Hands On Habitat: A Habitat E-mail Lesson

Reprinted from The Wild Times Teacher Connection v3n2, Winter 1998.

by Rick Bishop, Student Teacher, Mill Road Elementary School, Red Hook, New York

To participate in this project, send an e-mail to Rick or The Wild Ones.

Grade Level:

This lesson can be adjusted for grades 2-5.

Time:

120 minutes. Then set aside 15 minutes per day for a month. (This 15 minutes will not be used everyday)

Skills:

Observation, Communication, Reporting, Interviewing, Small Group Work

Objectives:

Students will:

observe characteristics of local habitats.
identify key elements of habitat in that local environment. (Animal, food, water, shelter, space, climate)
communicate with students from different habitats throughout the United States or the world.
report to their own class about their findings from keypals.
identify relationships between organisms within different habitats.
explain why certain animals can and can not live in different habitats.

Materials:

Computer with e-mail capability, Camera, Construction Paper

Strategy/Procedure:

Students should have a few days of background before beginning this lesson. This is especially necessary in second or third grade. Read literature about habitats, look at pictures, draw pictures, discuss definitions. After you feel that your students have a grasp on the meaning of habitat, tell them that they will be going outside to discover local habitats.
Discuss local habitats. Tell students that they will observe habitats to discover what animals live in the environment, where the food is, where water is, what they use for shelter, and what space they occupy. For the younger children I would use an example of cows. Cows get food from the pasture, water from the farmer or puddles in the field, shelter in the barn, and space from wherever the farmer puts a fence up. This is appropriate for where we live in New York. Use something simple and appropriate for your region.
Take a walking trip to discover a nearby habitat.
Have children point out aspects of the habitats. Take pictures of their observations. Ask older students to document their own observations. We would like to capture any animal or insect, water source, food source, shelter, etc. on film. Discuss the importance of not disturbing any food or water sources or any animal shelters.
Return to the class and share discoveries and discuss. Questions to stimulate transition could include: "If it rained almost every day of the year, what would happen to the animals in these local habitats? What would happen to their shelters?, water sources? What if it rained only four days a year? What would happen? What would happen to these habitats if it was 30 degrees all year long? What would happen if it was 85 degrees all year long? How would these habitats stand up to a blizzard? a tornado? a hurricane? What would happen if instead of 2000 deer in the region there were 2000 black bear?
Following this discussion the teacher should briefly discuss the different habitats of the world. Tell students that they are going to learn more about these habitats by writing letters to children via e-mail. The involvement of the children using technology should be left to the individual teacher. Some may be able to complete the assignment with little help, while others will need help turning the computer on, accessing e-mail functions, and writing the letter itself. Do not make this a technology lesson. THIS SHOULD BE A LESSON TO DEMONSTRATE THE USEFULNESS OF TECHNOLOGY FOR CHILDREN AND FOR SHARING INFORMATION. Ideally this lesson will stimulate a self-interest in technology. However if you are turning computer on and accessing different functions make sure that the students are observing you.
Predetermine triad groups and to whom they will correspond. Let children know their groups and their keypals. Triad groups should select a leader, a recorder, and a reporter. Responsibilities should change periodically during the correspondence.
Have groups prepare questions to ask their keypals. Questions to include: "What's the climate like in your habitat?" "Name some animals that live by you." "Describe some of the plants that grow in your area." "Describe something special in your habitats" "What do you eat?" Encourage more creative questions. Once they have satisfactorily prepared a letter on paper they will transfer the letter to e-mail. Prepare this based on your access to technology.
Set aside 15 minutes per day after the beginning of the correspondence for groups who receive e-mail, to report their findings to the class. Discuss.
Prepare a traditional mailing to keypals and include photographs, and tangible items such as leaves or bird feathers.
Tie the activity together by discussing how climates influence habitat and how some habitats support large populations while others support little or no populations. End the lesson by having students draw a picture of any animal and its habitat.

Example:

Group #1 will work with Cape Cod.
Group #2 will work with Minnesota.
Group #3 will work with New Mexico.
Group #4 will work with Washington State.
Group #5 will work with California.
Group #6 will work with Georgia.

To participate in this project, send an e-mail to Rick or The Wild Ones.

Submit your own curriculum plans or resource suggestions to The Wild Ones for publication.

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