Eunit

Eunit - PLT Curriculum Pilot

Level C — 5: Habitat Pen Pals

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By becoming “habitat pen pals,” students learn about the diversity of habitats in their state, and write letters from the perspective of organisms living in those habitats.

Time Considerations

One or more 50-minute periods

Materials

  • Copies of Habitats around the World teacher page
  • Pictures of additional animals and habitats (optional, see Getting Ready)
  • Student roster
  • Chart paper, markers
  • Tape
  • Paper and pencils

Key Vocabulary

habitat, pen pal

Getting Ready

  • Using the Habitats Around the World teacher page, select two or three habitats found in your state that your students may find familiar (such as forest, wetland, and ocean). Make enough copies of those pages so that there is one animal picture for each student in your class. Cut apart the pages, separating the habitat pictures and the animal pictures. (You may wish to supplement with pictures from the Internet of additional animals that live in each habitat.)
  • Tape each habitat picture to a separate piece of chart paper labeled with that habitat’s name. Spread the animal pictures out on a table.
  • On a student roster, assign an animal to each student and assign student pairs to be secret pen pals, making sure that pen pal pairs have animals from different habitats.

Doing the Activity

  1. Introduce the activity by reminding students they have explored their schoolyard habitat, but there are many other habitats, near and far. Today, they will explore some other nearby habitats.
  2. Have the students think of some nearby natural areas. For example, they might think of a nearby park, pond, forest, river, meadow, or even a vacant lot. Write each of these habitats on the board as students mention them.
  3. Ask the students to name the types of animals that they would expect to live in each of these local habitats.
  4. Tell the students that there are many different kinds of habitats. Show students the pictures of the two or three habitats you have selected. Have the students try to identify where each habitat might be found and what it might be like there.
  5. Invite students to come up, one at a time, and choose an appropriate animal picture to tape under one of the habitat pictures. Offer direction, as necessary, on which animals go with which habitats. Tape the pictures on the chart paper to create a poster for each habitat.
  6. Explain that they’ll be writing a letter to a pen pal from the point of view of an animal. Tell students who their pen pals will be and whisper to each student their assigned animal. Explain that the students should keep their habitats and their animal identities.
  7. Write the following questions on the board:
    • What is your habitat like?
    • What other animals live in your habitat?
    • What’s a plant that lives in your habitat?
    • Why is this habitat a good place to live?
  8. Tell the students that they should address each of these questions in their letters, but they shouldn’t name either the habitat or the animal they are writing about. Encourage the students to be accurate—yet creative—in the ways they address each point. For example, instead of simply saying, “Beetles live in my habitat,” a pen pal could say, “I had a delicious breakfast of beetles this morning.” Explain that, by addressing each point accurately and with lots of interesting detail, each “animal” will be providing hints about his or her identity and habitat.
  9. Give students time to write their letters. Have them fold the letter in half and address it to their assigned pen pal.
  10. Deliver the letters to the appropriate pen pals. Give the students time to read the letters they received and to try to figure out which animal and habitat are described. Then have the students share the letters they received with the rest of the group. (If a student is unable to figure out which animal or habitat his or her pen pal represents, ask for suggestions from classmates.)

Remember to visit the Enrich tab for recommended children’s books that support the science concepts covered in this activity.

Level C — 4: Schoolyard Safari

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Students look for signs of animals living in and around trees in the schoolyard, observing how a tree can serve as a habitat or as one part of habitat.

Time Considerations

50 minutes

Materials

  • Copies of Safari Count student page
  • Clipboards or hard writing surfaces (alternatively, digital cameras or tablets)
  • Hand lenses
  • Optional: student-made binoculars from 3: Trees as Habitats

Key Vocabulary

safari, sign

Getting Ready

  • Plan this activity for a time of year when students are most likely to see animals outdoors, such as fall or spring.
  • Before doing the activity, locate an appropriate area on the school grounds that students can explore. SAFETY: Check the site for any hazards such as deep holes, sharp objects, or poisonous or irritating plants.
  • Plan to discuss appropriate outdoor behavior, as necessary. All living things, including plants, are to be respected and not injured in any way. Talk with students about following the rule: look, learn, leave alone. This includes leaving alone animals and their food, water, and shelter.

Doing the Activity

  1. Ask students whether they have ever heard the word “safari,” and ask what kinds of things they might see on a safari. Point out that a safari doesn’t have to be to a faraway place, and that they can even take a safari in their own backyard. Ask, “What might you see on a backyard safari?”
  2. Tell students that they are going on a safari of the school grounds. You might stimulate their imagination by having them pretend that buildings are mountains and cliffs or that the lawn is a jungle.
  3. Explain that they will look and listen for signs of animals (including insects) living or visiting there. Tell students that they will need to search carefully to find animals and that they will be more likely to find an animal if they are quiet. Ask students for ideas about where they might look and list their suggestions on the board. Possibilities include on the bark and leaves of trees, on shrubs, in the cracks of sidewalks, among blades of grass, on utility wires, in the soil around plants, along the edges of buildings, under leaves, and on walls and fences.
  4. Point out to students that in addition to actual animals, they should look and listen for signs of animals. Remind them of the animal signs they found in 3: Trees as Habitats, and ask them what other signs they might find. Possibilities include feathers, nests, animal tracks, leaves that have been nibbled, slug trails, or anthills. Point out that people are animals too, and they can also look for signs of “people life” like candy wrappers or footprints. Point out that people are animals too, and they can also look for signs of “people life.” SAFETY: Remind students about appropriate behavior for working outside. (See Getting Ready for 1: Adopt a Tree activity.)
  5. Divide students into pairs or small groups. Take them outside and allow a few minutes for them to find two animals or signs of animals. Bring the group together and ask a couple of groups to share they have found so far.
  6. Challenge students to continue looking for animals and to record the animals or signs they find. Pass out clipboards and copies of the Safari Count student page, or provide digital cameras or tablets, for students to record their findings. You might also distribute hand lenses or have them use the binoculars they made in 3: Trees as Habitats.
  7. Bring the group together, and invite students to share their experiences and compare their findings. Focus on the following questions:
    • What animals did you observe living in our schoolyard?
    • What evidence did you find of other animals?
    • What do these animals need to live? (food, water, air, shelter, space)
    • What kinds of food might animals find on the school grounds?
    • Where do these animals get water?
    • What kind of shelter might animals find on the school grounds?
    • What were the largest and smallest animals you found?
    • What surprised you the most?
  8. Back in the classroom, help students graph the data they collected on the safari. Looking at the graph or graphs, which animals were the most common or most numerous? What other patterns can they see?

Remember to visit the Enrich tab for recommended children’s books that support the science concepts covered in this activity.