Backyard Habitat Investigation

Take an outdoor walk around your neighborhood.. On the walk, observe local plant life, animal life, water sources, and the land around you. Take photographs and record your observations in a journal or piece of paper. Reflect on the outdoor walk with your classmates in the comments below. Consider these questions:

What plant and animal life did you observe?
What type of water sources are available for the plants and animals?
How would you describe your local area?
Are all areas around the world the same? Why do you think this?

Think of one organism you observed on the outdoor walk. Create a concept map of that organism’s basic needs. Email your concept map to Mr. Giunta or your classroom teacher.

For my concept map below I listed the basic needs of a Cooper’s Hawk from my backyard, and then showed how it overlapped with a Barred Owl. I used the Popplet app, but ShowMe is another good one, and of course colored pencils and paper do the trick!

Family Extension:

Discuss your favorite animals. Could you keep them as a pet in your own home? How would your home be a good or bad habitat for that animal?
If you could live in any habitat, where would you choose to live? Why would you live there? What would you need to survive in this habitat?