Invasive Species
Understand that invasive species are animals (or plants) that have been introduced to a place where they don't naturally belong — like grey squirrels outcompeting red squirrels in the UK, cane toads poisoning native predators in Australia, or rabbits devastating ecosystems in Australia — and that they can cause serious harm to native wildlife by competing for food, spreading disease, or having no natural predators
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Invasive Species means practising the idea at the table with real materials and one clear check. We will demo once, then your child tries.
Materials: cards/paper for Invasive Species. Adult models one concrete example. Child completes three matches or retells with reasons. Done: three correct responses with a spoken reason each. Stop after those three; keep optional challenge for another day.
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Start practiceInvasive Species practice
Practice key ideas from Invasive Species.
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Learning resources
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PhET Interactive Simulations · Practice link — not the full lesson
Build a Fraction
Before you open · source notes
Build a Fraction supports hands-on exploration for Invasive Species. Not every lab worksheet.
Free interactive or educational page, no sign-in required for the tested path.
Before you openAsk the learner what they changed in the sim or page and what they observed.
Opening this link does not save learning or assess mastery.
Source, access and review notes
Public PhET Interactive Simulations HTML5 page. An anonymous GET on 2026-11-12 returned HTTP 200 with no login or payment prompt for this sim URL. Opening the link does not save practice or assess mastery. The sim is interactive in-browser; Gakuva does not embed or host it.
PhET Interactive Simulations, University of Colorado Boulder. “Build a Fraction.” External sim; Gakuva does not copy, host, embed, or redistribute it.
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Check understanding
- Defines invasive species as non-native animals introduced to a new environment
- Names at least 2 examples of invasive species and their impacts
- Explains at least 2 reasons invasive species are harmful (no predators, outcompete natives, spread disease)
- Understands the difference between a species naturally expanding its range and being introduced by humans
“If your child learns that grey squirrels were brought to the UK from America, can they explain why introduced animals can be a problem for the animals that were already living there?”
Curriculum record
- Type
- Conceptual
- Subject
- Science
- Domain
- Animals of the World
- Age range
- Ages 9–12
Standards