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PawSteps

Naturalist's Study Book

Key Stage 3  •  Ages 11–14
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For students: this workbook stretches your reading analysis, mathematical reasoning and scientific thinking using real ecology. Show all working in maths. Full solutions and guidance for a supervising adult are at the back.
English — Analysing Non-Fiction
Learning objective: Analyse how a writer uses language and structure to influence the reader.
Read the extract, then analyse it.

"We are losing our hedgehogs. In the 1950s, Britain may have had 30 million; today, far fewer remain. Tidy gardens, busy roads and slug pellets have carved away their world, fence by fence, verge by verge. Yet the fix lies in our own hands: a single gap in a fence — a 'hedgehog highway' — can reconnect a whole street of gardens overnight."
1.  Identify ONE emotive word or phrase and explain its effect on the reader.
2.  The writer repeats the structure 'fence by fence, verge by verge'. Why is this repetition effective?
3.  How does the final sentence try to leave the reader feeling? Refer to the phrase 'in our own hands'.
English — Persuasive Writing
Learning objective: Write persuasively using rhetorical devices.
Write a persuasive paragraph arguing that every new housing estate should be required to include wildlife corridors. Use at least: one rhetorical question, one statistic (you may invent a plausible one and label it as illustrative), and a direct address to the reader ('you').
Maths — Ratio & Proportion
Learning objective: Solve problems involving ratio and scaling.
1.  A feed mix is made of oats, seeds and pellets in the ratio 3 : 2 : 5. A keeper makes 4 kg. How much of each ingredient is needed? Show working.
2.  A wildlife pond map is drawn at a scale of 1 : 200. On the map the pond is 8 cm long. What is its real length in metres?
%  Maths — Percentages
Learning objective: Calculate percentage change.
1.  A reserve had 240 breeding pairs of a bird. After a good year, numbers rose to 300 pairs. What is the percentage increase?
2.  A £45 annual membership to a wildlife trust rises by 12%. What is the new price?
Maths — Algebra
Learning objective: Form and solve linear equations from context.
1.  A dog boarding kennel charges a £15 booking fee plus £22 per night, n. Write an expression for the total cost, C.
2.  A stay cost £103 in total. Using your expression, form an equation and solve it to find the number of nights.
Science — Cells & Organisation
Learning objective: Recall the structure of animal cells.
Label an animal cell. Draw a large circle and add: nucleus, cytoplasm, cell membrane, mitochondria.
1.  State the function of the nucleus.
2.  Why do very active cells (like muscle) contain many mitochondria?
Science — Ecosystems & Energy
Learning objective: Explain energy transfer and interdependence in a food web.
Consider this food web: grass → rabbit → fox; grass → vole → owl; vole → fox.
1.  Name a producer and a top predator in this web.
2.  Only about 10% of energy passes to the next level. Explain where the rest of the energy goes.
3.  Predict the effect on the owl population if a disease wiped out most voles. Explain your reasoning.
Science — Variation & Natural Selection
Learning objective: Explain natural selection with an example.
The peppered moth exists in pale and dark forms. During the Industrial Revolution, soot darkened tree bark in cities.
1.  On sooty bark, which moth form is better camouflaged from birds?
2.  Explain, step by step, how the dark form became more common in polluted cities. Use the words: variation, survival, reproduce, inherit.
Geography — Biomes & Conservation
Learning objective: Describe a biome and evaluate a conservation issue.
1.  Describe two features of a tropical rainforest climate.
2.  Deforestation threatens rainforest species. Suggest one economic reason forests are cut down and one way conservation can work WITH local people rather than against them.
Working Scientifically — Classification Key
Learning objective: Build and use a branching identification key.
Create a branching (dichotomous) key with yes/no questions to separate these four: frog, robin, trout, grass snake. Start with a question that splits them into two groups.
PawSteps · Key Stage 3 · Ages 11–14 · pawsteps.co.uk
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