Activity Sheet 1 Looking at information Load a copy of Junior ViewPoint and open the PlantAn1 file. Teacher s note: Introduce the program by showing the children that each sheet contains information about a different plant or animal. Show them how to click on the and buttons to turn through the sheets. The questions below can then be answered by individuals or small groups as a classroom activity. Click on or until you can see the sheet about a squirrel. Can you read the sentences? Fill in the missing words: I look like a animal with a tail. Click on the button some more times. Look for an animal you like. Finish these sentences by copying from the screen: I am I look like Click on or until you can see the sheet about an ostrich. Finish these sentences by copying from the screen: I am an I look like 7 Primary Science: Plants & Animals
Activity Sheet 2 Searching the information Load a copy of Junior ViewPoint and open the PlantAn1 file. Teacher s note: Show the children how to use the search tool to find a particular sheet. Point out that this makes the computer do the work and is far better than turning through the sheets one by one using and The questions below can then be answered by individuals or small groups of children as a classroom activity. Use the search button Finish these sentences: to find the lion. I am an I look like Now find the goldfish (you will need to use the Subset/All button to get back to the full database). Finish these sentences: I am an I look like Answer these questions. You will need to use the search tool to find the right sheet then read it carefully to find the answer. Is the stone alive? Is the teddy bear alive? Is a carrot alive? Yes/No Yes/No Yes/No Is a swan warm or cold? Is a shark warm or cold? Find out whether these are a plants, animals or objects: chameleon cactus bee bicycle Primary Science: Plants & Animals 8
Teacher s note: Activity Sheet 3 Entering information Load a copy of Junior ViewPoint and open the Pets file. Show the children how to enter information by typing at the cursor position, how to save their sheet and also how to get a new sheet using the add new sheet tool. They can then enter their data individually or in small groups. When all the data has been entered you might like to create an activity sheet for the class. Optional: Photocopy this sheet to make a set of data sheets for the children to fill in by hand. 9 Primary Science: Plants & Animals
Activity Sheet 4 Looking closer Load a copy of Junior ViewPoint and open the PlantAn2 file. The sheets in this file contain more information than will fit on the screen and you must use the scroll bars to look at all the available data on the sheet. Look at a few of the sheets by clicking on and Find an animal you like then scroll up and down to answer these questions What is it called? Does it have a backbone? Does it move? (Yes/No) (Yes/No) How many legs does it have? Now use the search button to find the lion. Write three sentences about it using the information you find on the computer screen. Now find the whale. Does it have a backbone? (Yes/No) How does it breathe? Is it warm or cold? Find the daisy. Does it move? How does it get its energy? 6. 7. 8. For the next questions use the Search to find the correct sheet. tool again but type the underlined word Which fish has spines on its back? Which animal has a horn on its nose? Which insect carries germs into your house? Which animal has long tentacles? Primary Science: Plants & Animals 10
Activity Sheet 5 A Quiz Load a copy of Junior ViewPoint and open the PlantAn2 file. Use the search tool to find the answers to this quiz. Which of these animals have a backbone? Lion Octopus Frog Snail Crab Fly Goldfish Which of these plants have flowers? Daisy Bracken Dandelion Apple Moss Mushroom Grass What are these plants and animals used for? cod penicillin cotton oak tree horse Fill in this table Name temperature reproduction how does it get its energy? Lion Robin Goldfish Buttercup Oak tree Primrose Look at the last column (how does it get its energy?). The first three are animals, the last three are plants. Can you complete these two sentences: All animals All plants In general this is true but there are some plant exceptions. Search using the word fungus and see if you can find three Plants which do eat other plants and animals. 11 Primary Science: Plants & Animals
Activity Sheet 6 Sorting and Searching Load a copy of Junior ViewPoint and open the PlantAn2 file. Look at the list view. All of the information about the plants and animals has been compiled into columns. Notice that the names of the plants and animals are not in any order. This makes it difficult to find the one you want. Find the information you need to fill in this table. Name Plant or Group Temperature Legs Animal Barn owl Frog Rose Bush Turnip How many plants are in the file? Clue: Use the Search button choose PlantOrAnimal is equal to plant, then look to the left of the sheet. How many creatures with no backbone are there in the file? Clue: Click on the sort button Choose name and sort in increasing order. Once in alphabetical order, can you quickly find the one you want? Clue: This time select Group is equal to no backbone. Which 3 plants and animals in the file have a sting? 6. a. b. Clue: Search on Description, and type the word sting. Select all the creatures that can fly Sort their names in to alphabetical order. Clue: Look at Habitat. Which is first? Which is last? The same skills can be used to make an electronic key. Open the Owls file (which contains five British owls) and identify these owls: I have ear tufts and I am active by day I do not have ear tufts, I do not nest in trees and I am not active by day (Hint: Use the NOT option for this search.) Primary Science: Plants & Animals 12
