Alexandra Mendez-Zfass

Home Is Where the Heart Is

Lesson Plan: Life Science

Introduction
Lesson Topic: Investigating Habitats
Length of Lesson: 45 minutes

SOL: 2.5, a,b The student will investigate and understand that living things are part of a system.
Key concepts include a) living organisms are interdependent with their living and nonliving
surroundings; b) an animals’ habitat includes adequate food, water, shelter or cover, and space.

Cognitive Objectives

Students Will:

 classify objects as living or nonliving;

 describe the nonliving components of an organism’s surroundings, including water, space,
and shelter; (Shelter may be living or nonliving.)
 construct and interpret simple models of different kinds of habitats, including a forest and a
stream;
 compare and contrast different ways animals use plants as homes and shelters;
 describe how animals are dependent on their surroundings

Materials/Technology and Advanced Preparation

Materials:
 Sand, Leaf, or Coral Reef: A Book about Animal Habitats by: Patricia Stockland,
Illustrated by: Todd Ouren
 I See a Kookaburra: Discovering Animal Habitats around the World by: Steven Jenkins,
Robin Page
 A Moose’s World by: Caroline Arnold
 Several sheets of large paper, such as bulletin board paper (enough for all the groups to
have one, at least 10 sheets)
 Crayons (enough of the entire class)
 Markers (enough for the entire class)
 glue sticks (enough for the entire class)
 construction paper (enough for the entire class)
 Blank booklets-one for each student (construction paper folded in half as the cover and
three sheets of plain paper folded in half as pages)
  “Animals-Where do they live?” handout-Colored pictures of animals on sheets that will
be handout out to each students
 “Animal Habitats”- video created by the teacher
 Smartboard or projector

Advanced Preparation:
1. Create booklets for each student in the class
2. Create the animals sheets (make enough for at least the amount of students in the
classroom)
3. Create homework sheets
4. Create groups of students to work together-think about which students can help
and challenge each other

Teaching and Learning Sequence

Introduction/Anticipatory Set:
 Tell students that they are going to be learning about animals homes called habitats
 Ask to students, “What do you think animals need to survive/live?”
 Write the students’ responses on the board/ key words
 Summarize their answers by stating and writing that Animal life needs air, food, water,
shelter, and space in an arrangement called habitat.
 Explain that different animals are going to need different habitats in order to live
 Explain to students that all forms of life depend upon nonliving components of the
environment — water, oxygen, nutrients(plants), space, and/or sunlight — in some
combination for survival and growth.

Lesson Development:
 Tell the children to come sit on the red carpet, Book Nook area
 Show cover and read the title of A Moose’s World to the class, author and illustrator
 Read A Moose’s World by: Caroline Arnold
 Ask the students “Can someone describe a part of the Moose’s habitat.”; “Where did the
Moose live?”; “What did the Moose use for shelter, food, space, etc.?”
 Tell student that they are going to make a book today
 Ask the students to go back to their seats quietly
 Pass out “Animals” sheets to each student and show students the colored pictures of
animals(a bird, deer, bear, fish)
 Recite to the students what each animal is and then ask the students, “Where do you think
the bird, deer, bear and fish live?” or “What their habitat might look like?”
 Write key words from the responses on the board
 Tell students that we are going to now watch a video of different animals in their habitats
 Tell students to use their ears and eyes while watching the video
 Tell students to write down key words that come to mind when watching the video
 Turn on the video
 Ask students, “What were some of the key words you have written down?”
 Write them on the board
 If the students have not used words to describe the types of habitat, e.g., forest, pond,
river, then name/describe the habitats for each animal
 Inform students that they will be working in groups of 3 (assign the groups)
 Assign each group a habitat just described
 Tell the students that they are to draw the habitat on the large piece of paper
 Tell the students to include in their murals all the plants and animals needs that they think
will be in this habitat (food, water, etc.)
 Tell them only to draw the habitat (not the animals yet)
 Give 10 minutes for this (if students are not done at the end of the period tell them that
they will have time to return to the drawing)
 Pass out booklets to each student
 Tell students that they are going to make their own books today based on the book we
just read
 Tell students to create a title page “A _________ World” by _____________
 Tell the students to go to page number 2 and draw an animal that would live in their
habitats
 Recommend the students pick another animal then the ones already discussed.
 Tell students that on page 3, that they are to draw the food they think that the animal
needs
  Tell the students that on page 4, to draw where the animals water comes from i.e a river,
pond, plants
 Tell students on page 5, to draw the type of shelter they think that the animals would need
 Tell students on page 6 to draw a picture of the habitat for the animal
 Tell students to write on sentence on each page describing the picture. For example, “The
bird eats worms.”
 Tell the students to try their best and that if they have any questions about the pages to
raise their hands
 Support each child’s ideas while steering them into the right direction
 If the students need ideas or help, tell students to refer to the science books that are
collected in the front of the class

Closure:
 Ask students what they think a habitat is.
 Ask students to think about why each animal has the habitat that is does
 Review the interdepence of living (animals and plants) and nonliving things within a
habitat
 Handout and explain the following directions for the homework “My Habitat”: Each
student will go home and describe their habitat; what they eat, where they get their water,
where they sleep etc. These descriptions can be done through drawings or short sentences
or both.

Homework:
 Hand-out the “My Habitat” sheets

Assessment:
Formative:
 Ask the students the aforementioned questions after the book is read to the class. Are the
responses appropriate to what is being asked.
  Listen to students key words, making sure that they pertain to animals and their
respective habitats
 Watch the students work in groups. See if everyone is participating within the group.
 Listen to the groups discuss their drawings together to make sure that everyone
understands what is going on within their habitats.
 While the students are working on their booklets, constantly walk around to see what
animal they have chosen and what parts of the habitat they are choosing to draw.

Summative:
 Review booklets after class.
 See if students really understand the habitat lesson by making sure that their drawings are
in relation to the animal and its habitat.
 Make sure that the sentences are connected to the drawings.
 Review group murals. Evaluate the habitat. Are they connected to the discussions of the
animals?
 Check both the mural and the booklet for understanding. If the students correctly
connected the habits to the animals and put good effort into their drawings/sentences then
give them a check +. If all the information is there but there was not the extra effort put
into either the mural or the booklet give a check to the assignments and if there is a lack
of connection between the habitat and animals and or no effort was put into the
assignments then make a note of this and give the assignments a check -.

References

Ouren, Todd,(Ill.) & Stockland, Paricia. (2005). Sand, Leaf, or Coral Reef: A Book about Animal
Habitats. Minneapolis, MN: Picture Windows Books.

Jenkins, Steve, & Page, Robin. (2005). I See a Kookaburra!: Discovering Animal Habitats
Around the World. New York, NY: Houghton Miffin Books.

Arnold, Caroline. A Moose’s World. Retrieved from

 http://www.carolinearnoldbooks.com/mooseworld.html

Enhanced Scope and Sequence. Virginia Department of Education.

http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/standards_docs/science/index.shtml