UNIT TITLE: Habitats

Author: Tom Teshima
School: Kolmar School; Oak Lawn, IL
THEME : Animals and their environments,

BROAD CONCEPT: How do we interact with our surroundings

GRADES: Grades 1-2

INTEGRATED SUBJECTS: Science, Reading, Social Studies.

UNIT GOALS AND PURPOSE: Students will learn how living systems interact with one another. Students will produce a variety of individual and cooperative projects

TIME FRAME: 2 weeks

OBJECTIVES:

In this lesson, students will:

· Classify and sort animals based upon different needs and habitats

· Identify how the needs of an animal help determine their habitat

· Discover the inter relationships between habitats and animals

· Identify food chains and how these effect animals and their habitats

· Show how animals adapt to changing environments

MATERIALS:

· General materials and equipment; Normal classroom materials

· Technology tools; Computers, Internet, Scanner, Color Printer

· Software Used in this Unit

__Desktop Publishing; MSPublisher __ Brainstorming; Kidspiration

__Word Processing; MS Word __CD-ROM Encyclopedia; MSEncarta)

__ Multimedia; Kidpix __Other software; National Geographic Mammals

STATE STANDARDS ADDRESSED BY THIS UNIT:

1.A.1a Apply word analysis skills (e.g., phonics, word patterns) to recognize new words

3.B.1a Use prewriting strategies to generate and organize ideas (e.g., focus on one topic; organize writing to include a beginning, middle and end; use descriptive words when writing about people, places, things, events).

5.A.1a Identify questions and gather information.

5.A.1b Locate information using a variety of resources.

7.A.1a Measure length, volume and weight/mass using rulers, scales and other appropriate measuring instruments in the customary and metric systems.

11.A.1e Arrange data into logical patterns and describe the patterns.

11.A.1f Compare observations of individual and group results.

12.A.1a Identify and describe the component parts of living things (e.g., birds have feathers; people have bones, blood, hair, skin) and their major functions.

12.A.1b Categorize living organisms using a variety of observable features (e.g., size, color, shape, backbone).

13.B.1e Demonstrate ways to reduce, reuse and recycle materials.

17.A.1a Identify physical characteristics of places, both local and global (e.g., locations, roads, regions, bodies of water).

17.B.1b Describe physical components of ecosystems.

17.C.1b Identify opportunities and constraints of the physical environment.

STUDENT ACTIVITIES WHICH WILL PROMOTE ENGAGED LEARNING:

Lesson 1; Woodland Habitats

The learner will be able to define the word "wildlife" and give examples of wild and domesticated animals and understand the word "habitat" and be able to match animals to their habitat. Read selections from The Hidden Life of a Forest and the
ABC of Ecology. The teacher will use the KWL techniques. K- What do you know about the animals in the forest or woods? W- What do you want to know about animals of the forest or woods? Using chart, the teacher will write down on this paper all answers

Lesson 2; Do animals play hide and seek?

Students will recognize that animals use camouflage to blend into their environments. Gather animals pictures from book, magazines, Internet, Interactive encyclopedias. Set up pictures of habitats and have students match up animals and their habitats. List why animals are adapted to their habitats, i.e. coloring, shape, size, pattern. Activity works well as a learning center. Can be individual or small group.

Lesson 3: Circle of Life

Students will produce a food web for a specific habitat; i.e. ocean, desert, forest. Students should research at least 10 different animals living in that habitat and produce a web showing the inter relationships between the animals. Students may use print or computer based resources to develop their lists. May be done in small groups. Webs can be produced using Kidspiration.

Lesson 4: Copy story “The Little Penguin Finds His Way Home” at http://www.seaworld.org/OceanFriends/ofgoals.htm. Read the story together and discuss different penguin adaptations. Students can then use Kidsperation or Kidpix to write and illustrate the story.

Lesson 5: Where do I live?

Students will use Kidspiration to classify different animals based upon 4 habitats. Use the sample template or create your own. Students will print out a picture list of each group and write a description of common characteristics for each group; i.e. what characteristics of each animal fits into that habitat. Students should work in small groups of 3-4 students.

Lesson 6 How big is big?

