Pre-Visit Activities : South Carolina Habitats : Procedures
K-Second Grade Online Curriculum : Habitats

Materials

Pictures of these South Carolina habitats:

Picturecards of these South Carolina species:

Top

Procedure

Part I

  1. Have students examine the map of South Carolina showing the different regions as well as the 3-D topographic map of South Carolina. Have the students use their senses of sight and touch to examine the 3-D map and then describe how the regions of the state are different from each other in the way the land and water look. Write what the students describe for each region on a chart. 
  2. Explain to students that because the land is different the habitats that are found in each region tend to be different. Have students watch the section in the "South Carolina Aquarium Orientation Video" that describes the different habitats in the different regions of South Carolina. After each region is shown, pause the video and ask the students to describe what they saw in each region's habitats. Have them list living and non-living things that they see. Add their descriptions to the chart. 
  3. Break up the students into five small groups. Assign each group one of the regions discussed: Mountains, Piedmont, Coastal Plain, Coast or Ocean. Using the chart the class created about each region, have the student groups create shoebox dioramas that represent habitats found in their assigned region. Have them create things out of construction paper that represent both living and non-living things found in that habitat. When dioramas are completed, have student groups explain to the rest of the class what they are showing in their habitats.
Part II
  1. Keep the class divided into their small groups. Explain to students that because living things are so different from each other, only certain places can be used by them as habitat. Tell the class they will be playing a game called, "This is Your Habitat!". Set up the dioramas at the front of the room. Choose one of the species from the South Carolina picturecards. Show the students the picture of the animal or plant and pretend to be that organism and describe what your habitat needs are: what and how the organism eats, what kind of water it needs (salt or fresh), how it gets air (from atmosphere or water), what kind of shelter it uses and how much space it needs. Students can ask further questions to find as much about the organism's habitat needs as possible. Student groups then examine the dioramas again and decide which is the most suitable habitat for the species the teacher is representing. Each student group will make their guess. Once all guesses are made, the teacher will discuss with students which environment is a suitable habitat for the organism and which environments are not and why. 
  2. Continue to do the same process with as many of the species as you think your students' attention span can handle. Tally the score of each group's correct answers and reward the winning group in some manner.
  3. Set up the classroom with pictures of each of these South Carolina habitats: Mountain stream, Piedmont river, blackwater swamp, saltmarsh and deep ocean. Each habitat should be given its own area in the room. Introduce the habitats to the students and ask them to look at the pictures and describe them. Provide information about each habitat such as what the climate is like and whether the water is salt or freshwater. Show the students a map of South Carolina and point out where each of these habitats is found in the state.
Part III
  1. Tell the students that each of them is going to be a plant or animal found in South Carolina and that the teacher is going to give them clues to help them figure out what habitat they should be living in. Hand out pictures of each of the species, one per student. Select one species at a time, give the students who are that species information about their species and then guide them to find their correct habitat. Example: Ask which students are oysters. Tell the students that oysters are an animal that have a hard shell, stay in the same place their entire life and live in places where they are covered by saltwater at least half the day. Ask the class which habitat they think the oysters should live in. When the students decide the salt marsh, the oysters will stand in this habitat area. For species that can live in more than one habitat, such as the river otter, the teacher may want to have an otter student standing in each of its natural habitats.
  2. Collect the students’ animal cards, shuffle them and then hand them out again. Students will look at the card and then have one minute to go to their habitat. Students can act out their animal or plant as they go. After a minute, the teacher will go to each habitat and ask the students which species belong and which do not belong. If a species is in the wrong habitat, ask the students if it will be able to get the things it needs from the habitat and discuss why not. Have other students guide the species to its correct habitat. Repeat this game as long as deemed necessary.

Top

Follow-up questions