PROJECT: ANIMAL HABITATS

TEACHER: MARY GAYRAL

SCHOOL: THIBODAUX ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

CONTENT: Social Living and Visual Art

GRADE LEVELS: 2

OBJECTIVES:

The learner will identify different animal habitats.

The learner will identify warm and cool colors.

MATERIALS:

1. The book The Great Kapok Tree by Lynn Cherry.
2. PowerPoint on Animal Habitats.
3. White sheet of construction paper for each student for guided practice.
4. Color printed worksheet of animals and plants.
5. An array of colored construction paper for assessment.
6. Drawing paper for each of the students for independent practice.
7. Crayons

INTRODUCTION/PREPARATION/ANTICIPATORY SET:

The teacher reads the book The Great Kapok Tree by Lynn Cherry. The teacher asks the students to describe the rain forest. She tells them that what they have described is the habitat for the rain forest. Today we will discuss other habitats that animals live in.

ACTIVITY:

Lesson Presentation : The teacher shows a PowerPoint of animals and their habitats. (Attached) The first slide includes a definition of a habitat: A habitat is a place where animals can find food, water, and shelter. The teacher and students discuss the dessert, tundra, and rain forest. The teacher shows a slide/picture of a dessert habitat showing it's distinct features: The dessert is a dry region that receives little rain. Cactus and Mexican Gold Poppies grow there. Some of the animals that live in this habitat are: snakes, lizards, dessert tortoise, tarantula, coyote, and bob cat. As you view the dessert, the colors you'll notice are shades of brown and gold. These colors are known as warm colors. Other warm colors are red, orange, and yellow.

The next habitat is the tundra. The tundra is a habitat that surrounds the North Pole. It is one of the coldest places on earth. Some of the animals that live in the tundra are: Artic Fox, Caribou Deer, Polar Bear, Artic Hare, and Snow Goose. Plants that grow in the tundra are: Blue Lupine, Yellow Artic Poppy, and Artic Cotton Grass. The colors you notice in this habitat are the shades of blue, light purple, and white. These colors are known as cool colors. Another cool color is green.

The last habitat is the rain forest. The rain forests are very thick, warm, wet forest. The rain forest is found near the equator of the earth. It is almost always raining in the rain forest; therefore millions of plants and animals live there. Some of these animals are toucans, monkeys, 3-toed sloth, butterflies, frogs, jaguars, iguanas, and ladybugs. There are many plants that grow in this habitat: vines, orchids, Venus Fly Trap, and bromeliads. The colors in the rain forest are very vibrant and rich. There are more warm colors, such as reds, oranges, and yellows, but it also has blues, greens, and purples. The teacher will show the students colors of the rain forest on Google Images.

Guided Practice : The teacher gives each of the students a sheet of construction paper. Students label the three habitats that were discussed. Given a worksheet with different plants and animals, the students cut and place these pictures under the correct habitat. Guiding the children through this lesson, the teacher asks the students, "What colors remind you of the dessert?" (Response: browns, yellows, and reds) The teacher asks the students to take these colors out. The teacher then asks, "What kind of land does the dessert have?" (Sand) The students draw sand and color it at the bottom of this section. "What is the weather like?"   (Hot) The students draw a sun on the page using a yellow color. Then the students with the assistance of the teacher decide which animals and plants belong in the habitat. The teacher continues this lesson with the other two habitats.

Independent Practice : Using drawing paper and colors, the students choose one of the habitats to illustrate.

EVALUATION/ASSESSMENT:

The teacher shows the students an array of colored construction paper, and asks the students, "What habitat do you think of when you see this color? Is this a warm color or is this a cool color?"  

ART CONTENT/CONCEPTS:

warm and cool colors

GRADE LEVEL EXPECTATIONS AND STANDARDS/BENCHMARKS:
Louisiana 2nd Grade Science GLEs:
3 Use observations to design and conduct simple investigations or experiments to answer testable questions (SI-E-A2)
5 Use a variety of methods and materials and multiple trials to investigate ideas (observe, measure, accurately record data); (SI-E-A2)
6 Use the five senses to describe observations (SI-E-A3)
50 Describe ways in which habitat loss or change can occur as a result of natural events or human impact (SE-E-A5)

National Standards for Arts Education – Visual Arts, Grades K-4

1 Understanding and applying media, techniques, and processes
c. use different media, techniques and processes to communicate ideas, experiences, and stories
6 Making connections between visual arts and other disciplines
understand and use similarities and differences between characteristics of the visual arts and other disciplines, and
identify connections between the visual arts and other disciplines in the curriculum

MODIFICATIONS/ACCOMODATIONS:
For students that need modification, the animals and plants will be precut and sorted into two groups: plants and animals.
For independent practice, high ability students will be paired with low ability students.

VARIATIONS/ENHANCEMENTS:
Use the computer with websites where the children could interact with the habitat.
Using Kidpix, the students could illustrate their favorite habitat.
Using a shoe box, the students could make a panoramic or three dimensional habitat.
The students could write a paragraph on their favorite habitat.
Te students could write a narrative where they place themselves in their favorite habitat.
The students could make a brochure of their favorite habitat, including their own description of the habitat along with pictures found on the internet.
Using colors from a particular habitat, the students could make a pattern using geometric shapes, for example circle, square, rectangle with colors of brown, red, orange, yellow, and repeat the pattern.

TEACHER'S REFLECTION:
The lesson went well. My students were engaged, and they seemed to enjoy the art part of the lesson. They were very proud to show off their work. Every time we are walking somewhere on our school’s campus, they will point out a color and tell me if it is a warm or cool color. Several of the students also told me that they shared their new-found knowledge with their family members and friends.

Click Here to Download the PowerPoint Presentation for this project

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