Example · Science · Year 2 · England

Whitby Rock Pool Explorers

Hannah, Whitby, North Yorkshire

Built by ALF Studio from exactly what each teacher typed, then changed the way that teacher teaches.

What she typed · word for word

“Why do limpets cling to the top rocks while anemones hide at the bottom? Pupils survey Whitby's rock pools at low tide, test in class which conditions shore creatures prefer, and make an illustrated rock pool guide for families visiting the harbour this summer.”

On the form: England (National Curriculum) · Year 2 · Science · 3 weeks · 2 lessons a week, 60 minutes · Whitby, North Yorkshire

Why it is here

Six-year-olds doing a genuine shore transect, then explaining microhabitats to tourists.

What a school would ask first

Tide tables, one adult to four pupils, a rising-tide cut-off; creatures returned where they were found.

Example teacher

Hannah

Whitby, North Yorkshire

Teaches: Year 2 Science, England (National Curriculum).
Her lessons: 2 a week, 60 minutes.

Standards on the form

KS1 Science: identify that most living things…: identify that most living things live in habitats to which they are suited and describe how different habitats provide for the basic needs of different kinds of animals and plants, and how they depend on each otherSuggested by ALF, kept
KS1 Science: identify and name a variety of plants…: identify and name a variety of plants and animals in their habitats, including microhabitatsChosen with Choose your own

The unit as she left it

Drafted Oct 8 in 19 seconds · 5 changes since

Science · Year 2 · 3 weeks

Whitby Rock Pool Explorers

Driving question

Where do rock pool animals like to live?

Standards

KS1 Science: identify that most living things…

identify that most living things live in habitats to which they are suited and describe how different habitats provide for the basic needs of different kinds of animals and plants, and how they depend on each other

TAUGHT IN Week 1, activity 2; Week 2, activity 1; Week 2, activity 2; Week 3, activity 2ASSESSED BY Explaining Animal Needs

KS1 Science: identify and name a variety of plants…

identify and name a variety of plants and animals in their habitats, including microhabitats

TAUGHT IN Week 1, activity 1; Week 1, activity 2; Week 2, activity 2; Week 3, activity 1ASSESSED BY Naming Shore Creatures

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Overview

Pupils explore the rocky shore microhabitats of Whitby to discover why different sea creatures live in different spots. Across three weeks, pupils examine rocky shore finds, investigate damp and dry conditions in the classroom, and produce an illustrated rock pool spotter guide to help visiting families explore the shore safely and gently.

Entry event

The teacher brings in a shore discovery tray with seaweed, empty limpet shells, and sea water, alongside large photographs of the rocky shore at Whitby harbour. Pupils use magnifying glasses to touch the shells and wonder why some creatures stick tight to dry top rocks while others stay deep in cool puddles.

Need to know

What creatures live on our rocks?
Why do limpets stick so tight?
Why do anemones need deep water?
How can visitors look after rock pool animals?

Week by week

Your lessons: 2 a week, 60 minutes.

Week 1

Spot and name a few common shore creatures on the rocks.

Explore real shells and shore finds on the carpet, listen to a seaside information story, and sort photo cards into animals found high on dry rocks versus deep in wet pools. Survey the pools below the East Cliff and at Saltwick Bay rather than a generic beach from the video.
· 1 lesson
Go on a teacher-led shore survey along the rocks near Whitby harbour at low tide to spot, name, and record limpets, barnacles, crabs, and anemones on a picture tally sheet. Put pupils in mixed-ability trios with a spotter, a recorder and a ruler-holder so everyone has a job on the shore.
· 1 lesson

Supports

Provide picture word cards for EAL learners; offer pre-printed picture checklists with tactile counters for pupils with SEND; challenge fast finishers to tally three different types of seaweed. Give pupils a picture tally sheet with six common creatures so they can record what they find without needing to write.

Deliverable

A picture tally sheet showing a few creatures found on the rocks.

Week 2

Test how rock pool creatures survive when the tide goes out.

Set up a classroom test using damp sponges and dry trays with model limpets and anemones to observe what happens when water dries up in the sun and wind.
· 1 lesson
Draft a page for a visitor spotter guide in pairs, drawing one high-shore animal and one low-pool animal with labelled body parts and simple habitat notes.
· 1 lesson

Supports

Use bilingual animal labels with home language support for EAL pupils; provide cut-out sentence starters and pre-drawn rock templates for SEND pupils; encourage confident pupils to write a sentence explaining how a shell traps water.

Deliverable

Draft spotter guide page with drawings and simple habitat notes.

