I. Curricular Framework

Concept:

Neighborhood Habitats

Essential Question:

What elements need to be present in a habitat in order to sustain life?

Bridge:

Observing Mini-Habitats

Content:

Outcomes:

II. Standards Aligned

III. Instruction and Assessment

1. Connect: Connecting to the Concept Experientially

Objective: Students will experience their surrounding environment auditorily and visually.

Activity: In the classroom, discuss the procedure that will take place outside. Go outside and find a private space that is not next to another person. For five minutes, students will close their eyes and just listen to the sounds of the schoolyard. Some students may wish to use their "deer ears" by cupping their hands around the back of the ear. Repeat this experience using the visual and auditory senses. Could you see animals you could not hear? Did you hear things you could not see? Which was easier? Harder? Did you want to use your eyes when you were supposed to be listening only?

Presentation of animal homes.: Students willingness to participate and involvement in the exercise.

2. Attend: Attending to the Connection

Objective: Remembering that animals are living things, students will determine the differences between sounds that are alive vs. sounds that are not alive.

Activity: Come back into the classroom and brainstorm all the sounds that were heard outside. Show pictures and/or discuss concepts of alive and not alive. In groups or with partners, take five minutes to talk about the sounds that were heard. Make a chart listing the sounds that were alive in one column and the sounds that were not alive in another column. Each group will report its findings to rest of the class. (To challenge older students, discuss the needs of living things, i.e., food, water, air, etc.)

Assessment: Participation of students and their ability to rename at least one sound from outside.

Assessment, Phase One, Level of Engagement, Fascination:

3. Image: Creating a Mental Picture

Objective: Students will discover that within a habitat, there are mini-habitats that sometimes go unnoticed.

Activity: Have a wire coathanger for each student. Bend the wire into a circle. This is representing a magnifying glass. Show students a real magnifying glass. Go outside to a grassy area. In partners or individually, have students observe what is inside the boundaries of their coathanger magnifying glass. After a few minutes, have students choose another area to observe. Make sure students look at two different types of micro-environments (i.e., dirt, grass, mud, concrete, etc.). Have students draw what they saw in their magnifying glass.

Assessment: Students' drawings will reflect two different mini-habitats.

Assessment, Phase Two, Seeing the Big Picture:

4. Inform: Receiving Facts & Knowledge

Objective: To introduce and reinforce the concept animals need a home.

Activity: Teacher lectures using pictures and realia (if possible). Discuss homes and the need for shelter. Why do these animals live in neighborhoods? How have they survived throughout the years? Why have some animals become rare in neighborhoods? Engage students in a discussion of characteristics of common birds, insects and animals commonly seen around the neighborhood. (Older students might explore, compare and contrast the needs for food and shelter.)

Assessment: Teacher verbally checks for understanding during the lecture.

Assessment, Phase Three, Success with Acquiring Knowledge:

5. Practice: Developing Skills

Objective: Using information learned about common birds, insects and animals, students will conduct home observations of the animal life around their neighborhood.

Activity: Students will keep a record of various lifeforms encountered at home. Using a teacher-created worksheet, students will sketch and record animals around their home. After students complete this assignment, students will graph the various numbers of animals encountered. Have students discuss which animals were commonly seen and which were not. Did they see more animals during the day (diurnal) or at night (nocturnal)? How did the animals react when the students approached them? Why do animals react this way? What kinds of survival skills do animals have and need?

Assessment: The completion and correctness of the worksheet will reflect detailed observations of neighborhood animal life.

Assessment, Phase Four, Success with Acquiring Skills:

6. Extend: Extending Learning to the Outside World

Objective: Home an shelter will further be defined as students participate in the building of a habitat for ants.

Activity: Find an ant nest in the soil. Dig deeply to get both the ants and the soil and put into a jar. Place the bottom of the jar in a flat pan of water. This will prevent the ants from escaping. Place black construction paper around the outside of the jar and tape into place. The ants will then tunnel close to the sides of the jar. Do not put the ants in direct sunlight and keep the jar at room temperature. When obseving the ants, take the black paper off the jar, you may wish to use magifying glasses. Replace after observation. When feeding the ants, feed them crumbs, bits of apple, honey or sugar. You can place the food on a small piece of cotton and place it in the jar. Make sure the ants have water either by placing it directly on the soil (use an eye dropper) or on a small sponge. (Other animal habitats may be substituted for this activity. Some suggestions are snail homes or earthworms.) Why do the ants need to make their home underground? How do ants work together to build their home? What other types of animals could live in this type of home? Could people live under the ground? Have students keep a daily journal or log about the ants' activities. Be sure to have students include illustrations, comments and questions in their ant log.

Assessment: Quality of the log content detailing the ant farm and the ants' activities.

7. Refine: Refining the Extension

Objective: Using the information acquired about habitat and homes, students will design and create a home for another type of animal.

Activity: Using a variety of media, students will create an imaginary home for an animal. Students may also wish to invent a "city critter." Questions to think about may be: "What kind of animal lives under the lunch tables? Your desk? The chalkboard? What kind of food does this animal eat? Does this animal sleep during the day or night? What kinds of things are necessary for this animal to live? Is there anything that threatens this animal? How will the design of this home protect and help with the survival of the animal?

Assessment: Students will create a home with a practical design to sustain animal life.

8. Perform: Creative Manifestation of Material Learned

Objective: Students demonstrate their knowledge of a habitat by presenting their completed animal homes.

Activity: Students will present their creations to the class. Have students point to and explain why they chose to add particulars (i.e.,plants, rivers, etc.) to their habitat. Audience may wish to ask questions or make comments about the presentation.

Assessment: Students will explain how and why they made their animal habitat in a presentation to the class.

Assessment, Phase Five,Performance, Creative Use of Material Learned: