Classroom Activities
To begin the unit, I will introduce students to the term biodiversity, and what it means to be Caretakers vs. Exploiters of our environments.
Week 1- Duration: 5 days
Lessons 1-3
Strategies for Week 1: Science Notebook, Anchor Charts, 3D Paper Habitat Dioramas, Online Games and Videos
Lesson 1- (Day 1) What is Biodiversity? Explain to students with an anchor chart that biodiversity is the variety of all living things, including plants, animals, microorganisms and their interrelationships. It is the genes they contain and the ecosystems they form.
Read Aloud The Tree of Life: The Incredible Biodiversity of Life on Earth, by Rochelle Strauss-
Students will see that the tree metaphor serves as a graphic organizer of the five kingdoms: bacteria, fungi, algae, plants and animals, showing the interconnectedness of each. Humans make up only one leaf of the entire tree, yet they have the greatest impact on the tree of life. A list of at-risk species and ideas about how we can help them are found near the end of the book.
Lesson 2- (Days 2-3) Habitats (ocean, desert, arctic, grassland, rain forest, pond): The teacher will explain by creating an anchor chart with students that there are two types of habitats, aquatic and terrestrial. Habitats are the natural home or environment of an animal, plant or other organism. Animals need five things to survive in a habitat: food, water, shelter, air and a place to raise their young. Different types of plants and animals have different habitat needs, just as we do. Some require only tiny habitats like starfish, whilst others need huge territories to roam across like tigers. Some can only live in tropical rainforests such as spider monkeys, whilst some like dry desserts like camels. Every species is specially adapted to live in certain habitat types.
The teacher should ensure students understand that if an animal’s habitat becomes unsuitable it will try and move to a different area in search of a new home. Historically this was due to extreme weather events such as fires or floods but today we are the major reason why animals are forced to leave their homes - we clear habitat to build houses and buildings destroying shelter and food, we construct fences and roads which prevent animals from easily moving from one part of their habitat to another and we litter and pollute habitat impacting the health of the water and air.
Day 2-Read Aloud Listen to Our World, by Bill Martin- students will learn that all kinds of animals make their home in our world. From the jungle to the mountains to their own backyard. It tells them if they listen, they might hear the sounds they make.
Day 3-Read Aloud Animal Planet Animal Atlas by James Buckley Jr. shows continents and the biomes and animals who live in each one. There are colorful photos of animals matched with information about the animal, where it lives, why it lives there, and what it eats.
The students will create the 3D Paper Habitat Dioramas based on their assigned habitat. During independent work time they may explore the following online habitat game:
- PBS Kids Build an Ecosystem Game
Lesson 3- (Day 4-5) Forest Habitats Focus: The teacher will explain that a forest is a piece of land with many trees. Forests are an ecosystem which includes many plants and animals and different climates have different kinds of forests. Forests are home to 80% of the world's terrestrial biodiversity. These ecosystems are complex webs of organisms that include plants, animals, fungi and bacteria. Forests provide everything that the creatures who live there need – food, water and shelter. Forests can be hot or cold, with different kinds of trees in different climates around the world. Animals that live in forests and woodlands include big animals like bears, moose and deer, and smaller animals like hedgehogs, raccoons and rabbits. Because we use trees to make paper, we need to be careful about what that does to forest habitats. One way to care for forests is to recycle paper.
Day 4- Read Aloud Hidden World Forest by Libby Walden
Day 5- Read Aloud The Woodland Book by Emily Bone
The students will read non-fiction books on the Forest habitat and take notes and add illustrations of their findings in their science notebooks. Online games and videos include:
- Sheppard Software Classify the Forest Animals
- Sheppard Software Forest Animal Video
- Create an Animal Forest
Week 2- Duration: 5 days
Lessons 4-6
Strategies for Week 2: Science Notebook, Anchor Charts, Paper Plate Food Chains, Circle Food Chain Books, Graphic Organizer, Online Games and Videos
Lesson 4- (Days 1-3) Food Chains: the teacher will explain by making an anchor chart with students that all living things, including people, need energy to survive which we get from food. Most plants make their own food from the sun - a process called photosynthesis. Animals however cannot produce their own food so have to eat other animals or plants to produce the energy they need to live. A food chain is a drawing that shows who-eats-what in the environment. Parts of a food chain always starts with a producer which is an organism that produces its own food. This is usually a green plant which uses the energy from the sun to make food. Animals are called consumers because they have to consume food to survive. There are three groups of consumers: • Herbivores - animals that eat only plants • Carnivores - animals that eat only other animals • Omnivores - animals that eat plants and animals. The final part of the food chain is the decomposers (bacteria and fungi) which feed on decaying matter.
