Overview:

Grade 4 (easily adapted for both younger and older students)

Group Size 15-45 students
Activity time: 20 minutes
Skills: Discussion, generalization, kinesthetic concept development, small group work
Key Vocabulary: habitat, food, water, shelter, space

Students physically form an interconnected circle to demonstrate components of habitat.

Purpose ( Objective):

Students will (1) identify the components of habitat; (2) recognize how humans and other animals depend upon habitat, and (3) interpret the significance of loss or change in habitat in terms of people and wildlife.

TEKS

Knowledge and Skills and Student Expectations

Constancy and Change
(8)Adaptations Increase Survival of Members of a Species
(a) identify characteristics that allow members of a species to survive and reproduce
Form and Function
(5) Complex Systems and Parts
(a) identify and describe roles of organisms in living systems and parts in nonliving objects

Materials:

None needed

Getting Ready (Background Information):

People and other animals/insects share some basic needs. Every animal needs a place to live. The environment in which an animal lives is called a habitat. An animal's habitat includes food, water, shelter, and space in an arrangement appropriate to the animal's needs. If any of these components of habitat is missing or is affected significantly so that the arrangement for the individual animal or population of animals is no longer suitable, there will be an impact. The impact will not necessarily be catastrophic, but can be. There are a great many additional limiting factors beyond those of suitable food, water, shelter, and space. For example, disease, predation, pollution, accidents and climatic conditions are among other factors which can have impact. All things are interrelated. When we look at a biological community, we find interrelationships and interdependencies between plants and plants, plants and animals, as well as animals and animals. These interrelationships and interdependencies are important. The major purpose of this activity is for students to become familiar with the components of habitat, and to recognize that it is not sufficient for there to be food, water, shelter and space in order for animals to survive-those components of habitat must be in a suitable arrangement.

Motivation:

Have dominoes set up on a table ready to be pushed over to show chain reaction.

Activity:

1. This activity takes very little time, but has a lot of impact. Ask the students to number off from one to four. All the ones go to one corner of the room, the two to another, etc.

2. As the students move to their corners, clear a space in the enter of the room. Better still, go outside to a clear,grassy area.

3. Assign each group a concept as follows:

ones=food twos=water threes=shelter fours=space

4. Now, it's time to form a circle. This is done by building the circle in chains of food, water, shelter, and space. A student from each of the four groups walks toward the cleared area. the four students stand next to each other, facing in toward what will be the center of the circle. Four more students join the circle. Keep adding to the circle in sets of four until all the students are in the circle.

5. All students should now be standing shoulder to shoulder, facing the center of the circle.

6. Ask the students to turn to their right at the same time taking one step toward the center of the circle. They should be standing close together, with each student looking at the back of the head of the student in front of him or her.

7. Don't panic-this will work. Ask everyone to listen carefully. Students should place their hands on the shoulders of the person in front of them. Students slowly sit down as you count to three. At the point of three, you want the students to sit down-on the knees of the person behind them, keeping their own knees together to support the person in front of them. You then say, Food water, shelter, and space in the proper arrangement (represented by the students' intact ) are what is needed to have a suitable.

8. The students at this point may either fall or sit down. When their laughter has subsided, talk with them about the necessary components of suitable habitat for people and animals.

9. After the students understand the major point- that food, water, shelter and space are necessary for any animal's survival, and in their appropriate arrangement comprise a suitable habitat-let the students try the circle activity again . This time ask them to hold their lap sit posture. As the students lap sit still representing food, water, shelter, and space in their appropriate arrangement-identify a student that represents water. Then say it is a drought year. The water supply is reduced by the drought conditions. At this point, have the student who was identified as water remove himself or herself from the lap sit circle-watch the circle collapse, or at least suffer from the disruption. You could try this in several ways-removing one or more students from the circle. Conditions could vary;pollution of water, urban sprawl limiting availability of all components, soil erosion impacting food and water, etc. Since animals' habitat needs depend upon food, water , shelter, and space removal of any will have an impact.

10. Ask the students to talk about what this activity means to them. Ask the students to summarize the main ideas they have learned. They could include a) food, water, shelter, and space, in their appropriate arrangement can be called a habitat (b) humans and other animals depend upon the habitat (c) loss of any of these elements of habitat will have impact on the animals living there and (d)the components of habitat must be in an arrangement suitable to the needs of the individual animals or populations of animals in order for the animals to survive.

Safety Tips:

Make sure the yard is clear for the circle to be formed in. You may want to ask students to remove their jewelry.

Extension:

Do the Habitat Lap Sit with an aquatic perspective.

A variation of the activity above is to have students form a circle, holding hands. Walk around the circle, first naming one student as an animal/insect of a particular ecosystem. Name the next four students in the circle as food, water, shelter, and space for that animal. Repeat the process until all the students are involved. Any extras can be identified as elements of habitat resulting from a particularly good year for habitat needs for the last animal named. When all of the students have been designated as an animal or as components of an animal's habitat, comment on the fact that they are still holding hands. This represents the idea all things in an ecosystem are interrelated. Briefly discuss the idea of interrelationships. Then move the students into position to the lap sit described earlier. Remind the students that they noticed all the elements of the ecosystem were interrelated when they were holding hands. Now they are going to find out that they all are dependent upon one another as well. Do the lap sit. Discuss interrelationships and interdependencies in ecological systems.

Closure:

Summarize the activity or ask questions to check for student understanding of the basic concepts addressed.

Assessment:

1. What are the five essential components of habitat?

2. Explain how the arrangement of food, water, shelter, and space is important to humans and other animals/insects.

Connections:

Look at cases in history in which there has been a disturbance in a habitat and the effects it had.

Adapted from Project WILD Activity Guide

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