Matter Cycling in Ecosystems
CONCEPTUALDevelop a model to describe the movement of matter among plants, animals, decomposers, and the environment in an ecosystem
Mastery Evidence
- Describe the role of decomposers (fungi, bacteria, worms) in breaking down dead matter
- Trace the movement of matter: plant grows using soil nutrients → animal eats plant → animal dies → decomposers return nutrients to soil
- Create or interpret a simple diagram showing matter cycling through an ecosystem
Assessment Prompt
“Can [child] explain what happens to a fallen leaf on the forest floor — how tiny organisms break it down and the nutrients go back into the soil to help new plants grow?”
Curriculum Standards1 alignment
5-LS2-1Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) K-5codes onlyPrerequisites5
- Ecology VocabularyhardAges 8—10
- BiodiversitysoftAges 9—11
- Food Chains & Energy TransferhardAges 8—9
- Energy from Food & the SunsoftAges 10—11
- Ocean EcosystemssoftAges 9—11
Show full prerequisite tree
- Ecology Vocabulary hard
Modelling movement of matter through ecosystems requires nutrient cycle and decomposer vocabulary
- Seasons & Weather Patterns soft
Climate as long-term patterns benefits from knowing seasonal patterns
- Days, Weeks, Months & Years soft
Observing and describing seasonal changes requires basic date and time vocabulary (months, seasons, year)
- Ordering Events in Time hard
Understanding days/months/years builds on sequencing events chronologically
- Geography & Local Weather hard
Climate concept requires knowing that different places have different typical weather
- Days, Weeks, Months & Years soft
Observing and describing seasonal changes requires basic date and time vocabulary (months, seasons, year)
- Ordering Events in Time hard
Understanding days/months/years builds on sequencing events chronologically
- Where water is found on Earth soft
Five oceans builds on curriculum concept of where water is found on Earth
- Shapes of land and water hard
Must know land and water features before learning where water is found on Earth
- Days, Weeks, Months & Years soft
Observing and describing seasonal changes requires basic date and time vocabulary (months, seasons, year)
- Ordering Events in Time hard
Understanding days/months/years builds on sequencing events chronologically
- Heating & Cooling Changes soft
Understanding state changes supports knowing water as solid (ice) and liquid
- States of Matter Vocabulary hard
Describing and measuring changes of state requires solid/liquid/gas vocabulary and the term 'change of state'
- Drawing Particle Diagrams hard
Observing and describing change of state requires reading particle diagrams showing how arrangement changes on heating or cooling
- Weather vs Climate soft
Ocean-climate connection benefits from understanding weather vs climate distinction
- Seasons & Weather Patterns soft
Climate as long-term patterns benefits from knowing seasonal patterns
- Days, Weeks, Months & Years soft
Observing and describing seasonal changes requires basic date and time vocabulary (months, seasons, year)
- Ordering Events in Time hard
Understanding days/months/years builds on sequencing events chronologically
- Geography & Local Weather hard
Climate concept requires knowing that different places have different typical weather
- Days, Weeks, Months & Years soft
Observing and describing seasonal changes requires basic date and time vocabulary (months, seasons, year)
- Ordering Events in Time hard
Understanding days/months/years builds on sequencing events chronologically
- Tides, Waves & Currents hard
Ocean-climate connection builds on knowing about currents and evaporation
- Whales & Dolphins Are Mammals hard
Classifying marine mammals vs fish builds on whale/dolphin are mammals concept
- Ocean Animal Variety soft
Food chains benefit from knowing the variety of animals that eat each other
- Ocean Animal Variety hard
Understanding zones requires knowing ocean has diverse life at different depths
- Changing Environments soft
Ocean ecosystems concept enriched by curriculum concept that environments change
- Habitats & Basic Needs hard
Must understand how habitats support organisms before understanding what happens when they change
- Where Are the Poles? soft
Polar regions enrich the curriculum habitats topic (exploratory age 5 -> curriculum age 6)
- Habitat Vocabulary hard
Describing how habitats provide for basic needs requires habitat, environment, conditions, shelter vocabulary
- What Is a Rainforest? soft
Rainforest habitat knowledge enriches the curriculum habitats topic (exploratory age 5 -> curriculum age 6)
- What Living Things Need hard
Must know basic needs of organisms before understanding how habitats provide for those needs
- Living Things Vocabulary soft
Describing what plants and animals need to survive uses life processes vocabulary: nutrition, growth, sensitivity
- Living, Dead & Never Alive hard
Must distinguish living from non-living before understanding habitats that support living things
- Living Things Vocabulary hard
Comparing living, dead, and never-been-alive things requires the life processes vocabulary to give reasons
- Common minibeasts: naming and recognising hard
Must recognise common minibeasts before exploring where each type lives
- Simple Food Chains soft
Food chain knowledge helps understand knock-on effects of environmental change
- Herbivores, Carnivores & Omnivores hard
Must know carnivore/herbivore/omnivore to understand food chains
- Habitats & Basic Needs hard
Must know about habitats and interdependence before learning food chains
- Where Are the Poles? soft
Polar regions enrich the curriculum habitats topic (exploratory age 5 -> curriculum age 6)
- Habitat Vocabulary hard
Describing how habitats provide for basic needs requires habitat, environment, conditions, shelter vocabulary
- What Is a Rainforest? soft
Rainforest habitat knowledge enriches the curriculum habitats topic (exploratory age 5 -> curriculum age 6)
- What Living Things Need hard
Must know basic needs of organisms before understanding how habitats provide for those needs
- Living Things Vocabulary soft
Describing what plants and animals need to survive uses life processes vocabulary: nutrition, growth, sensitivity
- Living, Dead & Never Alive hard
Must distinguish living from non-living before understanding habitats that support living things
- Living Things Vocabulary hard
Comparing living, dead, and never-been-alive things requires the life processes vocabulary to give reasons
- Common minibeasts: naming and recognising hard
Must recognise common minibeasts before exploring where each type lives
- Ocean Animal Variety soft
Food chains benefit from knowing the variety of animals that eat each other
- Minibeasts in the food chain soft
Garden minibeast food chains provide concrete examples for curriculum simple-food-chains
- Common minibeasts: naming and recognising hard
Must know common minibeasts before placing them in food chains
- Rainforest Animals soft
Rainforest animals provide rich examples for simple food chains (exploratory age 5 -> curriculum age 6)
- Habitat Vocabulary soft
Discussing how environments change and pose dangers uses habitat and conditions vocabulary
- Seasons & Weather Patterns soft
Climate as long-term patterns benefits from knowing seasonal patterns
- Days, Weeks, Months & Years soft
Observing and describing seasonal changes requires basic date and time vocabulary (months, seasons, year)
- Ordering Events in Time hard
Understanding days/months/years builds on sequencing events chronologically
- Geography & Local Weather hard
Climate concept requires knowing that different places have different typical weather
- Days, Weeks, Months & Years soft
Observing and describing seasonal changes requires basic date and time vocabulary (months, seasons, year)
- Ordering Events in Time hard
Understanding days/months/years builds on sequencing events chronologically
- Geography & Local Weather hard
Climate zones formalize the concept of different weather around the world
- Days, Weeks, Months & Years soft
Observing and describing seasonal changes requires basic date and time vocabulary (months, seasons, year)
- Ordering Events in Time hard
Understanding days/months/years builds on sequencing events chronologically
- Seasons & Weather Patterns soft
Climate as long-term patterns benefits from knowing seasonal patterns
- Days, Weeks, Months & Years soft
Observing and describing seasonal changes requires basic date and time vocabulary (months, seasons, year)
- Ordering Events in Time hard
Understanding days/months/years builds on sequencing events chronologically
- Geography & Local Weather hard
Climate concept requires knowing that different places have different typical weather
- Days, Weeks, Months & Years soft
