ABSTRACT
Adaptation is a big scientific idea which helps children make sense of the diversity of wildlife which they experience in the school garden, the local park and other outdoor learning areas. Also, it is an idea which can help children understand why the destruction of green spaces can have devastating consequences for wildlife. The chapter contains three topics, designed to help teachers guide the way children work towards understanding the big idea. The journey begins in key stage 1, when children examine how micro-habitats in the school grounds provide for the basic needs of invertebrates that live there. In lower key stage 2, children focus their attention on the behaviour of different types of birds and how they are adapted to their habitats. Looking at the bigger picture, children discover how living things are found in certain environments because they have features that enable them to survive there. In upper key stage 2, children build on their understanding of adaptation to explore how living things which are better adapted to their environment are most likely to survive, while those not able to respond sufficiently to changes in their environment may become extinct. Subject knowledge to support the teaching of the big idea is presented at the beginning of the chapter.
