Habitat
Whirly gig beetles live on the surface of water and have two sets of eyes to look above for predators and below for prey.
PART I . HABITATS OF INSECTS AND INVERTEBRATES
Engagement: What kind of homes do insects live in? See if students can answer the following:
Where do ants live?
Where do bees live?
Where do sow bugs live?
Where do crickets and roaches live?
Where do worms live?
Where do________name the common insect or invertebrate_____live?
These are easy, of course. But did children know that there are insects the live? Give the class some examples of odd places that insects live using questions and pictures to follow.
Inside trees?
Beetles bore into trees as larvae and emerge as adults.
Inside other insects?
Here a parasitic wasp has laid eggs on a caterpillar. The eggs will hatch and grow inside the larvae.
Under water?
A water boatman ors through a pond looking for prey.
In caves?
A blind cave cricket lives its whole life in the dark.
Under leaves?
A ground beetle hunts for tiny insects under a pile of leaves
In our skin?
A dust mite on the skin. Most people have tiny insects in their pores.
Assessment
Use the word "habitat" through the mini lesson enough to have students hear the definition without defining it. As students at the end of the lesson what is their habitat? Any other animal's habitat to see if they understand the term and idea of a place or area where an animal lives.
Materials Needed for Part I
• Examples
• Pictures
The black widow spider prefers dark corners under dry logs or in spaces not used in buildings.
PART II. Building Habitats
Engagement: How can we keep our insects or invertebrates alive by making them a habitat?
There are various ways to support this exploration. Here are two different methods:
1) Give students the arthropod of choice and as them to do some research on the animal to determine where it lives and what it eats. You can provide a simple written sheet for each that has a picture and a short description of the habitat. Brainstorm the needs of the insects such as a source of water , air, and food. Then invite the students to design a habitat using materials they might brainstorm they have at home (milk carton, plastic jug, water bottle, box, etc. You can suggest screening, etc as added thought to offer air to the creatures. Students can design a habitat and then draw and describe it on paper. They then can bring materials as can the teacher to construct the habitat class.
2) Alternatively, the teacher may provide the students with all materials, design and needs for a habitat of a chosen creature and have the students make the habitat in class.
For either option, there are several resources on the web that show how to build insect and invertebrate habitats. Simply search "Make Insect Habitats." See the following example:
Assessment
The aim of this lesson was to engage students to apply what they know about a creature to approximate their habitat and to provide the animals with food, air and water that will sustain them. There are a variety of ways to assess students' understanding, but a demonstration and explanation by the student about the habitat they built would provide dynamic evidence of understanding. A prompt could be, describe the habitat you made? Explain why you made it the way you did? The teacher can then record whether students considered natural habitat, food sources, air availability, and a proper way to get water.
Materials for Part II
• Various containers
• Scissors
• Glue gun
• Screening or gauze
• Spray bottles, sponges etc
The many different spiders niches follow where their prey lives.
Part III. Extending the knowledge of Habitats/Niches
Once we know that an animal likes a particular area or habitat, such as the soil, we have to ask, but where specifically in the soil do they like? Do sow bugs like wet soil? Mud? Dry soil? A niche is a particular place in a habitat. Understanding what creatures need to survive requires an understanding of where they like to live.
Engagement:
Ask students what their favorite part of the house they like to be. Where are they most comfortable? You might ask that about their cat/dog as well. Is there a favorite place? Why do they or their pet choose that place. Answers should lead to the following generalizations:
• They are the right temperature
• The correct amount of light
• Where their is food
• Where there is protection from predators
What about insects (sow bugs)?
1) Set up an experiment that will test the niche preference of a sowbug. Create a box or tray that has three choices (Muddy soil, moist humus soil, or dry soil (sand)). Place these three media in a box so they are separate. A control can be a blank spot in the test chamber.
2) Place sow bugs in the test container in a central place an cover. Wait 5 minutes to allow the bugs to choose a spot to rest.
3) Have students open the container and see where bugs chose. Students should record their experiment and results by making diagrams, labels and sentences.
Assessment
The aim of this exploration is two-fold, to continue to use the language of niche and understand the peculiar needs of any creature in terms of food, water, air, protection. The teacher should listen for the use of the words "habitat" and "niche" as students prepare their experiment. The data and reports collected can be evaluated by rubric to determine if necessary elements are present.
Materials Needed
• Sow bugs
• Potting soil
• Sand
• Soggy potting soil
• Four petri plates
• Box or container/ with or w/o cloth to cover
Extension
Find the appropriate PLT or PW exploration to follow this sequence that will continue to expand the idea of niche and habitat.