CLIL: DIDACTIC UNIT Sciences: Classification of living

organisms

By Teresa Marhuenda Segarra

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SESSION 1

1. Read the text and determine if the statements a-e are true (T) or false (F):

BIODIVERSITY

There are thousands of plant and animal species on earth. They are all continuously

evolving and adapting to the environment around them. Biodiversity is the variety of life

found on our planet and all ecosystems where we find this life.

Imagine the earth is a perfect machine with all its components (plants, animals and

climates) working to maintain the balance of nature. Life depends on factors as

temperature, altitude, precipitation, presence of other species and geography. For this

reason, the diversity of species is perfectly distributed in the world to ensure the machine

of nature works well.

Biodiversity is also important for human health. Around 80% of all medicine is derived

from plants. In the machine of nature, if one of the components doesn’t work well it will

affect the function of the machine. Killing some plants can mean that we cannot produce

a cure for some disease because the plant we need to produce the medicine has gone

extinct.

Humans are affecting the biodiversity of the planet destructing some habitat to extract

minerals, which destroys animals’ homes. Humans also hunt animals, like elephants in

Tanzania, to get the ivory from their tusks, or seals in Canada to take their skin.

a. Biodiversity only includes animals and plants. _____

b. Biodiversity affects human health. _____

c. Animals and plants can go extinct because of humans. _____

d. Humans respect biodiversity. _____

e. Temperature, altitude and presence of other species are essential for life. _____

2. Find a synonym in the text to this words and expressions:

a. equilibrium (paragraph 2): ______________

b. to disappear (paragraph 3): ______________

c. exterminating (paragraph 3): ______________

d. remedy (paragraph 3): ______________

e. to capture (paragraph 4): ______________

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3. Comment with your partner the biodiversity you find in your town and

make a list. Then, at home, try to identify their names on the Internet and

write a list.

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

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SESSION 2

1. Listen and complete the gaps with the missing words:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7tkgOKxJbzFSlVhU01vMVg5NXc/view?usp=sharin

g

Biodiversity is the variety of animals and __________ found on this planet including the

geographic locations they are found in. The diversity of __________is not evenly

distributed throughout __________ because life depends on many factors including

geography. For example, tropical regions support more life than __________regions.

Plants, animals and __________work together to maintain the balance of nature. They

act as nuts, bolts and oil of a perfectly tuned __________. The pyramid of Nature’s

Balance: Biodiversity is important for sustaining __________on Earth because it prevents

any one species from throwing the balance of nature out of order. Snakes are not a

welcome presence in our lives. So we fear them and try to get rid of them. One of the

many things that snakes feed on is __________. If we were to kill all the snakes, we

would end up having a terrible rat __________. Biodiversity means maintaining the

balance of nature so that no one thing can become too powerful and therefore

__________for everyone else.

2. Write a sentence for each of the pictures according to what you know so far

about biodiversity:

_______________________________

_______________________________

_______________________________

_______________________________

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_______________________________

_______________________________

_______________________________

_______________________________

_______________________________

_______________________________

_______________________________

_______________________________

_______________________________

_______________________________

_______________________________

_______________________________

3. Read the clues across and down and complete the crossword:

Across

3. We can have a problem with these little animals if we kill snakes.

4. Plants, animals and climate act as a __________.

5. Biodiversity maintains the ___________ of nature.

9. This regions support more life than polar regions.

10. They feed on rats.

Down

1. The variety of animals and plants on the Earth

2. Biodiversity is the _____________ of animals and plants on Earth.

6. It depends on plants, animals and geography.

7. There are a lot in our planet, both of animal and plants.

8. These regions support less life than tropical ones.

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SESSION 3

1. Watch the video and answer the questions:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bbw7n05lYJo

a. Can you write one of the three main characteristics the animal kingdom?

________________________________________________________________

b. Are animals unicellular or multicellular?

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c. How do plants make their own food?

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d. How can fungi be?

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e. Are bacteria unicellular or multicellular?

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f. The animals of which kingdom are seen on microscope?

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g. Do algae need water to live?

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h. Can algae be multicellular?

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2. Write the name of each kingdom in the boxes according to the pictures:

3. Put the sentences in the correct order:

a. be can multicellular. or Fungi unicellular

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b. are eat mobile plants. Animals and animals other and

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c. are Plants make immobile. their food, are multicellular own, and

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d. organisms characteristics. of share kingdom each All unique

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4. Read the example. Then choose : and write a description of it. The description

should include information about the shape, the colour, the size, characteristics

and habitat.

5. Answer the following questions and check what you learned from this unit:

a. Can plants be used to produce medicines?

_______________________________________________________________

b. How do we call an organism made by one single cell?

________________________________________________________________

MUSHROOMS

They belong to the fungi kingdom.

They are small and white and they

have a kind of rounded cap on the

top. They have also a short stem.

They live in the forest. It is the most

cultivated fungi in the world. We

use them to cook a lot of different

dishes.

Draw here the living being you chose:

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c. How are humans destroying the biodiversity?

________________________________________________________________

d. Which are the five big groups of living beings on Earth?

________________________________________________________________

e. Which are the main factors to sustain life?

________________________________________________________________

PROJECT. Create a biodiversity collage and present it to your classmates.

BIODIVERSITY IN INDIA

Rhinoceros is an

endangered

animal in India

Lion-tailed macaques live

in southwest India in

evergreen forests.

Neelgai live on a variety of land

types from hillsides to level

ground with scattered grass

steppes, trees, and cultivated

areas, but not in thick forests.

Mango is the

national fruit of

India.

Gulmohar tree is one

of the most colourful

trees in the world

because of its orange

flowers and its bright

green leaves.