Primary Type: Lesson Plan
Status: Published
This is a resource from CPALMS (www.cpalms.org) where all educators go for bright ideas!
Resource ID#: 51488
Animals and their Habitats
In this lesson, students will explore what living things need to survive. This lesson utilizes a read aloud of the text The Magic School Bus Hops Home:
A Book about Animal Habitats. Through this book, and a PowerPoint that has been included with the lesson, students will read about animals and their
habitats and the needs of living things. Students will also determine the meanings of key vocabulary words and then write about what they've
learned. A graphic organizer to help students with their writing and a writing rubric have also been included with the lesson.
Subject(s): English Language Arts
Grade Level(s): 1
Intended Audience: Educators
Suggested Technology: Document Camera,
Computer for Presenter, Microsoft Office
Instructional Time: 1 Hour(s) 30 Minute(s)
Resource supports reading in content area: Yes
Freely Available: Yes
Keywords: habitat, environment, vocabulary, animals, living things, research question, informative writing, The
Magic School Bus
Instructional Design Framework(s): Direct Instruction, Writing to Learn
Resource Collection: CPALMS Lesson Plan Development Initiative
ATTACHMENTS
Animals and their Habitats.ppt
Informative Paragraph Rubric for First Grade.docx
word map habitat lesson.doc
LESSON CONTENT
Lesson Plan Template: General Lesson Plan
Learning Objectives: What should students know and be able to do as a result of this lesson?
Students will be able to:
Ask and answer questions about text and key vocabulary.
Gather information to answer an essential question.
Write an informative paragraph using grade-appropriate organization, grammar, and conventions.
Prior Knowledge: What prior knowledge should students have for this lesson?
With prompting and support, students should be able to:
Identify their environment and some animals that live in it.
Ask questions about a text using question words.
Answer a question in a complete sentence.
Identify key details in text.
Determine the meaning of an unknown word using context clues.
Use a graphic organizer.
Write an informative paragraph using grade-appropriate organization, grammar, and conventions.
Guiding Questions: What are the guiding questions for this lesson?
page 1 of 3 RESEARCH QUESTION: What do living things need to survive?
Focus Questions:
Why is it important to ask and answer questions about what we read?
How can we use clues in the text to figure out the meaning of an unknown word?
Why is it important to look for answers to our questions in a text?
Teaching Phase: How will the teacher present the concept or skill to students?
Day 1
1. Prior Knowledge: The teacher will use questioning to assess students' understanding of their environment and the types of animals that live in their environment:
What is the name of your state?
Does it have warm or cold weather?
Give examples of some animals that live in your environment.
Would these animals be able to live in a different environment? Why or why not?
2. HOOK: Pose the research question: What do living things need to survive? Ask students probing questions to ensure they understand the question: What are living
things? Give some examples of living things. What does it mean to survive? What is a need?Introduce the book The Magic School Bus Hops Home: A Book about
Animal Habitats by Joanna Cole. Tell students they need to listen to this story about one animal's habitat and identify what the animal needed to survive. Read the
story aloud. Then ask:
What type of animal was this story about?
What type of environment did the animal live in?
What did the animal need to survive?
How did the environment provide what the animal needed to live? Give examples.
3. Chart the students' responses. Then allow time for them to pose their own questions. Discuss possible answers and where they can be found in the text.
Guided Practice: What activities or exercises will the students complete with teacher guidance?
Day 2
1. Review the research question from the day before and the chart with the students' responses.
2. Ask and discuss:
Why is it important to ask and answer questions about what we read?
Why is it important to look for answers to our questions in a text?
3. Tell students that they will watch an original PowerPoint presentation called "Animals and their Habitats." They will look and listen for information to answer the
research question: What do living things need to survive?
4. Show the PowerPoint. Have students respond to the questions on the last slide of the PowerPoint and add their responses to the chart.
Day 3
1. Ask, "How can we use clues in the text to figure out the meaning of an unknown word?" Discuss.
2. Create a vocabulary chart with 2 columns: Word and Its Meaning. Review the PowerPoint, stopping at each word in bold print and adding it to the chart. Then
discuss how the word is used in context and determine its meaning, adding it to the chart.
