Disciplinary Unit: Lesson Plan 2

I. General Information:
Grade Level: 2nd grade
Discipline: Science
Unit Topic: Animal Habitats
Time Frame: 2 50 minute class
Text: The Magic School Bus Hops Home: A Book About Animal
Habitats by Joanna Cole
Other Materials: self-made scientific Habitat jornal, paper plates,
animal cutouts, crayons, glue, teacher-made worksheet with cutouts of
six different animals
The Needs of an Animal YouTube Video -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1GTcvovh-A ,
webite link http://www.mbgnet.net/
Pinterest picture of diorama -
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/270075308874242693/

II. Essential Understanding/Questions:

What makes a habitat a home?

Why do animals live in a certain habitat?
What do animals need to survive?

III. Standards/Indicators

Topic
F. Ecology
Indicator
1. Explain that organisms can grow and survive in many very different
habitats.
Objectives
1. Investigate a variety of familiar and unfamiliar habitats and describe
how animals and plants found there maintain their lives and survive to
reproduce.
2. Explain that organisms live in habitats that provide their basic needs
o Food
o Water
o Air
 o Shelter

Topic

E. Interactions of Hydrosphere and Atmosphere

Indicator

1. Recognize and describe that the surface of Earth is more than half
covered with water.

Objectives

1. Identify the many locations where water is found.

2. Describe the changes that occur to water found anywhere.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.2.1
Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and
usage when writing or speaking.

IV. Lesson Objectives

Students will be able to identify what animals need to survive.

Students will be able to correctly place animals in their proper
habitats.
Students will be able to determine why animals live where they do.

V. Evaluation/Assessment:

Assessment of Objectives

Animal diorama The teacher will grade the diorama based on the
accuracy of the habitats/animal pairings.
Quick write about diorama will be graded based on accuracy and
proper writing skills.
 Habitat journal will be collected at the end of the unit for a grade.

VI. Procedures:

Introduction

Day 1:
The teacher will ask students, What do you need to survive? A class
discussion will be held and students will determine the things they
need verses the things they want.
The teacher will ask students, Do animals need the same things we
do to survive? Students will do a think-pair-share with the person
sitting to their left and discuss this question.

Day 2:
The teacher will continue to go through the habitats that were not
mentioned on day 1. During each habitat, the teacher should make
sure to stop for discussion so students do not get antsy from sitting.
If needed, the teacher can give students a one minute brain break
where students silently act like one of the animals theyve learned
about for one minute. (This could also be done as a warm-up activity.)
Teaching/Activities

Day 1:
Students will listen to the song The Needs of an Animal in order to
learn the four things animals need to survive.
Students will start a new page in their habitat journal and split the
page into fourths. Students will write/draw one thing animals need to
survive in each quadrent.
The teacher will then lead the class through an exploration of multiple
habitats to see how animals live in each habitat. The teacher will go
through the website http://www.mbgnet.net/ to help guide this portion
of the lesson. The teacher will focus on the following habitats;
rainforest, desert, grassland, rivers/streams, ponds/lakes, temperate
oceans, & tropical oceans.
 Students should draw a line on each page they use for this activity
breaking the page in half (so two habitats can fit on one page).
Students should wrtie and/or draw and label at least two animals
living in each habitat. They also need to write 2-3 facts they learned
about the habitat.

Day 2:
After all the habitats have been discussed, the teacher will write the
habitats on the board. Each student will contribute to the board by
writing one animal they learned about under its pproper habitat.
After there are animals under each habitat, the teacher will introduce a
project that will be created during the remainder of class.
o The projet involves folding three paper plates to create a
diorama with three sides. For a better explanation, follow this
link: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/270075308874242693/
The teacher will explain the project and hand out all the materials.
Then, students will select three different habitats and one animal that
lives in the corresponding habitats. On the paper plate, students will
draw/color one habitat per plate. They will also cut out one proper
animal for each habitat and glue it onto the center of their habitats.

Closure

Day 1:
This day will likely end with the teacher still reviewing the habitats
from the website. If the class period is almost over and all the habitats
have yet to be covered, the teacher should stop with several minutes
left to conclude the day.
The teacher will end the days lesson by asking students to turn to a
partner and tellshare the most interesting fact they learned during the
days lesson.
.
Day 2:
The lesson will conclude with students doing a quick write about their
diorama. Students will write a minimum of two sentences per habitat.
They are to describe what habitat is on each side and identify the
animal living within the habitat. They may also include why they
 placed the animal where they did. (The quick write is to be completed
in their habitat journal.)

Resources

Rosero, Sandra. 2010 November 2. The Needs of an Animal kids #39 song. [Video File]
Retreived from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1GTcvovh-A

Missouri Botanical Garden. (2005). Whats it like where you live? Retreived from:
http://www.mbgnet.net/

Image retreived from Google Images using this URL: https://s-media-cache-

ak0.pinimg.com/originals/f1/b1/71/f1b171348702c2dedcd139211ef5d9bb.jpg