Observing and describing seasonal changes requires basic date and time vocabulary (months, seasons, year)
- Ordering Events in Time hard
Understanding days/months/years builds on sequencing events chronologically
- Shapes of land and water hard
Must know land and water features before learning where water is found on Earth
- Days, Weeks, Months & Years soft
Observing and describing seasonal changes requires basic date and time vocabulary (months, seasons, year)
- Ordering Events in Time hard
Understanding days/months/years builds on sequencing events chronologically
- Heating & Cooling Changes soft
Understanding state changes supports knowing water as solid (ice) and liquid
- States of Matter Vocabulary hard
Describing and measuring changes of state requires solid/liquid/gas vocabulary and the term 'change of state'
- Drawing Particle Diagrams hard
Observing and describing change of state requires reading particle diagrams showing how arrangement changes on heating or cooling
- Heating & Cooling Changes soft
Water cycle benefits from curriculum states of matter (heating/cooling changes state)
- States of Matter Vocabulary hard
Describing and measuring changes of state requires solid/liquid/gas vocabulary and the term 'change of state'
- Drawing Particle Diagrams hard
Observing and describing change of state requires reading particle diagrams showing how arrangement changes on heating or cooling
- Temperature & Thermometers soft
Water cycle evaporation relates to temperature (heat drives evaporation)
- Sunlight warms things up soft
Sun drives weather builds on curriculum sunlight warms Earth's surface
- Days, Weeks, Months & Years soft
Observing and describing seasonal changes requires basic date and time vocabulary (months, seasons, year)
- Ordering Events in Time hard
Understanding days/months/years builds on sequencing events chronologically
- What Causes Wind hard
Sun-driven weather systems extend the basic wind-cause concept to global scale
- Changing Environments soft
Environmental change knowledge supports understanding how resource use affects environment
- Habitats & Basic Needs hard
Must understand how habitats support organisms before understanding what happens when they change
- Where Are the Poles? soft
Polar regions enrich the curriculum habitats topic (exploratory age 5 -> curriculum age 6)
- Habitat Vocabulary hard
Describing how habitats provide for basic needs requires habitat, environment, conditions, shelter vocabulary
- What Is a Rainforest? soft
Rainforest habitat knowledge enriches the curriculum habitats topic (exploratory age 5 -> curriculum age 6)
- What Living Things Need hard
Must know basic needs of organisms before understanding how habitats provide for those needs
- Living Things Vocabulary soft
Describing what plants and animals need to survive uses life processes vocabulary: nutrition, growth, sensitivity
- Living, Dead & Never Alive hard
Must distinguish living from non-living before understanding habitats that support living things
- Living Things Vocabulary hard
Comparing living, dead, and never-been-alive things requires the life processes vocabulary to give reasons
- Common minibeasts: naming and recognising hard
Must recognise common minibeasts before exploring where each type lives
- Simple Food Chains soft
Food chain knowledge helps understand knock-on effects of environmental change
- Herbivores, Carnivores & Omnivores hard
Must know carnivore/herbivore/omnivore to understand food chains
- Habitats & Basic Needs hard
Must know about habitats and interdependence before learning food chains
- Where Are the Poles? soft
Polar regions enrich the curriculum habitats topic (exploratory age 5 -> curriculum age 6)
- Habitat Vocabulary hard
Describing how habitats provide for basic needs requires habitat, environment, conditions, shelter vocabulary
- What Is a Rainforest? soft
Rainforest habitat knowledge enriches the curriculum habitats topic (exploratory age 5 -> curriculum age 6)
- What Living Things Need hard
Must know basic needs of organisms before understanding how habitats provide for those needs
- Living Things Vocabulary soft
Describing what plants and animals need to survive uses life processes vocabulary: nutrition, growth, sensitivity
- Living, Dead & Never Alive hard
Must distinguish living from non-living before understanding habitats that support living things
- Living Things Vocabulary hard
Comparing living, dead, and never-been-alive things requires the life processes vocabulary to give reasons
- Common minibeasts: naming and recognising hard
Must recognise common minibeasts before exploring where each type lives
- Ocean Animal Variety soft
Food chains benefit from knowing the variety of animals that eat each other
- Minibeasts in the food chain soft
Garden minibeast food chains provide concrete examples for curriculum simple-food-chains
- Common minibeasts: naming and recognising hard
Must know common minibeasts before placing them in food chains
- Rainforest Animals soft
Rainforest animals provide rich examples for simple food chains (exploratory age 5 -> curriculum age 6)
- Habitat Vocabulary soft
Discussing how environments change and pose dangers uses habitat and conditions vocabulary
- How energy travels around hard
Must understand energy transfer before learning about natural resources as energy sources
- Light & Sound Vocabulary hard
Observing that objects need illumination to be seen requires the 'light source' vocabulary
- Naming types of energy hard
Describing energy transfer by sound, light, heat, and electric current requires energy type vocabulary
- Building a simple circuit hard
Must know circuits before understanding energy transfer by electric current
- Light & Sound Vocabulary hard
Understanding vibrating materials and sound requires 'vibration' vocabulary
- Communication with Light & Sound hard
Must understand how sound works before designing a communication device using it
- Light & Seeing in the Dark hard
Must understand how light works before designing a communication device using it
- Light & Sound Vocabulary hard
Observing that objects need illumination to be seen requires the 'light source' vocabulary
- Human impact on environments hard
Describing how energy and fuels affect the environment requires 'renewable', 'non-renewable', and 'fossil fuel' vocabulary
- Sun-Driven Weather Systems soft
Climate change understanding benefits from knowing Sun drives weather
- Seasons & Weather Patterns soft
Climate as long-term patterns benefits from knowing seasonal patterns
- Days, Weeks, Months & Years soft
Observing and describing seasonal changes requires basic date and time vocabulary (months, seasons, year)
- Ordering Events in Time hard
Understanding days/months/years builds on sequencing events chronologically
- Geography & Local Weather hard
Climate concept requires knowing that different places have different typical weather
- Days, Weeks, Months & Years soft
Observing and describing seasonal changes requires basic date and time vocabulary (months, seasons, year)
- Ordering Events in Time hard
Understanding days/months/years builds on sequencing events chronologically
- Shapes of land and water hard
Must know land and water features before learning where water is found on Earth
- Days, Weeks, Months & Years soft
Observing and describing seasonal changes requires basic date and time vocabulary (months, seasons, year)
- Ordering Events in Time hard
Understanding days/months/years builds on sequencing events chronologically
- Heating & Cooling Changes soft
Understanding state changes supports knowing water as solid (ice) and liquid
- States of Matter Vocabulary hard
Describing and measuring changes of state requires solid/liquid/gas vocabulary and the term 'change of state'
- Drawing Particle Diagrams hard
Observing and describing change of state requires reading particle diagrams showing how arrangement changes on heating or cooling
- Heating & Cooling Changes soft
Water cycle benefits from curriculum states of matter (heating/cooling changes state)
- States of Matter Vocabulary hard
Describing and measuring changes of state requires solid/liquid/gas vocabulary and the term 'change of state'
- Drawing Particle Diagrams hard
Observing and describing change of state requires reading particle diagrams showing how arrangement changes on heating or cooling
- Temperature & Thermometers soft
Water cycle evaporation relates to temperature (heat drives evaporation)
- Sunlight warms things up soft
Sun drives weather builds on curriculum sunlight warms Earth's surface
- Days, Weeks, Months & Years soft
Observing and describing seasonal changes requires basic date and time vocabulary (months, seasons, year)
- Ordering Events in Time hard
Understanding days/months/years builds on sequencing events chronologically
- What Causes Wind hard
