Observing fungi

In this activity, students hone their observation skills and practise using the science capabilities ‘Gather and interpret data’ and ‘Interpret representations’. The activity has two parts: 

• Observing physical fungal specimens (mushrooms).

• Observing images of fungi.

Educators can choose to do one or both, depending on time and resources.

By the end of this activity, students should be able to:

• identify some physical characteristics of fungal specimens

• learn and use scientific vocabulary in both te reo Māori and English

• practise using the science capabilities ‘Gather and interpret data’ and ‘Interpret representations’. 

Fungi image cards

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Use these cards to observe different types of fungi that grow in New Zealand.

Rights: The University of Waikato Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato

Referencing Hub media

Equipment required includes:

• mushrooms from the supermarket or collected by a local expert

• observation devices (hand lenses, digital microscope, tablet with camera)

• paper for recording ideas

• fungi image cards (from the Word download).

Download the Word file (see link below).