Goals for the session

Children aged 7 to 12 should practise careful observation, use simple features such as number of legs to sort animals into groups, and link each animal to the place it was found. The wider goal is respect: every creature goes back where it came from.

Children take away a labelled drawing of one animal, a tally chart from their own survey and the habit of looking under a leaf before stepping on it. Many will repeat the search at home, which is worth encouraging with a spare copy of the identification sheet and a reminder of the handling rules.

Sample session: minibeast survey (75 minutes)

For 12 to 16 children in groups of three or four. Materials per group: a white tray or plastic tub, a soft paintbrush, two or three clear pots with lids and air holes, hand lenses, a clipboard with a simple tally chart, and a simple identification sheet with pictures of common groups such as beetles, woodlice, spiders, worms and snails.

• 0-10 min: Agree the rules. Gentle hands, brush animals into pots rather than picking them up, and return everything within ten minutes.

• 10-20 min: Show how to lift a log or stone slowly towards you, look, and replace it the right way up.

• 20-50 min: Groups search two different spots, such as long grass and under leaf litter, and tally what they find.

• 50-60 min: Back at the tray, observe one animal closely with a hand lens and draw it, counting its legs and body parts.

• 60-75 min: Return all animals. Compare the two habitats and discuss why some creatures were only found in one place.

Safety and care

Check the area beforehand for broken glass, dog mess and plants that sting or scratch. Children wear gloves if they are turning over logs, and everyone washes hands at the end. Avoid handling any animal directly, and leave anything that might bite or sting, such as wasps, alone. Check for allergies before the session.

Adapting for different ages

Six and seven year olds can simply sort finds into legs and no legs, and count them. Older children can use a branching key to identify groups, make a bar chart of their tallies and repeat the survey in another season to compare results. Indoors on a wet day, a tray of leaf litter brought in for an hour works well, as long as it goes back outside afterwards.

Key points

• Set the handling rules before anyone lifts a log.

• Compare two habitats so children have something to explain.

• Close observation and drawing matter as much as finding lots of animals.

• Every animal goes back where it was found.

Ready-made resources

Printable session plans and materials for this topic are available from EduTrend Contents: W4C-120 Young Scientists Lab.

Photos: Ayla Meinberg, Anna Khromova / Unsplash