3. Display the attached word map. Choose the word habitat and help the students further understand the meaning by using a concept/definition map. Write the word
in the center. Guide the students in completing the rest of the map. Examples of responses include:
What it is: A place where plants and animals live.
What it is like: It has plants and animals. It has food. It has water. It has space and air.
Examples: ocean, rain forest, desert
Independent Practice: What activities or exercises will students complete to reinforce the concepts and skills developed in the
lesson?
4. Provide students with a Just the Facts graphic organizer. Instruct students to write the research question (What do living things need to survive?) in the topic box.
Then have them fill in the other boxes with the answers to that question. Remind them to use the word map and anchor charts to help them complete the graphic
organizer.
5. Display the Informative Writing Rubric. Go over the expectations for the summative writing before students begin writing.
6. Students will write an informative paragraph in response to the following research question:
What do living things need to survive? Write a paragraph to tell what living things need to survive. Remember to use specific examples from the
text and PowerPoint in your paragraph. Don't forget your topic and closing sentences!
Closure: How will the teacher assist students in organizing the knowledge gained in the lesson?
1. Students can share their writing.
2. Review the guiding questions.
3. If time permits, complete an extension activity.
Summative Assessment
Students will write an informative paragraph in response to the following prompt:
What do living things need to survive? Write a paragraph to tell what living things need to survive. Remember to use specific examples from the
text and PowerPoint in your paragraph. Don't forget your topic and closing sentences!
The paragraph will be assessed using the attached Informative Writing Rubric.
Formative Assessment
page 2 of 3 Prior Knowledge: The teacher will question students about their environment and the types of animals that live there.
During the Lesson: Students will answer questions about the text and targeted vocabulary. They will also assist in the completion of a graphic organizer (word map) to
describe a habitat. Lastly, they will complete a planning sheet for the summative writing. The teacher will be able to ascertain understanding based on students' oral
and written responses.
Feedback to Students
The teacher will determine students' level of understanding and give feedback accordingly. This will be done by having the students restate, provide other
examples/explanations, or clarification by the teacher when needed.
ACCOMMODATIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS
Accommodations:
Allow students to work with a partner to complete the written work.
Provide a printed copy of the PowerPoint if needed.
Add vocabulary picture cards to the vocabulary chart to provide a visual support.
Provide a writing frame for the summative writing.
Extensions:
Identify animals that hibernate and animals that migrate and locate their environments.
Allow students to research an animal of their choice and how it survives in its environment.
Learn about different environments and adaptations for plants.
Create a 3D project of different habitats.
Make a chart with four habitats/environments: ocean, desert, rain forest, polar region. Write a list of animals on the board and include a picture with each animal:
camel, snake, seal, whale, decorator crab, polar bear, toucan, spider monkey, coyote. Call the names of each animal and students will say in which environment
they are placed. Write the names in the appropriate environment.
Have students complete the attached Animal Parts Worksheet.
Suggested Technology: Document Camera, Computer for Presenter, Microsoft Office
Special Materials Needed:
The Magic School Bus Hops Home: A Book about Animal Habitats by Joanna Cole (400L)
"Animals and their Habitats" PowerPoint (attached)
Word map (attached)
Just the Facts graphic organizer (attached)
Chart paper/markers
Writing paper
Further Recommendations: This lesson provides background knowledge for science standard SC.1.L.17.1.
SOURCE AND ACCESS INFORMATION
Contributed by: LORNA REGGLER
Name of Author/Source: LORNA REGGLER
District/Organization of Contributor(s): Miami-Dade
Is this Resource freely Available? Yes
Access Privileges: Public
License: CPALMS License - no distribution - non commercial
Related Standards
Name
LAFS.1.RI.1.1:
LAFS.1.RI.2.4:
LAFS.1.W.1.2:
LAFS.1.W.3.8:
Description
Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
Ask and answer questions to help determine or clarify the meaning of words and phrases in a text.
Write informative/explanatory texts in which they name a topic, supply some facts about the topic, and provide some
sense of closure.
With guidance and support from adults, recall information from experiences or gather information from provided
sources to answer a question.
page 3 of 3