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Mini-Habitats
~ Lesson Ideas
Here
are some lesson ideas to support your creativity as a teacher.
You, of course, know your own class's learning styles, needs
and interests better than anyone, so please use what is helpful
and modify or disregard the rest. Depending on your teaching
style and your students' pace of learning, each lesson step
could last one or several days. In "Download
Options" you can find a downloadable version of this
unit and sample student handouts.
Part
I: Preparation
If
you plan to use your Hidden Villa field trip in your life
science study, you will probably want to introduce the concept
before you go. Also, be sure to inform the Hidden Villa staff
that you would like to focus on this topic during the field
trip before your trip.The following are some activities that
can be used on their own
or as part
of your
regular
science
curriculum.
Versions of several of these activities can be found in other
environmental education programs.
Habitat Theater Game |
The
aim of this activity is to reinforce the learning that
a habitat is the physical space that provides an animal with
the food, water and protection that it needs to survive.
I also like to use it as a warning that if we don't pay attention
to our actions and the actions of others we are likely to
quickly lose important wild habitats. To
Play: Your students
will stand in a circle with you in the middle. When you point
to a student and say "water," "food" or "protection," this
student and the students on either side need to quickly
make the sign of this word. Before starting the game teach
each sign and allow for practice time. For "water" the
student in the middle moves both arms up and down while the
students
on either side open their arms wide to represent the river
bank. For "food" the student you point to needs
to make the movements of eating from a plate while the students
on either
side bend down and put their hands out so that they touch
to form the imaginary table. For "protection" the
student makes a triangle with his arms above his
head while
the students on either side use their arms to form the imaginary
wall. Once you begin playing, if a student makes the wrong
movement or doesn't react at all he or she is "out" and
declared "lost habitat." The game is over when only a few
students are
left. |
Habitat Population Game |
The
aim of this game is to again reinforce the concept
of habitat as well understand that there is relationship
between the health of the habitat and a species population
size. Invent small hand gestures that can represent food,
water and protection and teach them to your students. Explain
that you will place them in two opposing lines. One line
will represent the habitat and the other a community of
rabbits.
Before each round the student in each line will turn their
backs towards the other line. The students in the habitat
line each need to decide if they are going to represent
food, water or protection and make the corresponding
hand gesture.
The rabbits need to decide what they most need from their
habitat to survive and make the corresponding hand signal.
When you yell "start" the two lines quickly turn around so
that all can see their hand gesture and the rabbits run as
fast as they can to the habitat line and try to find a student
representing the resource they need. If the rabbit is successful
in getting what it needs to survive it is able to "reproduce"
this season and the student representing the habitat now
joins the rabbit line. Unsuccessful rabbits die and decompose
to form part of that habitat. Obviously it is important that
students don't change their hand gestures mid-round. After
each round or "season" ask the students in each
line to count how many are in their line. Keep track of
these numbers through
several rounds. When you return to the classroom, guide
students in making a line graph (change over time) and
discussing
the relationship between the availability of habitat and
the animal population.
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Bird Beak Adaptations |
This
has become a well-loved standard in the schools in our
area. Students get different implements that represent
the beak types of different bird species and try to "eat"
(pick-up) a range of objects that represent different food
types. This is a very powerful activity that clearly demonstrates
the concept of animal adaptations. Some ideas
for different representations of beaks are: spoons (duck),
chopsticks (egret), scissors (hawk), clothespins (sparrow).
Different ideas of representation of food: marbles, sponge
squares,
plastic "worms" hidden under sand, paper clips,
washers, or toothpicks. Make a worksheet so that students
can easily keep track of
their "scientific discoveries" about each type
of bill. At the end of the activity show students pictures
of different
birds and have them infer what bird each type of beak might
represent. Then guide a discussion about their observations,
discoveries and questions about animal adaptations. You can
probably find a more detailed description of this lesson
on the internet. |
Part
II: Hidden Villa Habitat Posters - Preparation
Let
Hidden Villa know well before your field trip that you plan
to focus on mini-habitats and animal adaptations. This way
Hidden Villa can help to focus their field trip curriculum
on this topic and support students in taking appropriate
notes.
Step #1
(choosing a topic)
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After
the field trip, guide your class in thinking of all the
mini-habitats they explored during their field trip.
(e.g. under a log or rock, one tree, a pool in the creek,
the garden.) I like focusing on the mini-habitats because
students can actually observe the entire habitat at once,
making the concept easier to understand. You might choose to study
one or two mini-habitats you are pretty sure all of your
students explored at Hidden Villa, along with some larger
habitats (such as the riparian forest, the chaparral or the
oak grasslands). |
Step #2
(organizing information)
|
Before: Write
the name of 3-5 habitats on a large piece of chart paper.
Make 2-3 sets. You may also want to write the instructions
on the board ahead of time. Orientation: Using
their Hidden Villa notes, students will work in pairs to
add the information
they know about
each
habitat
to a class web. Student Instructions:
- Read everything
that has already been written on the web by students
before you.