Sun-driven weather systems extend the basic wind-cause concept to global scale
- Rainforest Layers soft
Animals of the World rainforest topic depends on understanding the four layers (exploratory age 5 -> exploratory age 7)
- Rainforest Animals soft
Animals of the World rainforest topic builds on knowing specific rainforest animals (exploratory age 5 -> exploratory age 7)
- Structural Adaptations hard
Understanding adaptation helps explain why environmental change threatens species
- Polar Animals soft
Polar animals knowledge enriches the migration topic in Animals of the World (Polar 5-7 -> Animals 7-9)
- Arctic vs Antarctic hard
Must know penguins live in Antarctic (not Arctic) from the comparison topic
- Arctic vs Antarctic hard
Must know polar bears live in Arctic (not Antarctic) from the comparison topic
- Naming Common Animals soft
Wild/farm/pet distinction enriched by curriculum animal group identification
- Predator Hunting Strategies hard
Predator-prey adaptations are formalized in the adaptation framework
- Herbivores, Carnivores & Omnivores soft
Predator-prey strategies build on curriculum classification of carnivores/herbivores/omnivores
- Savanna & Grassland Animals soft
Savanna predator-prey (lions/zebras) is foundation for predator-prey strategies
- Naming Common Animals soft
Wild/farm/pet distinction enriched by curriculum animal group identification
- Desert Animals soft
Arctic and desert are contrasting extreme environments, each enriches understanding of the other
- Polar Animals soft
Animals of the World polar topic builds on knowing specific polar animals (Polar Regions 5-7 -> Animals 7-9)
- Arctic vs Antarctic hard
Must know penguins live in Antarctic (not Arctic) from the comparison topic
- Arctic vs Antarctic hard
Must know polar bears live in Arctic (not Antarctic) from the comparison topic
- Ocean Animal Adaptations soft
Polar animals share adaptation concepts with ocean animal adaptations (blubber, streamlining)
- Animals Everywhere hard
Polar animals builds on knowing animals live everywhere including cold places
- How animals adapt to environments soft
Animal adaptations topic parallels and enriches curriculum adaptation/evolution concept
- Ocean Animal Adaptations soft
Ocean animal adaptations connect to curriculum adaptation/evolution concepts
- Life Changed Over Time soft
Within GB sequence, knowing life changed over time supports understanding adaptation; US teaches adaptation earlier without this prerequisite
- Life Cycles of Organisms soft
Understanding life cycles supports understanding how species change across generations
- Animal Classification Vocabulary hard
Describing unique and diverse life cycles requires metamorphosis, gestation, larva, pupa vocabulary
- Drawing Life Cycle Diagrams hard
Modelling life cycles of living things requires the life cycle diagram representation
- Sorting into categories soft
Life cycle diagrams require classifying organisms into categories — the same sorting skill used in mt_xppl18avyY
- Comparing groups: more or fewer soft
Sorting categories by count benefits from ability to compare quantities
- Counting objects to 20 soft
Counting a set helps when comparing groups, but younger children (GB age 4) can compare using matching without formal counting to 20
- Counting objects to 20 hard
Counting objects in each category requires being able to count sets of objects
- One-to-one counting hard
Cardinality principle builds on one-to-one correspondence — you must count correctly to know the last number tells 'how many'
- Animal Life Stages hard
Must know basic offspring-to-adult stages before comparing diverse life cycles
- What Living Things Need soft
Understanding survival needs supports understanding growth and development
- Living Things Vocabulary soft
Describing what plants and animals need to survive uses life processes vocabulary: nutrition, growth, sensitivity
- How Animals Have Babies soft
Animal babies topic enriched by curriculum coverage of offspring and life stages
- Pollination & Seed Dispersal soft
Plant life cycle knowledge supports understanding diverse life cycles across organisms
- Seeds & Plant Growth hard
Must understand germination before learning full life cycle including seed dispersal
- Living Things Vocabulary soft
Describing what plants and animals need to survive uses life processes vocabulary: nutrition, growth, sensitivity
- How Plant Parts Work hard
Must know flower function before understanding pollination and seed formation
- Fossils as Evidence hard
Must analyse fossil evidence before drawing the broader conclusion that life has changed over time
- Fossils Reveal Ancient Environments soft
Enrichment knowledge of fossils revealing ancient environments supports formal analysis of fossil data
- Fossils & Palaeontologists hard
Must understand fossils before interpreting what they reveal about past environments
- Dinosaurs Were Real hard
Must understand dinosaurs are extinct before learning fossils are how we know about them
- Evolution vocabulary soft
Interpreting fossil data as evidence of past organisms benefits from fossil record and extinction vocabulary
- How fossils form hard
Must understand fossil formation in rocks before interpreting fossil data for evidence of past life
- States of Matter Vocabulary soft
Describing physical properties of materials uses solid/liquid/gas vocabulary introduced in the states of matter LANGUAGE node
- Living, Dead & Never Alive soft
Understanding living vs dead supports understanding what gets fossilised
- Living Things Vocabulary hard
Comparing living, dead, and never-been-alive things requires the life processes vocabulary to give reasons
- Representing numbers with objects (age 8+) soft
Analysing fossil record data using bar charts depends on scaled bar graph construction skills from Math
- Pictograms and tally charts hard
Constructing simple pictograms/tables is prerequisite to scaled versions
- Pictograms and tally charts (age 6+) hard
Constructing pictograms, tally charts, and bar charts requires these display vocabulary terms
- Sorting into categories hard
Constructing pictograms and tally charts requires classifying and counting objects first
- Comparing groups: more or fewer soft
Sorting categories by count benefits from ability to compare quantities
- Counting objects to 20 soft
Counting a set helps when comparing groups, but younger children (GB age 4) can compare using matching without formal counting to 20
- Counting objects to 20 hard
Counting objects in each category requires being able to count sets of objects
- Sorting Data into Categories soft
Data representation formats (pictograms, tally charts) support organising data
- One-to-one counting hard
Cardinality principle builds on one-to-one correspondence — you must count correctly to know the last number tells 'how many'
- Pictograms and tally charts (age 6+) hard
Organising and representing data requires data, tally, frequency, and category vocabulary
- Sorting into categories hard
Organising data in categories builds on classifying and counting objects in categories
- Comparing groups: more or fewer soft
Sorting categories by count benefits from ability to compare quantities
- Counting objects to 20 hard
Counting objects in each category requires being able to count sets of objects
- Pictograms and tally charts (age 6+) hard
Drawing scaled bar charts and pictograms requires axis, scale, label, and frequency vocabulary
- Sorting Data into Categories hard
Drawing picture/bar graphs extends organising and representing data
- One-to-one counting hard
Cardinality principle builds on one-to-one correspondence — you must count correctly to know the last number tells 'how many'
- Pictograms and tally charts (age 6+) hard
Organising and representing data requires data, tally, frequency, and category vocabulary
- Sorting into categories hard
Organising data in categories builds on classifying and counting objects in categories
- Comparing groups: more or fewer soft
Sorting categories by count benefits from ability to compare quantities
- Counting objects to 20 hard
Counting objects in each category requires being able to count sets of objects
- Living Things Vocabulary hard
Comparing living, dead, and never-been-alive things requires the life processes vocabulary to give reasons
- Evolution vocabulary hard
Recognising that living things have changed over time and fossils provide evidence requires evolution and fossil record vocabulary
- Evolution vocabulary hard
Understanding that adaptation may lead to evolution requires both 'adaptation' and 'evolution' vocabulary
- Variation & Survival Advantage hard
Must understand variation provides survival advantages before connecting adaptation to evolution
- Inherited characteristics hard
Must understand trait variation before explaining how variation provides survival advantages
