Year 3 - Endangered Species
Key Questions
Why are plants and animals important to our world?
Key Knowledge
Knowledge - children will know:
A species can be an animal, a tree, a fungus, an insect, or any number of life forms on this planet. Altogether we call this range of life ‘biodiversity’.
Humans don’t really know how many species there are in our world – new species are still being discovered.
Some species are a risk of disappearing (becoming extinct), these species are referred to as endangered species.
Animals and plants of any shape, size and in any part of the world can become endangered because of many different reasons
There are different reasons why animals become endangered with human activity being the greatest threat to the survival of endangered species.
Human activity which increases the risk of extinction include:
- Climate change
- Loss of habitat
- Cutting down tress (deforestation)
- Over-hunting
- Poaching.
Extinction hasn’t just happened, humans actions in the past have led to the extinction of species. Not all endangered species are known about – someone has to work out that a type of animal or plant is in trouble before they are added to an endangered list. Some animals and plants may not have been discovered yet so could become extinct before people even know about them!
Lots of different animals are linked together through the food chain, or just because they share a habitat. When one type of animal becomes endangered or extinct, it can affect others.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has created The Red List to rank species according to their numbers and their threat levels.
Many countries have laws in place that protect endangered species. Sometimes people deliberate break these laws.
People can help endangered species through conversation. This means doing things – maybe even changing the way we do things – to make sure plants and animals are protected.
Zoos can play a role in animal conversation.
Contextualised teaching and learning. Children will apply their knowledge to a context (contexts are based on learning through stories).
Endangered animals caused by illegal poaching - focus on the Black Rhino.
Development of Skills:
Presentation –
Learning more – visit to Twycross Zoo, or Drayton Manor Zoo, to learn more about their conversation work.