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Introduction to habitats and the four essential things every living thing needs to survive.
Imagine you woke up today in the middle of the cold, deep ocean or a hot, sandy desert. Would you have everything you need to stay happy and healthy?
A habitat is a natural place where a plant or animal lives. It is like a neighborhood in nature! Some habitats are very cold, like the Arctic, while others are very wet, like a rainforest. Every animal is perfectly suited for its specific habitat. For example, a polar bear has thick fur to stay warm in the ice, while a cactus has a thick skin to hold water in the dry desert. A habitat provides everything a living thing needs to grow and be healthy.
Quick Check
In your own words, what is a habitat?
Answer
A habitat is a natural home or place where a plant or animal lives.
To stay alive, every living thing needs special things from its habitat. Think of these as a survival checklist: 1. Food: To give the animal energy to move and grow. 2. Water: To keep the animal hydrated and healthy. 3. Shelter: A safe place to hide from predators or bad weather. 4. Space: Enough room to move around, find food, and raise a family.
Let's look at how a snail meets its needs in a garden habitat: 1. Food: It eats green leaves and plants. 2. Water: It drinks tiny dew drops from the grass. 3. Shelter: It carries its shelter—its hard shell—on its back! 4. Space: The flower bed gives it plenty of room to crawl.
Quick Check
Can you name the four things every living thing needs to survive?
Answer
Food, water, shelter, and space.
A shelter is a specific part of a habitat that protects an animal. Not all shelters look the same! A bird might build a nest high in a tree using twigs and grass. A rabbit might dig a burrow deep underground to stay cool and hide. Some animals, like honeybees, work together to build a hive. Shelters are important because they keep animals safe from the hot sun, cold rain, and other animals that might want to catch them.
Beavers are master builders in their freshwater habitat: 1. They use their teeth to cut down trees. 2. They pile up sticks and mud to create a lodge in the water. 3. The entrance to the lodge is underwater, which acts as a secret door to keep them safe from land animals!
Some animals have to find their shelter instead of building it: 1. A hermit crab lives in the ocean but does not have a hard shell of its own. 2. It must find an empty snail shell to crawl into for shelter. 3. As the crab grows, it runs out of space in its old shell and must go on a hunt to find a bigger one!
Which of these is NOT one of the four basic needs?
What do we call a place that protects an animal from weather or danger?
A desert is a type of habitat.
Review Tomorrow
In 24 hours, try to name the 4 basic needs and think of one animal and where its shelter is.
Practice Activity
Go for a walk outside and try to spot a 'shelter.' Is it a bird's nest? A hole in a tree? An ant hill?