- Inheritance Vocabulary hard
Analysing data about inherited traits requires 'inherited characteristic', 'variation', and 'offspring' vocabulary
- Habitats & Basic Needs soft
Habitat knowledge supports understanding how adaptations suit specific environments
- Where Are the Poles? soft
Polar regions enrich the curriculum habitats topic (exploratory age 5 -> curriculum age 6)
- Habitat Vocabulary hard
Describing how habitats provide for basic needs requires habitat, environment, conditions, shelter vocabulary
- What Is a Rainforest? soft
Rainforest habitat knowledge enriches the curriculum habitats topic (exploratory age 5 -> curriculum age 6)
- What Living Things Need hard
Must know basic needs of organisms before understanding how habitats provide for those needs
- Living Things Vocabulary soft
Describing what plants and animals need to survive uses life processes vocabulary: nutrition, growth, sensitivity
- Living, Dead & Never Alive hard
Must distinguish living from non-living before understanding habitats that support living things
- Living Things Vocabulary hard
Comparing living, dead, and never-been-alive things requires the life processes vocabulary to give reasons
- Common minibeasts: naming and recognising hard
Must recognise common minibeasts before exploring where each type lives
- Inheritance Vocabulary hard
Explaining how variation provides survival advantages requires 'variation', 'species', and 'trait' vocabulary
- Changing Environments soft
Environmental change knowledge supports understanding why adaptation matters for survival
- Habitats & Basic Needs hard
Must understand how habitats support organisms before understanding what happens when they change
- Where Are the Poles? soft
Polar regions enrich the curriculum habitats topic (exploratory age 5 -> curriculum age 6)
- Habitat Vocabulary hard
Describing how habitats provide for basic needs requires habitat, environment, conditions, shelter vocabulary
- What Is a Rainforest? soft
Rainforest habitat knowledge enriches the curriculum habitats topic (exploratory age 5 -> curriculum age 6)
- What Living Things Need hard
Must know basic needs of organisms before understanding how habitats provide for those needs
- Living Things Vocabulary soft
Describing what plants and animals need to survive uses life processes vocabulary: nutrition, growth, sensitivity
- Living, Dead & Never Alive hard
Must distinguish living from non-living before understanding habitats that support living things
- Living Things Vocabulary hard
Comparing living, dead, and never-been-alive things requires the life processes vocabulary to give reasons
- Common minibeasts: naming and recognising hard
Must recognise common minibeasts before exploring where each type lives
- Simple Food Chains soft
Food chain knowledge helps understand knock-on effects of environmental change
- Herbivores, Carnivores & Omnivores hard
Must know carnivore/herbivore/omnivore to understand food chains
- Habitats & Basic Needs hard
Must know about habitats and interdependence before learning food chains
- Where Are the Poles? soft
Polar regions enrich the curriculum habitats topic (exploratory age 5 -> curriculum age 6)
- Habitat Vocabulary hard
Describing how habitats provide for basic needs requires habitat, environment, conditions, shelter vocabulary
- What Is a Rainforest? soft
Rainforest habitat knowledge enriches the curriculum habitats topic (exploratory age 5 -> curriculum age 6)
- What Living Things Need hard
Must know basic needs of organisms before understanding how habitats provide for those needs
- Living Things Vocabulary soft
Describing what plants and animals need to survive uses life processes vocabulary: nutrition, growth, sensitivity
- Living, Dead & Never Alive hard
Must distinguish living from non-living before understanding habitats that support living things
- Living Things Vocabulary hard
Comparing living, dead, and never-been-alive things requires the life processes vocabulary to give reasons
- Common minibeasts: naming and recognising hard
Must recognise common minibeasts before exploring where each type lives
- Ocean Animal Variety soft
Food chains benefit from knowing the variety of animals that eat each other
- Minibeasts in the food chain soft
Garden minibeast food chains provide concrete examples for curriculum simple-food-chains
- Common minibeasts: naming and recognising hard
Must know common minibeasts before placing them in food chains
- Rainforest Animals soft
Rainforest animals provide rich examples for simple food chains (exploratory age 5 -> curriculum age 6)
- Habitat Vocabulary soft
Discussing how environments change and pose dangers uses habitat and conditions vocabulary
- Animals Everywhere hard
Endangered species requires understanding that animals live in diverse environments
- Changing Environments soft
Endangered species concept builds on curriculum idea that environments can change
- Habitats & Basic Needs hard
Must understand how habitats support organisms before understanding what happens when they change
- Where Are the Poles? soft
Polar regions enrich the curriculum habitats topic (exploratory age 5 -> curriculum age 6)
- Habitat Vocabulary hard
Describing how habitats provide for basic needs requires habitat, environment, conditions, shelter vocabulary
- What Is a Rainforest? soft
Rainforest habitat knowledge enriches the curriculum habitats topic (exploratory age 5 -> curriculum age 6)
- What Living Things Need hard
Must know basic needs of organisms before understanding how habitats provide for those needs
- Living Things Vocabulary soft
Describing what plants and animals need to survive uses life processes vocabulary: nutrition, growth, sensitivity
- Living, Dead & Never Alive hard
Must distinguish living from non-living before understanding habitats that support living things
- Living Things Vocabulary hard
Comparing living, dead, and never-been-alive things requires the life processes vocabulary to give reasons
- Common minibeasts: naming and recognising hard
Must recognise common minibeasts before exploring where each type lives
- Simple Food Chains soft
Food chain knowledge helps understand knock-on effects of environmental change
- Herbivores, Carnivores & Omnivores hard
Must know carnivore/herbivore/omnivore to understand food chains
- Habitats & Basic Needs hard
Must know about habitats and interdependence before learning food chains
- Where Are the Poles? soft
Polar regions enrich the curriculum habitats topic (exploratory age 5 -> curriculum age 6)
- Habitat Vocabulary hard
Describing how habitats provide for basic needs requires habitat, environment, conditions, shelter vocabulary
- What Is a Rainforest? soft
Rainforest habitat knowledge enriches the curriculum habitats topic (exploratory age 5 -> curriculum age 6)
- What Living Things Need hard
Must know basic needs of organisms before understanding how habitats provide for those needs
- Living Things Vocabulary soft
Describing what plants and animals need to survive uses life processes vocabulary: nutrition, growth, sensitivity
- Living, Dead & Never Alive hard
Must distinguish living from non-living before understanding habitats that support living things
- Living Things Vocabulary hard
Comparing living, dead, and never-been-alive things requires the life processes vocabulary to give reasons
- Common minibeasts: naming and recognising hard
Must recognise common minibeasts before exploring where each type lives
- Ocean Animal Variety soft
Food chains benefit from knowing the variety of animals that eat each other
- Minibeasts in the food chain soft
Garden minibeast food chains provide concrete examples for curriculum simple-food-chains
- Common minibeasts: naming and recognising hard
Must know common minibeasts before placing them in food chains
- Rainforest Animals soft
Rainforest animals provide rich examples for simple food chains (exploratory age 5 -> curriculum age 6)
- Habitat Vocabulary soft
Discussing how environments change and pose dangers uses habitat and conditions vocabulary
- Herbivores, Carnivores & Omnivores soft
Predator-prey strategies build on curriculum classification of carnivores/herbivores/omnivores
- Savanna & Grassland Animals soft
Savanna predator-prey (lions/zebras) is foundation for predator-prey strategies
- Naming Common Animals soft
Wild/farm/pet distinction enriched by curriculum animal group identification
- Structural Adaptations hard
Biodiversity requires understanding adaptation as basis for species diversity
- Polar Animals soft
Polar animals knowledge enriches the migration topic in Animals of the World (Polar 5-7 -> Animals 7-9)
- Arctic vs Antarctic hard
Must know penguins live in Antarctic (not Arctic) from the comparison topic
- Arctic vs Antarctic hard
