What Animals Need to Live

Concepts to Be Covered

• Animals need food, water, shelter, and space to survive.
• Herbivores can live only where plant food is available.
• Carnivores can live only where they can catch their food.
• Omnivores can live in many places because they eat both plants and animals.
• Habitat is the physical area where an animal lives.

Goals for the Lesson

• Students will name the four factors necessary for animals to survive.
• Students will define herbivore, carnivore, and omnivore.
• Students will comprehend the concept of an animals habitat.

Materials Needed

• Wildlife Is All Around Us. Member's Guide- 4-H Wildlife Conservation Program, Unit 1, page 5, "Habitat: What Animals Need to Live."
• Herbivore/Carnivore/Omnivore Venn diagram overhead transparency
• lined drawing paper

Teaching Model: Introduce-Guided Reading-Discuss-Define-Summarize-Evaluate

State Standard(s) Addressed: Standards for Environment and Ecology (4.6.4A)

Introduction

"In today's lesson we will discuss what animals need to survive. You will also learn the classification for animals according to what they eat."

Procedures

1. Have students silently read "Habitat: What Animals Need to Live."
2. Reread aloud the first sentence. To survive animals need food, water, and a safe home.
3. Place Venn diagram on overhead with just the three main words (herbivore, omnivore, carnivore) listed.
4. Have students refer to article to define each word. Write the definition for each word onto the overhead showing that herbivores eat plant parts, carnivores eat other animals, and omnivores eat both plants and animals.
5. Ask students to use this knowledge to determine how what an animal eats determines where they need to live. Herbivores can live only where plant food is available. Carnivores can live only where they can catch their food. Omnivores can live in many places because they eat both plants and animals.
6. Have students name examples of each group. List on overhead.
7. "Now that we've discussed that animals need food to survive and the different types of food animals need, who can name the second factor necessary for animals to survive. Water is the second factor necessary for animals to survive.
8. Make a list of different areas water can be obtained by animals. Puddles, springs, streams, and ponds are places where animals can get water.
9. "We've named two factors necessary for animals to survive: food and water. There are two more. Look again at the first sentence in the article. To survive, animals need food, water, and a safe home. I said there are two more factors necessary for animals to survive but the sentence only lists one: a safe home. Skim the article once again and see if you can understand why I say there are two more things we need to list."
10. Allow the students to reread or skim article for a few minutes. Ask for volunteers to list the remaining two factors. The last two factors are both part of a safe home: cover and space.
11. Define and discuss each word.
12. Ask students to summarize the needs animals have to survive. Food, water, cover, and space.
13. Introduce final vocabulary word-habitat. Define (an animal's habitat is where the animal lives. Its habitat has everything it needs to survive) and discuss.

Evaluation/Assessment

Have students draw a picture that shows an animal in a natural environment. The picture must incorporate all items necessary for the animal to survive. When their picture is complete they must write a summary of their picture. The paragraph must describe the animal in the picture as an herbivore, carnivore, or omnivore. The writing must also reflect back to the factors necessary for their animal to survive. The writing must also be grammatically and mechanically correct, and neatly written.

References

Youngfleish, Kristi, and Margaret Brittingham. Wildlife Is All Around Us: Book 1, The Wildlife Detective. Member's Guide. p. 5. 4-H Wildlife Conservation Program, Unit I.

Author

Tracie Tomasko, Moshannon Valley Elementary