A Guide to Animals, Including Humans (KS1): Fun Facts & Teacher Tips
Hello, fellow educators and parents! Welcome to one of the most exciting topics in the Key Stage 1 science curriculum: Animals, Including Humans. This is where young learners discover the incredible diversity of the animal kingdom, learn what makes an animal an animal, and begin to understand their own place within it.
To help you bring this topic to life, we’ve created our comprehensive “Animals Including Humans – KS1” presentation, which you’ll find embedded on this page. This article is the perfect companion, summarising the key learning points and offering practical tips for teaching this wonderful subject in your classroom.
What is an Animal? The Five Main Groups
First, what makes an animal an animal? Animals are living things that can move, eat, breathe air, and have babies (reproduce). They are found all over the world in many different environments.
For KS1, we can classify animals into five main groups:
- Fish: These animals live in water and have fins.
- Amphibians: They can live on land and in water.
- Reptiles: These animals have scaly skin.
- Birds: Birds have wings and are covered in feathers.
- Mammals: Mammals, including humans, have hair or fur and usually give birth to live young.
What’s on the Menu? Carnivores, Herbivores, and Omnivores
A great way to understand animals is by looking at what they eat.
- Carnivores: These are animals that eat mainly meat, like lions and eagles. They often have sharp teeth to help them.
- Herbivores: These animals eat mostly plants. Cows and elephants are good examples, and they have flat teeth for chewing grass and leaves.
- Omnivores: These animals eat both plants and meat. Bears and humans are both omnivores.
A Look at Our Amazing Bodies
Animals have different body parts to help them survive. For example, lions have strong legs for running, frogs have legs for jumping, birds have wings for flying, and fish have fins for swimming.
Humans are mammals, and it’s important for children to identify their own basic body parts:
- Head and Torso: The head holds our eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, while the torso is the central part of our body.
- Limbs: We have arms and hands for lifting and touching, and legs and feet for walking, running, and balancing.
- The Five Senses: We explore the world using our senses: sight (eyes), hearing (ears), taste (tongue), touch (skin), and smell (nose).
The Circle of Life: Growth and Basic Needs
All animals have young, known as offspring. These offspring grow and change as they develop into adults. Think of a tadpole growing into a frog or a chick hatching from an egg.
To survive and grow, all animals, including humans, have the same basic needs:
- Air to breathe.
- Water to stay hydrated.
- Food for energy and nutrients.
- Shelter for safety and protection.
Staying Healthy: A Special Look at Humans
For humans, staying healthy is very important. Three key areas for KS1 children to understand are:
- Exercise: Regular physical activity keeps our hearts, lungs, muscles, and bones strong. It also makes us feel happy and full of energy.
- Healthy Eating: A balanced diet with a variety of foods like fruits, vegetables, and proteins gives our bodies the right nutrients to grow.
- Hygiene: Simple habits like washing our hands with soap, bathing regularly, and covering our mouths when we cough help stop the spread of germs and keep us healthy.
How to Teach “Animals, Including Humans” in Your KS1 Classroom
This topic is full of opportunities for fun, hands-on learning. Here are a few ideas:
- Animal Group Sorting: Use a set of animal toys or picture cards. Ask the children to sort them into the five main groups (fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals) and explain their reasons.
- Diet Detectives: Create three large posters labelled “Carnivore,” “Herbivore,” and “Omnivore.” Give children pictures of different animals and have them stick them onto the correct poster.
- “Simon Says” Body Parts: Play a game of Simon Says to reinforce the basic human body parts. “Simon says touch your head,” “Simon says wiggle your hands,” etc. It’s a great way to get children moving!
- Design a Healthy Meal: Give children a paper plate and ask them to draw or glue on pictures of food to create a balanced, healthy meal. This is a perfect way to teach about healthy eating habits.
- Habitat Dioramas: Have children create a shoebox diorama for a specific animal, making sure they include everything the animal needs to survive (food, water, shelter).
We hope this guide provides a great starting point for your lessons. For a complete visual journey through this topic, be sure to use our “Animals, Including Humans – KS1” presentation!