Must know polar bears live in Arctic (not Antarctic) from the comparison topic
- Naming Common Animals soft
Wild/farm/pet distinction enriched by curriculum animal group identification
- Predator Hunting Strategies hard
Predator-prey adaptations are formalized in the adaptation framework
- Herbivores, Carnivores & Omnivores soft
Predator-prey strategies build on curriculum classification of carnivores/herbivores/omnivores
- Savanna & Grassland Animals soft
Savanna predator-prey (lions/zebras) is foundation for predator-prey strategies
- Naming Common Animals soft
Wild/farm/pet distinction enriched by curriculum animal group identification
- Desert Animals soft
Arctic and desert are contrasting extreme environments, each enriches understanding of the other
- Polar Animals soft
Animals of the World polar topic builds on knowing specific polar animals (Polar Regions 5-7 -> Animals 7-9)
- Arctic vs Antarctic hard
Must know penguins live in Antarctic (not Arctic) from the comparison topic
- Arctic vs Antarctic hard
Must know polar bears live in Arctic (not Antarctic) from the comparison topic
- Ocean Animal Adaptations soft
Polar animals share adaptation concepts with ocean animal adaptations (blubber, streamlining)
- Animals Everywhere hard
Polar animals builds on knowing animals live everywhere including cold places
- How animals adapt to environments soft
Animal adaptations topic parallels and enriches curriculum adaptation/evolution concept
- Ocean Animal Adaptations soft
Ocean animal adaptations connect to curriculum adaptation/evolution concepts
- Life Changed Over Time soft
Within GB sequence, knowing life changed over time supports understanding adaptation; US teaches adaptation earlier without this prerequisite
- Life Cycles of Organisms soft
Understanding life cycles supports understanding how species change across generations
- Animal Classification Vocabulary hard
Describing unique and diverse life cycles requires metamorphosis, gestation, larva, pupa vocabulary
- Drawing Life Cycle Diagrams hard
Modelling life cycles of living things requires the life cycle diagram representation
- Sorting into categories soft
Life cycle diagrams require classifying organisms into categories — the same sorting skill used in mt_xppl18avyY
- Comparing groups: more or fewer soft
Sorting categories by count benefits from ability to compare quantities
- Counting objects to 20 soft
Counting a set helps when comparing groups, but younger children (GB age 4) can compare using matching without formal counting to 20
- One-to-one counting hard
Cardinality principle builds on one-to-one correspondence — you must count correctly to know the last number tells 'how many'
- Counting objects to 20 hard
Counting objects in each category requires being able to count sets of objects
- One-to-one counting hard
Cardinality principle builds on one-to-one correspondence — you must count correctly to know the last number tells 'how many'
- Animal Life Stages hard
Must know basic offspring-to-adult stages before comparing diverse life cycles
- What Living Things Need soft
Understanding survival needs supports understanding growth and development
- Living Things Vocabulary soft
Describing what plants and animals need to survive uses life processes vocabulary: nutrition, growth, sensitivity
- How Animals Have Babies soft
Animal babies topic enriched by curriculum coverage of offspring and life stages
- Pollination & Seed Dispersal soft
Plant life cycle knowledge supports understanding diverse life cycles across organisms
- Seeds & Plant Growth hard
Must understand germination before learning full life cycle including seed dispersal
- Living Things Vocabulary soft
Describing what plants and animals need to survive uses life processes vocabulary: nutrition, growth, sensitivity
- How Plant Parts Work hard
Must know flower function before understanding pollination and seed formation
- Fossils as Evidence hard
Must analyse fossil evidence before drawing the broader conclusion that life has changed over time
- Fossils Reveal Ancient Environments soft
Enrichment knowledge of fossils revealing ancient environments supports formal analysis of fossil data
- Fossils & Palaeontologists hard
Must understand fossils before interpreting what they reveal about past environments
- Dinosaurs Were Real hard
Must understand dinosaurs are extinct before learning fossils are how we know about them
- Evolution vocabulary soft
Interpreting fossil data as evidence of past organisms benefits from fossil record and extinction vocabulary
- How fossils form hard
Must understand fossil formation in rocks before interpreting fossil data for evidence of past life
- States of Matter Vocabulary soft
Describing physical properties of materials uses solid/liquid/gas vocabulary introduced in the states of matter LANGUAGE node
- Living, Dead & Never Alive soft
Understanding living vs dead supports understanding what gets fossilised
- Living Things Vocabulary hard
Comparing living, dead, and never-been-alive things requires the life processes vocabulary to give reasons
- Representing numbers with objects (age 8+) soft
Analysing fossil record data using bar charts depends on scaled bar graph construction skills from Math
- Pictograms and tally charts hard
Constructing simple pictograms/tables is prerequisite to scaled versions
- Pictograms and tally charts (age 6+) hard
Constructing pictograms, tally charts, and bar charts requires these display vocabulary terms
- Sorting into categories hard
Constructing pictograms and tally charts requires classifying and counting objects first
- Comparing groups: more or fewer soft
Sorting categories by count benefits from ability to compare quantities
- Counting objects to 20 soft
Counting a set helps when comparing groups, but younger children (GB age 4) can compare using matching without formal counting to 20
- Counting objects to 20 hard
Counting objects in each category requires being able to count sets of objects
- One-to-one counting hard
Cardinality principle builds on one-to-one correspondence — you must count correctly to know the last number tells 'how many'
- Sorting Data into Categories soft
Data representation formats (pictograms, tally charts) support organising data
- One-to-one counting hard
Cardinality principle builds on one-to-one correspondence — you must count correctly to know the last number tells 'how many'
- Pictograms and tally charts (age 6+) hard
Organising and representing data requires data, tally, frequency, and category vocabulary
- Sorting into categories hard
Organising data in categories builds on classifying and counting objects in categories
- Comparing groups: more or fewer soft
Sorting categories by count benefits from ability to compare quantities
- Counting objects to 20 soft
Counting a set helps when comparing groups, but younger children (GB age 4) can compare using matching without formal counting to 20
- Counting objects to 20 hard
Counting objects in each category requires being able to count sets of objects
- Pictograms and tally charts (age 6+) hard
Drawing scaled bar charts and pictograms requires axis, scale, label, and frequency vocabulary
- Sorting Data into Categories hard
Drawing picture/bar graphs extends organising and representing data
- One-to-one counting hard
Cardinality principle builds on one-to-one correspondence — you must count correctly to know the last number tells 'how many'
- Pictograms and tally charts (age 6+) hard
Organising and representing data requires data, tally, frequency, and category vocabulary
- Sorting into categories hard
Organising data in categories builds on classifying and counting objects in categories
- Comparing groups: more or fewer soft
Sorting categories by count benefits from ability to compare quantities
- Counting objects to 20 soft
Counting a set helps when comparing groups, but younger children (GB age 4) can compare using matching without formal counting to 20
- Counting objects to 20 hard
Counting objects in each category requires being able to count sets of objects
- Living Things Vocabulary hard
Comparing living, dead, and never-been-alive things requires the life processes vocabulary to give reasons
- Evolution vocabulary hard
Recognising that living things have changed over time and fossils provide evidence requires evolution and fossil record vocabulary
- Evolution vocabulary hard
Understanding that adaptation may lead to evolution requires both 'adaptation' and 'evolution' vocabulary
- Variation & Survival Advantage hard
Must understand variation provides survival advantages before connecting adaptation to evolution
- Inherited characteristics hard
Must understand trait variation before explaining how variation provides survival advantages
- Inheritance Vocabulary hard
Analysing data about inherited traits requires 'inherited characteristic', 'variation', and 'offspring' vocabulary
