1. Habitats of North America
Kierra Jamerson

2. Content Area: Science
Grade Level: 2
Summary: The purpose of this instructional PowerPoint is to have students understand the many different animal habitats in North America, each of which has distinct features and distinct animal populations. They will also understand that animals are adapted to the conditions of the habitats in which they live.
Learning Objective: Given a particular organism, the student will describe its habitat based on its food, water, and air requirements with 100% accuracy.
Content Standard: Standard 3 - Flow of Matter and Energy

3. Quick Facts
A habitat is the natural environment in which an organism lives.
An animal needs five things to survive in its habitat: food, water, shelter, air, and a place to raise its young.
The different types of habitats in North America are grasslands, temperate forest, deserts, wetlands, and tundra.
Go to this website to explore some of the animals that live in these habitats

4. Grasslands
Windy, open area covered with grass and other low growing plants
Climate: hot summers, cold winters, not enough rain to grow tall trees
Animals: foxes, snakes, bison, rabbits, bobcats, prairie dogs
Plants: in wetter grasslands the grass can grow up to 6 feet, and in dryer grasslands the grass grows 1-2 feet tall

5. Temperate Forests Forests in cool, rainy areas
Climate: have all four seasons, Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter
Animals: bears, hawks, beavers, mountain lions
Plants: moss, shrubs, short tree and tall trees feet tall; trees and plants lose leaves in the Fall

6. Deserts Area with little rainfall and extreme temperatures
Climate: some deserts are very hot during the day and very cold at night, while others are always cold
Animals: little animal life; rattlesnakes, lizards, donkeys, scorpions
Plants: little plant life; cactus

7. Wetlands Area of land covered with shallow water
Climate: have all four seasons
Animals: alligators, cranes, frogs, turtles, otters, snails
Plants: trees, grasses, shrubs, moss

8. Tundra Large area of flat land in which the ground is always frozen
Climate: cold, dry long winters
Animals: wolves, polar bears, deer
Plants: moss, shrubs; growing season for plants lasts up to 60 days

9. Games & Videos
Test the students’ knowledge about habitats with the Habitats Game!
Watch this video to learn more about temperate forests
Watch this video to learn more about tundra
Watch this video to learn more about wetlands
Watch this video to learn which animals live in the different habitats all over the world

10. Review Question
Which of the following animals does not live in wetlands? Otters Cranes Donkeys Turtles

11. This animal lives in wetlands.
Incorrect.
This animal lives in wetlands.
Click the arrow to try again

12. Donkeys live in deserts.
Correct!
Donkeys live in deserts.

13. Review Question
Which two habitats have all four seasons? Deserts and Tundra Temperate Forests and Wetlands Tundra and Wetlands Grasslands and Deserts

14. Incorrect.
Deserts are either extremely hot during the day and cold at night or always extremely cold, and tundra are always extremely cold with frozen ground.
Click the arrow to try again

15. Incorrect.
Wetlands have all four seasons, however, tundra are always extremely cold with frozen ground.
Click the arrow to try again

16. Incorrect.
Grasslands only have hot summers and cold winters, and deserts are extremely hot during the day and cold at night or always extremely cold.
Click the arrow to try again

17. Correct!
The climates of Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter occur in temperate forests and wetlands.

18. Summary
In this lesson, the students learned the five habitats of North America. They watched four videos that explain the climate, physical features, plants, and animals of each habitat.
They also watched two videos that give brief information about other habitats near North America, such as tropical rain forests in South America.
The students got into groups of four and played the Habitats Game. After the question was read aloud, a member of each group had to raise their hand to answer the question. The group that answers the question correctly first gets a point.
The students answered the review questions as a whole group.