Year 3 Animals, including humans

Knowledge and Understanding

Statutory Requirements

3b1: identify that animals, including humans, need the right types and amount of nutrition, and that they cannot make their own food; they get nutrition from what they eat

3b2: identify that humans and some other animals have skeletons and muscles for support, protection and movement.

Knowledge and Understanding

Notes and Guidance

Pupils should continue to learn about the importance of nutrition and should be introduced to the main body parts associated with the skeleton and muscles, finding out how different parts of the body have special functions.

Pupils might work scientifically by: identifying and grouping animals with and without skeletons and observing and comparing their movement; exploring ideas about what would happen if humans did not have skeletons. They might compare and contrast the diets of different animals (including their pets) and decide ways of grouping them according to what they eat. They might research different food groups and how they keep us healthy and design meals based on what they find out.

Lower KS2 - Working Scientifically

Statutory Requirements

lks2w1: asking relevant questions and using different types of scientific enquiries to answer them

lks2w2: setting up simple practical enquiries, comparative and fair tests

lks2w3: making systematic and careful observations and, where appropriate, taking accurate measurements using standard units, using a range of equipment, including thermometers and data loggers

lks2w4: gathering, recording, classifying and presenting data in a variety of ways to help in answering questions

lks2w5: recording findings using simple scientific language, drawings, labelled diagrams, keys, bar charts, and tables

lks2w6: reporting on findings from enquiries, including oral and written explanations, displays or presentations of results and conclusions

lks2w7: using results to draw simple conclusions, make predictions for new values, suggest improvements and raise further questions

lks2w8: identifying differences, similarities or changes related to simple scientific ideas and processes

lks2w9: using straightforward scientific evidence to answer questions or to support their findings.

Lower KS2 - Working Scientifically

Notes and Guidance

Pupils in years 3 and 4 should be given a range of scientific experiences to enable them to raise their own questions about the world around them. They should start to make their own decisions about the most appropriate type of scientific enquiry they might use to answer questions; recognise when a simple fair test is necessary and help to decide how to set it up; talk about criteria for grouping, sorting and classifying; and use simple keys. They should begin to look for naturally occurring patterns and relationships and decide what data to collect to identify them. They should help to make decisions about what observations to make, how long to make them for and the type of simple equipment that might be used.

They should learn how to use new equipment, such as data loggers, appropriately. They should collect data from their own observations and measurements, using notes, simple tables and standard units, and help to make decisions about how to record and analyse this data. With help, pupils should look for changes, patterns, similarities and differences in their data in order to draw simple conclusions and answer questions. With support, they should identify new questions arising from the data, making predictions for new values within or beyond the data they have collected and finding ways of improving what they have already done. They should also recognise when and how secondary sources might help them to answer questions that cannot be answered through practical investigations. Pupils should use relevant scientific language to discuss their ideas and communicate their findings in ways that are appropriate for different audiences.

These opportunities for working scientifically should be provided across years 3 and 4 so that the expectations in the programme of study can be met by the end of year 4. Pupils are not expected to cover each aspect for every area of study.

Food groups Worksheet Free!

Outstanding Science Year 3 | Animals, including humans | OS3B001

Learning objective

I can explain how many portions of food from different food groups we should eat in a day.

Children learn about the 5 food groups - bread, cereals and potatoes (carbohydrates), meat and fish, fruit and vegetables, milk and dairy, and fats and sugars. They identify some food which belong to each of these groups. They create a pictogram showing how many portions of each food group they should eat in per day. They can cut and paste the pictogram symbols provided, or draw their own.

3b1: identify that animals, including humans, need the right types and amount of nutrition, and that they cannot make their own food; they get nutrition from what they eat

Animals need to eat food in order to survive.

Humans need to eat different types of food.

Carbohydrates give us energy over time.

Fruits and vegetables contain vitamins and minerals.

Meat and fish contain protein.

Milk and dairy contain calcium.

Fats and sugars should be eaten in limited amounts.

Year 3 Animals, including humans | Outstanding Science

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Animals and their food Worksheet

Outstanding Science Year 3 | Animals, including humans | OS3B002

Learning objective

I can match animals to their food.

Children learn that animals can be classified as herbivores, carnivores or ominvores based on their diet. They cut out images of animals, paste them into the correct group, and identify a possible food source for each animal.

3b1: identify that animals, including humans, need the right types and amount of nutrition, and that they cannot make their own food; they get nutrition from what they eat

Plants are producers and make their own food.

