Life cycles excursion | Stage 1 Science and Technology | Field of Mars EEC

Cost, risk assessment and details

Cost	DoE $27 per student – GST free Non-gov $37 per student – GST free, min charge $750 per class Term 1 – Non-gov weeks 3 to 5 cost = DoE cost – GST free, min charge $750 Program costs may change. Bookings are charged at the cost confirmed when you book.
Classes	Maximum 6 classes at Field of Mars Reserve with up to 30 students per class. More than 6 classes will run across two sites – Buffalo Creek Reserve and Field of Mars Reserve. Please contact us.
Risk assessment	Access the risk assessment for your excursion location. Field of Mars Reserve risk assessment - main location Buffalo Creek Reserve risk assessment - alternative location
Bring	Sports uniform, backpack, medication, low-waste food, water bottle, sunblock, raincoat, hat, sturdy shoes, reusable name tag. A tote tray per class to bring back clay craft.
View	Preparing for your excursion Watch it grow learning resource Life cycles social story
Welfare	Rugged bushwalking, limited wheelchair accessibility. May not suit recently unwell participants. For medical or special needs notify staff prior to program.
Extreme or wet weather	Program may be modified, postponed or cancelled due to predicted extreme temperatures, bush fire danger, heavy rainfall, high winds or dust storms.
Booking policy	Confirm student numbers and classes 7 days in advance.
Cancellation or rescheduling	Cancellation or rescheduling with less than 30 school days’ notice before the booking date – $650 Cancellation with less than 14 school days’ notice before the booking date – full program cost Cancellation due to unsafe weather or fire danger – $0

Activities

Activities may vary depending on student needs, timing and weather.

Bushwalk

On a guided bushwalk, students search for evidence of animals and plants at different life stages. Students use observation and simple recording to describe what they find and infer life stages from evidence.

Students will collect a small set of natural items, for example gumnuts, sticks, leaves and sand, and use them to sequence the life cycle of a plant. Through a guided story and hands-on modelling, students describe how a tree changes from seed to seedling to adult and produces new seeds.

Invertebrate investigation

Students investigate invertebrates using ground and vegetation survey techniques, such as leaf litter searches, tree shakes or sweep nets. Using simple ID charts and life-stage prompts, students identify external features and group observations by life stage: egg, juvenile, adult.

Students use modelling material and loose natural items to create an invertebrate model based on a species they observed. Students include key external features and identify the life stage represented, then share their model and explain how living things change as they grow.

Explore related fact sheets

Use these student-friendly fact sheets before or after your Life cycles excursion to introduce plant and animal life cycles, invertebrates, habitats and changes as living things grow.

• ⁠Invertebrate fact sheets – Explore insects, spiders, worms, molluscs and other small animals with different life stages.
• ⁠Insects fact sheet – Learn about insects, their body parts, life cycles, adaptations and roles in food webs.
• ⁠Plants fact sheet – Learn how plants grow, change, reproduce and support animals through food and habitat.
• ⁠Leaf litter habitats fact sheet – Discover fallen leaves, bark and twigs where invertebrates, eggs, larvae and decomposers may be found.
• ⁠Habitat fact sheet – Learn how habitats support living things as they grow, feed, shelter and reproduce.
• ⁠Field of Mars Reserve fact sheet – Explore the local bushland where students observe plants and animals at different life stages.

Suggested timetable

Time	Class A, B, C	Class D, E, F
9.45 - 10.30	Introduction Toilets, crunch and sip or recess	Introduction Toilets, crunch and sip or recess
10.30 - 12.00	Bushwalk	Invertebrate investigation
12.00 - 12.30	Lunch and toilets	Lunch and toilets
12.30 - 2.00	Invertebrate investigation	Bushwalk
2.00 - 2.15	Pack up, toilets and depart	Pack up, toilets and depart

Tier 2 and 3 vocabulary

observe, identify, record, compare, investigate, explain, sequence, life stage, larvae, metamorphosis, invertebrate, phasmid, leaf litter, habitat, investigation

Syllabus outcomes and content

Syllabus outcomes and content

Science and Technology K-6 Syllabus (2024)

Investigations of changes provide knowledge and understanding

Outcomes

• Poses questions based on observations and information to investigate cause and effect ST1-PQU-01
• Measures and describes changes in living things, materials, movement, Earth and the sky ST1-SC1-01

Content

Living things change over time

• Collect data about the variety of living things in a local habitat, group them and justify the groupings
• Describe the changes in a plant as it grows using data and scientific models
• Describe the changes in an animal as it goes through its life cycle using data and scientific models

Science and Technology K-6 Syllabus © NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) for and on behalf of the Crown in right of the State of New South Wales, 2024