Students will learn that there are many different animals within different habitats and discover how each individual species interacts with its particular environment.  Through charting different animals and their distinct habitat and matching animals to their habitats on cards, students will develop an understanding of the many different living things on earth.

Created by Jenny Willmer, October 2006

Michigan Benchmark 5: Ecosystems SCI.III.5.E.3

Goal #1 The student will know that there are many kinds of living things, that they are interdependent and are constantly interacting.

Objective: show by drawings how living things are part of systems that interact

Goal #2 The student will know that organisms have basic needs and use food for energy.

Objectives:

1. Know that a place where an animal lives is called a habitat.
2. Give evidence of different habitats by describing a variety of animals and their habitats and how they are different from one another.

Language Arts: students will extend their vocabulary and implement in descriptive writing pieces.

Science process: classify, observe, identify, infer, and communicate.

Objective: Students will learn that there are many different habitats. They will describe a specific habitat and explain how an animal interacts with its environment.

Who lives here? Why is this a good habitat for a particular animal?

As a group, discuss the characteristics of a habitat, utilizing prior knowledge. Make sure shelter, space, water and food are mentioned. Generate a list of habitats. Look at TIDES pictures of various habitats. Also look at habitats from Jaguar Species Survival Plan website. Use pictures, posters, books and other resources at this time to brainstorm as many habitats as possible. Discuss with the group who would live in the various habitats, and why.

Arrange the children into cooperative groups. Each group will:

1. Make a picture of a habitat on a large card
2. Draw on separate little cards 4 things found in that particular habitat ( i.e. plant/animal/rock). These will later be used as game pieces.
3. Create a list of descriptive words for their habitat
4. Write 1 fact about their habitat and 1 example of interaction of animal and habitat.

When children have completed this, come back as a whole group to share. Mix the game pieces. Post the large habitat cards made by the groups. Scramble the game pieces and allow the students to manipulate pieces to match with habitats. Add some teacher created animal/environment pieces. See if the group can classify and explain why animals “fit” with their environment. Some animals may fit into multiple habitats. Discuss why. The class could create Venn Diagrams to compare 2 habitats. As a class, you may want to chart your findings. An example is included.

Synthesize the descriptive words for children to a big class list and post it for students to use as sounding board with their descriptive writing.

Give the children a thesaurus or synonym finder. Have them look up some of their descriptive words to expand their descriptive word choices.

Take a field trip to the schoolyard, pond, or woods for observation/recording of habitats, or a trip to the zoo. Write habitat riddles or play 20 questions and have the children figure out the habitat you have in mind.

Building on the data collected, introduce concepts of predator/prey, producer/consumer and food chains.