Unit Plan 33 (Grade 1 Science): Living Things in Different Places

Focus: Observe how habitat features (water, temperature, shelter, space) affect how organisms use traits and external parts to survive. Compare parents and offspring within habitats and design a simple solution by mimicking plant/animal parts.

Grade Level: 1

Subject Area: Science (Life Science • Engineering Design • Inquiry/Skills)

Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 45–60 minutes per session

I. Introduction

Students explore how living things can survive in different places because habitats provide different needs and challenges. Using pictures, short texts, and simple observations, students compare habitats (forest, pond, desert, arctic, grassland, neighborhood) and notice key features like water, temperature, plants, and shelter. They connect those habitat features to observable traits (fur, color, beaks, webbed feet, thorns, broad leaves) and discuss how traits help organisms survive. Midweek, students also compare parents and offspring in a habitat to notice similarities and small differences. The unit ends with a “Habitat Match + Mimic” project where students create a simple habitat display and a small “habitat helper” design inspired by an organism’s parts.

Essential Questions

• What is a habitat, and what does it provide for living things?
• How do traits and external parts help organisms survive in different habitats?
• How are offspring like their parents in a habitat, and how are they a little different?
• How can we mimic nature to design a simple solution to a human problem?

II. Objectives and Standards

Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:

1. Identify and describe basic habitat features (water, temperature, shelter, plants, space) using pictures and class observations.
2. Match organisms to habitats and explain how one trait or external part helps the organism survive (1-LS1-1 connection).
3. Compare a parent and offspring and record similarities and small differences using an evidence organizer (1-LS3-1).
4. Use observations (drawings, labels, simple charts) as evidence to explain why an organism fits a habitat (1-LS3-1).
5. Design a simple “Habitat Helper” by mimicking an organism’s external parts to solve a human problem (1-LS1-1).

Standards Alignment — Grade 1 (NGSS-Aligned)

• 1-LS1-1 — Use materials to design a solution to a human problem by mimicking how plants and/or animals use their external parts to help them survive, grow, and meet their needs.
• 1-LS3-1 — Make observations to construct an evidence-based account that young plants and animals are like, but not exactly like, their parents.

Success Criteria — Student Language

• I can name what a habitat is and list things it has (water, shelter, plants, space).
• I can point out a trait (like fur or a beak) and explain how it helps an animal survive.
• I can compare parents and offspring and say how they are similar and different.
• I can use my drawings and notes as evidence for my ideas.
• I can build a simple design that mimics nature to help solve a human problem.