Preview · the opening missionRead this to the class:
A wildlife film crew is making a programme called Better Together? Their director writes: "We filmed wolves, meerkats, fish, bees and penguins in big groups. But a tiger lives alone and does fine. Does living in a group really help animals survive?" Your team's job: collect evidence from the animal cards and from a game, then argue whether living in a group helps animals survive, and how.
Teams of three, with three jobs that rotate: Reader (reads each card aloud), Spotter (finds the survival clue) and Recorder (writes it in the table).
Look inside the PDF
Sample pages, stamped “preview”. The download is the clean, full lesson.
In the full lesson PDF
9 printable pages
- Predict (5–10 min)
- Hunt (20 min)
- Reveal (10–15 min)
- Act (10 min)
- Background for the teacher
- Assessment
- Student sheet
- Worksheet: Animal data cards
- Worksheet: Feeding cards
- Worksheet: Label it
- Worksheet: Try it at home
On the student sheet
- My predictions
- How does the group help?
- Predator game
- My argument
- Animal data cards
- Feeding cards
- Label it
- Try it at home
US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white. The student sheet is on its own page, ready to photocopy.
Free with an account (any 3 lessons), or US$19 for all 4 lessons in this unit.
What students show by the end
- Uses card evidence
- Uses game data
- Argues
From the lesson’s rubric, which scores each one as not yet, getting there or got it.
Questions teachers ask
How long does “Why do some animals live in groups?” take?
45–60 min. Group size: teams of 3, then the whole class for the game.
How much prep does it need?
10 minutes: print the animal data cards (one set per team, cut apart along the lines) and copy the student sheet. Choose a clear space for the game: a hall, the schoolyard, or the classroom with desks pushed back. Copy one feeding card per student.
What materials do I need?
None. No materials needed: just the printed sheets.
Which curriculum standards does it cover?
NGSS (US): 3-LS2-1. It also matches Cambridge Primary Science, Stages 3 to 5 (not endorsed by Cambridge).
What’s in the lesson PDF?
A teacher guide that walks you through predict, hunt, reveal, act, background for the teacher and assessment, then a student sheet (“My predictions”, “How does the group help?”, “Predator game”, “My argument”, “Animal data cards”, “Feeding cards”, “Label it” and “Try it at home”) on its own page, ready to photocopy. It’s US Letter and prints cleanly in black and white.
Can I try it for free?
Yes. A free account includes any 3 full lessons of your choice, and this can be one of them. After that, this unit is US$19 for all 4 lessons, yours to keep, or every lesson is US$199 a year.