Introduction
We are learning all about plant and animal habitats in science. In this quest you will learn about two different habitats. You will be working with your partner to compare the diversity of life in two habitats, the desert and rainforest. Think of what they both have in common. How are they different?
Use this graphic organizer to compare and contrast the two habitats. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1v9EImHouecp0hRHslayHRyW2XGout9tQuw9kB14yFgs/edit
Task
In this quest you will work with your partner to read and watch the video of desert and rainforest habitats to complete your graphic organizer. At the end you will independently answer the questions on the Google form about the life in two different habitats. Make sure you pay close attention to what you read and watch. After you complete your graphic organizer, you will turn it into me then go back to complete your Google form quiz.
Process
What is a habitat?
A habitat is a place where an organism makes its home.
A habitat meets all the environmental conditions an organism needs to survive.
For an animal, that means everything it needs to find and gather food, select a mate, and successfully reproduce.
For a plant, a good habitat must provide the right combination of light, air, water, and soil.
Watch this video to learn more about habitats and how they provide for plants and animals.
Habitat #1: The Desert
Deserts are the driest places on Earth. They get fewer than 10 inches of rain a year. Some deserts can get a lot of rain all at once. Some deserts might not rain again for months!
Some deserts are super hot during the day and can get very cold at night. Though, it may seem like nothing can live in a desert, but most deserts are full of life with plants and animals that have adapted to survive without much water. Some plants, like cacti, store enough water in their stems to last until the next rain. Other plants, like mesquite grass, have very small leaves that curl up in the daytime to conserve the water they have. Some desert plants sprout and bloom only when it rains!
Cacti
Mesquite Grass
Desert animals also have adaptations that help them survive without much water. Kangaroo rats get water from the seeds they eat. Desert foxes get enough liquid from their pray. Animals in the desert use camouflage to hide from predators.A few animals that use camouflage in their desert homes are Indian Desert Jirds, Jack Rabbits, and Desert Cottontails. Most desert animals saty underground or beneath shade during the day. Many of them come out to hunt for food at night when it is cool.
Kangaroo rat
Indian Desert Jird
Habitat #2: The Rainforest
Rainforests are lush, warm, wet habitats. Most rainforests are found along or near the equator, where it tends to be hot. Some rainforests grow in temperate regions where it is cooler. In some rainforests, it rains more than an inch every day! This makes the landscape responsive to animal and plant interaction.
The rainforest has four layers. The emergent layer is made up of the very tallest trees that rise higher than the rest of the forest. In the next layer, the canopy, the leaves and branches of the trees all touch one another or are connected by vines. Most animals libe in the canopy. The layer below is the understory. Small trees and plants that do not need much light grow here. The last layer is the forest floor where only a few plants grow because it's too dark.
Many kind of plants grow in the rainforest. Lianas are thick, woody vines that grow up the trees. When these vines get to the top of the trees, they spread to other trees and form a network of vines over the forest below. Nutrients in rainforests are found mainly in living plants and the layers of decomposing leaves on the forest floor. Orchids, bamboo, and bromeliads are other plants found in the rainforest.
Lianas
Bromeliads
More than hald of the world's animals live in the rainforest. Some animals use the leaves to effectively camouflage themselves against preditory animals searching for food. Moths, Tree Frogs and Katydids, or Long-horned Grasshoppers blend into the environment and become invisible. Animals use bright coloring to warn predators that they are poisonous.
Katydid
Tree Frog
Evaluation
By now you will have completed your graphic organizer with your partner, you will turn it into me and independently answer the Google form quiz over the two habitats.
Access the Google Form quiz here: https://forms.gle/4MH338n76ec4tt7s6
Once you have completed the quiz. You may go and explore habitats with this interactive site! https://mrnussbaum.com/habitat-maker-online-game
Conclusion
Congratulations! You have learned so much about habitats and how animals and plants adapt to survive!
Credits
Habitat. Education. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/habitat/
Habitat Maker - online game. Mr. Nussbaum - Habitat Maker - Online Game. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://mrnussbaum.com/habitat-maker-online-game
Hurt, A. (2021, February 16). Desert Habitat. Nature. Retrieved from https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/nature/habitats/article/desert
Hurt, A. (2021, February 16). Rainforest Habitat facts and photos. Nature. Retrieved from https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/nature/habitats/article/rain-forest
YouTube. (2020, May 1). Exploring habitats. YouTube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIsgHW11nOs
Teacher Page
2-Ls4-1 Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity
Performance Expectation: Make observations of plants and animals to compare the diversity of life in different habitats.
Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on the diversity of living things in each of a variety of different habitats. Students could exploredifferent habitats in the community (e.g., school, aquariums, and neighborhoods).
Disciplinary Core Ideas: There are many kinds of living things in any area, and they exist in different places on land, in water, and in the air. (LE.LS4D.a)
Science and Engineering Practices: 3. Planning and carrying out investigations: Planning and carrying out investigations to answer questions (science) or test solutions (engineering) to problems in K-2 builds on prior experiences and progresses
to simple investigations, based on fair tests, which provide data to support explanations or design solutions.
• Make observations and/or measurements to collect
data that can be used to make comparisons.
Crosscutting Concepts: Patterns in the natural and human designed world canbe observed, used to describe phenomena, and used as evidence.