Plotting Graphs Load a copy of Junior ViewPoint and open the PlantAn2 file. Graphs can help you understand the information and make discoveries. Look at the graph view. Activity Sheet 7 Are there more plants or more animals in the datafile? There are more in the datafile. Clue: Click on the graphs tool and plot a graph of AnimalOrPlant. Are most of the plants and animals in the file warm or cold? Clue: Plot a graph of temperature. Are seeds produced by plants with flowers? Yes/No Clue: Select Group is equal to flowers then plot a graph of Reproduction. Are there any warm plants? Yes/No Do any plants with flowers reproduce with spores? Yes/No True or False? Open the file called PlantAn3 and find out whether the following statements are true or false: 6. All mammals are warm-blooded. All vertebrates are warm-blooded. All reptiles are covered in scales. Some vertebrates have six legs. Some invertebrates are warm. None of the plants in the file can move. 13 Primary Science: Plants & Animals
Activity Sheet 8 Who am I? Load a copy of Junior ViewPoint and open the PlantAn3 file. Look at the list view. Use the search capabilities of the software to find the answers to these riddles: I am an animal (PlantOrAnimal) I am covered with feathers (BodyCovering) I live on land or water (Habitat) I am a carnivore (FoodSource) Answer I am an animal (PlantOrAnimal) I breathe through my gills (Respiration) My skeleton is on the outside of my body (BodyCovering) I am a mollusc (Classification) Answer I am a plant (PlantOrAnimal) I am an alga (Classification) I am fan shaped (Description) Answer I reproduce by means of spores (Reproduction) I am a fungus (Classification) I am used to make a medicine (Main Use) 6. I am an insect (Classification) I have four wings (Wings) My wings are colourful (Description) Answer I am a vertebrate (Group) I live in water (Habitat) I am not a fish (Classification) Hint: Click on the NOT option. I reproduce by laying eggs (Reproduction) I have flippers (Description) Answer 7. Answer I make my own food by photosynthesis (FoodSource) I live in water (Habitat) I am used in the construction of some houses (Main Use) Answer Extra: If you are studying minibeasts at school this year you may like to enter your data into the file called Minibeast. When you have a lot of minibeasts in your file you can look at the information using the skills you have learned so far. You can even use your file as a key to help you identify minibeasts that you find. Primary Science: Plants & Animals 14
Answers to Activity Sheets Activity Sheet 1 Looking at Information 1. I look like a small animal with a big bushy tail. 3. I am an animal. I look like a very large bird which cannot fly. Activity Sheet 2 Searching the Information 1. I am an animal. I look like a large cat with a bushy mane. 2. I am an animal. I look like a small gold coloured fish. 3. The stone is not alive. The teddy bear is not alive. The carrot is alive. The swan is warm. The shark is cold. 4. The chameleon is an animal. The bee is an animal. The cactus is a plant. The bicycle is an object. Activity Sheet 4 Looking closer 2. The Lion breathes through lungs. The Lion is warm blooded. The Lion has 4 legs. 3. The Whale has a backbone. The Whale breathes through lungs. The Whale is warm blooded. 4. The daisy does not move. The daisy gets its energy by making its own food. 5. A Stickleback has spines on its back. 6. The rhinoceros has a horn on its nose. 7. A fly carries germs into your house. 8. The octopus has long tentacles. Activity Sheet 5 A Quiz 1. The lion, frog and goldfish have a backbone. 2. The daisy, dandelion, apple and grass plants have flowers. 3. Cod is used for food. The oak tree is used in construction. The horse is used for transport. Penicillin is used for medicine. Cotton is used in clothes. 4. Lion Warm Live young Eats plants or other animals Robin Warm Eggs Eats plants or other animals Goldfish Cold Eggs Eats plants or other animals Buttercup Cold Seeds Makes its own food Oak tree Cold Seeds Makes its own food Primrose Cold Seeds Makes its own food 5. All animals eat plants or other animals. All plants make their own food. Three plants which do eat other plants or animals include mushroom, toadstool and penicillin. Activity Sheet 6 Sorting and Searching 1. Barn Owl Animal Backbone Warm 2 Frog Animal Backbone Cold 4 Rose bush Plant Flowers Cold 0 Turnip Plant Flowers Cold 0 2. There are 30 plants in the file. 3. There are 22 creatures with no backbone in the file. 4. The scorpion, the wasp and the stinging nettle all have stings. 5. The first flying creature is barn owl. The last flying creature is Wasp. 6. a. The short eared owl. b. The barn owl. Activity Sheet 7 Plotting Graphs 1. There are more animals in the datafile. 2. Most plants and animals in the file are cold. 3. Yes. Seeds are produced by plants with flowers. 4. There are no warm plants. 5. No, plants with flowers reproduce with seeds. True or False? 1. True. 2. False. 3. True. 4. False. 5. False. 6. True. Activity Sheet 8 Who am I? 1. Penguin. 2. Whelk. 3. Sea Lettuce. 4. Penicillin. 5. Butterfly. 6. Turtle. 7. Reed. Primary Science: Plants & Animals 16