Animals, Habitats, & Pollution (FLEX) - Crash Course

**this is a FLEX class*** Students will learn about the different habitats and the animals who live in them. 

The habitats we will cover are, the arctic, the ocean, the pond, the grassland/safari, the rain forest, and the desert. Each week we will cover a different habitat, discussing the animals who live there and some of the negative effects of pollution on each habitat. We will also discover ways to prevent such pollution from affecting each habitat. 

Some of the activities we will be doing are: 

- I will prepare several sensory bins to represent each habitat and I will have a variety of "toy" animals that will be used to visually and physically represent the animals in each habitat. This will be shared in a creative video presentation each week. 

- We will work on sorting animals into their proper homes, completing a habitat puzzle activity for each habitat, and discussing the differences in habitats and their animals with the use of discussion questions in the classroom. 

- I will share videos and simulations of the habitats and animals to allow students to fully experience these animals and locations without leaving their house! I will also have a variety of crafts, games, animal-themed snacks, experiments, and hands on and physical activities for each week. These activities will encourage students to be creative, get up and move, and explore nature. I will ask students to post themselves completing these activities or their finished product for the entire class to see and comment on. 

- I will use nearpod to include interactive presentations, reviews, and collaboration to the course. There will also be Kahoot review activities included that can be done independently or as a class. I will mediate opportunities for the students to set up live meetings with each other to compete in Kahoots. I will also be available to set up live meetings throughout the course if clarification or an opportunity to ask questions is needed. 

**FINAL PROJECT** by the end of the 6-weeks, the students will have a clear understanding of all 6 habitats and environmental pollution. Throughout the lesson, students will be asked to think about and develop a final project. Projects will be shared throughout the final week. 

This project could be: the creation of a habitat diorama, a poster with mini habitats displayed with corresponding animals, info-graphic on a particular habitat, a presentation comparing two or more habitats, a plan for how the student/community/nation/government can limit pollution, or a demonstration of the student cleaning up pollution (video, poster, photo album....). Students may also submit other ideas to me for approval. 


Book List:
Over in the Forest By: Marianne Berkes Illustrated by: Jill Dubin
What's in the Woods? By: Michelle Garcia Andersen
Woodland Forest Ecosystems By: Racquel Foran
Woodland and Forest Animals By: Sonya Newland
Jobs That Rock: Safari Guide By: Tim Clifford Illustrated by: Ken Hooper, Lance Borde
Safari Babies! By: Lisa McClatchy Illustrated by: Cindy Kiernicki
Safari Kids By: Katrina Streza Illustrated by: Holly Liminton
National Geographic Readers: Safari By: Gail Tuchman
t The Pond By: Taylor Farley
What Do You Find in a Pond? By: Megan Kopp
Lake and Pond Food Webs in Action By: Paul Fleisher
At The Edge Of The Pond By: Jennifer Owings Dewey
Looking at Layers: Looking Into the Ocean By: Martha London
Scribbles and Ink Clean Up the Ocean By: Ethan Long 
How Deep in the Ocean?: Ocean Animal Habitats By: Monika Davies   Illustrated by: Romina Martí

Videos:
Animal Wonders (series)
SciShow Kids: Amazing Animal Groups
Animal Jam (series)
Crash Course Kids: Home Sweet Habitat
Smile and Learn Habitats (series)
Ocean: Secrets of the Deep By: Sabrina Weiss   Illustrated by: Giulia De Amicis
A Desert Habitat By: Bobbie Kalman, Kelley Macaulay
In the Desert By: Howard Rice
Biomes Alive!: Life in a Desert By: Kari Schuetz
The Arctic Habitat By: Bobbie Kalman, Molly Aloian
In Arctic Waters By: Laura Crawford Illustrated by: Ben Hodson
Welcome to the Arctic By: Honor Head

- Throughout this class, students will engage with their peers through the use of Kahoots! and class wide games like Jeopardy! and BINGO. Nearpod will also be utilized to demonstrate what students have learned, engage in virtual field trips, and allow for classmate interaction. 

- Students will also post their completed crafts and assignments for their classmates to comment on. Students will follow along with various crafts such as coloring pages, multimedia crafts, informative diagrams, cut and paste crafts, and so much more! We will engage in activities such as interactive google presentations, mini info books, and super exciting experiments! 

- Also shared in the classroom will be exciting videos for students to watch and learn from, guided questions will be attached to each video. 

- Anchor charts will be used as visuals.

(this class combines and expands upon two of my live meeting courses: What's in that Habitat? and Pollution and our Fish)