Habitats in Our World

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

Be sure you have gathered your supplies for this lesson!

We are going to take part in some activities using the pictures above to get us started.

1. On your sticky note or index card, draw or write the name of your favorite animal.
2. Next, look at the pictures shown above again. Pick the picture that shows where you think your animal would live.

• Were you able to find a picture that shows where your animal lives?

A place where a plant or animal lives, grows, and reproduces, is called its habitat.

The pictures above show 6 different habitats from different places around the world.

Divide a large piece of paper into 6 sections. Label each section with a different habitat:

1. desert
2. rainforest
3. grassland
4. woodland
5. polar
6. ocean

Let's discuss each one!

Fill in 3 or more facts on your sheet of paper about each habitat as you read the lesson and watch the videos.

1. Desert

Deserts have very little rain, about 10 inches in an entire year; therefore, it is very dry in the desert. The desert often has extreme temperature changes, resulting in very hot days and very cold nights.

Animals and plants have to have special adaptations so they can survive in the desert.

Great books to read about desert habitats are A Day and Night in the Desert by Caroline Arnold and Deserts by Gail Gibbons.

Watch Desert - video for kids from learning junction:

2. Rainforest

A rainforest, unlike the desert, gets plenty of rain, about 100 inches a year! The rainforest has tall trees, many with large leaves that form a canopy (sort of like a rooftop of branches) in the trees.

The temperature in the rainforest ranges from about 68 degrees to 93 degrees. The rainforest is warm and wet.

A good book to read about rainforests is A Rainforest Habitat by Molly Aloian.

Here is a video that you can watch about the rainforest called Rainforest: Amazing Facts, sights and sounds: Science Videos for kids from funza Academy:

3. Grassland

Grasslands have many names: prairie, savannah, and steppes are a few. Grasslands are vast plains that get between 10 and 35 inches a rain a year. This rainfall amount allows for grasses and shrubs to grow, but not large trees.

Grasslands usually have warm to hot summers and cold winters.

Good books to read on Grasslands are Grasslands by Violet Findley and Here is the African Savannah by Madeleine Dunphy and Tom Leonard.

Check out this video on The Grasslands from Daniel Izzo:

4. Woodland or Temperate Forest

Forests provide habitats for a vast amount of plants and animals. Woodland forests have four seasons: summer, fall, winter, and spring.

The temperatures fluctuate according to the season. Animals have to adapt to live through the seasons.

A good book to read on temperate forests is Temperate Forest Habitats by Barbara Taylor.

Watch The temperate deciduous forest biome from MooMooMath ans Science:

5. Polar Regions

Polar habitats are located at the very top and bottom of the earth. It is very cold and windy, and ice and snow cover much of the area.

The northern polar region is called the Arctic, and the southern polar region is called the Antarctic. The ground is nearly always frozen, so there are no trees at all, but in summer months, some mosses and grasses grow.

A great book resource is About Habitats: Polar Regions by Cathryn Sill and John Sill.

Watch The Tundra-Biomes of the World, from MooMooMath and Science, to learn more about these polar biomes:

6. Ocean

Most of the earth is covered with salt water.

The oceans, which are the largest saltwater habitat, are the most diverse habitat on the planet because the oceans hold a wide variety of marine plants and animals. Water in the ocean can be either warm or cold.

A great book resource is An Ocean of Animals by Janine Scott.

To learn more about oceans, watch Exploring the Coral Reef: Learn about Oceans for Kids - FreeSchool:

Once you have watched all the videos, keep going in the Got It? section!