In this lesson and its extension the students will have the
opportunity to view many species of plants and animals in their native habitats.
Students will discover the importance of one person's ability to impact
the environment and make a positive difference. Students will design a classroom
habitat and create and carry out a plan for raising the necessary funds
to accomplish their project.
Science For You #3 Habitats: Who Needs Bugs?
Green Means #15 Habitat Forming
Students will be able to:
identify four different habitats and some of the animals in them;
describe the importance that man can have on restoring a habitat;
design and construct a classroom habitat;
create and carry out a workable plan to finance the class habitat
project.
Post Viewing (suggested materials for class project. Amounts
of each decided by the class in their planning)
terrarium
soil
leaves
water
charcoal bits
plants
salamander
crickets
Lemonade Stand Materials (to be decided on by the class)
Ask students what their pet would say if they were asked. "What
do you like about your house?" (a nice couch to sleep on, food in my
bowl, a litter box, someone to love me, etc.) Animals in nature don't always
have (or need) those things, but they do need to have certain things in
order to survive.
The focus for viewing is a specific responsibility or task(s)
students are responsible for during or after watching video to focus and
engage students' viewing attention. We are going to watch this video segment
twice. The first time, just watch it and notice as much as possible. The
second time, I will have you find some information.
BEGIN Science For You #3 Habitats: Who Needs Bugs? after
the segment with the caribou in the snow and the lady says, "These
animals would have to find another area in which to live." STOP
when a snake appears on the screen and before the man says, " You can
grow a habitat..." REWIND to where we began this segment of
the video. We saw some words listed on the screen. Let's go over those words
before we watch the video again. Put these words on the board: habitat (place
where a plant or an animal lives); symbiosis (interconnectedness of plants
and animals and their dependence on each other for survival); food chain
(order in which plants and animals eat other plants and animals for survival).
Discuss the meaning of each one. Write the definition of each on the board.
Let's watch this video again. On a piece of paper, I want you to be able
to list four different habitats and as many of the animals shown as you
can. BEGIN the video. STOP again when the snake appears. EJECT
video. Discuss answers to the above questions. (forest, field, pond and
stream) (frog, heron, ladybug, ants, hummingbird, ducks, fish, snake, hawk,
moose, bear)
Discuss why native habitats are important. (so animals have a place to live,
so animals won't become extinct, need all kinds of organisms to survive,
for beauty, for recreation, etc.) Discuss what impact man has had on native
habitats. Good: Help preserve endangered species, set aside areas for wildlife
refuges, etc. Bad: pollution, overgrazing, overpopulating, littering etc.
Could one person help the native habitat of an area? Discuss. Accept all
answers. In the next video segment, we will meet Steve Packard from Chicago,
IL and see how he was able to make some positive changes in a native area
near Chicago. In the first part, we will see an enemy that can sometimes
be a friend in maintaining a native habitat. I want you to be able to tell
me what it is when I stop the video. Watch.
BEGIN the video Green Means #15 at the beginning. PAUSE when
the narrator says, "In fact it was set by human hands." What was
the enemy that was useful restoring habitat? (fire) Discuss why anyone would
set a fire to benefit a natural habitat. (It's one way that nature can rid
the land to trees and other plants.) RESUME the video. PAUSE
when the man says, "I want to brings things back." Why do you
think they are using bow saws instead of chain saws. (To prevent noise pollution.)
Look for what Steve and the other volunteers had to do in order to restore
the habitat. RESUME the video. STOP when Steve says, "I
hate it." Discuss the answers. (Research to find what plants and animals
were in the original habitat and spent lots of time using fires and saws
to clear the unwanted trees and brush. They save and tag desirable trees
and use herbicides on stumps.) Discuss the amount of work that this project
might involve. Why would people be willing to help with this? PAUSE
when the narrator says, "They apply herbicide to the stumps."
What does herbicide do? (Kill the stumps so that the tree will not re-grow)
Why did they color the herbicide red? (So they can tell which stumps have
been treated.) Divide the class into two groups. Group one is to find how
man hurt the environment in this area. Group two is to find the benefits
gained from restoring the habitat , before the lady starts talking. RESUME
the video. STOP when the screen saying Green Means is shown. EJECT
the video. Discuss the findings of each group. Group One - man interrupted
nature by plowing which reduced the frequency of fires (allowing trees to
take over which affected animal life.) Group Two- plants and animals not
seen for years have returned (deer, ducks, flowers, butterflies, birds),
man can once again enjoy the native habitat of this area.
We saw what Steve did near Chicago, and now we are going to see a habitat
project that we are going to do in our classroom. RESUME Science
For You #3 Habitats: Who Needs Bugs? where we left off where it shows the
experiment to build a habitat. STOP when the boy says, "Yes,
I know," and before the city appears on the screen.
Wow, doesn't that look like an exciting project? Let's just
do it. So we need to get busy with our plans. Divide class into groups to
brainstorm about the following:
materials needed
how to find the cost
what kinds of plants and animals are needed
where to get the plants and animals
where to get the materials
how to get the money to pay for needed items.
Come back together as a class and pool the information gathered in groups.
Reach consensus on materials, plants and animals needed. Research the total
cost by one of the following methods:
student committee
class field trip
phone calls
room parent and a student committee field trip
pet shop owner come to the class.
When total cost is found, students develop a plan to raise the money. As
one option: A lemonade and popcorn stand could be held at school. Students
should develop a plan considering supplies needed, cost of supplies, cost
per cup of lemonade, cost per sack of popcorn, amount needed to be sold,
location, date, permission, workers, sponsors, etc. After money is raised,
students will build the habitat as shown in the video.
Have someone from the US Fish and Wildlife Service Division
of Refuges give a program on the more than 91 millions acres of wildlife
habitat that is oversees. For the phone number of a local refuge or a regional
office, call 703/358-2043
In cooperation with a local civic group (Lions Club etc.) organize a volunteer
clean up day for a local park or recreation area.
Use money raised to by a song bird bundle ($12) from the extension office
and plant in a needed location, maybe even around the school.
Language Arts: Write a letter to Steve Packard asking
questions about the project and what has been happening recently. Maybe
he could send some pictures. Or maybe a conference call could be arranged
so the class could talk to him in "real time." Address: 79 West
Monroe, Chicago, IL 60603. Write an article for the local newspaper telling
of the class project and asking for donations for old aquariums to be used
as terrariums. Include photographs.
Social Studies: Find areas in our states that are set aside for game
refuges or national/state parks. Visit the botanical gardens or a zoo to
view different habitats.
Art: Make posters to advertise the class "lemonade" sale
to raise money for the habitat project. Make scientific drawings of the
animals in our class habitat.
Science: Using the names of animals sighted by students during a
week's time, make a food web display on a bulletin board.
