Animal Habitat Lessons for Kindergarten

Children can understand habitats as homes for animals.

Teaching kindergarten students about animal habitats can help introduce the study of ecology. The idea of habitats can be easily grasped by young learners, who will understand that a habitat is like a home for animals. Guide the children in activities that will increase their understanding of the connection between basic habitat types and various animals' needs.

Habitats Are Homes

Introduce the students to the concept of habitats through discussion. Explain that a habitat is simply a home for animals. Lead a discussion about the students' own habitats and what amenities their homes have to support the health and well-being of their families. Engage the children in viewing their beds, refrigerators, houses or apartments as features in their respective habitats. Have children create drawings of the habitats they live in.

Water and Land

Teach students about habitats types by explaining the differences between terrestrial and marine animals. Lead children in a discussion that helps them figure out which creatures need to live in water and which ones live on land. Provide the children with images of a variety of animals. Have the children work in small groups to separate the animals by those that would live on land and those that would live in the sea.

Habitat Creation

Begin this lesson with a brief discussion of types of basic habitats and their respective amenities. Consider using deserts, oceans and forests as examples of basic habitat categories. Assign each student or pair of students an animal and aid them in identifying the creature's habitat. Lead the children in creating a drawing that illustrates the appearance of the animal's required habitat. Encourage the students to share their artistic creations with the group.

Hunting and Gathering Game

Guide the kindergartners in a game that represents gathering food in the wild. Scatter small pieces of construction paper in six or eight different colors. Present each child with an envelope marked with two or three of the colors. The children must gather the pieces of paper that match the colors on their respective envelopes. After an allotted amount of time, aid children in counting their gathered resources. Connect this exercise to a discussion about the differing dietary needs of various animals living in a single habitat.

References

• Discovery Education: Animals Around Us
• Dr Judy Science Solutions: Animal Homesls Around Us
• Upham Woods Outdoor Learning Center: A Habitat is a Home