Lesson Plan

1st Grade Virtual Field Trip - Who Lives Here?

a drawn brown owl in front of a green background
Grade Level:
Lower Elementary: Pre-Kindergarten through Second Grade
Subject:
Science
Lesson Duration:
60 Minutes
State Standards:
1-LS1: Use materials to design a solution to a human problem by mimicking how plants and/or animals use their external parts to help them survive, grow, and meet their needs.
Additional Standards:
LS1.A:  Structure and Function
All organisms have external parts. Different animals use their body parts in different ways to see, hear, grasp objects, protect themselves, move from place to place, and seek, find, and take in food, water and air.
Thinking Skills:
Understanding: Understand the main idea of material heard, viewed, or read. Interpret or summarize the ideas in own words.

Essential Question

What are some ways plants and animals meet their needs so that they can survive and grow?

Objective

-Students will identify at least three needs of animals - food, water, and shelter.
-Students will identify one way humans can make a solution to a problem
by mimicking something a plant or animal uses to survive

Background

All animals, wherever they live, need food, water and shelter to survive.The desert is a challenging habitat for animals to live in because of its harsh and extreme environment. The Mojave Desert receives little annual rainfall (about 4 to 6 inches yearly) and drought conditions are a common occurrence. The air is very dry and there is always a varying degree of wind. Though the Mojave Desert has extremely high air temperature during the summer days, it cools rapidly in the evenings. Due to these harsh conditions, animals use their external parts to help them survive.                       

Many different desert animals have external parts that help them survive, whether it be the shell of the desert tortoise, kangaroo rats using their large feet or cacti spines warding off danger. Humans mimic many of these same functions for our own protection and safety. Just as desert tortoises use their shells, we wear bicycle helmets, which like shells, protect our body.

Preparation

  • To start, the teacher will give some background to the Mojave Desert and Lake Mead National Recreation Area. There is information included for the teacher in the background information section below or find additional educational resources through Additional Education Resources - Lake Mead National Recreation Area (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov)

  • The students will all receive a copy of the field trip guide, digitally or hard copy,and begin the field trip.

  • If there is limited technology available, the teacher can make this a group field trip instead of an individual one by showing the slide show and connected video.

Materials

This presite will allow students to gain an introduction to Lake Mead before taking a virtual field trip.

Download Lake Mead Field Trip Presite Powerpoint

This teacher outline will allow educators to introduce Lake Mead National Recreation Area in advance of a group's virtual visit.

Download Lake Mead Field Trip Presite Teacher Outline

Procedure

1.) Introduce the students to Lake Mead National Recreation Area by using the "Lake Mead Presite" powerpooint.
2.) Utilize the "Who Lives Here" teacher lesson and follow the prompts to open the field trip video.
3.) Open the "Who Lives Here" virtual field trip video.  
 

Vocabulary

  • burrow - a hole in the ground made by an animal for its home

  • desert - an area that receives less than 10 inches of rainfall a year and has a high rate of evaporation

  • habitat - the place where an animal or plant lives in nature

Contact Information

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Last updated: August 30, 2021