1st Grade: Animals & Habitats
Big Idea & Content
Core Content Objectives
- Describe what a habitat is
- Identify the characteristics of the Arctic tundra habitat
- Understand that living things live in habitats to which they are particularly suited
- Explain how Arctic animals have adapted to the Arctic tundra habitat
- Identify the characteristics of the Arctic Ocean habitat
- Explain how Arctic animals have adapted to the Arctic Ocean habitat
- Identify the characteristics of the desert habitat
- Explain how desert animals have adapted to the desert habitat
- Identify the characteristics of the grassland habitat
- Explain how grassland animals have adapted to the grassland habitat
- Match specific plants and animals to their habitats
- Identify the characteristics of the temperate deciduous forest habitat
- Explain how temperate deciduous forest animals have adapted to the temperate deciduous forest habitat
- Identify the characteristics of the tropical rainforest habitat
- Explain how tropical rainforest animals have adapted to the tropical rainforest habitat
- Classify water habitats as either freshwater or saltwater habitats
- Identify the characteristics of the freshwater habitat
- Classify animals on the basis of the types of food they eat (herbivore, carnivore, omnivore)
- Describe the landscape of the ocean floor
- Understand that ocean life is very diverse
- Match saltwater plants and animals to the saltwater habitat
- Understand that saltwater covers most of Earth and is found in several oceans
- Identify and locate the oceans of the world on a globe: Arctic, Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Southern
- Identify the characteristics of the bald eagles’ habitat
- Understand why and how habitat destruction can cause extinction
Essential Vocabulary
shelter
adaptations
camouflage
carnivore
omnivore
herbivore
food chain
predator
prey
deciduous forest
rainforest
hibernate
freshwater
saltwater
extinct
engendered species
Investigations & Explorations
Herbivore, Carnivore, Omnivore
You will need to create a worksheet for this activity with pictures of six animals. The animals should be a variety of herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores. As you create the worksheet for this activity, try to find pictures of the animals and what they eat. Space the pictures far enough apart that students may cut them out. Remind students that animals that only eat plants are called herbivores. Animals that eat other animals are called carnivores. Animals that eat both plants and other animals are called omnivores. Have the students examine the pictures on the worksheet. Tell them to figure out, by looking at the animal and the things it eats, whether the animal is a carnivore, herbivore, or omnivore. Then, have students cut out the images of the animals and what they eat. Next, have students sort the images by herbivore, carnivore, and omnivore. Once they have sorted all the animals, have them glue the herbivores on one sheet of paper, the carnivores on another sheet of paper, and the omnivores on a third sheet of paper. Talk with the students about which animals they grouped together and why. Be sure to use the vocabulary words herbivore, carnivore, and omnivore as you talk to the students about the way they have classified the animals.
All About the Habitats
These are activities that focus on vocabulary building for habitats (First, show the video Habitat from VItal/PBS Learning Media.)
- Activity #1: These vocabulary worksheets have a word, brief definition, and a picture. We read the definitions with our students, write the word, glue on the matching picture. (Click here for the two vocabulary sheets along with picture cards and answer sheets!)
- Activity #2: Tundra, River (freshwater), Ocean (saltwater), Rainforest, Deciduous Forest, and Desert are the main focus of our study of habitats. Here is a habitat writing activity that we also did this week with our first graders. (Click here to get your copy!)
- Acivity #3: Finally finish the study off with a small group activity. Configure your students into 6 groups (one for each habitat). Each group will get a large white poster with a specific habitat written on the poster. Each student will get a picture of an animal that can be found in their specific habitat. The table groups are going to create posters of their habitats and glue their animal pictures onto their posters. (Click here to get 6 different sets of animal cards!)
A lesson plan on food webs, includes an activity for students to create a model of a food web. The food web handout is a great resource.
- Make observations to construct an evidence-based account that young plants and animals are like, but not exactly like, their parents.
