We know that cats are natural hunters, but what does the data tell us about cats and their prey – and how do we know if the data is reliable?
This article explores the tension that many of us have regarding cats. We know that they are natural predators, but many of our pets live in urban locations and away from our native endangered species – or do they? We hope that our furry companions keep the mice and rat populations down and potentially help native species by doing so. But is this true?
The role of evidence in science
The article also explores the role of scientific evidence, its relevance and reliability. It uses diagrams to present data from two New Zealand studies. The text includes questions that guide readers to consider what evidence means and whether it is reliable. The article supports the science capabilities ‘Gather and interpret data’ and ‘Interpret representations’.
Teacher support materials
Check your school resource area for the article from the 2013 Level 4 Connected journal ‘Are you sure?’, download it as a Google slide presentation or order it from the Ministry of Education.
The teacher support material (TSM) can be downloaded from TKI as a PDF file. (Look for the icon below the article abstract.) The materials list the key science and nature of science (NoS) ideas featured in the article. The notes provide explicit NoS links to sections of text.
The TSM offers six learning activities:
- Digging deeper
- Cats in our place
- You be the judge
- Critical thinking
- Can we do it?
- Building solutions
The activities support the ‘Understanding about science’, ‘Investigating in science’ and ‘Participating and contributing’ strands of Nature of Science.
The reusable content icon links to Google Drive folders containing text and images from the article.
Related content
Cats and their natural predatory instincts pose an ethical dilemma for many pet owners. Explore this further in the article Cat fight. The Ethics thinking toolkit provides a structured framework for scaffolding student thinking about an ethical issue.
If students decide to take action by creating safe bird feeding tables in their schools, the Connected article The takeaway table details how students gathered data on local birds and their dietary needs. Birds in my backyard is a ready-to-use cross curricular teaching resource using the The Takeaway Table. It has a worksheet in Word that educators can customise to meet the needs of their students and teaching programme.
Learn more about these aspects of the nature of science in the New Zealand Curriculum:
Useful links
The Connected journals can be ordered from the Down the Back of the Chair website. Access to these resources is restricted to Ministry-approved education providers. To find out if you are eligible for a login or if you have forgotten your login details, contact their customer services team on 0800 660 662 or email orders@thechair.minedu.govt.nz
Cats’ secret lives go public tells the story of 10 Wellington cats and what they do all day and night.
Visit the Department of Conservation website to learn more about the havoc feral cats create for our native ecosystems. Then find out how to Make your cat conservation friendly.
Acknowledgement
The Connected series is published annually by the Ministry of Education, New Zealand.
