Bush
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Approach: One to one Level: Year 4 and year 8
Focus: Ecosystems
Resources: Computer program on laptop computer
756Kb
Questions/instructions:  

This activity uses the computer.

In this activity you will be thinking about how plants and animals live together in the bush and why plants are important to people.

In the bush there are lots of different animals and plants. You can click on the different parts of the bush picture to see some of the animals and plants. Try doing that now.

Click the Bush button.
[No voiceover; audio of bird song and bush sounds only.
Plants and animals enlarge as mouse is rolled over.]

Click on graphic to enlarge.
[Illustrations: Forestry Insights, (resource pack for teachers), (1992). Plants and Animals in Plantation Forests. Auckland: FITEC.
Illustrations online at: http://www.insights.co.nz/forest_birds_insects_plantation.aspx Sighted 27 May 2008.]
     
% responses
2007 ('03)
     
y4
y8
1. What are some of the ways that plants help the animals?
prompt: Can you think of any more ways?
 
food
80 (79)
91 (94)
shelter (from cold, rain) / provide homes
50 (45)
71 (65)
camouflage/hiding from predators
30 (22)
41 (32)
shade (from sun)
3 (7)
3 (10)
oxygen (through photosynthesis)
17 (16)
21 (22)
2. What are some of the ways that animals help the plants?
prompt: Can you think of any more ways?
 
seed dispersion
6 (9)
19 (22)
pollination
7 (5)
11 (22)
fertilise the ground
9 (8)
23 (17)
reduce competing plants
2 (3)
6 (2)
eat pests
5 (8)
13 (11)
3.? Try to explain to me why plants are important to people.


food
43 (58)
55 (56)
shade
7 (2)
6 (8)
beauty
39 (40)
37 (46)
building materials
12 (5)
17 (20)
fuel
5 (1)
7 (6)
prevent erosion
1 (0)
1 (0)
shelter
2 (6)
11 (9)
medicines
7 (3)
18 (10)
oxygen
36 (42)
61 (58)
ingredients in human-made products
other than medicines (e.g. paper)
10 (7)
17 (18)

Total score:
8–20
5 (1)
13 (12)
6–7
11 (9)
29 (36)
4–5
33 (39)
39 (35)
2–3
41 (44)
17 (15)
0–1
10 (7)
2 (2)
Subgroup Analysis [Click on charts to enlarge] :
Year 4
Year 8
Commentary:
Students were much more aware of ways that plants help animals than vice versa. Performance patterns on this task were typical of the patterns for many other science tasks: boys and girls performed similarly, while Pakeha students performed moderately better, on average, than Mäori students and substantially better, on average, than Pasifika students. There was a wide range of performance for all subgroups.