- Find information
about this subject in your notes.
- Share this
information and what you remember with your partner(s).
- Think about the following questions:
- How does this habitat provide the three resources
animals need to survive?
- What animals live in this habitat?
- What do these animals eat and how do they hunt?
- What adaptations do these animals have to help
them survive in their habitat?
- Time: You will have 5-8 minutes for each rotation.
Activity: Give
each pair 5-8 minutes on each habitat web. Remind them
to read over
what students before them have written to avoid repeating
the same information. After each period either have the
students rotate or simply switch the papers. |
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Before proceeding, the class need
to be broken into groups of 2 or 3 students to study an
individual habitat. To capitalize on student interest, give them the option of proposing their top two habitat choices and 2 or 3 classmates they would like as project partners.
You will probably have two or three groups working on each
habitat, depending on how many different Hidden Villa habitats
your class chose to study. |
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Ask
the class to remember what the components of an ecosystem are.
Guide them to remember that it is an interaction between non-living components of an environment with the plants and animals that live there.
Explain that they are going to organize the information
they have about their assigned habitat in these three categories.
Draw an example for a web for one of the habitats - let's
say, under a log. The habitat goes in the middle circle
with the three categories branching out from it. Prompt
students to think about some of the non-living characteristics
of this habitat (moist, dark, little holes for bugs to
live in, food for decomposers, protection from predators)
and write them on the web.Then have them think of animals
that live there. Around each animal's name, see if they
can add some more information about this animal. Explain
that students will use the class notes and their own knowledge
to fill
in
the
webs for their habitats. Groups: You
may want groups to make their web on a large piece of paper
so that all
can participate at once, or on separate photocopied worksheets
where they can document their group decisions. Give each
habitat group one set of class notes about their habitat
from the previous activities. Later in the activity, you
can have groups studying the same habitat switch class
notes in case they have different information. |
Part
III: Hidden Villa Habitat Posters - Research
As an end product, each group will produce a poster that represents
their habitat. Included in this poster will be: a clear representation
of the non-living elements of the habitat, drawings of between
6 and 10 different animals and 2 to 3 plants that live in this
habitat. Below the drawing of their habitat they will include
concise captions that give basic information about each animal
or plant, including at least 2 adaptations each has to its environment.
After
only one day at Hidden Villa, students should have a pretty
good basic familiarity with the different habitats of the
foothills. However, they are probably missing a lot of
detailed information about the specific animals and plants
that live
in that habitat. In my class, we take at least a week to
study good research skills while gathering the information
each group needs to complete their poster. If you have
a helpful librarian, ask him or her to compile a stack of
books about each of your habitats or animals. There are some
animals that your school library probably will not have sufficient
information about. In my class, we took advantage of this
situation to practice internet research skills. For more
internet resource ideas, click on "Links" at the
top of the page.
Step #1
(Preparing to Research)
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Orientation: Explain
the poster project to your class. Ask them what pieces
of information they think they should include
in their captions about each animal and plant. To facilitate
the speed and efficiency of my students' research, prepare a note-taking sheet that reminds students of all the
information they have to find for each organism, with a space
next to each item for recording information. This could
include: where exactly the animal lives; 2 special adaptations
of the animal's body that helps it survive; what the animals
eats; and who eats the animal. At
the bottom of the note-taking sheet, leave a box open for
students' own questions. Group: Each
group should first decide on the animals they are going
to study. Then they should start filling in the note-taking
sheet for each animal. The blanks left on their note-taking
sheet will help them figure out what they will need
to be looking
for
in
their
research. |
Step #2
(Research Mini-Lessons)
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During
your 2 to 5 days of research, you should begin the lesson with a mini-lesson to teach or review
a research technique. Since students should already know
exactly what they are looking for, emphasize how to locate
specific information.
For example: mini-lessons focusing on how
to use the Table of Contents and Index, and on how to skim
for information. These mini-lessons could be done as Shared
Reading with the class or as a Think-Aloud as you demonstrate
your
own
reading processes. This is an opportunity to reinforce
reciprocal
teaching
(or cooperative
reading) steps. In this method students are first taught
each step and then take turns leading their group in each
of the following informational reading steps: Predict, Read,
Connect, Clarify, Quiz, Summarize. For more about this teaching
method, see "Best Practices" in the introduction
to the Curriculum pages. |
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After
each mini-lesson, students should get right to work on
their own research. During the first two days, encourage students to work together in the groups, all researching the same animal. You could even require them to use the reciprocal teaching steps, which supports their learning the research techniques presented. Once students begin to understand the processes, groups can divvy up the project so that each student has his/her own animal or plant to research. A student who is struggling with reading or having difficulty maintaining focus could remain paired with a partner. Advanced students could take on the challenge of researching more difficult organisms or coaching a stuggling classmate.
