Elementary School Science

Input:
What is the most important content in this lesson?
To reach this lesson’s objective, students need to understand:

• The definition of the word habitat.

• Five things an animal needs to survive.

• The Earth’s different habitats.

• How animals adapt to the environment they live in.

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How will the learning of this content be facilitated?

• The teacher will begin the class by handing out the worksheet “How Would You Describe…”. The worksheet lists the seven habitats where plants and animals can be found. The teacher should instruct the students to write as much as they can about the habitat (description). For example, under “urban” they could write “city, tall buildings, mass transportation”. The teacher should allow the students to work for about five minutes before reviewing the worksheet.

**If the teacher prefers, he/she could draw seven columns on the board and label them: desert; freshwater; saltwater (ocean); grasslands/savannas; rainforest; tundra; urban. When reviewing the worksheet, the teacher could write some of the characteristics of each habitat in the appropriate column**

• Next, the teacher will hand out the worksheet “What is a Habitat?” worksheet. If it is possible, project the “What is a Habitat?” worksheet onto the board using a projector or put into a PowerPoint document and project. As the teacher explains the worksheet, the students will fill in the blank spots on their worksheet.

**The student worksheet does not contain all of this information. Use this as a guide to help explain habitats more in depth to the students**

• Habitat: the natural home or environment for plants and animals.

• Plants and animals need a home much like we do.

• Although animals can live in a home (i.e., birds live in nests) habitats are more like communities instead of “houses”. In fact, the plants and animals that live together form/ are called a community.

• Within a habitat, there can be a variety of animals. Some animals need a large space to live in, while others need a smaller space.

• In order to survive in its habitat, an animal needs five things:

  • Food

  • Water

  • Shelter

  • Air

  • Place to raise young

• Animals need to be able to find all five (needs) in order to live in a habitat. If the animal’s needs cannot be met, they relocate to another area. For example, if deforestation (removal of trees) occurs, a bird may relocate to another forest. When habitats become scarce (such as forests), animals risk becoming endangered.

• Ecosystem: a biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment. (Dictionary Definition). Ecosystems are constantly changing, either by weather, climate, or human interference. The Plants and animals of the ecosystem have adapted to survive those changes. However, when something is changed within the ecosystem, all of the animals are affected.

• Niche: the smallest unit of the habitat a plant or animal occupies (physical space); also describes the plant or animal’s role within the habitat.

• In the habitat, food and water may be scarce/ limited. Animals begin to compete with each other for these resources. No two animals can live in the same niche; each animal has its own special place to live and job within the habitat.

• Habitats are constantly changing due to the changes in the Earth.

• Critical Habitat: areas that are protected by laws that forbid people from: hunting the animals that live there; removing the animals from the habitat; bothering the animals that live in that habitat. Animals that live in these areas are at a risk of becoming endangered; they must be protected so they can continue to produce young.

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• After the worksheets are explained, the teacher should go to the following website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/habitats. This website provides a list of all of Earth’s habitats. The teacher should review the habitats with the students, discussing the picture, and clicking on the links provided to learn more about the habitats.

**This website lists all of the terrestrial, freshwater, and marine habitats. Even though the students will only learn about the main/ common habitats, it is good to expose them to all of the Earth’s Habitats**

• After the worksheet is completed, the students will participate in an activity called “Habitats” The students will work in groups of three. Each group will be given one of the seven habitats that were reviewed at the beginning of class. Each group will use the information they have about their habitat (refer to the “Materials” section about how the information can be obtained) to create a poster about their habitat. The students should include what plants and animals live in that habitat; places where the habitat can be found; endangered species that live in that habitat; if the habitat is at risk for endangerment. Allow the students to work for about 20 minutes. Once 20 minutes is over, reconvene and discuss the projects.

**This can be an assignment/project that is graded or presented to the class**

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• The final assessment will be for the students to answer the questions:

Think about what you learned in class today. What is a habitat? What are the five resources an animal needs to survive? If an animal cannot find one of the resources, what are some things it will try to solve its problem? How does a critical habitat differ from a habitat?