Lion Country Safari - School Programs



School Programs

Click on the link below to return to the list of available School Programs	Animal Homes-Habitats This workshop is designed to introduce students not only to the different types of habitats that animals can survive in but also to teach students about the different types of adaptations that animals have developed in order to inhabit these areas. Some of the things that students will be able to identify are: types of habitats, vital components of any habitat, living and non-living components of a habitat, and the flow of energy in an ecosystem. This workshop has both pre- and post-visit classroom activities which can be adjusted for the appropriate age level. These activities are designed to enhance each student's knowledge of the topic to be covered. Meets Sunshine State Standards Grades: Pre-K - 2nd Grades: 3rd - 5th Grades: 6th - 8th Grades: 9th - 12th Habitats Classroom Activities 1. Written Habitat Have each student choose an animal, preferably one of the animals that are housed at our facility (exp. Lion, Giraffe, Rhinoceros, Chimpanzee, etc.). Have them write a paper, of appropriate length for your age category. The paper should include information about their housing requirements in captivity, what type of habitat they can be found in, in the wild, any special adaptations the animal has that allows it to live in its habitat, and the animals status in the wild (Endangered, Threatened, Species of Special Concern, etc.). Have each student give an oral presentation of their paper using whatever diagrams or 'props' that they may need (have the students give an appropriate length presentation dependent upon their age category.). 2. Habitat Connections Objective: For the students to understand what makes up a habitat and how all these parts are integrally connected. Procedure: 1) Ask your students to count off from "one" to "four." Send each group to the corner of the room, or a specified area if you are doing this outside. 2) As the students make their way to their corners, clear a space in the center of the room or designate the center area if outside. 3) Assign each group a concept needed for a habitat. "Ones" are food, "Twos" are water, "Threes" are shelter, and "Fours" are space. Make sure the students understand how their part fits into the habitat. 4) Next, have the students form a Habitat Circle. This is done by connecting chains of food, water, shelter, and space. Have one student from each group come up and have them face the center of the circle. 5) Ask all the students to turn to the right. Have them place their hands on the shoulders of the student in front of them. Then, have all the students lean back onto one another supporting the person in front of them while they are being supported by the person behind them. Remind them that they do not need to "sit" on another, but rather lean into them. 6) Don't Panic! This does work. Wait for the laughter and silliness to subside, and present to the students how each part of the habitat supports the other parts and all are necessary for anything to survive within that habitat. 7) If you are willing and your class is able, you can throw some curves at your students. For instance, tell them it is a drought year and then take out two or three water students. Parts of the circle will collapse, causing the rest of the circle to do the same. You could continue this with pollution (some food and water must come out), urban sprawl (some of the spaces must come out), or any other ideas you may have. This goes on to further illustrate the point that habitats need all four parts arranged in a specific order for animals and plants to survive within them. 8) You can sum up this activity by discussing with your students the meaning of habitat, and how we affect these areas without even realizing it. Also, you may want to talk about the idea that the habitat must be organized in a specific order for each animal within it to survive. For instance, there may be three waters, two foods, one shelter and no space. There has to be room for the space or else the circle will still fall apart. After completing this activity, you can discuss with the students what makes up their own habitat. Once you feel they are set on the concepts of what makes up a habitat, you can introduce the types of habitats and what animals the students believe live there. Have them back up why certain animals live in certain habitats. For instance, I think a rattlesnake lives in the Desert because he is cold-blooded (ectothermic) and this will allow him to survive in extreme temperatures. 3. Design a Habitat Objective: Students will understand the different types of habitats and how animals are adapted to these habitats. Materials: Three different sizes of paper, markers, pencils, crayons, glue, tape, and staples Procedure: 1) Have each student (or this can be done in groups) pick a particular habitat they are interested in. Then, have them write a short, but descriptive, piece about their habitat and exactly where it is located. For instance, I am doing rain forests in Belize or the Mojave Desert in California. 2) Then give them a large piece of art paper to illustrate that habitat without any animals in it. Be sure they are thinking of the four parts of a habitat by putting in water, plants, and terrain. 3) After they have completed this part of the project, have the students brainstorm about what animals live in the habitat they have selected. Once they have come up with several, pass out the next smaller sheet of art paper. Have the students draw and label the animals they have selected to live in their habitat. Make sure they are drawing at least seven different animals. 4) Now, tell the students they are going to create their own animals, something new that has never been discovered. The animal they have created has to live in the habitat they have selected. Make sure they understand that the animal has to be adapted to live in that particular habitat. Have the students first write a short description of their animal and how it fits into their habitat. This description must include the four parts of the habitat (food, water, shelter, space). 