• • describe what an animal eats
  • conduct research on specific habitats
  • use a variety of reading strategies to make meaning from text
  • use visual graphic organizers to make meaning from text 
  • make  inferences about where some animals could live based on what they eat and where they can be found

Per class

• Chesapeake Bay Animals and their Habitat standards  (View)
• Chesapeake Bay Animals and their Habitat research worksheet answer key  (View)
• Chesapeake Bay Animals and their Habitat final assessment questions answer key  (View)
• Chesapeake Bay Animals and their Habitat worksheet answer key  (View)
• Chesapeake Bay Animals and their Habitat Venn diagram answer key  (View)

as determined by instructor

• Chesapeake Bay Animals and their Habitat research worksheet  (View)
• Chesapeake Bay Animals and their Habitat final assessment questions  (View)
• Chesapeake Bay Animals and their Habitat worksheet   (View)
• Chesapeake Bay Animals and their Habitat Venn diagram answer key  (View)

Per Student

• BayQuest Frequent Vocabulary handout  (View)

• See Detailed List - http://bayville.thinkport.org/resourcelibrary/glossary_bayquest.aspx
• classification - the arrangement of information into groups, the members of which have one or more characteristics in common.

Set-up Directions:

Assign student groups for each habitat.  Depending upon class size, groups should be 3-4 students.  If possible, group students heterogeneously based on skill level with technology, and prior knowledge about science, animals and/or the Chesapeake Bay.

The following are the habitats with the number of animals found in each:

• intertidal flats:  6 animals
• open waters: 4 animals
• oyster bars: 4 animals
• piers, rocks, jetties: 5 animals
• sand beaches: 4 animals
• seagrass meadows and weed beds: 3 animals (plus 2 plants)
• shallow waters:  9 animals (plus one plant)
• wetlands: 4 animals (plus two plants)

Arrange for access to a computer lab and/ LCD projector. Alternatively, if you have one or two computers in your room, you may rotate student groups.

Copy habitat sheets from Cheaspeake Bay Animals and their Habitat Worksheet. The number of each sheet that is needed will be dependent on how many students you have assigned for each group.  

Consider making the chart found at http://www.thinkport.org/c5b8ea4e-3b5a-41d7-992f-a61311e88f0f.asset?  into a poster for reference in your room. If making a poster is not an option make copies of the document for each student for use during the mini vocabulary lesson.

Make enough copies of the Chesapeake Bay Animals and their Habitat Venn Diagram and BayQuest Frequent Vocabulary handout for each student.

Based on your knowledge level of students, decide which vocabulary terms you want to review.  See http://bayville.thinkport.org/printables/alpha_all_words_BayQ.pdf for a list of vocabulary in BayQuest.

Some recommendations include: ecosystem, zooplankton, phytoplankton, detritus, omnivore, carnivore, herbivore

 

Teacher Presentation & Motivation:

• Ask students what they know about the Chesapeake Bay's different habitats.  Depending upon what they know, ask them what they think the habitat is like (shallow water, deep, lots of plants, etc.).  It's not important to go into specifics here, rather get a general idea about what they know.
• Ask students to raise their hands if they think the following statements are true:
  • Birds of the Chesapeake Bay can only be found on Sandy Beaches
  • Most animals can survive only in one habitat
• Tell students they will be exploring animals found in Chesapeake Bay's eight main habitats, using the online interactive BayQuest. 
• Arrange students into their assigned groups.
• Tell students that they will be encountering a lot of different vocabulary during their exploration.  Explain that when they see a word they don't know, if it's in red, they should click on it to find the definition. 

Vocabulary Mini lesson

1. Put the following terms on the board, and see if students know what they mean.  ecosystem, zooplankton, phytoplankton, detritus, herbivore, carnivore, omnivore (you may choose to put other terms on the board as well).  Tell students it is these terms they may see frequently in their research. Continue with steps and 3 if students need additional help with the meaning of these words.
2. Use the context strategies found at  http://www.thinkport.org/c5b8ea4e-3b5a-41d7-992f-a61311e88f0f.asset? to review understanding a word in context. Pass out copies of the chart to students for use in their research.
3. Remind students to be on the lookout for the words you put on the board.
   Students will encounter these words frequently in the context of their reading and should attempt to determine meaning using context clues. Pass out the BayQuest Frequent Vocabulary handout for students to complete when encountering the vocabulary terms.

