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Studying minibeasts, like these ants, is great fun and science too!

Investigating - Minibeasts

Explore KS1 Science by investigating minibeasts, where they live, and how we can sort them into groups using their bodies, habitats, and behaviours.

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Fascinating Fact:

You can classify by habitat, such as soil lovers (worms), leaf crawlers (beetles), and plant climbers (aphids).

In KS1 Science, you explore real minibeasts outdoors and indoors. You learn to observe carefully, describe where they live, and classify them into groups using simple, clear rules.

Key Terms

Minibeast: A small animal without a backbone, such as a worm, snail, spider, or insect.
Habitat: The place where a living thing lives and finds what it needs to survive.
Classify: To sort living things into groups using shared features, like number of legs or where they are found.

Frequently Asked Questions (Click to see answers)

What are minibeasts in KS1 science?

In KS1 science, minibeasts are small animals such as insects, spiders, worms, and snails. Children study their bodies, habitats, and how they help the environment.

How can children classify minibeasts?

Children can classify minibeasts by counting legs, looking for wings, checking if they have segments, or grouping them by habitat, such as soil, leaves, trees, or under stones.

Why is it important to study minibeasts in primary school?

Studying minibeasts helps children understand food chains, habitats, and caring for living things. It also builds observation, recording, and simple scientific enquiry skills.

Try These Related Quizzes

1 .

It takes time to do the experiments. Where should the children keep the woodlice between experiments?

In a damp, airy box with leaf litter

On their desks

In a dry, plastic container above a radiator

In their pockets

Look after minibeasts like woodlice

2 .

Josh has a choice chamber. It is divided into four. One part he leaves empty. What should he do with the other three?

Put a little water into one of them

Cover one in card to make it dark

Put a few leaves into one of them

Do all three of these things

If Josh does all three, he will then give the woodlice lots of choices

3 .

Kim helps Josh with his experiment. They put the twenty woodlice into the choice chamber. What should they do?

Shake the choice chamber about

Leave the woodlice for one minute

Leave the woodlice for ten minutes

Tip up the choice chamber

The woodlice need time to find their way around and decide where they like best

4 .

Ryan is going to get the results. What should he do?

Count how many woodlice are in the empty chamber

Count how many woodlice are in the wet chamber

Count how many woodlice are in each chamber

See where the biggest woodlouse has gone

Ryan will have to lift the lid very carefully so as not to disturb the woodlice

5 .

Joe is going to write down the results. What should he do?

Draw a table with four columns

Write each one on a scrap of paper

Draw a table with two columns

Keep them in his head

Joe needs a table with four columns because there are four different chambers for the woodlice to choose

6 .

How can they display their results?

On a display on a board

On a computer

With drawings of the four chambers

In all of these ways

All these are good ways of displaying their results

7 .

How can they tell other people about their results?

By talking to people

By emailing their results

By writing about their results

By doing all three of these things

Yes, there are lots of different ways of telling people about your results

8 .

Josh says he thinks they should repeat the experiment. Why does Josh think they should repeat the experiment?

Because it isn’t home time yet

Because he doesn’t like their results

Because he likes investigating woodlice

Because he wants to check if the woodlice do the same thing again

Repeating an experiment is always a good idea, if there is time

9 .

They decide to repeat the experiment. Kim says he thinks they should use the same 20 woodlice. But Joe says they should use a fresh group of 20 woodlice. Why does Joe say this?

Because the first 20 woodlice may have learned where to go

Because he wants to collect more woodlice

Because it’s fun looking under logs

Because Kim is always wrong

In this case, it is a good idea to use new woodlice

10 .

What should the children do with the woodlice after they have finished their experiments?