Grade 7 Preparatory Activity “Mystery Habitats/Mystery Animals”
(Discovery.com, Francine Weinberg and Nancy White, educational consultants, 2002).

Quality Core Curriculum Objectives:

Science                                             (Life Science)

            #1 –   Uses process skills of observing, classifying, communicating, predicting, inferring, recording.

            #13 – Demonstrates understanding of classification.

            #18.2-Describes characteristics of reptiles, birds, and mammals.

            #18.3-Sorts members of Chordata phylum into classes by observation of characteristics.

            #19 – Explains food web cycles in nature that affect living things.

            #20 – Demonstrates understanding of adaptations for survival.

            #20.3-Describes organisms found within biomes.

Language Arts                                (Listening/Speaking)

            #20 – Interprets literal, inferential, and critical questions.

            #13 – Expands listening vocabulary.

                                                            (Reference/Study)

            #50 – Selects relevant information about a subject from various sources.

            #55 – Uses media center as source of information.

Vocabulary:  adaptation,carnivore, herbivore, scavenger, peninsula, canopy,                    decompose  

Students will understand the following:

1.  Earth supports many different habitats, each of which has distinct features and distinct plant and animal populations.

2.  Animals and plants are adapted to the conditions of the habitats in which they live.

Materials:

       •Research materials on habitats

       •Computer with Internet access

Procedure:

1. Tell students they are going to form groups to research different habitats of the world. Each group will produce a report on its habitat including the following information:

     *  A physical description of the habitat

     *  Examples of the habitat (geographical locations)

*  Examples of animals and plants that live in the habitat (a minimum of three examples from  each class of animals should be given). 

*  Drawing of a general food web for this habitat using the plant and animal examples.

*  In addition, each group will be given a specific assignment that will require the group to show how the animals in the assigned habitat are adapted for life there.

2. On the chalkboard, write the names of the different habitats students will investigate: grasslands (or savanna), temperate forest, tropical rain forest, desert, polar ice, tidepools. Then divide your class into six groups, assigning each group one of those habitats to research. Following are the specific assignments for each group:

* Grasslands (savanna): Research the speeds of animals that live in the African grasslands. Project: Create a display that compares the different speeds of these animals.  Write an explanation for why speed is important for survival in the grasslands.  (There are few trees or

places for animals to hide in grasslands habitats.  Therefore, speed is important for both predators that are hunting and animals that are fleeing predators.)

* Temperate forest: Explain to students that in the winter, less water is available for trees to take in through their roots, because much of the water in the ground is frozen. Since trees lose water through their leaves, losing leaves is a way for a tree to conserve water. Coniferous trees do not lose nearly as much water through their needles as deciduous trees lose through their leaves. 

Project: Put a twig from a coniferous tree (cone-bearing tree with needles instead of leaves) in a cup of water, and tightly fasten a clear plastic bag around its needles.  Put a twig from a deciduous tree (leafy tree that loses its leaves in the fall) in a cup of water, and tightly fasten a clear plastic bag around the leaves.  Observe what happens and write an explanation for what you observed.  (There will be more water droplets on the inside of the bag covering the leaves, showing that leaves lose more water than do needles.)

* Tropical rain forest: Describe the three main levels of the rain forest—canopy, understory, and forest floor.  Project: Make a diagram or model showing examples of animals and plants that live on each level.  Choose an animal or plant from each level and explain how it is adapted to its particular place in the tropical rain forest.  (Canopy examples: monkeys can use arms and legs

and sometimes tails to swing from branch to branch; birds such as parrots have specialized feet with two curling front toes and two curling back toes to help them hang on to branches. Understory example: snakes such as boa constrictors spend their days curled around branches or vines.  Forest floor example: jaguars’ spots help them to be better hunters by making them hard to see among the speckled shadows of the rain forest floor).

* Desert: Choose a desert animal or plant.  Project: Make a model of it, draw it, or describe it. Explain how it is particularly well adapted to survive in a place where there is very little water. (Plant example: the saguaro cactus has an expanding trunk that allows it to take in a great deal of water when water is available.  The saguaro has stored-up water during the long desert dry           periods.  Animal examples: many desert animals dig burrows in the sand to stay cool in the intense heat; many desert animals sleep during the day and are active at night, when the temperature is lower.)

* Polar ice: Research both the polar bear (North Pole) and the penguin (South Pole).  Project: Draw or make a model of each animal.  For each animal, explain at least three ways—physical or behavioral characteristics—in which it is well adapted for life in a very cold and snowy climate. (Polar bear examples: two layers of fur and an extra layer of fat under its skin keep it warm;               ears are very small so that very little heat can escape from them; paws are huge to help spread out its weight over the snow and keep it from sinking in; it builds snow dens to keep its babies warm in winter; it has white fur that helps it blend in to its surroundings.)

* Tidepool: Explain how a tidepool is formed, and describe several animals that are found in tidepools.  Project: Make two models of a tidepool—one at high tide and one at low tide. Use sand, rocks, salt water, and other materials (e.g., modeling clay) for your models.  Draw at least three tidepool animals and explain how they survive in a constantly changing habitat (sometimes

wet, sometimes dry).  (Examples: periwinkles, limpets, and barnacles attach themselves to rocks by suction so they will not be swept away when the tide goes out; the incoming tide brings food to clams, oysters, and mussels—all they have to do is open up their shells and tiny bits of animals and plants flow in.)

3.  When students have completed their assignments, have each group present its project to the class. 

4. Mystery Animals Game:

Divide your class into groups.  Have each group choose an unusual or unfamiliar animal from       

the habitat it has been assigned and prepare a card with the name of the animal, a description of the animal’s physical and behavioral characteristics, adaptations, and a picture of the animal.  Mix up the cards and give one to each group, making sure that no group gets its own card.  Then challenge each group to figure out, on the basis of the animal’s physical and behavioral characteristics, what the animal is and in which habitat it belongs.

5.  Habitat Sites:

To learn more about the habitats the class has been studying, have students visit a Web site

for each habitat. Students should be able to find sites easily, but here are some suggestions for keywords:

Grasslands:               cheetahspot

Temperate forest:     northolympic

Tropical rain forest:   edens

Desert:                       desertusa

Polar ice:                    antarctica

Tidepool:                    tidepools