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Habitat

QCC Correlations

Science Standards 4.1, 4.2, 4.23, 5.17, 7.4, 7.21.1
Objectives

The Students will be able to:

  • Define habitat
  • Identify the four things that living things need to survive
  • Describe how living things are adapted to their habitats
Materials Needed:
  • Access to Eye on Conservation and Georgia Wildlife Web sites
  • Pictures of the animals highlighted on the Eye on Conservation web site
  • Paper and pencils
  • Other resource materials

    *Note: this lesson can be conducted on multiple days
Procedure:

1) Introduce the concept habitat. Explain that a habitat provides four things necessary for survival: food, water, shelter, space. Ask the students to define their "habitat" and explain how it provides the four things they need for their survival. Ask the students to list some animals and name some of the habitats that they live in - forest, field, river, rain forest, etc..

2) Discuss how animals are adapted to their different habitats. Some animals build homes in their habitats. For example, the gopher tortoise digs a burrow. Other animals such as the manatee do not build homes. In order to meet their needs, they change their habitat by migrating.

3) Explain that they will be working in groups for this activity. Break the class up into groups. Each group will be assigned one of the animals on the Eye on Conservation web site. Give each group a picture of one of the animals from the Eye on Conservation web site. Explain that they will not know a lot about their animal at first. Have them think about their animal and what the four things it might need from a habitat. What would it eat? Where would it live? What kind of shelter would it need or does it build a home? How much space does it need? What type of habitat would it need?


4) After the students make their inferences/predictions, tell them they are going to explore an area and determine if it would make a good habitat for their assigned animals. Either take the students outside and let them choose a site of their schoolyard to investigate or have each group look out one of the windows of the classroom. Ask them if it would provide the four things their animals need.

5) Discuss the group's decisions on habitats. What did they predict their animals would need and why? What characteristics of the animals did they use to make their decisions? Why did the think their schoolyard would or would not make a good habitat for their animal?

6) Have the students explore the Eye on Conservation and Georgia Wildlife web sites. They should gather information on their species and their habitat needs.

7) Have the students report to the class what their animal's needs are and how the differed from what they predicted.