How to Teach Habitats (with a Freebie)

Teaching habitats in the primary classroom.

Here is the second blog in my mini science blog series. Yesterday, I blogged about ideas for teaching Weather in the classroom. Today, I am focusing on teaching habitats! Throughout this blog, you’ll see how I break down your teaching habitats unit step by step!

Just like the Weather blog, I am going to split this ‘Teaching Habitats’ post up into three sections. This is how I like to teach science topics in the classroom. I like to teach the topic, show videos, and introduce the science subject. Then, hands-on experiments and crafts help solidify what we’ve just learned. And we always wrapped up with reviewing our new knowledge.

1. Learning About Habitats:

FREEBIE KWL header

I like to start every science unit with a KWL chart to grab students’ prior knowledge and misconceptions. This is an email list freebie. If you sign up for my email list, this freebie will be sent right to your inbox. Download it here.

(Source: BrainPop Jr.)
After you gather students’ misconceptions and schema on habitats, start first by teaching what a habitat is. Then, move onto individual habitats. BrainPop Jr. has six different habitats videos to watch. Each of these habitats also have resources pages in my no-prep science pack (seen below).

Teaching Habitats to your primary students will be a breeze with my collection of resources to help make your life easier. There's even a freebie!

My habitats no-prep resource pack comes with passages on habitats and a KWL chart on what a habitat is. Then, it goes more in-depth on seven individual habitats (arctic, desert, grasslands, ocean, forest, rainforest, and ponds). Each specific habitat has a passage, writing sheets, animal pages, true or false, fact writing, and more!

Activities Visual

Here is a look at the Arctic pages.
(Source: No-Prep Habitats Pack)

2. Showing New Teaching Habitats Knowledge:

Time for the students to use all their new learning to make art projects and science projects. Check out these awesome projects I found on other blogs!

(Source: Fun in First)

Jodi’s poster can be a running anchor chart during the entire habitats unit. The students have added animals to each habitat as they find out what animals live there.

Crafts Idea

(Source: PIN– No link to owner. If anyone knows who made this pin, let me know!)
These dioramas are so neat! These are made out of paper plates and the students have drawn animals and glued them into their habitats.

Habitats Diorama

(Source: Relief Teaching Ideas)
Here is another way to make the habitat dioramas!

3. Reviewing Knowledge About Teaching Habitats

FREEBIE Habitats poster headings- Habitat Activities and Lesson Ideas- hands-on crafts for kids and reading comprehension for a 1st and 2nd grade habitat science unit study.

(FREEBIE Individual Habitat posters)

After you have your entire unit, you need to make sure the students have learned how each habitat is different from the others. One way to do this is through writing projects. Split the kiddos up into groups. Have each group focus on one of the seven habitats you studied. There are freebie poster headers for each poster. Have the students write directly on the chart paper or on Post-It notes. After the posters are finished, have the students present it to the class. Extra idea: Have students write facts about the habitats at the top and then draw the habitat and animals underneath.

These writing pages are from my No-Prep Habitats Pack. Each habitat comes with passages, comprehension, and writing pages. I always save the writing pieces for culminating activities to show what the students have learned.