Animals are consumers and eat other organisms.

A diet is what an animal eats.

Some animals are herbivores and eat only plants.

Some animals are carnivores and eat only meat.

Some animals are omnivores and eat both plants and animals.

The arrow on a food chain means 'is eaten by'.

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Food chains Worksheet

Outstanding Science Year 3 | Animals, including humans | OS3B003

Learning objective

I can create a food chain and explain what it shows.

Children learn that all living things ultimately get their energy from the Sun, either directly as a producer (plant) or indirectly as a consumer (animal). They cut and paste three simple food chains using the images provided. There is a blank food chain template on the third page so that children can create their own.

3b1: identify that animals, including humans, need the right types and amount of nutrition, and that they cannot make their own food; they get nutrition from what they eat

Plants are producers because they make their own food from the energy in sunlight via photosynthesis.

Animals are consumers and need to eat other organisms.

An ecosystem is a system of organisms that depend on each other for survival.

A food chain shows the movement of energy through an ecosystem.

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Food webs Worksheet

Outstanding Science Year 3 | Animals, including humans | OS3B004

Learning objective

I can create a food web and explain what it shows.

Building on their understanding of simple food chains, children use the images and template provided to create a complex food web containing 7 organisms. They learn that the arrows on food chain and food web diagrams indicate the energy flow through an ecosystem.

3b1: identify that animals, including humans, need the right types and amount of nutrition, and that they cannot make their own food; they get nutrition from what they eat

A food web shows how food energy moves through an ecosystem in a nonlinear fashion.

The arrows on a food chain mean 'is eaten by', not 'eats'.

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The human skeleton Worksheet

Outstanding Science Year 3 | Animals, including humans | OS3B005

Learning objective

I can explain the functions of the human skeleton and identify its main bones.

Children learn about the three main functions of the human endoskeleton - to protect, to support, and to allow movement. They learn the names and locations of major bones, including the skull, jaw, humerus, radius, ulna, spine, pelvis, femur, tibia and fibula. Children cut out and assemble a 12-part human skeleton, labelling the main bones.

3b2: identify that humans and some other animals have skeletons and muscles for support, protection and movement.

Humans have an internal skeleton, or endoskeleton.

The three functions of the human skeleton are to support, protect, and allow movement.

Some of the main bones or bone groups in the human skeleton include the skull, jaw, spine, rib cage, pelvis, humerus, radius, ulna, femur, tibia, and fibula.

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Muscles for moving Worksheet

Outstanding Science Year 3 | Animals, including humans | OS3B006

Learning objective

I can explain how muscles work.

Children learn that muscles always pull and never push, and because of this they often work in pairs to allow movement in both directions. Using a template and some split pins, children create their own model of the human arm, with biceps and triceps pulling the lower arm up and down accordingly.

3b2: identify that humans and some other animals have skeletons and muscles for support, protection and movement.

Bones and muscles allow movement.

Muscles are attached to bones.

Bones meet at joints.

Skeletal muscles pull - they do not push.

We move when muscles contract, causing bending at a joint.

The biceps muscle contracts to bend the forearms at the elbow joint.

The triceps muscle contracts to extend the forearm at the elbow joint.

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Animals and their skeletons Worksheet

Outstanding Science Year 3 | Animals, including humans | OS3B007

Learning objective

I can match animals to their skeletons.

Children match three different animals to their endoskeletons. They use a word bank to identify and label the major bones, such as skull ribs, tusk, pelvis and spine. They discuss the similarities and differences between the skeletons.

3b2: identify that humans and some other animals have skeletons and muscles for support, protection and movement.

Some animals, like humans, have bony endoskeletons.

The functions of the skeleton are to protect, support, and enable movement.

Animals can be identified from their skeletons.

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Types of skeleton Worksheet

Outstanding Science Year 3 | Animals, including humans | OS3B008

Learning objective

I can identify which type of skeleton an animal has.

Children learn about the different types of animal skeleton - endoskeletons (skeletons on the inside), exoskeletons (skeletons on the outside), and hydroskeletons (boneless skeletons made of muscle). They cut out 15 different pictures of animals and paste them into the correct skeletal group.

3b2: identify that humans and some other animals have skeletons and muscles for support, protection and movement.

Three functions of the skeleton are to support, protect, and allow the animals to move.

Some animals, like humans, have an internal or endoskeleton.

Some animals, like insects, have an external or exoskeleton. Some animals, like slugs, have a hydroskeleton composed of muscle that perform the same function as a bony skeleton.