At the end of each research session, each habitat group should
get together to share what they accomplished during the work
period, re-evaluate what still needs to be done and make
a plan for the following work period. |
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There will probably be some information that students simply
cannot find in your school reference books. Once students
have had several days to practice their research skills,
they may be ready to try a search on the internet. If your
students have not used the internet much, you
may want to do a preliminary lesson on how to recognize links,
enter a search word and scroll down a page. If your students
are advanced internet users, you may want to define their
task (finding the missing information about their habitat's
organisms), provide a few suggestions (use Yahooligans, enter
specific key words into Google) and let them practice their
research skills on their own. If your students are less skilled - or get stuck - guide them to the"Webquest" for the
HV Classroom Kids' Site where they can find specific directions
and suggestions. |
Part
IV: Hidden Villa Habitat Posters - Production
There
are many different ways to make the actual poster. After
all the academic work, I like to take advantage of this opportunity
to push my students to explore their artistic skills. Below
I will include the steps I guide my students through in making
illustrations of their habitats in the style of renowned
artist Eric Carle, who begins with painted pieces of paper from which he then cuts shapes of his animals. As you will note, there are several entry
points depending on how involved you would like the project
to become.
The
other part of producing the final habitat poster is writing
and revising the information captions. If your students have
used the note-taking guide, they should have all the information
they need in an organized format. I like to mix up the two
production processes and have my students work on their art
one day and their information summaries the next.
Preproduction (Optional) |
Teach or review the color wheel with your class. Assign each habitat group a different color (tempera paint) to mix, using primary colors plus white. Also, review lines and texture; encourage students to use paintbrushes, sponge squares, potato slices or
other implements to add designs to their color. All these are art standards that can be found in the California State
Curriculum Framework, you might be able to work with your art teacher (if your school has one) on this project, or at least be justified in your decision to teach it in your classroom. |
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Orientation: Tell students that illustrating requires as much thought and skill as producing a final draft of writing. Very rarely do we ever write a final draft without first making a plan and writing a rough draft. Explain that the same is true for illustration. The first step in an Eric Carle habitat illustration is for each group to design a plan in pencil. Talk about proportion and perspective. The animals and plants are obviously the most important aspects of the illustration, so students should focus on what attracts the viewer's attention. Even small organisms should be depicted large enough for the observer to notice their structural adaptations to habitat. As this is just a plan, emphasize that the animals do not have to look drawn perfectly - the plan is just to get a general idea of where each element of the illustration will be in relationship to each other. Group: Give each group about 20 minutes to finish
their plan. Please
note:
it will
be
much easier for students to work on the subsequent stages
of their illustration if their plan is drawn on the same
size paper as their final poster. |
Step #2
(Animal Rough Draft)
|
Orientation: In this step, student choose which organisms they will illustrate individually and begin to plan how to create this plant or animal out of different shapes. (At the beginning of this lesson, I show my students lots of Eric Carle illustrations, guiding them to notice the different patters of his style and how he cuts out the different shapes constituting each animal from different paper and then glues the pieces together.) Explain that each of the animals or plants needs to be put together with a minimum of 6 different shapes. Model: Do a demonstration for the class, with a simple animal such as a bird. Talk out loud about your decision to draw an oval for the body, a circle for the head, a triangle for the beak, long rectangles for the legs, and skinny rectangles for the toes. These are
all pieces that can be glued together. Of course, then there
are the wings and eyes that can be glued on top of the other
pieces. Individual: Students draw the different shapes
to make each animal and plan what color paper each shape will be
cut from. (1-2 days) |
Step #3
(Making the Animals)
|
Before: If you are using colored paper that your own students have painted, sort the paper by color into different baskets or boxes at the fron of the room to facilitate this step #3. Orientation: Students will be cutting out their shapes from different
paper and gluing them
together to form their animals. Remind students to notice
the texture or lines on the paper and choose the orientation
that looks the best for that particular animal piece. Also, remind students to be careful with their fingers - glue gets stuck to their hands and picks up dirt, which students can run onto their illustrations.
Individual: Students may want
to make a stencil of difficult shapes or simply eye-ball
them as they cut directly from
the paper. Hand out little envelopes or bags for students
to store their pieces in if they don't finish within a day.
(1-3 days) |
Step #4
(The Habitat Background)
|
Once
students have all of their "Eric Carle" plants
and animals glued down onto their poster, they are ready
to paint
in the background of their habitat. Light
watercolor works very well for this purpose. Instruct students
how to make a light wash of the color they want to use by
adding lots of water to the paint and then test it on a piece
of scratch paper before they actually paint it on their poster.
Show students how to blot out errors with
a little wad of paper towel. These steps should take most
students only 10-20 minutes. |
While
students are working on their habitat illustrations, they
should also be working on their information captions. Using
their organized notes, this should not take them very long.
After students have finished their rough drafts, guide your
students through the revision progress. Students
publish their captions on the computer (use two columns so
that the captions aren't so wide) or on little index cards.
Finally,
students are able to put their entire poster together. Students
should label each animal or plant on their illustration with
a small number and then glue the corresponding information
caption next to or below the illustration. If you want to,
the information on the posters could easily be turned into
a quick exercise in information report writing. |