Week 3

Refine the spotter guide and share rock pool tips with families.

Take part in a two stars and a wish peer critique on the carpet, then add colour and clear labels to finish the spotter guide pages.
· 1 lesson
Host visiting families in the classroom to present the completed spotter guides and share simple rock pool safety rules before summer trips to the shore.
· 1 lesson

Supports

Allow EAL pupils to share their guide orally using gesture and visual prompts; pair pupils with SEND with a supportive buddy during the showcase; ask extended pupils to model a rock pool safety rule for guests.

Deliverable

Finished illustrated rock pool spotter guide page.

Critique and revision

Week 2, activity 2

Pupils sit in pairs on the carpet to share drafts using two stars and a wish, with the teacher reading aloud labels and suggesting clearer details.

Student reflection

Pupils share one thing they learned about keeping shore animals safe by finishing the spoken sentence: 'I used to think, but now I know...'

Final product

What they make

An illustrated rock pool spotter guide page showing local shore creatures and where they live.

Options

Pupils choose whether to feature a limpet clinging to upper rocks or an anemone sheltering in a deep pool, and choose between coloured pencils or cut paper collage.

Who sees it

Families visiting the classroom on the last day of week 3.

Teams

Pairs chosen by the teacher, grouping pupils with complementary drawing and speaking strengths.

Rubric3 rows · 4 levels

Criterion	beginning	developing	proficient	advanced
Naming Shore Creatures KS1 Science: identify and name a variety of plants… · individual	Points to an animal on the guide when prompted by an adult.	Names one shore creature correctly on the guide.	Identifies and names two or more shore creatures correctly on the guide.	Names two shore creatures and clearly identifies the microhabitat where each belongs.
Explaining Animal Needs KS1 Science: identify that most living things… · individual	States that shore animals need water to live.	Tells an adult that an animal prefers wet or dry rocks.	Describes how a creature's rock pool microhabitat provides what it needs to survive low tide.	Explains how two different shore creatures depend on their specific microhabitats to avoid drying out.
Sharing Work Collaboration · team	Works alongside a partner with regular adult direction.	Shares materials and takes turns drawing with occasional adult prompts.	Shares materials fairly and talks through ideas together to complete the guide page.	Listens closely to a partner's ideas and helps present their joint guide page clearly to visitors.

Naming Shore Creatures

KS1 Science: identify and name a variety of plants… · individual

beginning

Points to an animal on the guide when prompted by an adult.

developing

Names one shore creature correctly on the guide.

proficient

Identifies and names two or more shore creatures correctly on the guide.

advanced

Names two shore creatures and clearly identifies the microhabitat where each belongs.

Explaining Animal Needs

KS1 Science: identify that most living things… · individual

beginning

States that shore animals need water to live.

developing

Tells an adult that an animal prefers wet or dry rocks.

proficient

Describes how a creature's rock pool microhabitat provides what it needs to survive low tide.

advanced

Explains how two different shore creatures depend on their specific microhabitats to avoid drying out.

Sharing Work

Collaboration · team

beginning

Works alongside a partner with regular adult direction.

developing

Shares materials and takes turns drawing with occasional adult prompts.

proficient

Shares materials fairly and talks through ideas together to complete the guide page.

advanced

Listens closely to a partner's ideas and helps present their joint guide page clearly to visitors.

Materials

A shallow plastic discovery tray with sea water, rinsed seaweed, and empty limpet shells.
Photographs of the rocky shore at Whitby harbour at low tide.
A non-fiction picture book about seashore animals and rock pools.
Sponges, small plastic trays, and water sprays for the damp and dry test.
A tide timetable for the Whitby coastline to confirm low tide times before the walk.
check before use

Week 2, ready to teach

2 lessons · Built Oct 8 in 35 seconds

The week card on her unit reads: "Started from your changes to week 1: Made it local, Added a scaffold, Changed the grouping." Each lesson is a page for her, the task sheet is for the class, and ALF wrote the attachments the lessons hand out.

Week 2 · Lesson 1 of 2

Shell Clamps and Drying Sponges

Minutes60

Prep12 minutes

Parts5

BuiltOct 8

Checkpoint

Each pupil records sponge moisture test observations comparing covered and uncovered sponges, checked by the teacher on their observation card.

Learning objective

Test how rock pool creatures survive when the tide goes out.

I can test how a hard shell keeps moisture trapped underneath

I can describe how a limpet survives low tide on bare rock

Need to know

How do limpets stop from drying up when the tide goes out?

Sequence, 60 minutes45 of 60 minutes planned. The rest is yours.

