Teaching Evolution and Inheritance in year 6

Are you looking for some help and ideas for teaching animal adaptations in year 6? Here is how to use our downloadable teaching resources in your unit of work on evolution and inheritance.

When planning a unit of work on evolution and inheritance it can be quite difficult to think of relevant practical investigations for your pupils to do. This unit involves a lot of research, looking at how animals and plants have changed over time. It is important to first revisit their understanding of fossils from year 3 and then build on that knowledge. Take a look at how characteristics are inherited, starting with themselves and their family; how do they look similar? You can then start to look simply at genes. Our resources include a great game where pupils look at how genes are passed on to puppies.

Dog breeder lesson pack

Teaching adaptations should come towards the end of the unit. In our lesson pack, pupils will plan a simple investigation around animal paws and how they can access food to survive. They will carry out a simple investigation and record their results. They will then draw on their knowledge about habitats and animal survival to decide if the species would evolve or eventually become extinct.

Animal adaptations lesson pack

Getting children to do some research and read trustworthy sources of information is important. We have created a lesson pack from our ‘Prehistoric Monsters Of The Deep’ issue, which contains several texts for them to use to locate information. Pupils will look for similarities and differences between megalodons and sharks that are alive today.

More science reading links…

There are four reading resources for year 6 that link to the topic and will spark your pupils’ curiosity.

Whizz Pop Bang magazine and teaching resources are brilliant ways to enhance your school’s science teaching:

  • We provide downloadable science lesson plans, PowerPoint presentations, hands-on investigations and science reading comprehensions written by primary school teachers.
  • Whizz Pop Bang teaching resources link to the National Curriculum, ensuring correct coverage.
  • All of our resources are year group specific, ensuring progression between the years.
  • We make cross-curricular links to other subjects, such as English, Maths, History, Geography, Art, Design and Technology and PSHE.

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