Teach Primary 18.8

Have you noticed moss growing around your school grounds? Inside these small moss cushions and moss mats lives a hidden ecosystem of bizarre organisms. These animals are too small to see with the naked eye, but by using a simple microscope we can look into their world. Within this extreme microhabitat are five microscopic animals that are easy to identify by their unique features. Each has special adaptations to survive in moss. Take your class on a Moss Safari – a tiny adventure – in search of the microscopic Big Five animals. 1 | THE MOSS SQUEEZE Collect a small sample of moss, about the size of a thumbnail, from the school grounds, placing it in a small plastic bag. Put the moss sample in a shallow dish and pour some water on it. If the moss is dry, leave it to soak in water overnight. Take care not to collect moss from out-of-reach places, and always wash your hands afterwards. For this investigation you’ll need a digital microscope, a stereomicroscope or a compound microscope. You’ll also require a shallow dish, a plastic pipette and, if using a compound microscope, a glass dimple slide and a coverslip. Take the soaking moss and squeeze it into the dish; all the animals will be in this water. Place the dish under the digital microscope or stereomicroscope. Use a lamp to sidelight the sample. For a compound microscope, use the pipette to transfer a few drops of moss-squeeze onto the glass slide and place on the cover slip. Place the slide on the microscope stage. You are now ready for your Moss Safari. 2 | WHAT TO LOOK FOR On your Moss Safari, you’ll need to look out for five animals that are less than a millimetre in length. The START HERE MAIN LESSON WHAT THEY’LL LEARN l That moss is a microhabitat that changes daily and with seasons. It can be very wet, or dry out completely, and can freeze in the winter l That a microscope can make very small animals visible l That there are five microscopic animals with adaptations to survive living in dry or frozen moss Science Start by asking children where they see moss around them. They might say along walls, on roofs, between paving slabs, on trees and within grass. Discuss the types of places that moss likes to grow, which are usually damp and shaded. Some can survive periods of bright sunlight on roofs and on walls. Ask for descriptions of what mosses look like: small, green, furry . Then ask what moss needs to survive. Establish that moss is a plant and that it needs space to grow, light to make food, water and oxygen. Do they think any animals live in moss? Let’s have a microscopic adventure! You can go on safari without even leaving the school playground, says Dr Andy Chandler-Grevatt KS2 LESSON PLAN @mosssafari mosssafari.com 94 | www.teachwire.net