Where Plants and Animals Live
Grade Level(s):
K, 1-2
By:
Sherian Waggoner, 2nd grade teacher
Students learn and discuss many facts about where plants and animals live.
Objectives:
- TLW describe a woodland environment.
- TLW conclude that plants in the woods provide food and shelter for animals living there.
- TLW identify some of the plants and animals that live in the woods.
- TLW describe how the changing season affect plants and animals.
Materials:
- Worksheets
- pictures of of the woods with different plants and animals in them
- dry erase board
- markers.
Plan:
Teacher:
Ask the students if they have ever spent the night camping in the woods.
Student Response:
Teacher:
Today we are going to learn about plants and animals that live in the woods. Pretend we are walking in the woods. Listen, What do you hear? (birds singing, squirrels chattering etc.)
Student Response:
Teacher:
Now you are looking in the trees. What do you see? (Birds, squirrels, spider webs with a spider on it etc.)
Student Response:
Teacher:
What do you think the squirrel is doing? (searching for food)
Student response:
Teacher:
There are many kinds of animals that live in the woods.
Can anyone name a few? (birds, squirrels, deer, fox, etc.)
Student Response:
Teacher:
I am going to show you a picture of some trees we see in the woods.
What do you think you would see if you looked up besides animals?
(Branches, leaves, and a little bit of the sky)
Student Response:
Teacher:
Did you know that it is cool in the place in the picture?
That is because little sunlight comes through the tree branches and leaves.
What else do you think the trees control? ( Wind and rain)
Student Response:
Teacher:
Yes, the wind and the rain is controlled by the tree branches because they stop the force of the wind and rain.
Student Response:
Teacher:
O.K. lets talk about the plants. Show a picture of different plants that live in the woods.
Can anyone name some of the plants that are in this picture? (grass, trees, etc.)
Student Response:
Teacher:
Did you know that some plants do not need a lot of sunlight?
Why do you think they can live with little sunlight? (some of the plants can easily scorch and die)
Student Response:
Teacher:
Show a picture of the woods with some birds and and earthworms in it.
Can anyone identify the plants and animals in this picture?
(birds and earthworms)
Student Response:
Teacher:
Why do you think it is important for the earthworm and the birds to
live in the woods? (food)
Student Response:
Teacher:
Think real hard and see if you can figure out another way the earthworm is important. (They crawl around in the soil and loosen it so the roots of the plants can grow and get water)
Student Response:
Teacher:
How do other animals that live in the wood use plants?
(squirrels eat nuts, chipmunks and mice eat seeds, rabbits eats green plant life, deer eat plants and tree bark, birds use the trees to build their nests)
Student Response:
Teacher:
Lets look at another picture of the Summer season.
Can anyone tell me what the plants look like in the Summer?
(full, leafy, and dark green)
Student Response:
Teacher:
What type of trees do we see in the picture. (Green)
Student Response:
Teacher:
Now lets look at a picture of the plants in the Winter.
Can anyone describe the trees in the Winter? (some green and some with no leaves)
The trees that are green are called evergreen. This means that they stay green all year around and they have needles instead of leaves. The other trees have leaves and they lose their leaves during the winter because the can not stand the winter weather and that is the kind of tree we call deciduous trees.
Student Response:
Teacher:
The next item we want to discuss is how the changing seasons affect the plants and animals.
What happens to the animals during the Winter? ( Birds migrate or go to a warmer climate, bears find a warm cave to hibernate, other little animals hide in holes for the Winter)
Student Response:
Teacher:
The birds going to a warmer climate means to migrate.
Another term that is important is hibernate. Can anyone tell me what hibernate means? ( animals go to sleep for the Winter)
Student Response:
Teacher:
What do you think that animals do to get ready for the winter? (store food grow warm Winter coats)
Student Response:
Teacher:
Explain that some animals such as bears eat a lot of food and store up the fat. This way they can sleep during the Winter comfortably.
They sleep in a cave and grow warm Winter coats.
Student Response:
Teacher:
Review the lesson. Tomorrow we will be learning about the Desert plants and animals.
Give a short quiz:
QUESTIONS
- Why are plants important to animals?
- What kind of plants and animals live in the woods?
- How do animals stay alive in the Winter?
ANSWERS
- The animals need plants for food and shelter.
- Birds, squirrels, rabbits, mice, worms, deer, etc. and trees, grass, etc.
- Some migrate, some hibernate, some store food and some grow warm Winter coats.
Independent Study:
- Look up vocabulary words:
plants, animals, trees, shade, soil, food, shelter, holes, woods, rocks, sleep.
Comments:
This lesson is a very informative lesson. The students love to learn about plants and animals. I don't always follow the exact words that I use in this lesson, but I go over all the terms and items I want the student to learn. If the students participate well there is a lot of learning going on. Usually they are more than eager to participate. I also do the lesson so it will be effective with all the students from the very challenged to the most intelligent.
