Grade 1 - Animals and Habitats

Animals and Habitats: Supplemental Guide 9A | Habitat Destruction and Endangered Species 175

Introducing the Read-Aloud 10 minutes

What Have We Already Learned? 5 minutes

Ask students what it means if an animal or plant is adapted to its

habitat. Tell students that it takes plants and animals a long time

to adapt to their environment. Have them name several animals or

plants they have learned about in the read-alouds and describe

how they are well-adapted to their habitat and surroundings.

Tell students that the next read-aloud is about what happens to

living things when their habitats change. Ask them what they think

would happen to an animal or plant if its surroundings changed.

Tell them to imagine, for example, what would happen if it got hot

in the Arctic and all the snow and ice melted:

• Would the musk ox’s heavy fur coat help it in the hot weather?


• Would the Arctic hare’s white coat still help it blend in?


• Would walruses and seals still have a use for all that blubber?


• Blubber, heavy fur, and camoufl age are all ways that Arctic
  animals have adapted to cold weather. Could any of these
  adaptations make it hard to live in the new, hot weather? Why or
  why not?

Vocabulary Preview 5 minutes

Endangered Species

 Show image 9A-4: Bald eagle in fl ight

1. In today’s lesson you will hear about an endangered species
   called the bald eagle.


2. Say endangered species with me three times.


3. Endangered species are animals or plants that have become
   so few in number that they might die out completely.

HHabitat Destruction and abitat Destruction and

EEndangered Speciesndangered Species^9 A