Unit Plan 16 (Grade 2 Science): Diversity Helps Survival

Focus: Explain how more diverse habitats (with many different kinds of plants and animals) can support more organisms and stay healthier over time.

Grade Level: 2

Subject Area: Science (Life Science • Habitats & Biodiversity)

Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 30–45 minutes per session

I. Introduction

In this unit, students build on their understanding of habitats and diversity of life to explore why having many different kinds of plants and animals helps living things survive. Through pictures, simple case studies, and comparison charts, they examine habitats that are rich in diversity (many kinds of life) versus habitats that are low in diversity (few kinds of life).

Students learn that more diverse habitats can offer more food choices, more shelters, and more helpers (like pollinators and decomposers), which can help more organisms live and survive changes. By the end of the week, students can explain that differences in diversity affect how many and what kinds of organisms a habitat can support, directly addressing 2-LS4-1.

Essential Questions

• What does it mean for a habitat to have high diversity (many different kinds of living things) or low diversity (few kinds)?
• How can we use observations of plants and animals to compare the diversity of life in different habitats?
• How can more diverse habitats help more organisms survive, especially when things change?
• Why is it important for people to protect and support diversity in habitats around them?

II. Objectives and Standards

Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:

1. Review and use the idea of diversity of life to describe habitats with many different kinds of plants and animals versus those with only a few kinds.
2. Make observations (from visuals, texts, or local examples) of plants and animals in different habitats and record how many different kinds they see.
3. Use tally charts, picture charts, or lists to compare the diversity of two or more habitats (high vs. low diversity).
4. Explain, in simple language, how a habitat with more kinds of plants and animals can provide more food, shelter, and helpers, supporting more organisms.
5. Create a Diversity Helps Survival Poster or mini-book showing how a more diverse habitat supports more living things than a less diverse habitat.
6. Share one idea for how people can help keep habitats diverse so organisms can continue to survive there.

Standards Alignment — 2nd Grade (NGSS-Aligned)

• 2-LS4-1 — Make observations of plants and animals to compare the diversity of life in different habitats.
  • In this unit, students compare high-diversity and low-diversity habitats and connect diversity to survival and support for organisms.

Success Criteria — Student Language

• I can tell when a habitat has many different kinds of plants and animals (high diversity) or only a few kinds (low diversity).
• I can observe and record the different kinds of plants and animals in two habitats.
• I can use charts or lists to compare which habitat has more diversity.
• I can explain one way that more diversity helps more organisms survive (more food, more shelter, more helpers).
• I can describe one way people can protect or increase diversity in a habitat.