Whose habitat is that?

This lesson is designed to help students explore the surroundings animals find in a variety of habitats. This plan is written for the desert habitat but the same plan should be used for the exploration of a variety of habitat settings.

A lesson plan for grade 1 English Language Arts and Information Skills

By Kelly Stewart

Learn more

• Lesson plan: Habitat — what's that? This lesson helps students define the word habitat and understand the basic elements that make up an animal's habitat.
• Lesson plan: Habitat happenings During this lesson students will demonstrate their understanding of what a habitat is through a creative writing assignment. The students will choose an animal to be and will describe themselves and their living environment.

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Related topics

• Learn more about environmental science, graphic organizers, habitats, information skills, photograph analysis, science, and visual literacy.

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Learning outcomes

At the completion of this lesson students should be able to give characteristics of the habitat that was studied that day. For example, when studying the desert the students should be able to write or tell the teacher that the desert is a hot, dry place and may name some of the animals which inhabit the desert. The student should be able to inform the teacher about each habitat after the lessons are complete.

Teacher planning

Time required for lesson

45 minutes

Materials/resources

• animal and habitat surroundings photos for each of the habitat settings you will study
• blank paper and pencils
• habitat mini-books (six blank pages. Or, if the students have completed the lesson plan “Habitat — What’s That?” you may use the students’ mini-books from that lesson.)
• science text with information on habitats
• computer with internet access and projector

Pre-activities

Students will need to know what a habitat is, what types of things are found in a habitat, and that all habitats are not the same.

Activities

1. Start this lesson with a review: Ask students what the word “habitat” means and what things are included in a habitat. Remind the students that all animals do not live in one place.
2. Show students pictures of animals in a variety of habitats and ask students to describe each picture aloud. The students should comment on the animals and the surrounding habitat characteristics. Be sure to make your own comments as well, and ask the students about things they notice in all the pictures.
3. After viewing the pictures from a particular habitat (the desert, for example), send the students to their seats with a blank paper on which to create a bubble map about the day’s habitat. Have the students create the map by drawing six circles. The first circle will be drawn in the middle of the page and will have the name of the habitat in the middle. The other five circles will be connected to the middle circle using short lines, forming a circular pattern around the inner circle. In the five empty circles have the students write a word or phrase that describes the habitat that is written in the middle of the map.
4. After completing the bubble map have the students return to their habitat mini-books and write one or two sentences about the day’s habitat at the bottom of the page. For example, “The desert is a hot, dry place.” “Some kinds of snakes live in the desert.” Then have the students illustrate their sentences.
5. To end the lesson, review the characteristics of the habitat by allowing some students to share their sentences and pictures.

Assessment

Look at student bubble maps and habitat book pages to assess understanding. Pay attention when students are responding to the web pictures and paper pictures.

Supplemental information

This lesson should be used for five separate 45-minute lessons. Each day a different habitat should be discussed. The children will complete the same activities over the five days but on different habitats each day.