Changing environments: land development and deforestation | Science

Starter quiz

An ______ is the surroundings that an animal or plant lives in.

'environment' ✓
Which of these are natural environments?

river bank ✓

children's playground

shopping centre

beach ✓

forest ✓
Which of these are human made environments?

car park ✓

bridge ✓

coral reef

classroom ✓

desert
Which of these are natural disasters?

a village flooding ✓

swallows migrating

an earthquake destroying buildings ✓

leaves falling off a tree in autumn

hedgehogs hibernating
Match the name of the activities that happen due to seasonal change to its description.

migration

⇔

birds flying to a different country in autumn ✓

hibernation

⇔

an animal sleeping for a long time during winter ✓

food collection and storage

⇔

squirrels collecting and burying nuts ✓
All living things have requirements that need to be met for them to survive. Which of these are requirements for life?

chocolate

mobile phone

food ✓

water ✓

air ✓

Exit quiz

Humans can have a ______ impact on environments when they change land use.

'negative' ✓
Which of these are examples of negative human impact on an environment?

birds migrating to a warmer country

a housing development being built in the countryside ✓

a bridge falling down when it has been hit by an earthquake

a forest being cut down for building materials ✓
Match the environment changes to their impacts on living things.

deforestation

⇔

removes trees and habitats ✓

new roads

⇔

divides animals habitats leading to animals being injured ✓

bright lights in cities at night

⇔

nocturnal animals struggle to hunt their prey ✓

increased noise from towns

⇔

animals are too scared to leave their shelters to feed ✓
A growing __________ can mean that houses are are built on land where there was once countryside.

population ✓

habitat

environment
What can happen when the human population grows?

More houses need to be built. ✓

Less houses need to be built.

Habitats are destroyed for changing land use. ✓

Habitats are left unchanged.
What does deforestation mean?

People plant more trees.

People enjoy walking in the forests.

People clear forests using the land for something else other than growing trees. ✓

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Lesson Details

Key learning points

The actions of humans can have a negative impact on the environment.
A negative impact happens when changes cause harm to an environment or the living things within it.
A growing human population can mean that towns and cities are often developed on land where there was once countryside.
Deforestation is when forests are removed by humans.
Developments in an environment take requirements away from the living things already living there.

Common misconception

Changes in the environment will not directly affect us.

Encourage the children to become aware of many different habitats and start to see how they are all interconnected and how when one thing is changed, it can impact other living things.

Keywords

Environment - The environment is the surroundings of a living thing, including other plants or animals and the conditions they live in.
Impact - The impact of something is the effect it has.
Population - A population is all the living things of one type, living in a particular place.
Deforestation - Deforestation is the removal of trees from land which is then used for a non-forest purpose.
Habitat - The place where a plant or animal lives.