Grade 1 - Animals and Habitats

144 Animals and Habitats: Supplemental Guide 7A | Animals of the Freshwater Habitat

Presenting the Read-Aloud 15 minutes

Animals of the Freshwater Habitat

 Show image 7A-2: Rattenborough fi shing off a dock

Hello again! Glad you could join me. I thought that we needed

a real change, so I’ve come off dry land to a place where it’s wet

all the time—a lake. A lake is an area of water that is surrounded

by land.^1 There is a lot of water in the world; in fact, water covers

most of the earth’s surface. But, only a tiny part of the world’s

water is freshwater, the kind of water you and I can drink because

it has very little salt in it.

 Show image 7A-3: Examples of freshwater habitats

Fresh water is found in streams, rivers, lakes, and ponds. The

water in these streams, rivers, lakes, and ponds comes from rain

and from melting ice and snow. Isn’t it amazing to think that the

water from the drinking fountain at school or from the faucets in

your house all comes from rain?

 Show image 7A-4: Edge of lake with water lilies

I’m here at the water’s edge^2 to explore this lake and the plants

and animals that call this freshwater habitat home. Freshwater

habitats have many kinds of fi sh, birds, insects, and other animals.

Standing here, I can see an enormous^3 leaf in the water. Let me

climb onto it so we can get a closer look.

This is a water lily leaf.^4 A water lily is a plant that lives in

water near the edges of ponds and lakes. Plants are important

in freshwater habitats because they make oxygen for animals

to breathe; plants are also food for the animals to eat, and they

can provide shelter to protect animals from their predators.^5 The

leaves of the water lily are very large, round, and green, and they

fl oat on the surface of the water.^6

1 If something is surrounded by land,
it has land all around it.

2 or the water’s side

3 or very big

5 Remember, a predator is an animal
that hunts other animals.

6 If they fl oat on the surface of the
water, that means they stay on top
of the water; they don’t sink.

4 [Point to the water lilies in the
picture.]