Day1- Read Aloud Who Eats What? By Patricia Lauber. It is an introduction to food chains in the ocean and on land. Students will learn about the food chain from basic plants and simple organisms all the way up to humans.
The students will record notes in their science notebooks from the anchor chart and the read aloud about food chains and practice assembling food chains from various habitats using the online game:
- Sheppard Software Food Chain Game
Day 2- Read Aloud Pond Circle by Betsy Franco. Students will learn about all the steps in a food chain in a pond, from algae to nymph to beetle to frog to snake to skunk to owl to raccoon to coyote. The teacher should review key vocabulary from previous lesson. The students will work on the paper plate food chains using a habitat of their choice. Online game includes:
- Sheppard Software Producers Consumers Decomposer Game
Day 3- Read Aloud The Magic School Bus Gets Eaten By Patricia Relf. The Magic School Bus travels to the ocean for a lesson on food chains and the interdependence of life. Then they will complete the Food Chain Circle Book on the forest habitat. Online game includes:
- Sheppard Software Animal Diet Game
- PBS Kids Nature Changer Game
Lesson 5- (Days 4-5) Threats to Habitats and Food Chains: Invasive Species and Human Exploitation- The teacher will explain by making an anchor chart with students that invasive species are plants, fungui, or animal species that are not native to a specific location (an introduced species), which has a tendency to spread to a degree and possibly cause damage to the environment, human economy or human health.
Another factor students should know is if an animal’s habitat becomes unsuitable it will try and move to a different area in search of a new home. This has been due to extreme weather events such as fires or floods, but today humans are the major reason why animals are forced to leave their homes. We clear habitat to build houses and buildings; we construct fences and roads which prevent animals from moving easily from one habitat patch to another, and we litter and pollute the air and water making it unsuitable as a habitat. Animals used to be able to migrate (move) quite easily from one place to another in search of homes, partners and food because their habitat was well connected. Those same animals now have to scale fences, cross busy roads, traverse backyards with dogs and cats, and walk across open areas like lawns which exposes them to predators.
Day 4- Read Aloud Wolf Island by Celia Godkin. Students will learn about how changing the food chain can affect the biodiversity puzzle. When wolves disappear from an island, the excessive deer population starts to overfeed on plants, leaving less for rabbits and mice, which in turn affects the owls. Students should take notes in their science notebooks. Online games that have students capture all the invasive species before they take over include:
- PBS Kids Invaders Game
Day 5- Read Aloud Man vs. Animal: Species at Risk by Amy Tilmont. Students will learn about the complicated relationship between humans and nature. Students should complete a Cause and Effect graphic organizer with information learned from the read aloud about human effects on animal habitats.
Week 3- Duration: 5 days
Lessons 7-11
Strategies for Week 3: Science Notebook, Anchor Charts, Graphic Organizer, Role Play Game, Online Games and Videos
Lesson 7- (Day 1) Endangered Species and Extinction- The teacher will explain by making an anchor chart with students that an endangered species is any type of plant or animal that is in danger of disappearing forever. If a species, or type of plant or animal dies out completely, it becomes extinct. Some endangered species include:
Day 1- Read Aloud Don’t Let Them Disappear by Chelsea Clinton. Students will learn of endangered animals, what makes them special, and also what threatens them. It talks about rhinos, tigers, whales, pandas and more, and provides helpful tips on what we all can do to help prevent these animals from disappearing from our world entirely. Students will record their notes in their science notebooks and engage in the online game where they will catch the endangered animals and answer questions about them:
- Sheppard Software Endangered Animals Game
Lesson 8- (Day 2) How Can we be Caretakes and Help the Environment? - The teacher will discuss with students how we can reverse some of the damage caused by habitat loss by planting new trees and shrubs. This also serves to reconnect patches of habitat, providing more homes for wildlife and allowing populations to move and expand into new areas. We can reconnect habitats to enable wildlife to move more easily through the landscape by:
- Protecting habitats in national parks
- Encouraging landholders to conserve native vegetation on their properties.