- Habitats & Basic Needs soft
Habitat knowledge supports understanding how adaptations suit specific environments
- Where Are the Poles? soft
Polar regions enrich the curriculum habitats topic (exploratory age 5 -> curriculum age 6)
- Habitat Vocabulary hard
Describing how habitats provide for basic needs requires habitat, environment, conditions, shelter vocabulary
- What Is a Rainforest? soft
Rainforest habitat knowledge enriches the curriculum habitats topic (exploratory age 5 -> curriculum age 6)
- What Living Things Need hard
Must know basic needs of organisms before understanding how habitats provide for those needs
- Living Things Vocabulary soft
Describing what plants and animals need to survive uses life processes vocabulary: nutrition, growth, sensitivity
- Living, Dead & Never Alive hard
Must distinguish living from non-living before understanding habitats that support living things
- Living Things Vocabulary hard
Comparing living, dead, and never-been-alive things requires the life processes vocabulary to give reasons
- Common minibeasts: naming and recognising hard
Must recognise common minibeasts before exploring where each type lives
- Inheritance Vocabulary hard
Explaining how variation provides survival advantages requires 'variation', 'species', and 'trait' vocabulary
- Changing Environments soft
Environmental change knowledge supports understanding why adaptation matters for survival
- Habitats & Basic Needs hard
Must understand how habitats support organisms before understanding what happens when they change
- Where Are the Poles? soft
Polar regions enrich the curriculum habitats topic (exploratory age 5 -> curriculum age 6)
- Habitat Vocabulary hard
Describing how habitats provide for basic needs requires habitat, environment, conditions, shelter vocabulary
- What Is a Rainforest? soft
Rainforest habitat knowledge enriches the curriculum habitats topic (exploratory age 5 -> curriculum age 6)
- What Living Things Need hard
Must know basic needs of organisms before understanding how habitats provide for those needs
- Living Things Vocabulary soft
Describing what plants and animals need to survive uses life processes vocabulary: nutrition, growth, sensitivity
- Living, Dead & Never Alive hard
Must distinguish living from non-living before understanding habitats that support living things
- Living Things Vocabulary hard
Comparing living, dead, and never-been-alive things requires the life processes vocabulary to give reasons
- Common minibeasts: naming and recognising hard
Must recognise common minibeasts before exploring where each type lives
- Simple Food Chains soft
Food chain knowledge helps understand knock-on effects of environmental change
- Herbivores, Carnivores & Omnivores hard
Must know carnivore/herbivore/omnivore to understand food chains
- Habitats & Basic Needs hard
Must know about habitats and interdependence before learning food chains
- Where Are the Poles? soft
Polar regions enrich the curriculum habitats topic (exploratory age 5 -> curriculum age 6)
- Habitat Vocabulary hard
Describing how habitats provide for basic needs requires habitat, environment, conditions, shelter vocabulary
- What Is a Rainforest? soft
Rainforest habitat knowledge enriches the curriculum habitats topic (exploratory age 5 -> curriculum age 6)
- What Living Things Need hard
Must know basic needs of organisms before understanding how habitats provide for those needs
- Living Things Vocabulary soft
Describing what plants and animals need to survive uses life processes vocabulary: nutrition, growth, sensitivity
- Living, Dead & Never Alive hard
Must distinguish living from non-living before understanding habitats that support living things
- Living Things Vocabulary hard
Comparing living, dead, and never-been-alive things requires the life processes vocabulary to give reasons
- Common minibeasts: naming and recognising hard
Must recognise common minibeasts before exploring where each type lives
- Ocean Animal Variety soft
Food chains benefit from knowing the variety of animals that eat each other
- Minibeasts in the food chain soft
Garden minibeast food chains provide concrete examples for curriculum simple-food-chains
- Common minibeasts: naming and recognising hard
Must know common minibeasts before placing them in food chains
- Rainforest Animals soft
Rainforest animals provide rich examples for simple food chains (exploratory age 5 -> curriculum age 6)
- Habitat Vocabulary soft
Discussing how environments change and pose dangers uses habitat and conditions vocabulary
- Rainforest Layers soft
Animals of the World rainforest topic depends on understanding the four layers (exploratory age 5 -> exploratory age 7)
- Rainforest Animals soft
Animals of the World rainforest topic builds on knowing specific rainforest animals (exploratory age 5 -> exploratory age 7)
- Polar Animals soft
Polar animals knowledge enriches the migration topic in Animals of the World (Polar 5-7 -> Animals 7-9)
- Arctic vs Antarctic hard
Must know penguins live in Antarctic (not Arctic) from the comparison topic
- Arctic vs Antarctic hard
Must know polar bears live in Arctic (not Antarctic) from the comparison topic
- Naming Common Animals soft
Wild/farm/pet distinction enriched by curriculum animal group identification
- Predator Hunting Strategies hard
Predator-prey adaptations are formalized in the adaptation framework
- Herbivores, Carnivores & Omnivores soft
Predator-prey strategies build on curriculum classification of carnivores/herbivores/omnivores
- Savanna & Grassland Animals soft
Savanna predator-prey (lions/zebras) is foundation for predator-prey strategies
- Naming Common Animals soft
Wild/farm/pet distinction enriched by curriculum animal group identification
- Desert Animals soft
Arctic and desert are contrasting extreme environments, each enriches understanding of the other
- Polar Animals soft
Animals of the World polar topic builds on knowing specific polar animals (Polar Regions 5-7 -> Animals 7-9)
- Arctic vs Antarctic hard
Must know penguins live in Antarctic (not Arctic) from the comparison topic
- Arctic vs Antarctic hard
Must know polar bears live in Arctic (not Antarctic) from the comparison topic
- Ocean Animal Adaptations soft
Polar animals share adaptation concepts with ocean animal adaptations (blubber, streamlining)
- Animals Everywhere hard
Polar animals builds on knowing animals live everywhere including cold places
- How animals adapt to environments soft
Animal adaptations topic parallels and enriches curriculum adaptation/evolution concept
- Ocean Animal Adaptations soft
Ocean animal adaptations connect to curriculum adaptation/evolution concepts
- Life Changed Over Time soft
Within GB sequence, knowing life changed over time supports understanding adaptation; US teaches adaptation earlier without this prerequisite
- Life Cycles of Organisms soft
Understanding life cycles supports understanding how species change across generations
- Animal Classification Vocabulary hard
Describing unique and diverse life cycles requires metamorphosis, gestation, larva, pupa vocabulary
- Drawing Life Cycle Diagrams hard
Modelling life cycles of living things requires the life cycle diagram representation
- Sorting into categories soft
Life cycle diagrams require classifying organisms into categories — the same sorting skill used in mt_xppl18avyY
- Comparing groups: more or fewer soft
Sorting categories by count benefits from ability to compare quantities
- Counting objects to 20 soft
Counting a set helps when comparing groups, but younger children (GB age 4) can compare using matching without formal counting to 20
- Counting objects to 20 hard
Counting objects in each category requires being able to count sets of objects
- One-to-one counting hard
Cardinality principle builds on one-to-one correspondence — you must count correctly to know the last number tells 'how many'
- Animal Life Stages hard
Must know basic offspring-to-adult stages before comparing diverse life cycles
- What Living Things Need soft
Understanding survival needs supports understanding growth and development
- Living Things Vocabulary soft
Describing what plants and animals need to survive uses life processes vocabulary: nutrition, growth, sensitivity
- How Animals Have Babies soft
Animal babies topic enriched by curriculum coverage of offspring and life stages
- Pollination & Seed Dispersal soft
Plant life cycle knowledge supports understanding diverse life cycles across organisms
- Seeds & Plant Growth hard
Must understand germination before learning full life cycle including seed dispersal
- Living Things Vocabulary soft
Describing what plants and animals need to survive uses life processes vocabulary: nutrition, growth, sensitivity
- How Plant Parts Work hard
