Module 2: We Love Our Neighbors
We Love
Our Neighbors
LOVE
Objective: to hold space for the children to form an opinion on what they learned about the many animals and plants that live on Earth and what makes a safe habitat
Vocabulary: (recap) habitat, shelter, natural environment, biodiversity
Reading: Maple & Rosemary
Science Activity: Drawing Our Differences
Earth Friends Lesson
Module 2: Lesson 5
Begin Lesson
move: 5 minutes
8 Animal Habitats
This is a repeated activity that the children will do at the beginning of each lesson of Our Neighbors. The repetition will help the children learn the 8 habitats where animals (and plants) make their homes on Earth. Habitats are different and can provide different needs for Earth Friends all over the world.
For the activity, the children will learn the motion that connects to each habitat. You can call out the habitats and the children can respond with the appropriate motion. As the lessons progress, you will then add each child's animal friends to the habitats.
We are going to learn about the different animal habitats. Every habitat is special in its own way, and we are going to move our bodies and pretend to be exploring each different habitat.
GRASSLAND: hot or warm, where the land is covered with grass and a few trees. Make a running or walking motion and “shhh-shhh-shhh” sound like you are moving through grass.
POLAR: cold, where the land is covered with snow and the water is full of icebergs. Shiver.
DESERT: hot and dry, where the land is covered in sand and not many plants or trees. Wipe sweat off brow.
MOUNTAIN: all kinds of weather can be found here, but the land is full of hills, ledges, and rocks. Climb in place with arms and legs.
FRESH WATER: ponds, lakes, rivers, and streams, where life is underwater and near the shore with all kinds of weather. Move arms and body as if swimming.
TEMPERATE FOREST: warm or cold, where the land is covered in many trees. Spread arms wide to make branches of tall tree.
RAIN FOREST: hot and wet, where the land is covered in trees and plants of all kinds. Reach arms overhead and then down wiggling fingers and making a “shhhhhh” sound for rain.
OCEAN: all kinds of weather, salt water, and life is underwater and on the beach. Make a wave motion from one side to the other.
Download all 8 Habitat PDF illustrations to use here!
(illustrations by Andrew Mrotek)
Use the photo books to show the children the 8 different habitats.
Curious Question
What makes your animal friend special? I wonder what makes your animal friend different.
Main Lesson
We can love and take care of each other and all our Earth Friends on Earth. We can help keep habitats clean and safe, so animals have safe shelter. We can pay attention to our natural environment and learn about the plants and animals that live there. As Earth Friends, we can share our home with plants and animals and other humans. We love the biodiversity here on Earth, which makes our planet special.
sit & learn: 5 minutes
Drawing our Differences
Materials Needed: Animal Friends + drawing medium and utensils, such as paper + Crazy Crayons or colored pencils
Have the children sit in a circle with their animal friend.
Everyone, take your Animal Friend and pass it to your Earth Friend on the left. Children will likely need help passing to the left. Can you raise your hand and share something we learned about the animal you are holding (not your regular animal friend)?
Prompts: What makes this animal special? Where does it live? What does it eat?
After we get up, make sure you remember what you learned, because we are going over to draw something you learned about someone else's animal friend.
Have the drawing materials set up for each child. It doesn’t matter what the child draws—something about their own animal or the one they learned about. All that matters is that they have the opportunity to draw something about animals.
Closing Sentiment
We are all living together on Earth, and we can all be friends and help each other learn about and take care of our home and the homes of every being who shares our planet—all the plants, animals, and humans.
Next, we're going to learn about where our food comes from and what happens to what we don't eat.
move & share: 10 minutes
End Lesson
Teachers in the Classroom
Teacher Activity
Biodiversity Art
Get out all the art and creative mediums and encourage the children to create a picture of what biodiversity means to them.
We learned about biodiversity. What does that look like to you? Can you make a picture or a piece of art that looks like all the different plants and animals and humans on Earth?
The children can draw animals or plants or people or colors or shapes. It doesn't matter what they are trying to represent. The objective is for the children to be able to draw what they see as beautiful or special or meaningful about all the differences we share here on Earth.
Throughout the Week
Discuss: Talk about the different animals and plants and habitats that humans share the Earth with-biodiversity (that big word!).
Hands-on: Take the Classroom Earth down and place the habitat boards on the different Climate Zones. (Bonus: Add everyone's Animal Friend.)
Reading: Maple & Rosemary
Vocabulary: (recap) habitat, shelter, natural environment, biodiversity
Good Choices
I can learn about different kinds of plants and animals who live here on Earth.
I can help adults keep the land, water, and air clean.
I can play outside and look for different animal homes to learn about my natural environment.
Vocabulary:
habitat: A home found in nature is called a habitat. Every habitat is special in its own way, and we are going to pretend to be the habitats where our plant and animal friends live.
shelter: A place where an animal can rest and sleep safely in their home. A tree, cave, burrow, or nest makes for a safe shelter.
natural environment: Everything that is outside of our house and the buildings where we live is called our environment. Our natural environment is everything that nature (or Earth) makes.
biodiversity: The many different animals, plants, and humans sharing a home on Earth is biodiversity.
Families at Home
Discuss: Ask your child what they learned about who else lives on Earth. What makes different animals and plants special? What do they love about living with different plants and animals? Be interested. Try not to correct them, even if they come up with something zany! Instead, you can share what you and your family love about Earth too.
Create: We are learning about biodiversity. Here on Earth, we share our home with many different animals and plants, and everyone needs a safe home. You can make habitats for wildlife in your own backyard*.
You can do any or all of the following:
Plant native plants, flowers, shrubs, or trees to provide food for bees, birds, and butterflies.
Build or buy a birdbath to provide a water source for birds and bats.
Install a bat house or a screech owl house to provide a home for bats or owls. Bats will keep mosquito populations under control, and owls will keep squirrels and rabbits out of the garden. More about bat houses, here, and screech owls, here.
Turn off your outdoor lights at night. Light pollution (too much light at night) is dangerous for nocturnal insects, bats, and birds because it disorients them, puts them in the line of sight for predators, and makes it hard to find food. Check out Dark Sky for more information.
Contact a local apiary to see if you can host a beehive. Some apiaries will host hives at local residences in exchange for free honey. Don’t worry, you don’t have to become a beekeeper!
*If it is not the time of year for outdoor projects or planting, you can make a plan with your child for when the weather is right. What can you do to prepare? Can you make a list of flowers to plant? Learn about bats? Build something inside?