Teaching overview
Learning points
- The local government in Omaui, New Zealand, is planning to ban people from owning cats in order to protect wild birds.
- A hole has been found in the wall of a spacecraft docked at the International Space Station.
- Scientists have discovered that goats prefer smiley human faces to angry-looking ones.
Curriculum keywords
- Wildlife
- Space
- Animals
Video viewing guide
This graphic organiser supports your students to capture their thoughts and questions as they watch the news update.
Spark a discussion
Cat ban
- Do you think a ban on pet cats is a good idea? Why or why not?
- Can you think of any other ways to stop pet cats attacking wild animals?
- Apart from cats, what other kinds of threats do you think wild animals – such as birds – face around the world?
Spacecraft leak
- What does the Russian space agency think caused the hole in the Soyuz spacecraft? Can you think of any other possible explanations?
- Why do you think an oxygen leak on the International Space Station could be a problem?
- If you could visit the International Space Station, what would you do there? Why?
Goats prefer smiles
- Why do you think the goats approached the smiley faces first, instead of the angry-looking ones?
- Why do you think the researchers want to find out whether goats can recognize human emotions?
- Imagine you could do an experiment to learn something new about an animal. Which animal would you choose, and what would you want to find out?
Discover more about the topics covered in this week's News update
Twig Science: A Complete Pre-K–8 Program for the NGSS
Immersive Investigations with High-Quality Multimedia
- Investigating, designing, building, and understanding phenomena
- Hands-on, digital, video, and print investigations
- Synchronous/asynchronous distance learning