Must know flower function before understanding pollination and seed formation
- Fossils as Evidence hard
Must analyse fossil evidence before drawing the broader conclusion that life has changed over time
- Fossils Reveal Ancient Environments soft
Enrichment knowledge of fossils revealing ancient environments supports formal analysis of fossil data
- Fossils & Palaeontologists hard
Must understand fossils before interpreting what they reveal about past environments
- Dinosaurs Were Real hard
Must understand dinosaurs are extinct before learning fossils are how we know about them
- Evolution vocabulary soft
Interpreting fossil data as evidence of past organisms benefits from fossil record and extinction vocabulary
- How fossils form hard
Must understand fossil formation in rocks before interpreting fossil data for evidence of past life
- States of Matter Vocabulary soft
Describing physical properties of materials uses solid/liquid/gas vocabulary introduced in the states of matter LANGUAGE node
- Living, Dead & Never Alive soft
Understanding living vs dead supports understanding what gets fossilised
- Living Things Vocabulary hard
Comparing living, dead, and never-been-alive things requires the life processes vocabulary to give reasons
- Representing numbers with objects (age 8+) soft
Analysing fossil record data using bar charts depends on scaled bar graph construction skills from Math
- Pictograms and tally charts hard
Constructing simple pictograms/tables is prerequisite to scaled versions
- Pictograms and tally charts (age 6+) hard
Constructing pictograms, tally charts, and bar charts requires these display vocabulary terms
- Sorting into categories hard
Constructing pictograms and tally charts requires classifying and counting objects first
- Comparing groups: more or fewer soft
Sorting categories by count benefits from ability to compare quantities
- Counting objects to 20 soft
Counting a set helps when comparing groups, but younger children (GB age 4) can compare using matching without formal counting to 20
- Counting objects to 20 hard
Counting objects in each category requires being able to count sets of objects
- Sorting Data into Categories soft
Data representation formats (pictograms, tally charts) support organising data
- One-to-one counting hard
Cardinality principle builds on one-to-one correspondence — you must count correctly to know the last number tells 'how many'
- Pictograms and tally charts (age 6+) hard
Organising and representing data requires data, tally, frequency, and category vocabulary
- Sorting into categories hard
Organising data in categories builds on classifying and counting objects in categories
- Comparing groups: more or fewer soft
Sorting categories by count benefits from ability to compare quantities
- Counting objects to 20 hard
Counting objects in each category requires being able to count sets of objects
- Pictograms and tally charts (age 6+) hard
Drawing scaled bar charts and pictograms requires axis, scale, label, and frequency vocabulary
- Sorting Data into Categories hard
Drawing picture/bar graphs extends organising and representing data
- One-to-one counting hard
Cardinality principle builds on one-to-one correspondence — you must count correctly to know the last number tells 'how many'
- Pictograms and tally charts (age 6+) hard
Organising and representing data requires data, tally, frequency, and category vocabulary
- Sorting into categories hard
Organising data in categories builds on classifying and counting objects in categories
- Comparing groups: more or fewer soft
Sorting categories by count benefits from ability to compare quantities
- Counting objects to 20 hard
Counting objects in each category requires being able to count sets of objects
- Living Things Vocabulary hard
Comparing living, dead, and never-been-alive things requires the life processes vocabulary to give reasons
- Evolution vocabulary hard
Recognising that living things have changed over time and fossils provide evidence requires evolution and fossil record vocabulary
- Evolution vocabulary hard
Understanding that adaptation may lead to evolution requires both 'adaptation' and 'evolution' vocabulary
- Variation & Survival Advantage hard
Must understand variation provides survival advantages before connecting adaptation to evolution
- Inherited characteristics hard
Must understand trait variation before explaining how variation provides survival advantages
- Inheritance Vocabulary hard
Analysing data about inherited traits requires 'inherited characteristic', 'variation', and 'offspring' vocabulary
- Habitats & Basic Needs soft
Habitat knowledge supports understanding how adaptations suit specific environments
- Where Are the Poles? soft
Polar regions enrich the curriculum habitats topic (exploratory age 5 -> curriculum age 6)
- Habitat Vocabulary hard
Describing how habitats provide for basic needs requires habitat, environment, conditions, shelter vocabulary
- What Is a Rainforest? soft
Rainforest habitat knowledge enriches the curriculum habitats topic (exploratory age 5 -> curriculum age 6)
- What Living Things Need hard
Must know basic needs of organisms before understanding how habitats provide for those needs
- Living Things Vocabulary soft
Describing what plants and animals need to survive uses life processes vocabulary: nutrition, growth, sensitivity
- Living, Dead & Never Alive hard
Must distinguish living from non-living before understanding habitats that support living things
- Living Things Vocabulary hard
Comparing living, dead, and never-been-alive things requires the life processes vocabulary to give reasons
- Common minibeasts: naming and recognising hard
Must recognise common minibeasts before exploring where each type lives
- Inheritance Vocabulary hard
Explaining how variation provides survival advantages requires 'variation', 'species', and 'trait' vocabulary
- Changing Environments soft
Environmental change knowledge supports understanding why adaptation matters for survival
- Habitats & Basic Needs hard
Must understand how habitats support organisms before understanding what happens when they change
- Where Are the Poles? soft
Polar regions enrich the curriculum habitats topic (exploratory age 5 -> curriculum age 6)
- Habitat Vocabulary hard
Describing how habitats provide for basic needs requires habitat, environment, conditions, shelter vocabulary
- What Is a Rainforest? soft
Rainforest habitat knowledge enriches the curriculum habitats topic (exploratory age 5 -> curriculum age 6)
- What Living Things Need hard
Must know basic needs of organisms before understanding how habitats provide for those needs
- Living Things Vocabulary soft
Describing what plants and animals need to survive uses life processes vocabulary: nutrition, growth, sensitivity
- Living, Dead & Never Alive hard
Must distinguish living from non-living before understanding habitats that support living things
- Living Things Vocabulary hard
Comparing living, dead, and never-been-alive things requires the life processes vocabulary to give reasons
- Common minibeasts: naming and recognising hard
Must recognise common minibeasts before exploring where each type lives
- Simple Food Chains soft
Food chain knowledge helps understand knock-on effects of environmental change
- Herbivores, Carnivores & Omnivores hard
Must know carnivore/herbivore/omnivore to understand food chains
- Habitats & Basic Needs hard
Must know about habitats and interdependence before learning food chains
- Where Are the Poles? soft
Polar regions enrich the curriculum habitats topic (exploratory age 5 -> curriculum age 6)
- Habitat Vocabulary hard
Describing how habitats provide for basic needs requires habitat, environment, conditions, shelter vocabulary
- What Is a Rainforest? soft
Rainforest habitat knowledge enriches the curriculum habitats topic (exploratory age 5 -> curriculum age 6)
- What Living Things Need hard
Must know basic needs of organisms before understanding how habitats provide for those needs
- Living Things Vocabulary soft
Describing what plants and animals need to survive uses life processes vocabulary: nutrition, growth, sensitivity
- Living, Dead & Never Alive hard
Must distinguish living from non-living before understanding habitats that support living things
- Living Things Vocabulary hard
Comparing living, dead, and never-been-alive things requires the life processes vocabulary to give reasons
- Common minibeasts: naming and recognising hard
Must recognise common minibeasts before exploring where each type lives
- Ocean Animal Variety soft
Food chains benefit from knowing the variety of animals that eat each other
- Minibeasts in the food chain soft
Garden minibeast food chains provide concrete examples for curriculum simple-food-chains
- Common minibeasts: naming and recognising hard
