Parts & Functions — 5E Lesson Plan
Life Science · 35 minutes
Grade 1
5E lesson flow
01
Engage
5 min
Teacher Does
Show a bird, turtle, and rabbit image. Reveal one outside body part at a time.
Students Do
Point, name, and say what each part might help the animal do.
Ask
- What do you notice?
- What might this part help with?
Look For
Part-to-job ideas based on what students can see.
02
Explore
10 min
Teacher Does
Give each pair child-safe tongs, a paper cup, and a pom-pom. Ask them to try two jobs: pick up the pom-pom and cover the pom-pom.
Students Do
Try both objects for both jobs, then show which object worked best for each job.
Ask
- What worked for picking up?
- What worked for covering?
- What did you see happen?
Look For
Tongs close around and hold; the cup covers the object.
03
Explain
7 min
Teacher Does
Connect the test to animal parts. Introduce body part, protect, grasp, and copy with gestures and pictures.
Students Do
Say short evidence frames such as 'The tongs held it' and connect shell → protect, claws → grasp.
Ask
- Part?
- Job?
- What is your evidence?
Look For
Short structure-function statements supported by the simple test.
04
Elaborate
8 min
Teacher Does
Show a teacher example that copies a different job: a hard shell protects, so a cover can protect an object. Then show the unsolved narrow-gap toy problem.
Students Do
Choose an animal-part job that could help and draw their own solution without seeing a finished tool.
Ask
- Which job could help?
- What must your design do?
- Which animal idea are you using?
Look For
The design uses a useful function, not just an animal shape or color.
05
Evaluate
5 min
Teacher Does
Show one final animal-part picture.
Students Do
Point to the part, name its job, and give one picture clue or test result as evidence.
Ask
- What job does it do?
- What is your evidence?
Look For
One clear part → job → evidence statement.
Student goal
I can name an animal body part, tell its job, and use its job as an idea for a design.
Learning objectives
- Identify several external animal body parts and explain how each can help the animal meet a need.
- Use a simple observation or test as evidence that shape can help with a job.
- Use an animal body-part function as inspiration for a simple human design problem.
Materials
- Clear animal picture cards
- Child-safe tongs
- Paper cup
- Pom-pom or cotton ball
- Paper
- Crayons or markers
Before class
- Choose clear pictures where one external part is easy to see.
- Set out one child-safe pair of tongs, one paper cup, and one pom-pom for each pair or small group.
- Keep the final narrow-gap design solution hidden until students invent their own ideas.
- Open Teach Mode and Read Aloud.
Prior knowledge
- Animals are living things.
- Animals have visible body parts.
Vocabulary
- body part
- One piece of an animal's body that can help it do a job.
- protect
- To help keep something safe from harm.
- grasp
- To hold or pick up something.
- copy
- To use a helpful idea again in a new design.
Differentiation
- Allow pointing, sorting, acting out, and oral responses before writing.
- Read every prompt aloud and show only a few choices at one time.
- Use the frame: 'The ___ helps ___. I know because ___.'.
- For extension, compare two different parts that can help with the same kind of job.
Assessment
- Listen for accurate part-to-job statements.
- Check the simple test evidence: tongs held; cup covered.
- Check whether the final design solves the problem by using a useful animal-part function.
Exit ticket
Point to one animal part and finish: A ___ helps ___. I know because ___.
Extension
Find another classroom object that may copy a useful shape or function from nature.