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Investigate the plants and animals that live in wooded areas and how they find food.
Have you ever wondered who lives in a house made of leaves and bark? Imagine a giant green skyscraper where the 'elevator' is a squirrel's tail and the roof is made of millions of leaves!
A forest is like a tall building with different floors. The top floor is called the canopy. This is where the leaves of the tallest trees meet like a big green umbrella. It gets the most sunlight! The bottom floor is called the forest floor. It is dark, damp, and covered in old leaves, sticks, and moss. In between, there is the understory, where shorter trees and bushes grow. Each layer is a special home for different creatures. If a forest has trees in a small area, they might all share one big canopy at the top!
Quick Check
Which layer of the forest is at the very top and acts like a giant green umbrella?
Answer
The canopy.
Trees are the most important part of the forest. They are like a grocery store and a bedroom all in one! Trees provide shelter, which is a safe place to sleep or hide. An owl might sleep in a hollow trunk, while a bird builds a nest on a branch. Trees also provide food. Animals eat the leaves, the bark, the fruit, and the seeds. For example, an oak tree can produce over acorns in one year! Without trees, many forest animals would have nowhere to live and nothing to eat.
Let's see how a squirrel finds food: 1. The squirrel looks for an oak tree. 2. It finds the seeds of the tree, which are called acorns. 3. It uses its sharp teeth to crack the shell and eat the nut inside!
Quick Check
What are two things that trees provide to help animals survive?
Answer
Food and shelter.
Different animals use different parts of the forest. Squirrels are expert climbers that live in the canopy and understory. Deer stay mostly on the forest floor, munching on grass and low leaves. They use their brown fur to hide, which is called camouflage. Owls are predators that fly through the layers at night to hunt. Each animal has a special job to do to keep the forest healthy. If there are deer and owls in a section of the woods, there are animals in total!
How does an owl use the forest layers? 1. The owl sits high in the canopy to look around. 2. It uses its big eyes to see a mouse moving on the forest floor. 3. It flies down silently from the top layer to the bottom layer to catch its dinner.
Where would you most likely find an owl sleeping during the day?
What do we call the seeds from an oak tree that squirrels love to eat?
The forest floor gets more sunlight than the canopy.
Review Tomorrow
In 24 hours, try to remember the names of the two main forest layers we talked about today.
Practice Activity
The next time you are outside near a tree, look for one way it might be a 'home' and one way it might provide 'food' for an animal.