Season of Mists - seasonal change and adaptation, KS2

Key concepts

Adaptation, environmental change, seasons, evergreen, deciduous, hibernation, migration, seed dispersal.

Learning outcomes

• Describe the environmental changes that occur during the autumn.
• List the effects environmental changes have on trees and animals.
• Explain the differences between deciduous and evergreen trees and how each is adapted to survive winter conditions.
• Name three methods of seed dispersal and why seed dispersal is important.
• Suggest three tactics employed by animals to survive winter conditions.

Activities

Autumn gather - explore and collect signs of autumn.

Winter warmth - investigate which natural materials are good insulators by building a suitable shelter to protect a heated toy badger from the cold.

Winter tactics - look for evidence of food for different woodland animals and discuss how animals cope with changes in their food supply in winter.

Leaf slides - compare evergreen and deciduous trees and explore leaf diversity.

Seed explorers - search for, gather and sort a range of seeds, considering methods of dispersal.