Habitat photo album

Students will use digital cameras and explore the outdoors searching ecosystems for opportunities to take pictures of different habitats and the components that go into them.

A lesson plan for grades 4–5 Science

By Colleen Buchauer and Lesley Brooks

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Learning outcomes

Students will:

• Search the outdoors for actual habitat locations. Using a digital camera, take pictures of the habitat and the resources it has for survival including its food, shelter, water and living space.
• Use the developed pictures to submit documentation of the animal’s habitat.
• Label the different elements that make up animal habitats.
• Print out their photographs and display their data in an organized manner and present their findings.

Teacher planning

Time required for lesson

3 days

Materials/resources

• poster board
• ecosystem poster or pictures

Technology resources

• computer with monitor and printer
• word processing program
• digital camera

Pre-activities

Students will need working knowledge of ecosystems and the components that make up an ecosystem. They must understand and be able to recognize an animal habitat. They must also have working knowledge of how to use a digital camera and computer.

Activities

1. Teacher will display ecosystem poster or pictures to students. Ask them to identify any habitats they see. Ask students what makes up a habitat. (Shelter, water, food, space)
2. Divide your class into groups of two or three.
3. Give students the following directions:
   

   Your task is to become investigators of the animal world. You will be given a digital camera and I want you to search out an ecosystem. It can be any ecosystem you choose. Once you locate your ecosystem I want you to choose an animal that lives there and take a picture of its habitat. Document its food source, water source, shelter and living space.

   Once you have compiled your data you will print out your pictures and present them to the class. Your photographs must be labeled and identified. You may include photographs of any other information you feel is relevant.

Assessment

1. Students will have a document with pictures taken from digital camera—3 points.
2. The photos will be presented in a neat, concise manner and they will be labeled and identified correctly—2 points.
3. Students will need to include the following:
   • Identified animal—2 points
   • Animal’s habitat—2 points.
   • Food source— 2 points.
   • Water source—2 points.
   • Shelter—2 points.
   • Living space—2 points.
   • Other relevant information—3 pt.
4. Label Ecosystem—bonus points at teacher’s discretion.

Final Rubric:

• 20–18 points = A
• 17–15 points = B
• 14–12 points = C
• 12–0 points = redo

Supplemental information

You may want to purchase or have donated disposal cameras if you don’t have enough digital cameras for your students. You will need to have the pictures developed and then scan them into the computer for your students.

Comments

One day my students and I were walking to the cafeteria and saw a huge spider web. There was a spider in it and a fly caught in the web. It was so cool and one of my students said, “Don’t you wish you had a camera?” I really did too, and an idea was born.