Habitat Study Guide
Vocabulary
Definition
Adaptation
Anything an animal does to help it live in a habitat.
Camouflage
A way an animal looks that helps it blend in with its
surroundings. (Helps the animals hide)
Desert
Dormancy
Has a hot climate with little rainfall.
Not active (After a tree loses its leaves, it is dormant in winter)
Environment
Is made up of all the living and non-living things in a place
Estivate
To stay in a deep sleep during the summer
Food chain
The order in which animals eat plants and other animals.
(Energy is exchanged)
Grasslands
(Savanna)
Forest
Tall grasses and hot climate
Habitat
The place an animal or plant gets what it needs to live
Hibernate
To stay in a deep sleep during the winter
Migrate
To move to another place to live, usually due to weather
Water Habitats
Fresh water – pond
Salt water - ocean
Rain Forest
Type of forest habitat – has hot weather and a lot of rain
Tundra
(Polar)
Frozen much of the year
Fossils
Help scientists (paleontologists) learn about animals and plants
that lived long ago. Many marine fossils (clams, scallops, whale
bones, shark teeth) are found along the Virginia coastline.
Virginia’s state fossil is the Chesapecten Jeffersonius, named
after Thomas Jefferson.
Has many different types of trees
Essential Knowledge:
-Living things are part of a system
-Living organisms are interdependent with their living and nonliving surroundings
-Habitats change over time, and from season to season
-Shelter may be living or nonliving
-Classify parts of an animal’s habitat as living or nonliving
-Be able to describe how animals and plants are dependent on their surroundings
-Be able to explain how animals adapt to the changes in their habitat
-Be able to describe how scientists use the study of fossils to show past weather and climate conditions
and environmental characteristics