• Distribute the appropriate habitat page of the Chesapeake Bay Animals and their Habitats worksheet to each student.
• Display on the LCD the map of the Bay http://bayville.thinkport.org/printables/bayquest_printable_map.pdf. Explain to students that these are the ones they will be exploring, however, in nature, they are not the only locations of these habitats.  Rather these habitats can be found throughout the Bay and are sometimes referred to by different names.

Have students follow along with you as you complete the directions below, projecting the interactive on the LCD projector.

(1) Students will open the Bayville online field trip http://bayville.thinkport.org/default_flash.aspx?load=bayquest

(2) Students will enter their username and password in their online Bayberry PDA and click Login. Note: if they do not have a username and password, they can create one. Explain to students that they will not be following the instructions on the interactive, rather they should follow instructions on their Chesapeake Bay Animals and Their Habitats worksheet.

(3) Click on "Begin your quest!"

(4) Students will see an incoming message with their "To-Do" list which includes five plants or animals to research, along with instructions on how to record findings. Again, please be sure to tell students to follow instructions on their worksheet. They will not need to access the camera, paper or PDA icons on the right side of the screen.

(5) Review the online map as a class, and demonstrate how to use the arrow keys to find the habitats. Tell students that they will explore the map until they find their assigned habitat.

(6) Students will follow instructions on their Chesapeake Bay Animals and their Habitats worksheet to research their assigned habitat.

 

 

 

Activity 1 - Exploring a Habitat

Using BayQuest, students will explore their assigned habitat filling in the Chesapeake Bay Animals and Their Habitats Worksheet.

Depending upon your technology configuration, students may first work independently and then come together in their groups to discuss their findings. Or, if student groups are only using one computer, they can conduct their research as a group.

Focus for Media Interaction
Focus for Media Interaction: The focus for media interaction is a specific task to complete and/or information to identify during or after viewing of video segments, Web sites or other multimedia elements.

As students explore their habitat, they are responsible for learning about what each animal eats and where the animals can be found. 

• Explain to students that they should first read the entire fact sheet on the animal. Then, go back to the Where the Animal can be Found section and What the Animal Eats section to fill in their worksheet.
• Be sure that students know to make particular notes about those animals that only eat zookplankton, phytoplankton and detritus.  As indicated on their worksheet, they will also record a "D" next to the "X" in the column if an animal eats dead plants or animal particles.
  

Viewing Activities
What will your students be responsible for while viewing this piece of multi-media or video?

Students will already be logged onto BayQuest from the previous activity (http://bayville.thinkport.org/default_flash.aspx?load=bayquest)

Students will follow the instructions on their worksheet, filling in all fields on the worksheet for their habitat.

Walk around the room and observe/assist students with comprehending the text.  Be sure to tell them to click on the red vocabularly words (links) on terms they do not know.

 

Post Viewing Activities
How will students utilize the information they gathered while viewing the multi-media or video?

1. If students worked independently, they will work in their groups comparing their findings and updating their individual worksheets.
2. Students will then briefly discuss how they will present their findings to the class (i.e., will one person present everything or will they each report on an animal).

Tell students if they finish early, they should explore other habitats.

Optional:  For students who have the following animals, if they finish early, tell them they can watch a video in Cinema Bayville about their animal to get more information.

• Nutria (Root of it All)
• Oysters (Oyster SOS)
• Terripins (On the Diamond Back Trail)
• Muted Swan (Invasive Beauties)
• Sea Horses (King Neptune's Steed)

Go to http://bayville.thinkport.org/default_flash.aspx?load=cinema 

All videos can be found in Creatures and Critters Theater.  Students can record additional characteristics about the animal on their worksheet.

 

Activity 2 - Group Presentations: Comparing What Animals Eat

Give each student a copy of the Animals and their Habitats Venn Diagram. 

