living things and their habitats

Lesson Plan
Grade 4
LIVING THINGS AND THEIR HABITATS
DAY 1: LIVING THINGS
Objectives
To understand the 7 characteristics of living
things
To be able to explain the life processes of
living things with using the new vocabulary
words
To begin to understand that living things can
be grouped in different ways
Characteristics of Living Things
Vocab: alive, dead, movement, reproduction,
nutrition, respiration, growth, habitat,
sensitivity, excretion, life process
Contents
Methodology
Activities
Classroom group discussions, pair work,
group work,
Warm Up Discussion
Powerpoint
Poster Activity
Time Planning
Evaluation
Each group presents and explains their
assigned life process poster
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Key Vocab: alive, dead, movement, reproduction, nutrition, respiration, growth, habitat,
sensitivity, excretion, life process
https://www.liveworksheets.com/os1428437rv
Warm Up:
 What is a living thing?
 Students discuss in pairs
 Write students’ ideas on board
 Write MRS GREN
Video
 https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/clips/ztbw2p3
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Activity
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Put students in 7 groups, each group will be tasked with creating a poster that
explains one of the seven characteristics of living things
Online resource for students: https://www.dkfindout.com/uk/animals-andnature/what-is-living-thing/
TEACHING GUIDE
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Vocabulary Words: alive, dead, movement, reproduction, nutrition, respiration, growth,
habitat, sensitivity, excretion, life process
Warm Up/Class Discussion
o MATERIAL: Powerpoint
 SLIDE 1: Introduce the question: What is a non-living thing?
 SLIDE 2: What are some examples of NONLIVING things?
 Ask students for examples. Write each example on the board with a
quick drawing of the example.
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Slide 3: What is a living thing?
 Ask students what they think a living thing is and instruct them to
discuss in pairs. After a few minutes, give each pair a chance to share
their ideas. Write those ideas on the board.
Slide 4: Life Process
 Read the definition of life process. Explain its significance when
differentiating between a living and nonliving thing.
Slide 5: MRS GREN
 Share the helpful way for the students to remember the life processes
of living things: MRS GREN. Read what each letter stands for.
o Movement
o Respiration
o Sensitivity
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Lecture
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Growth
Reproduction
Excretion
Nutrition
Slide 6: Movement
 Both plants and animals move. Some animals move very slow, while
some move very fast. Plants can grow in different directions and their
flowers can open and close.
 Ask class a connection question: What animals do you know that move
slow? What animals do you know that move fast?
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DAY 2
Habitat
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Information: https://s3.ap-south1.amazonaws.com/360degreedoc/institutes/caj/1/lms/onlinelearning/15859147369720654.pdf
Warm Up/Discussion:
 What kinds of things do animals need to survive?
 Write “What Living Things Need” on Board
o Students discuss in pairs
o Write ideas on board
o Food, water, shelter, air, place to raise young
 Explain definition of habitat
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrSWYE37MJs
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Different habitats
 Ask students about the different types of habitats on earth (tundra,
ocean, freshwater, desert, forest, grasslands/savanna)
o Show a photo of each habitat and ask students what
characteristics they see of each habitat
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Explain characteristics of each habitat
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Forest
o Large number of plants and trees
o Variety of animals can live in caves,
burrow, or on the forest floor
Desert
o Dry, sandy, hot during the day, cold
during the night
Tundra
o Covered in snow and cold all year long
Ocean
o Saltwater
o Largest habitat of the world
Freshwater
o Includes pond, lakes, streams, and
rivers
(Urban)
Activity
 On board, draw four spaces for each habitat, pictures of different animals from
all habitats
 Students decide and place which habitat each animal belongs in
 Explain why each animal would live and survive in their habitat
o Example: ________ could live in the ______ because ________.
Unit resource: https://www.sciencea-z.com/main/UnitResource/unit/25/life-science/grades-34/habitats-environment
Reading worksheet
https://www.educationworld.com/sites/default/files/Animal%20Homes-%20Science%203rdhandout.pdf
biome vocab list
https://www.enchantedlearning.com/wordlist/biomes.shtml
https://homeschoolgiveaways.com/2017/10/learning-about-animal-homes-free-printables-andactivities/
grades 3 -5
video:
https://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/nat15.sci.lisci.anihome/habitat-animalhomes/
work sheet
https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https://d43fweuh3sg51.cloudfront.net/med
ia/media_files/Natures%20Homes.docx
extra resources
https://713d617c-307b-4620-8b395de1608ccee6.filesusr.com/ugd/fe60fb_642ad216949b40f68cc4d003f74c9c2b.pdf
description of habitats worksheet
https://713d617c-307b-4620-8b395de1608ccee6.filesusr.com/ugd/fe60fb_a0e9f0e43e7c43f08c0a6c36c292ed46.pdf
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Lesson plan example: https://www.elementaryschoolscience.com/ecology-lesson-planhabitats