Animal Habitats

Background Information for Teachers

There are millions of different species (or groups of living organisms) on our planet. These include animals as well as plants. Some of these species, like us humans and many other mammals, like to live on land. Other species, such as fish, prefer to live in the water. Every species likes to settle in areas that provide access to food and water for them. This particular environmental area is called a species' habitat. A habitat is the natural home of a specific animal or plant species. Animals or plant species live in a particular habitat because this environment provides them with everything they need to survive, grow, and reproduce. This means a species' habitat is the place where it can find food, water, air, and protection.

Habitats can be described using many factors. Some of these factors are of physical characteristics such as climate, soil type, amount of rainfall, sun exposure, light, etc. Other factors are biological and include the availability of food in form of plants or animals, as well as the presence or absence of predators. Different species have different habitat requirements. Whereas some plants or animals are generalists, which can easily adapt and live in a wide range of habitats, others are specialists, that can only thrive in one specific type of environment.

Image Credit: Svenja Lohner, Science Buddies / Science Buddies
Figure 1. Examples of different habitats.

There are many different habitats around the world (Figure 1). Some examples of terrestrial habitats are forests, grasslands, deserts or wetlands while freshwater habitats include lakes, ponds or rivers. Marine habitats include the oceans, reefs, and estuaries, and the polar habitats are in the polar regions.

Habitats are constantly changing either due to natural processes such as droughts, fires, earthquakes, and disease, or due to human activities such as building cities, dams, or pollution. Habitat change or destruction can be a serious issue for many animal and plant species living there. Whereas some species can benefit from habitat changes, others suffer or even die out. Yet other species are able to adapt to the changes in their habitats and can cope with their new environment.

Habitats can be very fragile so that even small changes can have big effects. Corals for example live in the shallow waters of an ocean, which is their habitat. They have adapted to specific water conditions. If you change the water quality, for example, by making it more acidic, the corals die. This in turn has effects on the fish that live in the coral reef habitat. They can no longer hide between the corals and thus lose their protection from predators. The loss of habitats due to major habitat changes or destruction is a major cause of species extinction and poses a great threat to many animals and plants alike. This is why it is important to protect natural habitats and the animals and plants that live in these special environments.

In this lesson, students will have to assign a specific animal to its correct habitat. Each classroom corner represents one habitat. After selecting an animal card, students will have to move to the habitat while acting out the animal displayed on their card. As they explain why they moved into a certain habitat, students will realize that a habitat is a place that helps an animal to survive by meeting its specific needs.

Additional Background Links

• Habitats, National Geographic Kids
• Habitats, San Diego Zoo
• Animal Habitats, Habitat Song, Jack Hartmann Kids Music Channel

Prep Work (15 minutes)

• Print and cut out one set of the animal cards.
• Shuffle the animal cards and put them on one pile accessible to all student.

Engage (20 minutes)

1. Start with making your students think about different environments that animals live in and introduce the concept of habitats.

   If you were an animal scientist and wanted to study wild animals, where would you go to find a polar bear, a camel, or a shark?

   Can you describe the places (environments) these three animals live in?

   The three different environments that students should describe are the polar region, the desert and the ocean.

2. Continue the discussion with your students.

   Why couldn't you go to just one place to find all of these three animals in the wild?

   Have students share their ideas. Use their replies to point out that every type of animal lives in a different environment.

3. Let children compare the three different environments (habitats).

   How are the places that these three animals live in different or similar to each other?

   Focus on how the physical characteristics such as the climate, temperature, the amount of rainfall or sun exposure are different or similar in the polar regions, the desert and the ocean. Also include biological factors such as the difference or similarity in vegetation or biodiversity, i.e. the presence or absence of other animals.

4. Together with your students define the area an animal species lives in as its habitat. Explain that an animal lives in a certain habitat because this special environment provides everything it needs to survive, such as food, water or shelter.
5. Ask children what kind of different habitats they can think of.

   What are other habitats that you can find around the world?

   Prompt children to think of different habitats. Make sure these include the ocean, the desert, the polar regions, and their own neighborhood. Tell children that you will focus on these four habitats in this activity.

