Exploring animal habitats with kids is always a great way to introduce them to life science. Whether working with kindergarten or first graders this hands-on lesson plan will help kids understand the important value of different habitats and the animals that live in them with fun interactive activities.
Exploring Animal Habitats for Kids: A Fun and Engaging Lesson Plan
Before diving into our animal research projects, we started this earth sciences lesson by learning about some of the different animal habitats and what that meant. We learned that an animal’s habitat is its home, where it finds food, water, and shelter. We discussed many different environments and the correct habitats for many animals such as:
- Forest habitat – home to animals like bears, deer, and owls
- Desert habitat – where desert animals like camels, snakes, and scorpions thrived
- Polar regions – the cold home of the polar bear, arctic fox, and penguins
- Water habitats – including oceans, rivers, and lakes filled with fish, dolphins, and sea turtles
- Grasslands – wide open spaces where animals like lions, zebras, and giraffes lived
- Rainforests – tropical areas rich with life, from tree frogs to jaguars
We worked together to write down some of the things we learned on this anchor chart. This concept was perfect for 1st grade science and and the kids were really interested in learning more!
Another great activity to do with your habitat lessons is to take your class on a field trip to the zoo where they can learn more and see real animals. Exploring the zoo will give students the opportunity to view animals surrounded by plants and other things that would be in their real habitat. Viewing monkeys swinging from trees or watching penguins in an arctic world will really bring this unit to life for your class. If you are unable to visit a zoo in person, a virtual field trip is the next best thing.
YouTube is filled with lots of different videos that can help you teach your class about different habitats. You can find videos about the general topic of habitats or specific places like the ocean or arctic. My students were fascinated to watch some of these videos and imagine what life was like under the sea or in the frozen arctic.
Choosing an Animal to Research
Once students understood different habitats, they picked a favorite animal to study. I paired my students with a partner and together they chose an animal to read about and research. One team chose a polar bear from the Arctic tundra,. Another pair chose a toucan from the rainforest and another chose a turtle from the pond habitat. For their research, we used a mix of non-fiction books that I had in my classroom library and online resources.
One of the websites we used was Epic Books which is free for teachers and has an entire library filled with non fiction books that are just right for elementary students. They even have some books that will read to them, which are perfect for your struggling readers.
Pre-Writing Activities: Organizing Our Research
Before starting habitat models or writing reports, filled students filled out these graphic organizers to gather their findings. They also made a simple animal habitats flip book where they could write and illustrate about where their animal lived, what food it eats and some interesting facts. They drew pictures of animals in their habitats in their flip books and wrote about what they learned.
Building Our Animal Habitats – A Hands-On Project
The most exciting part of our unit was creating 3D animal habitats. The kids absolutely loved this part! I sent a simple letter home asking parents for donations that we could use for our habitats including shoeboxes, small pebbles and rocks, cotton balls, and more. Making these shoebox dioramas was a fun way to bring our research to life in our habitats unit. I sorted all of the materials that we got into separate boxes for each of the habitats. The students could choose whatever they wanted to use to create their diorama.
The kids used shoeboxes for the base of their project. Then they added construction paper and tissue paper to help create the background. We added real materials like hay, little rocks and aluminum foil to make our habitats more realistic. Students drew their animal pictures on paper and added them to the project as well. Some kids brought in toy animals to add to the realism of their habitat.
Students used books, our anchor chart and their flip books to make sure they included the three key components of a correct habitat: food, water and shelter. This activity worked well for 1st or 2nd grade science and they were able to complete most of their habitat on their own. This unit could easily be adapted for upper elementary as well.
I have to admit, making the habitats was a pretty messy project. But even though our classroom was a hot mess, it was well worth it. My young students were highly engaged in the entire process and learned so much!
Our Completed Animal Habitats
Once students finished their projects, we set up a mini museum in the hallway where they presented their shoebox habitats to the class. Each team showed their habitat and explained a little about it to their class. This interactive activity reinforced their learning and built confidence in their research skills. Some of the dioramas created included:
- Desert animals like camels and lizards in a sandy setting
- Water habitats with fish and sea turtles
- Forest habitats with bears and deer
- Polar regions with igloos, icebergs, and polar bears
Writing Our Reports
The final step was writing. Using their research and completed projects, students wrote an informational piece about their animal and its habitat. They used an informational writing template to help them. I love these templates because there are 3 versions which was great for helping me to differentiate the writing process for my struggling, on level and advanced writers. During the writing process the kids learned that they needed to include a title, opening sentences, 2-3 sentences with facts about their animal and a closing sentence. This final step tied everything together and made a great addition to our science curriculum.
Teaching about animal habitats was one of the most engaging parts of our science curriculum this year. From animal research to hands-on dioramas, my young learners enjoyed exploring where different animals lived. If you'd like to try these activities with your students, you can grab everything you need here.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THIS RESOURCEThis animal habitats unit includes everything you need with ready-made teacher resources including:
- lesson plans
- flip books for 70 different animals
- pre & post assessments
- anchor charts
- pocket chart sorting activities for animal classification
- graphic organizers
- science worksheets
- animal habitat worksheets & posters
Looking for more? Check out this post about teaching map skills:
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