Students will research many types of large animals; whales, elephants, rhinos, snakes. Students make a graph showing the relative sizes of different animals. Have students measure out lengths of string corresponding to different animals. Take them out on the playground and have them compare different animals. See how long animals are in terms of kids. Have students lay head to foot to see how many students it takes to make each animal. For fun, include some extinct animals like dinosaurs. Discuss why size has advantages and disadvantages.

Lesson 7: Animals of the World, Internet Treasure Hunt

Use site at http://www.education-world.com/a_lesson/lesson068.shtml#hunttwo to print out a series of Internet treasure hunts. Students must list where each animal is found, May also have them list the habitat where the animal lives.

Lesson 8: Animal 20 questions

Students make up a series of animal pictures with a list of facts on the back. Pictures and information can be obtained off the web, printed materials, computer based programs. Facts should include color, size, shape, hair or feathers, locomotion, habitat information, diet. Students can then use the cards to play 20 questions. Duplicate the cards so every student can have a set.

Lesson 9: Travel Brochures

Students select a country and produce short brochures to describe the wildlife and habitats of that country. Research on Web and using print materials (scan pictures). The teacher may set up a blank format for the brochure using Word or Publisher. Make a model for the students to examine. Emphasis should be on habitats, wildlife, and endangered species.

Lesson 10: A Trip to the Zoo

Following a field trip to the zoo, students produce an illustrated story about their trip. Students should generate a story using a word processor. Pictures from the trip should be scanned and added. Other pictures may be used as needed. A blank template can be set up (using text boxes and scanned pictures) for all students to follow.

Lesson 11: People and their habitat

Review habitats and biomes. Discuss what the human habitat consists of. Have the students look for examples of how people impact their habitats at home, school and work. If cameras are available, create a picture book of a “human habitat”. You can also have the students illustrate their habitats using kidspiration, or using the Internet.

SHARE YOUR IDEAS:

Students will generate a series of stories, papers, and pictures to share with the class. Final project will be a story about a trip to the zoo.

STUDENT AND TEACHER ROLES: Students will generate a series of projects to present to the class. Some will be individual and others will be collaborative. The teacher will help present materials, guide students in selecting topics, and direct students in researching ideas.

ADDITIONAL REFERENCE PRINT RESOURCES STUDENTS MAY USE :

Time Life Nature Series

Any general children’s Encyclopedia

THE FOLLOWING BOOKS CONTAIN INFORMATION ABOUT THIS TOPIC:

The Hidden Life of a Forest , by Dwight Kuhn
ABC of Ecology , by Harry Milgrom
The Forest , by David Bellamy

Mammals, by Eyewitness Books

Forest, The Living World, by Eyewitness Books

The World of Penguins, by Saintsing & Allan

Along a Rocky Shore, by National Geographic

The Dodo Is Dead, by Charman

FOR ADDITIONAL ONLINE INFORMATION AND MEDIA PERTAINING TO THIS UNIT, TEACHERS MAY WANT TO USE THE FOLLOWING INTERNET ARTICLES:

Title1: Learning Pages

URL1: http://www.learningpage.com/

Description1: Nice set of animal coloring sheets with fact sheets attached; Also has some math, phonics animal based worksheets

Title2: Animal habitats

URL2: http://www.kidzone.ws/animals/

Description2: Nice set of animal pictures sorted by class. Also some extra sheets on habitats; also some associated worksheets for math, reading.

Title3: Mixed up Animal book

URL3: http://www.learningpage.com/pages/mini/print.html

Description3: Printable mixed up animal book. Students can color the pictures, assemble them and then flip through the pages to produce strange mixed up animals, i.e. head of a lion, body of a elephant, tail of a alligator.

Title4: Sea World Teachers Guides

URL4: http://www.seaworld.org/OceanFriends/ocean_friends.htm

Description4: Series of lesson plans for learning about marine animals

Title5: Explorit Science Center

URL5: http://www.explorit.org/science/disasters.html

Description5: Animal ‘Natural Disasters’; Investigate how animals can negatively effect their environment. Animal ‘plagues’

Title6: Discovery School

URL6: http://school.discovery.com/lessonplans/

Description6: series of lesson plans for animals and environment

RELEVANT INFORMATION, STUDENTS WILL VISIT THE FOLLOWING WEB SITES:

Title1: Interactive Amazon Adventure

URL1: http://www.eduweb.com/amazon.html

Purpose of Use1: To explore the rain forest habitat