Literacy Connection to the Common Core Learning Standards
RI.1.1. Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
RI.1.2. Identify the main topic and retell key details of a text.
RI.1.3. Describe the connection between two individuals, events, ideas, or pieces of information in a text.
RI.1.4. Ask and answer questions to help determine or clarify the meaning of words and phrases in a text.
RI.1.6. Distinguish between information provided by pictures or other illustrations and information provided by the words in a text.
RI.1.7. Use illustrations and details in a text to describe its key ideas.
RI.1.8. Identify the reasons an author gives support points in a text.
RI.1.9. Identify basic similarities in and differences between two texts on the same topic (e.g., in illustrations, descriptions, or procedures).
RI.1.10. With prompting and support, read informational texts appropriately complex for grade 1.
W.1.1. Write opinion pieces in which they introduce the topic or name the book they are writing about, state an opinion, supply a reason for the opinion, and provide some sense of closure.
W.1.2. Write informative/explanatory texts in which they name a topic, supply some facts about the topic, and provide some sense of closure.
W.1.3. Write narratives in which they recount two or more appropriately sequenced events, include some details regarding what happened, use temporal words to signal event order, and provide some sense of closure.
W.1.5. With guidance and support from adults, focus on a topic, respond to questions and suggestions from peers, and add details to strengthen writing as needed.
W.1.6. With guidance and support from adults, explore a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing, including in collaboration with peers.
W.1.7. Participate in shared research and writing projects (e.g., explore a number of “how-to” books and use them to write a sequence of instructions)
W.1.8. With guidance and support from adults, recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.
SL.1.1. Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 1 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.
SL.1.1.a. Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., listening to others with care, speaking one at a time about the topics and texts under discussion).
SL.1.1.b. Build on others’ talk in conversations by responding to the comments of others through multiple exchanges.
SL.1.1.c. Ask questions to clear up any confusion about the topics and texts under discussion.
SL.1.2. Ask and answer questions about key details in a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media.
SL.1.3. Ask and answer questions about what a speaker says in order to gather additional information or clarify something that is not understood.
SL.1.5. Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions when appropriate to clarify ideas, thoughts, and feelings.
SL.1.6. Produce complete sentences when appropriate to task and situation.
L.1.4. Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 1 reading and content, choosing flexibly from an array of strategies.
L.1.4.a. Use sentence-level context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
L.1.4.b. Use frequently occurring affixes as a clue to the meaning of a word.
L.1.5. With guidance and support from adults, demonstrate understanding of word relationships and nuances in word meanings.
L.1.5.a. Sort common objects into categories (e.g., colors, clothing) to gain a sense of the concepts the categories represent.
L.1.5.b. Define words by category and by one or more key attributes (e.g., a duck is a bird that swims; a tiger is a large cat with stripes).
L.1.5.c. Identify real-life connections between words and their use (e.g., note places at school that are cozy).
L.1.5.d. Distinguish shades of meaning among verbs differing in manner (e.g., look, peek, glance, stare, glare, scowl) and adjectives differing in intensity (e.g., large, gigantic) by defining or choosing them or by acting out the meanings.
L.1.6. Use words and phrases acquired through conversations, reading and being read to, and responding to texts, including using frequently occurring conjunctions to signal simple relationships (e.g., I named my hamster Nibblet because she nibbles too much because she likes that).
Technology Resources & Integration
Endangered Species (A video clip from Vital/PBS Learning Media.)
Food Chain (A video clip from Vital/PBS Learning Media.)
Identify & Label Ecosystems & Food Chain
Ecosystems (Video clips on different ecosystems/biomes.)
Eagles fighting to save their home (A video clip from Vital/PBS Learning Media.)
National Geographic Creature Feature: The Bald Eagle
Birds of Prey: Northwest Eagles (A video clip from National Geographic.)
Discovery Education
Watch Know Learn Videos
Scholastic Study Jams
Leave a Reply