Support your Year 5 students in their Biological Sciences: Surviving in Specific Habitats unit of work with the assessment task, Amazing Adaptations.

Created to coincide with the Year 5 Biological Sciences Australian Curriculum, this activity will provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate their understanding of the concepts related to how particular structural features and behaviours of living things enable their survival in specific habitats (AC9S5U01), and why advances in science are often the result of collaboration or build on the work of others (AC9S5H01).

After viewing our Surviving in Specific Habitats PowerPoint, which includes slides explaining that in 1799, British zoologist George Shaw originally believed the platypus was a hoax, students will write a time-travelling news article to send to the past in the hopes of disproving these beliefs.

Students will begin the assessment by developing questions to guide their research of the topic, using the Posing Platypus Questions worksheets. Upon completing their research, students will apply their ideas and findings to compose a news article using the template, The Daily Discovery. In this article, students will describe how the platypus’ structural and behavioural adaptations enable it to survive in its habitat, its significance to First Nations Australians and information related to modern scientists’ discoveries. They will also draw illustrations and add appropriate features that complement the article. This resource includes a scaffolded and blank version, as well as additional article templates for students who require more writing space.

Once their article is complete, students can share it with a partner and consider what further questions they still have. Finally, students can reflect upon the inquiry process using the Amazing Adaptations: My Self-Reflection worksheet. Teachers can assess this task using the Amazing Adaptations: Assessment Rubric. A blank version of this document has also been included.