Duration: 60-90 minutes
Subjects: Science, Language Arts, Visual Arts
Learning Objectives
By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
- Communicate their observations through drawings, notes, or stories.
- Use their senses to make careful observations in nature.
- Identify natural features that could be part of an animal’s habitat.
- Describe how animals use their senses to survive.
Materials
- Clipboards or nature journals with pencils
- Optional: small bags or containers for natural items (leaves, stones, twigs)
- Sensory prompts handout (sight, sound, touch, smell)
- Chart paper or whiteboard for group sharing
Curriculum Connections
Science:
- Understanding Living Things: Needs of living things, habitats, and interdependence.
- Inquiry and Observation Skills: Using senses to gather information from the environment.
Language Arts:
- Oral Communication: Sharing ideas and listening to others’ observations.
- Writing: Descriptive language and journaling about sensory experiences.
Visual Arts: Drawing and visual representation of natural elements and animal homes.
Terms
- Habitat: The place where an animal lives and finds what it needs.
- Senses: Sight, sound, touch, smell, and taste – how animals (and humans) explore the world.
- Observation: Carefully noticing details about what you see, hear, and feel.
Instructions
Introduction
Show a picture of your BioKit’s animal and ask: What do you think it needs to live?
Explain that an animal’s home (its habitat) has everything it needs – food, water, shelter, and space.
Introduce the Home Metaphor:
- Four Walls: a cozy space (home)
- Roof: trees or cover overhead
- Kitchen: where it finds food
- Living Room: space to play or rest
- Bathroom: water sources
- Garden: plants and ground cover
- Entertainment: natural sounds
Talk about how animals use their senses to find these things.
Outdoor Exploration
Go outside to a nearby park, schoolyard, or natural area, using your BioKit.
Give each student sensory prompts.
Encourage them to use all their senses (except taste!) to explore:
- What do you see that could be part of an animal’s home?
- What do you hear? Birds, rustling leaves, wind?
- What can you feel? Rough bark, smooth stones, soft moss?
- What do you smell? Pine needles, flowers, earth?
Students sketch, write, or collect small items that represent parts of your animal’s habitat.
Group Sharing
Gather the group in a circle.
Invite students to share one sensory discovery.
On chart paper, record what students noticed under categories like sight, sound, smell, touch.
Discuss:
- Which of these things do you think your animal would find helpful in its home?
- Why are senses important for animals? For us?
Reflection
Ask: What’s one new thing you noticed about nature today?
Encourage students to continue using their senses – listen for bird songs, notice animal tracks, or explore their backyard as nature detectives.
Extensions
Language Arts: Write a short story, a song or poem from the point of view of an animal exploring its home.
Visual Arts: Create a habitat collage using natural items or recycled materials.
Science: Compare your animal’s habitat needs with another local animal (e.g. squirrel, hare).
Homework: Family Sensory Walk: Take a short nature walk at home and fill in a ‘What Did We Notice?’ chart together.
