Year 5 Science Animals (incl. humans) – Block 5AH – Life Explorers

Session 5: Growth and Change: Adults and Old Age
Science curriculum area: Animals (incl. humans) / i. describe the changes as humans develop to old age
Working Scientifically (UKS2) / i. identifying scientific evidence that has been used to support or refute ideas or argument
Teaching Objectives /
  • To identify physical and mental changes that happen from adulthood to old age

Other Curriculum areas / English: Plan writing by identifying the audience for and purpose of the writing, selecting the appropriate form and using other similar writing as models for their own; draft and write by using further organisational and presentational devices to structure text and to guide the reader
Teaching Objectives /
  • To write using plain English, bullets and subheadings

Key Vocabulary:aging, old age, elderly, adult, causal relationship, growth, change, death
Resources
Aging photos, aging challenges, correlation examples, old people around the world, age-old stereotypes. / Weblinks
- Brown sisters aging, YouTube; - Four sisters aging over 40 years, Huffington Post; - The Queen at 90, The Guardian.
Whole Class:Have the age-old stereotype cards and the aging photos printed off. Showchn the Brown sisters video (look at the photos of The Queen as well, if you like), then get them to order the photos of Judy Dench, Ian McKellen and Anthony Hopkins by age (if any older staff have such photos, ask if they would be happy to contribute some as well).Compare orders and note humans stop growing around the age of 20 years and spend most of their adult lives gradually aging. Ask chn which features they used to help them sort the images into an order (hair colour, skin etc.). Ask chn what age they think adults (especially females) have chn. Note that generally it is in their 20s, 30s and 40s (for women)– this is because fertility starts to deteriorate and the risks to mother and baby increase as a woman ages. Note men can reproduce at any adult age (although sperm start to deteriorateand may have more mutations as men age) while women reach a point, usually in their 50s, when they go through what is called menopause, during which time they stop menstruating and can no longer reproduce. Ask chn what they think happens to the specific parts of our bodies as we age – give them a challenge card and 5 mins to research it online before sharing their findings with the class. Note bones weaken, bodies shrink slightly in height, hair loss (more often in men) and hair loses its colour, there is often deterioration in hearing and eyesight, the heartrate slows down, and an end to fertility, and skin become wrinkled (less elastic). Get chn to think about someone they know who is in old age (this is sometimes defined as 65+ and sometimes 75+) and to think about how they would describe their physical features: grey or white hair; wrinkled skin; thinning or little hair, etc. Old age is also often associated with a decline in mental agility, although many elderly people are very sharp, especially if they keep mentally active. Why do chn think that these things happen? Changes in hormones, genes and our immune systems as well as general wear and tear on the body, although scientists continue to study aging in a bid to understand why and how it occurs. How do scientists know about these changes? Think back to previous sessions and remind chn that they will do studies on groups of people to see how specific things may change and try to link these to changes in hormone levels or the behaviour of specific genes. Ask chn to remind you of the term we use for making these kinds of links (causal relationships). Remind chn of the term correlation and note that scientists study the correlations of certain body changes with old age – see examples. Now ask chn what jobs people in old age do and note that theymay retire and stop working at some point in their 60s or 70s, although many continue to work in various roles, including volunteering, childcare – or may continue in full-time work. Play Age-old Stereotypes in gps and highlight that attitudes and understanding of older people is often what we call stereotypical and not very helpful –note thatold people are revered in many cultures around the world and are often seen as very wise having lived a long time. Explain to chn that they are going to write a section for their book on ‘things to expect as you age’. It will need to include physical and mental changes to the body.
Activities:‘Things to expect’ section –chn create a section for their book that explores the key things that happen as the body ages. Chn to use information from the session, but also to research further, and to consider the age-old stereotypes explored in an ‘attitudes you may encounter’ subsection. Encourage discussion on why chn think elderly people might need extra support or help.Ensure there are positives in this discussion by asking chn about their own elderly relatives, or neighbours, that they know well who they enjoy spending time with. What do they enjoy about this time? What is special? Highlight that physically they are not as strong and can feel lonely and vulnerable if they are on their own – get chn to include a ‘who can help’ subsection that lists organisations that support the elderly (help them to identify charities such as Age UK). Remind chn of the use of bullets and subheadings and ask them what kind of writing they need to use (factual, plain English) – look at the DK link and note the use of language.
Plenary / Chn to share their section with a partner and to discuss whether they think aging in the animal world happens in a similar way. As a class note that elderly animals have similar changes to humans and that while some animal species look after their elderly, others don’t. Why do chn think this might be (survival of the gp)?Explain that for homework you would like them to think about what they could do to support older or more vulnerable people that they know.
Outcomes / Children will
  • Explore the physical and mental changes to the human body as it ages
  • Create a ‘things to expect in old age’ section for their book
  • Discuss how elderly people are cared for and how they could support people in the community

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