Explore (45 minutes)

1. Tell students that there are many different habitats in the world with many different living beings in each one. Then show the pictures of the example habitats and write down each of the four habitats (ocean, desert, polar regions, and their neighborhood) on a different poster sheet. Tape the example pictures of a specific habitat on the respective poster and then ask children to describe the four different habitats.

   What do these four different habitats look like?

   Have students describe the different habitat characteristics including their vegetation, temperatures, moisture, light conditions, etc. Make a bullet point list or drawings of the habitat characteristics on each poster.

2. Hang up each of the habitat posters in one corner of your classroom. Make sure the students can see them clearly.

   Divide your class into groups of four students.

3. Show students the animal cards and explain the game.
   1. Four students at a time draw an animal card each.
   2. Each of the students has to decide for themselves which of the four classroom corner habitats (ocean, desert, polar regions, or their neighborhood) his/her animal lives in.
   3. While acting out the animal's moves, every student has to move to the classroom corner habitat they chose for their animal.
   4. While the four students are moving to their habitat corners, the remaining students have to guess and call out what animal each student represents. If necessary, have students repeat their animal's moves in their habitat corners while the other students are guessing.
   5. If students don't guess the animal right, have the four students reveal which animals they represent. Then have each student briefly explain why he/she thinks his/her animal lives in that habitat. They should address the following two questions

      Why do you think this animal lives in this habitat?

      How does this specific habitat meet the needs of your animal?

4. Demonstrate the activity once by drawing an animal card yourself and placing it into the right habitat while acting out the animal's moves. Then have children do the activity in groups of four.

Reflect (25 minutes)

1. Once all groups had their turn, start a class discussion.

   What was difficult or easy about finding the right habitat for your animal? What helped you make your decision?

   Have student share their thoughts.

2. Gather the four habitat posters and review them with the students.

   What do you notice when looking at all the posters? How many different animals live in each habitat?

   Students will notice that more than one animal species lives in each of the habitats. Point out that there are many different kinds of living things in any area and that life is very diverse even within one specific environment.

   What do you notice when comparing the animals on the different habitat posters? Can you find similarities between animals that live in the same habitat? How do animals differ between habitats?

   Listen to student's answers. Guide them to conclude that animals within the same habitat share certain features or lifestyles. For example, most of the animals that live in the polar regions are white, so they can blend in better with the snow for protection from predators. Animals that live in different habitats usually have different lifestyles or different needs (diets, temperature requirements, etc.).

3. Pick one or two animals and ask the students what would happen to that animal if it would have to live in one of the other habitats. For example, how would a polar bear cope with living in the desert? Or how would a turtle manage to live on land?

   What challenges do you think these animals would face if it would have to live in the other environment?

   Collect student's answers. Explain that animals need to live in their specific habitat and would struggle to survive in a different one. For example, a polar bear wouldn't survive in the desert for long as it prefers cooler temperatures. It also wouldn't be able to find the right food in the desert, as seals don't live there. Similarly, sea turtles are dependent on sea grass and algae that grow in the ocean. On land they would not be able to find food and would struggle to survive.

4. Conclude the lesson by having students summarize what they did and what they learned, including what a habitat is, and how different habitats are important for different animals.

Make Career Connections

Discussing or reading about these careers can help students make important connections between the in-class lesson and STEM job opportunities in the real world.

Zoologist and Wildlife Biologist

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Career Profile

Zoologists and wildlife biologists study every aspect of animals to find out how they behave, where they live, or what they eat. They do research to understand the specific needs of different animals or to find out what impact a habitat change can have on a specific animal or plant. Read more

Environmental Scientist

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Career Profile

Environmental Scientists use their knowledge about nature to protect the environment. For example, they study how human activities such as pollution or constructions affect the habitats of different animal species. This helps conserve habitats and protects endangered animals and plants from extinction. Read more

Lesson Plan Variations

• Discuss habitat destruction with your students. How can habitats change? What would happen to an animal species if its habitat would be changed or destroyed? Reflect on the human impact on habitats and how we can conserve habitats that are in danger.
• This lesson mainly focuses on animals. Expand the lesson to plants and discuss with student where different plant species prefer to live and how their habitat supports their survival.