- Planting native trees and shrubs.
- Removing barbed wire fencing.
The students will turn and talk with a partner and compile a list of other things we can do that could make things better, stop the destruction of these habitats and animal extinction.
Day 2- read aloud The Wolves Return by Celia Godkin. Students will learn about the gray wolves that were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park in 1995-96. The wolves positively impacted the ecosystem. Students will record their notes in their science notebooks.
Lesson 9- (Day 3) What are Wildlife Corridors? The teacher will explain by making an anchor chart with students that wildlife corridors are an area of habitat, generally native vegetation, which joins two or more larger areas of similar wildlife habitat. The teacher will provide students with an overview of why animals need to move and what things restrict their movements (e.g. roads, fences, buildings, open fields, domestic animals), and explain that wildlife corridors are one way in which we can reconnect areas that have become fragmented, or where habitat has been lost, to enable species to move more easily between areas in search of food, partners and habitat.
Wildlife corridors are created by:
- Planting trees or shrubs to link different habitat patches. • Preserving or planting strips of vegetation along roadsides and fences to connect habitat patches. • Planting grass in enclosures to create new habitat. • Planting enclosure trees to create ‘Steppingstones’ to link different habitat patches. • Designing urban parks and gardens to conserve and maintain habitat for native species. • Protecting large patches of native land to provide core habitat on private properties. • Creating biodiverse, wildlife friendly gardens. • Controlling wild animals and weeds. • Linking national parks and protected areas with surrounding habitat patches. • Managing fire and grazing regimes. • Establishing wildlife crossing structures across major roads.
The teacher will show students some photo examples of wildlife corridors and ask questions to check understanding.
Students will them play the role play game. Appoint Group A students as different animals: e.g. frog, deer, beaver, bear etc. Appoint Group B students as barriers to movement: e.g. A barbed wire fence, cars on a busy road, buildings, a back yard with an aggressive dog. The objective of the game is for Group A students to move from one side of the classroom or playground to the other by staying in character e.g. frogs can only hop, deer can walk but not climb, etc. Explore some of the concepts: What if this was a four-lane freeway instead of a small road? What if this fence was joined up with the neighbor’s fences so it became really long? How would you get across the area now? What if this backyard had a fierce dog in it?
Lesson 10- (Day 4)- Pocahontas State Park Forest Habitat- (In the event that an actual field trip to the park is not possible, we will watch the video instead)The teacher will give the students an overview of the park and explain to them it is a forest habitat that is right here in our city and also the largest park in Virginia. Before engaging students in the video tour of Pocahontas Ste Park, we will review the components of a forest habitat. I will tell students to look for these things in the video, they will take notes in their science note books. The teacher will engage students in the Pocahontas State Park Scenery Video Discuss the video: Why is PSP important? What species is it helping? What did you see that showed you is was a forest habitat? Did you see any changes that you know were made by humans?
I will tell students that they have been tasked to help PSP build a wildlife corridor to help a particular animal. I will select and assign each student a different animal to research and create a wildlife corridor. I will ask students to investigate the habitat needs of their animal with the following questions: What does your animal need in its habitat? What size is its habitat? Where does it sleep? Where does it raise its young? Students will begin their research on their animal using a research graphic organizer to record their information. Another activity is that they will write a short-illustrated story about a day in the life of that animal based on their findings. The story should include what role it plays in the environment (why it’s important) and what they are going to do to help them.
Lesson 11-(Day 5) Designing Wildlife corridors: I will work with small groups of students to construct their corridor plan. After meeting with me, students will work independently on their plans. Online games to help students understand how to build things to solve problems include:
- PBS Kids Design a City to Keep the Fidgits Safe
Students can practice creating an environment to keep the creatures safe.
- PBS Kids Feed the Fidgits Game
Students can practice designing and growing harvest plants to feed the creatures.
Week 4- Duration: 5 days
Strategies for Week 3: Wildlife Corridors Projects
Days 1-3, Students will work on completing their projects
Days 4-5- Students will present their projects to the class
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