Habitats of North America Kierra Jamerson

Content Area: Science Grade Level: 2 Summary: The purpose of this instructional PowerPoint is to have students understand the many different animal habitats in North America, each of which has distinct features and distinct animal populations. They will also understand that animals are adapted to the conditions of the habitats in which they live. Learning Objective: Given a particular organism, the student will describe its habitat based on its food, water, and air requirements with 100% accuracy. Content Standard: Standard 3 - Flow of Matter and Energy

Quick Facts A habitat is the natural environment in which an organism lives. An animal needs five things to survive in its habitat: food, water, shelter, air, and a place to raise its young. The different types of habitats in North America are grasslands, temperate forest, deserts, wetlands, and tundra. Go to this website to explore some of the animals that live in these habitats http://goo.gl/VFEx0B

Grasslands Windy, open area covered with grass and other low growing plants Climate: hot summers, cold winters, not enough rain to grow tall trees Animals: foxes, snakes, bison, rabbits, bobcats, prairie dogs Plants: in wetter grasslands the grass can grow up to 6 feet, and in dryer grasslands the grass grows 1-2 feet tall

Temperate Forests Forests in cool, rainy areas Climate: have all four seasons, Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter Animals: bears, hawks, beavers, mountain lions Plants: moss, shrubs, short tree and tall trees 60-100 feet tall; trees and plants lose leaves in the Fall

Deserts Area with little rainfall and extreme temperatures Climate: some deserts are very hot during the day and very cold at night, while others are always cold Animals: little animal life; rattlesnakes, lizards, donkeys, scorpions Plants: little plant life; cactus

Wetlands Area of land covered with shallow water Climate: have all four seasons Animals: alligators, cranes, frogs, turtles, otters, snails Plants: trees, grasses, shrubs, moss

Tundra Large area of flat land in which the ground is always frozen Climate: cold, dry long winters Animals: wolves, polar bears, deer Plants: moss, shrubs; growing season for plants lasts up to 60 days

Games & Videos Test the students’ knowledge about habitats with the Habitats Game! http://goo.gl/PJ9Qq Watch this video to learn more about temperate forests http://goo.gl/nMv8T7 Watch this video to learn more about tundra http://goo.gl/nMv8T7 Watch this video to learn more about wetlands http://goo.gl/aozOCu Watch this video to learn which animals live in the different habitats all over the world http://goo.gl/grguaJ

Review Question Which of the following animals does not live in wetlands? Otters Cranes Donkeys Turtles

This animal lives in wetlands. Incorrect. This animal lives in wetlands. Click the arrow to try again

Donkeys live in deserts. Correct! Donkeys live in deserts.

Review Question Which two habitats have all four seasons? Deserts and Tundra Temperate Forests and Wetlands Tundra and Wetlands Grasslands and Deserts

Incorrect. Deserts are either extremely hot during the day and cold at night or always extremely cold, and tundra are always extremely cold with frozen ground. Click the arrow to try again

Incorrect. Wetlands have all four seasons, however, tundra are always extremely cold with frozen ground. Click the arrow to try again

Incorrect. Grasslands only have hot summers and cold winters, and deserts are extremely hot during the day and cold at night or always extremely cold. Click the arrow to try again

Correct! The climates of Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter occur in temperate forests and wetlands.

Summary In this lesson, the students learned the five habitats of North America. They watched four videos that explain the climate, physical features, plants, and animals of each habitat. They also watched two videos that give brief information about other habitats near North America, such as tropical rain forests in South America. The students got into groups of four and played the Habitats Game. After the question was read aloud, a member of each group had to raise their hand to answer the question. The group that answers the question correctly first gets a point. The students answered the review questions as a whole group.