Must know common minibeasts before placing them in food chains
- Rainforest Animals soft
Rainforest animals provide rich examples for simple food chains (exploratory age 5 -> curriculum age 6)
- Habitat Vocabulary soft
Discussing how environments change and pose dangers uses habitat and conditions vocabulary
- Animal Body Groups soft
Insect/minibeast diversity enriched by curriculum body structure comparison across groups
- The World of Minibeasts hard
Insects as pollinators/decomposers are key to understanding ecosystem services
- Animal Body Groups soft
Insect/minibeast diversity enriched by curriculum body structure comparison across groups
- Food Chains & Energy Transfer hard
Must understand food chains with producers/predators before modelling matter cycling through ecosystem
- Rainforest Food Webs soft
Rainforest food webs enrich curriculum food chains topic (exploratory age 7 -> curriculum age 8)
- Rainforest Layers hard
Plants taught in context of layers (epiphytes in canopy, lianas climbing trunks)
- Animal Nutrition soft
Nutrition knowledge supports understanding why animals occupy different trophic levels
- Herbivores, Carnivores & Omnivores soft
Carnivore/herbivore/omnivore classification supports understanding nutrition differences
- What Living Things Need hard
Must know basic survival needs before learning about nutrition types and food groups
- Living Things Vocabulary soft
Describing what plants and animals need to survive uses life processes vocabulary: nutrition, growth, sensitivity
- Simple Food Chains hard
Must understand simple food chains before constructing complex ones with producer/predator/prey terminology
- Herbivores, Carnivores & Omnivores hard
Must know carnivore/herbivore/omnivore to understand food chains
- Habitats & Basic Needs hard
Must know about habitats and interdependence before learning food chains
- Where Are the Poles? soft
Polar regions enrich the curriculum habitats topic (exploratory age 5 -> curriculum age 6)
- Habitat Vocabulary hard
Describing how habitats provide for basic needs requires habitat, environment, conditions, shelter vocabulary
- What Is a Rainforest? soft
Rainforest habitat knowledge enriches the curriculum habitats topic (exploratory age 5 -> curriculum age 6)
- What Living Things Need hard
Must know basic needs of organisms before understanding how habitats provide for those needs
- Living Things Vocabulary soft
Describing what plants and animals need to survive uses life processes vocabulary: nutrition, growth, sensitivity
- Living, Dead & Never Alive hard
Must distinguish living from non-living before understanding habitats that support living things
- Living Things Vocabulary hard
Comparing living, dead, and never-been-alive things requires the life processes vocabulary to give reasons
- Common minibeasts: naming and recognising hard
Must recognise common minibeasts before exploring where each type lives
- Ocean Animal Variety soft
Food chains benefit from knowing the variety of animals that eat each other
- Minibeasts in the food chain soft
Garden minibeast food chains provide concrete examples for curriculum simple-food-chains
- Common minibeasts: naming and recognising hard
Must know common minibeasts before placing them in food chains
- Rainforest Animals soft
Rainforest animals provide rich examples for simple food chains (exploratory age 5 -> curriculum age 6)
- Ecology Vocabulary hard
Constructing and interpreting food chains requires producer, consumer, predator, prey vocabulary
- Whales & Dolphins Are Mammals hard
Classifying marine mammals vs fish builds on whale/dolphin are mammals concept
- Ocean Animal Variety soft
Food chains benefit from knowing the variety of animals that eat each other
- Energy from Food & the Sun soft
Energy flow from sun through organisms supports understanding matter cycling
- Plants Grow from Air & Water hard
Must know plants get materials from air/water (photosynthesis) before tracing sun energy through food
- Water Transport in Plants soft
Water transport investigation supports understanding water as a plant growth material
- How Plant Parts Work hard
Must know stem function before investigating water transport through stems
- What Plants Need to Thrive hard
Must know plant growth requirements before arguing that most material comes from air and water
- What Plants Need to Grow hard
Must know basic plant needs before exploring how needs vary between plants
- What Living Things Need hard
Must know basic survival needs before investigating specific plant growth conditions
- Living Things Vocabulary soft
Describing what plants and animals need to survive uses life processes vocabulary: nutrition, growth, sensitivity
- Animal Nutrition hard
Must understand nutrition and food before tracing energy from sun through food chains
- Herbivores, Carnivores & Omnivores soft
Carnivore/herbivore/omnivore classification supports understanding nutrition differences
- What Living Things Need hard
Must know basic survival needs before learning about nutrition types and food groups
- Living Things Vocabulary soft
Describing what plants and animals need to survive uses life processes vocabulary: nutrition, growth, sensitivity
- Whales & Dolphins Are Mammals hard
Classifying marine mammals vs fish builds on whale/dolphin are mammals concept
- Ocean Animal Variety soft
Food chains benefit from knowing the variety of animals that eat each other
- Ocean Animal Variety hard
Understanding zones requires knowing ocean has diverse life at different depths
- Changing Environments soft
Ocean ecosystems concept enriched by curriculum concept that environments change
- Habitats & Basic Needs hard
Must understand how habitats support organisms before understanding what happens when they change
- Where Are the Poles? soft
Polar regions enrich the curriculum habitats topic (exploratory age 5 -> curriculum age 6)
- Habitat Vocabulary hard
Describing how habitats provide for basic needs requires habitat, environment, conditions, shelter vocabulary
- What Is a Rainforest? soft
Rainforest habitat knowledge enriches the curriculum habitats topic (exploratory age 5 -> curriculum age 6)
- What Living Things Need hard
Must know basic needs of organisms before understanding how habitats provide for those needs
- Living Things Vocabulary soft
Describing what plants and animals need to survive uses life processes vocabulary: nutrition, growth, sensitivity
- Living, Dead & Never Alive hard
Must distinguish living from non-living before understanding habitats that support living things
- Living Things Vocabulary hard
Comparing living, dead, and never-been-alive things requires the life processes vocabulary to give reasons
- Common minibeasts: naming and recognising hard
Must recognise common minibeasts before exploring where each type lives
- Simple Food Chains soft
Food chain knowledge helps understand knock-on effects of environmental change
- Herbivores, Carnivores & Omnivores hard
Must know carnivore/herbivore/omnivore to understand food chains
- Habitats & Basic Needs hard
Must know about habitats and interdependence before learning food chains
- Where Are the Poles? soft
Polar regions enrich the curriculum habitats topic (exploratory age 5 -> curriculum age 6)
- Habitat Vocabulary hard
Describing how habitats provide for basic needs requires habitat, environment, conditions, shelter vocabulary
- What Is a Rainforest? soft
Rainforest habitat knowledge enriches the curriculum habitats topic (exploratory age 5 -> curriculum age 6)
- What Living Things Need hard
Must know basic needs of organisms before understanding how habitats provide for those needs
- Living Things Vocabulary soft
Describing what plants and animals need to survive uses life processes vocabulary: nutrition, growth, sensitivity
- Living, Dead & Never Alive hard
Must distinguish living from non-living before understanding habitats that support living things
- Living Things Vocabulary hard
Comparing living, dead, and never-been-alive things requires the life processes vocabulary to give reasons
- Common minibeasts: naming and recognising hard
Must recognise common minibeasts before exploring where each type lives
- Ocean Animal Variety soft
Food chains benefit from knowing the variety of animals that eat each other
- Minibeasts in the food chain soft
Garden minibeast food chains provide concrete examples for curriculum simple-food-chains
- Common minibeasts: naming and recognising hard
Must know common minibeasts before placing them in food chains
- Rainforest Animals soft
Rainforest animals provide rich examples for simple food chains (exploratory age 5 -> curriculum age 6)
- Habitat Vocabulary soft
Discussing how environments change and pose dangers uses habitat and conditions vocabulary
Unlocks1
- The Carbon CyclehardAges 12—13