5) After they have finished this, pass out the last and smallest sheet of paper. Have the students draw their animal on that sheet. 6) Finally, have them attach all the sheets together. The habitat drawing on the bottom, then the description of it, next the animals that live in the habitat drawing, and on the top put the animal that has been created and its description. 7) You can pull this all together by having the students present their creations to the class, as if they have just discovered this animal. Let the class ask questions about where it lives, what it eats, etc. The animals can then be displayed around the classroom, if you wish. Sunshine State Standards: Grades: Pre-K - 2nd Science D: Processes that shape the earth SC.D.1.1.2 Content Standard: Knows that life occurs on or near the surface of the earth in land, air, and water. SC.D.1.1.2 Content Standard: Understands that people influence the quality of life of those around them. Science F: Processes of life SC.F.1.1.1 Content Standard: Knows the basic needs of all living things SC.F.1.1.2 Content Standard: Knows how to apply knowledge about life processes to distinguish between living and non-living things. SC.F.1.1.4 Content Standard: Understands that structures of living things are adapted to their function in specific environments. SC.F.1.1.5 Content Standard: Compares and describes the structural characteristics of plants and animals. SC.F.2.1.2 Content Standard: Knows that there are many different kinds of living things that live in a variety of environments Science G: How living things interact with their environment SC.G.1.1.1 Content Standard: Knows that environments have living and nonliving parts. SC.G.1.1.2 Content Standard: Knows that plants and animals are dependent upon each other for survival. SC.G.1.1.3 Content Standard: Knows that there are many deferent plants and animals living in many different kinds of environments (e.g., hot, cold, wet, dry, sunny, and dark). SC.G.1.1.4 Content Standard: Knows that animals and plants can be associated with their environment by an examination of their structural characteristics. SC.G.2.1.1 Content Standard: Knows that if living things do not get food, water, shelter, and space, they will die. SC.G.2.1.2 Content Standard: Knows that the activities of humans affect plants and animals in many ways. Science H: The nature of science SC.H.3.1.1 Content Standard: Knows that scientists and technologists use a variety of tools (e.g., thermometers, magnifiers, rulers, and scales) to obtain information in more detail and to make work easier. Grades: 3rd - 5th Science B: Energy SC.B.1.2.1 Content Standard: Knows how to trace the flow of energy in a system (e.g., as in an ecosystem). SC.B.1.2.2 Content Standard: Recognizes various forms of energy (e.g., heat, light, and electricity). SC.B.1.2.3 Content Standard: Knows that most things that emit light also emit heat. Science F: Processes of life SC.F.1.2.2 Content Standard: Knows how all animals depend on plants Science G: How living things interact with their environment SC.G.1.2.2 Content Standard: Knows that living things compete in a climatic region with other living things and that structural adaptations make them fit for an environment. SC.G.1.2.5 Content Standard: Knows that animals eat plants or other animals to acquire the energy they need for survival. SC.G.1.2.7 Content Standard: Knows that variations in light, water, temperature, and soil content are largely responsible for the existence of different kinds of organisms and population densities in an ecosystem SC.G.2.2.2 Content Standard: Knows that the size of a population is dependent upon the available resources within its community. SC.G.2.2.3 Content Standard: Understands that changes in the habitat of an organism may be beneficial or harmful. Grades: 6th - 8th Science D: Processes that shape the earth SC.D.1.3.4 Content Standard: There are ways in which plants and animals reshape the landscape. SC.D.2.3.2 Content Standard: There are positive and negative consequences of human action on the Earth's systems. Science F: Processes of life SC.F.1.3.7 Content Standard: Behavior is a response to the environment and influences growth, development, maintenance, and reproduction. Science G: How living things interact with their environment SC.G.1.3.1 Content Standard: Viruses depend on other living things. SC.G.1.3.2 Content Standard: Biological adaptations include changes in structures, behaviors, or physiology that enhance reproductive success in a particular environment. SC.G.1.3.4 Content Standard: The interactions of organisms with each other and with the non-living parts of their environments result in the flow of energy and the cycling of matter throughout the system. SC.G.2.3.2 Content Standard: All biotic and abiotic factors are interrelated and that if one factor is changed or removed, it impacts the availability of other resources within the system. SC.G.2.3.3 Content Standard: A brief change in the limited resources of an ecosystem may alter the size of a population or the average size of individual organisms and that long-term change may result in the elimination of animal and plant populations inhabiting the earth. SC.G.2.3.4 Content Standard: Humans are a part of an ecosystem and their activities may deliberately on inadvertently alter the equilibrium in ecosystems. Science H: Nature of science SC.H.3.3.7 Content Standard: Computers speed up and extend people's ability to collect, sort, and analyze data; prepare research reports; and share data and ideas with others. Grades: 9th -12th Science D: Processes that shape the earth SC.D.2.4 Content Standard: The student understands the need for protection of the natural systems on earth. Science F: Processes of life SC.F.2.4 Content Standard: The student understands the process and importance of genetic diversity. Science G: How living things interact with their environment SC.G.1.4 Content Standard: The student understands the competitive, interdependent, cyclic nature of living things in the environment. SC.G.2.4 Content Standard: The student understands the consequences of using limited natural resources.