Unit Plan 30 (PreK Science): Living Things Change Environments
PreK science unit exploring how animals and people dig, build, and gather materials to create shelters that provide safety and comfort in different weather.
Focus: Explore how animals (and people) dig, build, and gather materials to make shelters and change their surroundings—especially to stay safe and comfortable in different weather.
Grade Level: PreK
Subject Area: Science (Earth & Space Science • Life Science • Engineering/Play-Based Inquiry)
Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 30–45 minutes per session
I. Introduction
Children notice that living things are not just “in” an environment—they can change it. Through stories, photos, sensory bins, and building play, students observe how animals dig burrows, build nests, pile leaves, or gather mud/sticks to make a safe place. They also connect weather to choices and actions: when it’s cold, rainy, windy, or hot, living things may seek shelter, change where they go, or build/choose protection. The unit ends with a “Habitat Builders Museum,” where children share a model shelter and explain how it helps in different weather.
Essential Questions
- How do animals change their surroundings to make homes?
- What materials do animals use to build or dig shelters?
- How does weather change what we wear and what we do?
- How can a shelter help keep a living thing safe and comfortable?
II. Objectives and Standards
Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:
- Describe simple ways animals change environments (digging, building, gathering materials).
- Identify common shelter types (nest, burrow, den, hive) and match them to animals.
- Explain, using pictures and talk, how weather affects choices (clothing, activities, shelter).
- Build a simple model shelter for a toy animal using classroom materials.
- Share a short claim: “My shelter helps because…” using weather words (rainy, windy, sunny, cold).
Standards Alignment — PreK (NGSS-based custom)
- PK-ESS2-2 — Notice that weather affects clothing and activities.
- Example: Saying, “We need boots when it’s rainy.”
Success Criteria — Student Language
- I can tell how an animal makes a home (dig, build, carry).
- I can name materials animals use (sticks, leaves, mud, grass).
- I can tell what we wear or do when it’s rainy/windy/cold/hot.
- I can build a shelter and say how it helps in certain weather.