Core Knowledge Foundation
Animals and Habitats Tell It Again!™ Read-Aloud Anthology
A read-aloud anthology explores various habitats and the animals that inhabit them, from the Artic to the desert, the forest, and bodies of water. First graders listen to and discuss texts and complete word work. Each lesson offers...
Sea World
Arctic Animals
Discover the coldest animals in the world with a lesson about the Arctic habitat. Kids use a glossary and information sheet about animals found in the Arctic Circle to complete several activities, including tracking the lemming...
Curated OER
Carrying Capacity
Young biologists identify how plants and animals are affected by changes in their ecosystem and environment. The concepts of succession, maintenance of habitats, interrelationships, and adaptation are all discussed. This...
Curated OER
The Chesapeake Bay in Captain John Smith's Time
When Captain John Smith visited the Chesapeake Bay in the summer of 1608, what types of animals and habitats did he encounter? Your young historians will analyze primary source documents to answer this question, as well as compare...
National Wildlife Federation
Massive Migrations
Turn your students into flocks of migratory birds for this fun lesson on animal migration. Prior to the activity, the teacher creates four different migration routes in the classroom or any available open space, labeling nesting...
Alabama Wildlife Federation
Wildlife Habitat Checklist
Take a walk on the wild side with a project about animal habitats. After kids observe a chosen animal in its home, they describe the animal's food and water sources, shelter, and how it raises its young. They then write a short fictional...
ARKive
Adaptations for Movement
What animals are best suited for moving around a rainforest, or a desert? Design your own animal species based on a particular habitat, focusing on the characteristics it will need for optimal movement. Great as a group lesson plan or...
NOAA
Deep-Sea Ecosystems – Life is Weird!
A pool of brine in the deep sea can be up to four times as salty as the surrounding sea water. The deep sea ecosystem relies on chemosynthesis and the organisms that live there are often strange to us. The lesson focuses on researching...
Curated OER
Habitat Basics
First graders get out and explore two different habitats to examine how each one meets the needs of the plants and animals that dwell there. They discuss what they've learned about animal habitats as they explore the outdoor environment....
National Wildlife Federation
What's Your Habitat?
How are third graders like rabbits? They both live in habitats and require food, water, and shelter to survive! An educational science lesson encourages your learners to think about their own habitats and survival needs, before comparing...
National Wildlife Federation
Habitat Web
Young scientists weave together an understanding of ecosystems with this fun collaborative activity. Taking on the roles of different living and non-living elements of specific habitats, learners use a ball of yarn to create...
Science Matters
That’s An Otter Story
Young scientists discover how sea otters' habitats have changed due to human impact. Through conversation, video observation, and story reading, scholars identify how human interactions change a specific ecosystem in both positive and...
Curated OER
Adaptation and Diversity on Sheffield Island
Written for an exploration of shoreline ecosystems on Sheffield Island, this gives ecology or marine biology buffs a hands-on experience. Using GPS or visual triangulation techniques, they lay transect lines on a high and a low energy...
Curated OER
Turtle and Tortoise Preschool Lesson Plan
One of the best parts about teaching the littlest learners is that you can create thematic lessons that use one topic to address every subject. Here is a nice set of thematic teaching ideas that uses turtles and tortoises to teach...
Curated OER
Sustainability and Extinction
Galapagos Penguins are the only penguins on earth that live north of the equator (in the wild). In this last lesson plan a discussion on how the Galapagos islands developed their populations and diversity sparks the introduction. Two...
National Park Service
Living & Non-Living Interactions
What better way to learn about ecosystems than by getting outside and observing them first hand? Accompanying a field trip to a local park or outdoor space, this series of collaborative activities engages children in...
Curated OER
Writing Process- Expository Writing
Expository writing is the focus of the language arts lesson presented here. In it, young writers review what expository writing is through a class discussion and teacher demonstration. Then, learners write expository text that describes...
Michigan State University
May I Take Your Order?
If you're a pest, come and get a tasty meal here! Scholars work collaboratively to construct a mini restaurant out of a shoe box and create a menu that feeds a pest their favorite food.
Michigan Sea Grant
Fish Life Cycle
Fish are no different when it comes to a living being's primary objective—to reproduce. They do differ, including from fish species to fish species, in their life cycles, survival tactics and reproductive strategies. After discussion of...