Lesson Plan: How Animals Meet Their Needs

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Educator's Name: Elizabeth Langford
School: Forest Elementary School
School District: Forest Municipal School District
Student Grade Levels: 1-2
Subject: Science
Title of Lesson Plan: How Animals Meet Their Needs
Unit/Theme: Animals Are Living Things
Competency Number:
Process Strand--Science As Inquiry (abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry)

Content Strand--Life Science

  1. Develop an understanding that living and non-living things have identifiable characteristics. (L) (Review)

Content Strand--Life Science, Physical Science

  1. Investigate the diversity of living things. (L, P)
  2. Gather and organize information using a variety of resources and present it through writing, speaking, and various art forms. (R,W,S,L,V)
    1. c. Choose and organize information that has been gathered from one or more sources and present it either through writing, speaking, or a self-selected art form (drama, art, music, movement, etc.)
  3. Demonstrate continuous progress toward the use of penmanship, grammar, mechanics, and Standard English in the context of writing and speaking. (R,W,S,L,V)
    1. Interact for specific purposes with people in the classroom and school community.
    2. Exhibit emergent knowledge of Standard English use in the context of writing and speaking.
  4. Use language to facilitate continuous learning, to record observations, to clarify thought, to synthesize information, and to analyze and evaluate language, as appropriate. (R,W,S,L,V)
    1. c. Begin to use oral and written language to exchange and explain ideas.
 
Objectives:
  1. Explore animal surroundings by making a model of it.
  2. Recognize that animals are found living in places where their needs are met.
  3. Describe and name ways animals can stay safe.
Mississippi Objectives:
  1. The Living Environment (How living things function and interact)
    1. f. Evolution of Life
    2. l. Different plants and animals have external features that help them thrive in different kinds of places.
Instructional Format:
Whole group and small cooperative groups
Prior Preparation: 
Build on prior knowledge--Animals Are Living Things;

Mammals; More Animal Groups; Grow and Change; Getting Food; and Where Animals Live (food, air, water, shelter)

Using MAGNOLIA, click on to EBSCO Animals and EBSCO Host Animals to "Images."

There, download pictures of polar bears.  Source: Encyclopedia of Animals, Item Number: 9500300017. 

Sleeping arctic fox in winter picture can be downloaded.  Source: Encyclopedia of Animals, Item Number: 9500100210. 

At Education World, search "polar bears."  www.polarworld.com is a website devoted to polar bears.  It is kid-friendly with many pictures and an in-depth polar bear "Frequently Asked Questions" site for both teachers and students.

"Polar Bears Alive," "Polar Bears International," "Bear Facts," and "Arctic Map and Pictures" are listed at Education World as well.

Materials Needed:
(educational videos can be used for additional resources)

Picture of polar bear in the Arctic
Pictures of other animals in different environments (desert, grassland, forest, ocean, pond)
Picture of young deer in leaves
Picture of Arctic fox in winter and summer
Globe
Various books about polar bears
Hand writing paper (story paper)
Two cups of strong black coffee (cooled to room temperature)
2 clear jaws
1 piece of white cloth
1 piece of clear plastic wrap
2 food thermometers
4 shoe boxes
White cotton balls
Epsom salt
Construction paper
Glue
Crayons
Scissors
Newspaper
Different colored paper fish
Succulent plant

Duration of Activity:
4 days (40 minutes each lesson); Science Inquiry: 2 hours
Activity:
Day 1 (whole group)

Review the needs of living things.  Ask children how animals get these needs met. (food, air, water, shelter)

Using the picture of the polar bear in the Arctic, tell children that polar bears live in the Arctic.  Show children where the Arctic is on the globe.  Ask:

  • What can you tell about the Arctic from the picture?(cold, snowy, icy, no trees)
  • Where do you think a polar bear gets food? (Let children speculate.  Accept all reasonable answers.)

Read a book about polar bears.  Ask:

  • Where do you think a polar bear gets food? (They get their food from the ocean and on land.)
  • What do they eat? (They eat seals, fish, birds, and reindeer meat.)

Make a model of where a polar bear lives, using shoe boxes, construction paper, white paint, glue, Epsom salt, crayons, and scissors.  (Work in small groups.)

Day 2 (whole group)

Use pictures with the desert (with lizard); grassland (with horses); and the forest (with owl).  Show the succulent plant.  Break off a small leaf and show children how water is stored in the leaves.  Ask:

  • How does a lizard get food and shelter in the desert? (Possible answer: It eats plants or insects; it finds shelter under rocks or under the sand.)
  • Where do land animals live? (desert, grassland, forest)
  • What do the horses get from the grassland? (food)
  • What else might they find in the grassland? (water, shelter)
  • What does the owl get from the tree? (shelter)
  • What else might the owl find in the forest? (food and water)
  • Why can these animals live here? (They get the food, water, or shelter they need to live here.)

Using pictures with the oceans, ponds, and streams (with animals), ask:

  • Where do water animals live? (oceans, streams, and ponds)
  • What do these animals get from where they live? (food and shelter)

Ask questions about each animal seen in each picture as above for the desert, grassland, and forest animals.

Day 3 (whole group)

Using a picture with a young deer in leaves, ask:

  • Do you see a young deer in the leaves? (Yes, but it is hard to see it.)
  • What makes it hard to see? (the color and spots)

Using a picture with an arctic fox in winter and summer, ask:

  • Do you see the fox in the snow? (Yes, but it is hard to see it.)
  • What makes it hard to see? (the color of his fur)

(Newspaper with paper fish in yellow and purple glued to it)

1-         Look at the newspaper for one minute.  Which fish do you see?

2-         Count each kind of fish.  Record how many you saw.

3-         Which fish were easy to see? Why? (Infer what made some fish hard to see.)

How Do Polar Bears Stay Warm in the Freezing Cold of the Arctic?

Pour one cup of strong black coffee (that has cooled to room temperature) into each of the two clear plastic wraps.  Put both jars in the sun for an hour or more.  Use a food thermometer to check the temperature of the coffee in each jar.

  • Which is warmer? (the jar with the clear plastic wrap)
  • Can you explain why? (White reflects sunlight and the heat that comes from it.  The clear soaks up light and warmth from the sun.)

Now for the polar bear's secret:  Polar bears are not really white.  If they were, they could not stay warm in their Arctic habitat.  The hairs on a polar bear's coat are clear.  The hollow center of each hair soaks up light from the sun, and the light filters out the sides.  That's what makes polar bears look white.  Each clear hair carries heat from the sun down to the polar bear's skin.  Its skin is black, which means it soaks up heat to keep the bear warm.  A polar bear is like the plastic-covered coffee in the experiment.  It is clear on the outside, black on the inside, and plenty warm!

Write and illustrate about their experiment.  Display their work.

Day 4 (whole group)

Exploring:  Ask children to tell what things animals can do that might help them stay safe.  List all words offered on the board (run, hide, go underground, or fly away).

Developing:  Talk about where the deer and prairie dog live and the things they do that help them stay safe.  Add words to the list as appropriate.

Review: 

  1. The color and shape of some animals prevent other animals from seeing them.
  2. Some animals move or hide to get away from other animals where they are in danger.

Use a story web to summarize the lesson:

Formal Assessment:
Conduct a formal assessment. Students will use a book index from the school library to find specific information about animal surroundings. The student may formulate and research other questions about animals in Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall. Using Ask ERIC from MAGNOLIA, students can click on to "Habitats" from Education World and work in pairs to play "Animals of the World: An Internet Scavenger Hunt."