There’s No Place Like Home Topics: Habitats, living/nonliving, , adaptations Grade Level: K-2

New York State Science Learning Standards • K-LS1-1. Use observations to describe patterns of what plants and animals (including humans) need to survive. • K-ESS2-2. Construct an argument supported by evidence for how plants and animals (including humans) can change the environment to meet their needs. • K-ESS3-1. Use a model to represent the relationship between the needs of different plants or animals (including humans) and the places they live. • 1-LS1-1. Use materials to design a solution to a human problem by mimicking how plants and/or animals use their external parts to help them survive, grow, and meet their needs. • 1-LS1-2. Read texts and use media to determine patterns in behavior of parents and offspring that help offspring survive. • 1-LS3-1. Make observations to construct an evidence-based account that some young plants and animals are similar to, but not exactly like, their parents. • 2-LS2-1. Plan and conduct an investigation to determine if plants need sunlight and water to grow. • 2-LS2-2. Develop a simple model that illustrates how plants and animals depend on each other for survival. • 2-LS4-1. Make observations of plants and animals to compare the diversity of life in different habitats.

Key Understandings • Plants and animals depend on each other and other resources in their habitats. • Plants and animals need different things to grow. • Plants and animals have adaptations to help meet their basic needs. • Plants and animals get their food in different ways. • Plants depend on water, light, and air to grow. • Animals use their body parts in different ways to see, hear, grasp objects, protect themselves, move from place to place, seek, find, and take in food, water, and air. • Plants have different parts (roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruits) that help them survive and grow. Vocabulary Animal, community, ecosystem, habitat, living, nonliving, nutrients

Essential Questions • What do plants and animals need to survive in their environment? • How do plants and animals get what they need to survive? • How do plants and animals use their external parts to help them survive, grow, and meet their needs? • Can an animal live in both water and air?

Background Information The Hudson River travels over 300 miles in State. From its source, Lake Tear of the Clouds in the , it begins as a small freshwater brook and eventually empties into Harbor and out to the Atlantic Ocean. This “arm of the sea” is made up of many ecosystems containing diverse plant and animal life. Living organisms (plant and animals) depend on their surroundings (habitat, soil, oxygen, nutrients, water, sunlight, other plants, and animals) for survival. All living organisms need food, water, shelter, and space to survive. All of these create a habitat (for example: river, ocean, pond, forest, stream, desert, etc.) and the interactions between plants, animals and the nonliving elements of

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation their environment are called a system. An ecosystem is made up of a community of organisms and their physical environment. All living things in an ecosystem depend on each other for survival.

Materials • For each group: art supplies (crayons, markers, glue sticks, scissors, construction paper, lined paper, recycled materials), large sheets paper, pictures of Hudson River organisms, books/resources about different habitats. • For each student: science journal (have students make their own (construction paper folded in half as the cover and five sheets of plain paper folded in half for inside pages). • Teacher: gather a variety of magazines or photos that have pictures of animals and their homes, large dry erase board or large post-its paper, books about habitats, plants, and animals. • Optional: magnifying lenses, bug boxes, clipboards, habitat presentation.

Student Activity: Using the dry erase board to record information- 1. Begin the lesson by discussing and listing on the board what it means to be a living and nonliving in the environment. Discuss the essential questions with students. 2. Ask students if they know what a habitat is and create a class definition. Optional: Use the habitat presentation as a guide for this activity. • Have students list the habitats they know about. Discuss the differences between the habitats. • Pass out the pictures of Hudson River organisms (one to each student, and use a variety of different plant and animals). Explain to students that these are plants and animals that live in and around the Hudson Valley and New York State. Each student will share their card and discuss where these plants and animals might live, or what their habitat may look like. Have students try to figure out what habitat their plant or animal lives in. You can use other animal/plant cards to discuss habitats in other areas (desert, rainforest, tundra) to show how ecosystems are very different in different places. • Ask students what animals need to survive? Ask them to refer to their animal card. Lead students to mention food, water, shelter, space (place to raise their young), and refer that the things they need they find in their habitat. • Ask students what plants need to survive (sunlight, water, space, nutrients) and discuss that plants provide food for animals and oxygen. 3. Habitat Walk: Take the class outside (if possible) and lead students on a habitat discovery walk. Students should take note of any animals or plants they may see, or any evidence of animals (tracks, scat, feathers, holes in the ground, woodpecker holes, nest). Take a moment to have students reflect in their journals. If you have bug boxes, small containers, magnifying lenses have students use them to carefully observe the natural world around them. 4. Have students share their discoveries with the classroom. 5. Divide students into small groups (2-3 students). Assign each group a habitat to depict in a mural. Students should look through books, and magazines as a reference when creating their murals 6. Students will use their journals to write/draw information about their habitat. • What plants and animals live there? Students should pick one animal or plant and show or describe where they find their food, water, shelter, and space? 7. Provide students with art supplies to create their habitat murals. Students should include pictures or drawings of animals and plants that live in their habitat. 8. Have students share their murals with the class. Group murals can be displayed in the classroom or hallways.

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation