Animal-friendly school grounds

This exercise helps pupils to think about what wildlife needs and how they can make their school grounds more wildlife-friendly. It should be followed by the lesson Priorities for improvement.

Curriculum objectives

Pupils should learn:

• that there are different kinds of animals in the immediate environment
• to treat animals and the environment with care and sensitivity
• to observe the conditions in a local habitat and make a record of the animals found
• that animals are suited to the environment in which they are found.

Animal welfare objectives

• To explore how attractive the school grounds are to animals.
• To understand that we can help wildlife by leaving animals alone.
• To recognise that we can help wildlife by recycling and disposing of litter safely.

Learning outcomes 

At the end of this lesson:

• most pupils will: recognise that different animals live in the local environment and name some of them
• some pupils will not have made so much progress and will: recognise that different plants and animals live in the local environment
• some pupils will have progressed further and will also: suggest reasons why different animals are found in the different environments.