Starter · 5 min

Pairs look at their completed picture tally sheet from last week's shore visit. Remind pupils that the tide rises and falls twice every twenty four hours along the Whitby coastline, exposing rock surfaces to air, sun, and wind. Pupils name where they saw limpets stuck fast on high rocks.

Main · 7 min

Explain that limpets clamp tightly against bare rock to trap seawater beneath their hard cone shells so their soft bodies do not dry out, while beadlet anemones pull their tentacles inside their squishy bodies when exposed to air, but they require deep water pools to open and feed. Introduce t, the drying time in minutes. Worked example, with example figures: if sponge water volume is 20 millilitres, an uncovered sponge feels dry after t = 20 minutes, whereas a sponge tucked under a hard cup shell stays damp.

Work time · 22 min

Pairs build a sponge moisture testing tray by placing two damp sponges soaked with sponge water volume. One partner places a shell cup firmly over one sponge while the other leaves the second sponge bare to test evaporation. Both partners inspect the shore creature reference photo cards and evaluate sponge dampness at t = 15 minutes, recording drying test observations on their damp and dry observation card. The teacher circulates, checking touch tests.

Check · 8 min

Each pupil hands in their completed damp and dry observation card with the wettest sponge circled and one reason written or drawn. The teacher checks whether each card identifies the covered sponge as damp, re-testing sponge moisture with any pupil who recorded the bare sponge as wetter. Next lesson uses these results to draft our visitor spotter guide page.

Plenary · 3 min

Tidy-up: equipment switched off, returned and stored, and surfaces cleared.

Resources

havecompleted picture tally sheet

havesponge moisture testing tray stock: plastic trays, sponge squares, measuring syringes, plastic shell cups

makedamp and dry observation card

makeshore creature reference photo cards

Misconceptions

Pupils think limpets leave their shells to swim when the tide rises. Clarify that the limpet stays inside its cone shell and creeps along the rock to graze.

Safety

Spilled water on desks or floor is a slip hazard. Pupils use syringes carefully over trays and wipe up drips immediately with cloths.

Adaptive teaching

Scaffold.Fine motor barrier measuring liquid: provide pre-soaked sponge squares and tactile damp and dry feeling squares before pupils record.

Challenge.Explain in one sentence why a beadlet anemone cannot survive glued high up on sunny, bare rock like a clamped limpet.

Next lesson

Next lesson we draft the rock pool spotter guide page using our drying test results.

Her three edits

Each labeled by ALF after the save

What Hannah changed in the draft, in her own words, with the label ALF gave each change and the reason it suggested.

Made it localWeek 1 · Activity 1Probably: local context
Explore real shells and shore finds on the carpet, listen to a seaside information story, and sort photo cards into animals found high on dry rocks versus deep in wet pools. Survey the pools below the East Cliff and at Saltwick Bay rather than a generic beach from the video.
Added a scaffoldWeek 1 · SupportsProbably: support
Provide picture word cards for EAL learners; offer pre-printed picture checklists with tactile counters for pupils with SEND; challenge fast finishers to tally three different types of seaweed. Give pupils a picture tally sheet with six common creatures so they can record what they find without needing to write.
Changed the groupingWeek 1 · Activity 2Maybe: fits my students
Go on a teacher-led shore survey along the rocks near Whitby harbour at low tide to spot, name, and record limpets, barnacles, crabs, and anemones on a picture tally sheet. Put pupils in mixed-ability trios with a spotter, a recorder and a ruler-holder so everyone has a job on the shore.

Then she pressed Adapt this week

Week 1 · Too hard

Her note, with Too hard picked

“Low tide only gives us about forty minutes on the rocks, and my Year 1s ran out of time. Make the goal and the tally smaller so everyone can finish on the shore.”

ALF suggested. Week 1 goal and tally deliverable simplified for limited shore time.

Kept · ChangedMade it easier
Name shore creatures and spot where they live on the rocks.
Spot and name a few common shore creatures on the rocks.
A simpler goal gives pupils time to finish during the short low tide.
Kept · ChangedMade it easier
A completed picture tally sheet showing creatures found in high rocks and low pools.
A picture tally sheet showing a few creatures found on the rocks.
A smaller tally lets pupils complete their record on the shore without rushing.

She kept 2 of 2.

ALF had built week 2 before this. The week card reads “Started from your changes to week 1: Made it local, Added a scaffold, Changed the grouping.” Read the lessons.

Build one from your own idea

Type what you want to teach the way Hannah did. ALF drafts the unit, and you change whatever does not fit your class.

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