An external feature is a part of a plant or animal that you can see from the outside. Legs, wings, fur, feathers, fins, scales, leaves, roots and stems are all external features, because our eyes can see them.
Some features are inside the body, like bones and a heart. We cannot see those, so this lesson only looks at the features we CAN see.
We use our eyes to look closely at a plant or an animal and notice its shape and its parts. Some living things share a feature, like legs. Some living things have different features from each other, like feathers instead of fur, or scales instead of feathers.
Look at the plant in the picture.
It has a flower at the top.
It has leaves growing along the stem.
It has one long stem holding it up straight.
It has roots under the soil, soaking up water.
Flower, leaf, stem and roots are all external features of this plant, because we can see every one of them.
Walk around the garden or the park together and name the external features you can see on a real plant.
Read aloud: "Look at the plant. Write each word from the word bank next to the right part."
Word bank: flower, leaf, stem, roots
Read aloud: "Now finish the sentence."
5. The flat green part that catches sunlight is the .
We can put animals into groups by looking at their external features. This is called grouping. Grouping helps us see how living things are alike and how they are different.
If two animals both have wings, we can put them in the same group. If one animal has fur and another has scales, they go in different groups, because they do not share that feature.
To group an animal, look for features like: wings, fur, feathers, fins, scales and legs. Ask yourself questions like: does this animal have wings, or not? Does it have fur, feathers, or scales?
Look at the bird in the picture.
It has a beak for eating.
It has two wings for flying.
It has a tail at the back.
It has claws on its feet for gripping.
This bird has wings, so we can put it in the "has wings" group.
Ask your child to hold up the right number of fingers for how many wings, legs or claws an animal has.
Read aloud: "Look at the insect picture. For questions 1, 2 and 5, circle the correct answer. For questions 3 and 4, write T for True or F for False in the box."
1. How many legs does the insect have?
2. How many main body parts does the insect have?
5. How many antennae does the insect have?
Read aloud: "Look at the bird and the fish. Does each animal have this feature? Tick the box if yes."
| Feature | Bird | Fish |
|---|---|---|
| Wings | ||
| Fins | ||
| Scales | ||
| Claws |
For the parent or supervisor: set this page aside before handing over the worksheet.
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