Student groups will present their findings to the class, and students will fill in the Venn Diagrams.  You may want to fill out the diagram as a class on an overhead projector or blackboard.  Some important guidelines:

1. Tell students they will NOT include animals who only eat zooplankton, phytoplankton or detritus on their digrams.
2. Ask students if they can think of why these animals would be excluded.
3. Explain that it is not because the animals are not as important, rather, the reason for this exclusion is because their food source, zooplankton, phytoplankton and detritus are highly mobile, floating organisms (often microscopic) that float through all habitats. The focus is on particular animals found in specific habitats based on what they eat. The animals who eat zooplankton, phytoplankton and detritus do not necessarily live in only one  habitat.
   Optionally, you may want to put the list of the animals on the board to NOT include: grass cerith, grass shrimp, menhaden, zooplankton, sea cucumber, american oysters, red beard sponge, barnacles, sea roaches, sea squirts, shipworms, beach hoppers, clam worms, hermit crabs
   
4. As groups present, re-emphasize that they must clearly explain which animals eat only zookplankton, phytoplankton and detritus and that these animals will NOT BE RECORDED ON THEIR VENN DIAGRAMS.
5. Be sure that students also explain what's interesting about where the animals can be found, since this information will be important for tomorrow's activities.  For example:
   - seahorse (tails are often curled around eelgrass; sometimes holding onto crab pots). They like to cling to things
   - hermit crabs (underwater Bay grasses, sand beaches, muddy bottom); they like to hide
   

Wrap Up:

Review as a class the final Venn Diagram.   Guide the discussion about what (if any) general thoughts students have about where the animals live relative to what they eat. 

The main point to illustrate is that the majority of animals who eat both plants and animals can be found in two habitats (shallow waters and wetlands).  Discuss why this might be...

They are places where water and land come together and are richly abundant with plants. 

Tell students that tomorrow, they will be exploring more about these habitats.

Important note to teacher:  For Day Two's activities students will need a copy of each group's habitat research chart. Either make photocopies using one legible habitat chart from each group, or have a completed typewritten set ready for distribution.  For the final copy, draw a thick line through the excluded animals who eat zooplankton, phytoplankton or detritus.

Set-up Directions:

Be sure that you have photocopies of each completed habitat worksheet, or have a completed typewritten set ready to distribute to each student.

Additionally you will need enough copies of the Chesapeake Bay Animals and their Habitats Research Worksheet for each student as well as the Chesapeake Bay Animals and their Habitats Final Assessment.

You will need access to computers with Internet access.

 

 

Teacher Presentation & Motivation:

Review from yesterday the eight main habitats.  Explain to students that in nature, the animals that they found in the BayQuest habitats aren't the only animals that live there, and some animals can and do survive in other habitats.  Tell students that today they will be looking further into four main Bay habitats and discovering some characteristics of those habitats as well as what other kinds of animals can live there.

Tell students the final assessment will be to identify two animals that they think could live in another habitat. They will then describe why the animal could live there based on characteristics of the habitat, what the animal eats, and where it can be found.

Activity 1 - Exploring Habitats of the Bay

Students will conduct online research, exploring more about four specific habitats in the Bay.

If your technology configuration allows, it is recommended that students first work individually on this activity before coming together.

Focus for Media Interaction
Focus for Media Interaction: The focus for media interaction is a specific task to complete and/or information to identify during or after viewing of video segments, Web sites or other multimedia elements.

As students explore the Internet sites, they are responsible for discovering some characteristics of habitats and what kinds of animals live there.

Viewing Activities
What will your students be responsible for while viewing this piece of multi-media or video?

Using their Chesapeake Bay Animals and their Habitats Research Worksheet, students will use websites to read about and record specific information about four habitats.

Post Viewing Activities
How will students utilize the information they gathered while viewing the multi-media or video?

As students finish, they can join their group and discuss their findings, comparing responses. They should fill in their worksheet based on what they also learned from their peers. 

Finally, come together as a class and review the worksheet for understanding.

Ask questions such as, do you think a hermit crab could live anywere else based on what it eats and where it could be found?

Have students look at their worksheet and find hermit crab.  Discuss and talk through that knowing a hermit crab eats a lot of vegetation or floating phytoplankton, and likes to "hide" in certain areas -- they might also be found in wetlands or shallow waters.

Activity 2 - Final Assessment

Distribute the following:

• completed copies of Chesapeake Bay Animals and their Habitats Worksheet
• Chesapeake Bay Animals and their Habitats Final Assessment

Tell students they should use their worksheets and Venn Diagram to help them with their responses.  Optionally, you may allow students to go back to BayQuest if they want to first read about a particular animal again.

Wrap Up:

End the lesson by summarizing that an animals survival and need for food is somewhat based on the habitat in which it lives, but it may be able to survive in another habitat if conditions permit.