Aimee Posnanski
Wehr Nature Center
NGSS – Nature’s Neighborhoods
Current Program: Nature’s Neighborhoods
Concepts
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Organisms have basic needs that are met by their environments
The basic needs of living things are food, water, shelter, space, and interactions with other
organisms.
Different living things meet their needs in different ways and different places.
Our natural wild neighbors are the local organisms that live in our natural neighborhoods such
as woodlands, wetlands, grasslands, lake, pond, and streams.
Materials
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Large cloth bag containing three smaller bags; Wetland, woodland, grassland are smaller bags
1 finger puppet for each child
Optional plant finger puppet for adult chaperone
Information card for each puppet
Objectives
Students will be able to list the basic needs of all living things, explain that organisms meet their needs
in different ways, identify 3-4 local organisms, use observations and inference from evidence to
recognize organisms, and compare and contrast between different local environments (difference
between woodland, wetland, prairie, lake).
Introduction
Have the word HABITAT displayed on the wall. Group the students on the floor cloths. Add the words
SHELTER, WATER, FOOD, SPACE as you discuss the parts of habitat with the students.
Explain that wild animals have these needs in their habitats (can also relate this to people
neighborhoods and their habitat needs). All must have shelter (nests, dens, holes, etc.) space (a mouse
needs very little, deer need a lot, and an oak tree needs a lot but a flower needs a little), food (grass,
seeds, other animals) and water (from streams, pond, their food). Plants have the same needs buy they
are met in very different ways.
Use the ecosystem murals at WNC to talk about the various habitats (neighborhoods) the group will be
visiting on their hike.
Rainy Day Option: Ask group leaders to join their circle of students. Give each group a set of cards of
four parts of habitat and a large animal puppet. Ask each group to discuss the habitat parts for their
puppet animal. Turn over the puzzle cards as each is identified. Then turn the cards over to solve the
puzzle and spell out HABITAT.
The Hike
Leaders should give each student in their group a finger puppet to carry for the hike. Go to a
neighborhood (woodland, grassland, and wetland) and ask students if their finger puppet animal could
live there, what would be its food, where would it get water, how much space would it need, and what
Aimee Posnanski
Wehr Nature Center
NGSS – Nature’s Neighborhoods
kind of shelter would it have? Could other finger puppet animals live there? Follow the set of questions
on the laminated cards.
At the end of the hike, ask the students to place their puppet in the appropriate small, marked bag and
to also tell you why they chose that bag.
Review and Closure
All living things (people, other animals, and plants) need a place to live, a source of food, water, and
sufficient space. People, other animals, and plants all require different habitat needs for shelter, space,
food, and water. Compare and contrast how each organism meets its basic habitat needs. Help the
students understand that all organisms have the same basic needs but meet them in different ways.
Compare some of the organisms found on the hike.
Aimee Posnanski
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Wehr Nature Center
NGSS – Nature’s Neighborhoods
Organisms have basic needs that are met by their environments
They need food, water, shelter, and space to survive in their environment
o Although they all need this to survive, they don’t all get them in the same ways
Our wild neighbors live in different areas, just like we live in different neighborhoods
Make this program relevant to kids’ lives
What neighborhood do you think you live in? (Keep this question in mind throughout the
program)
o Kids can answer this question at the end of the program and give their reasoning
(3-LS3-2) What kinds of adaptations (vocabulary word) do animals need to survive in their
respective neighborhoods?
o 3-LS3-2: Use evidence to support the explanation that traits can be influenced by the
environment
o Clarification statement: Examples of the environment affecting a trait include normally
tall plants grown with insufficient water are stunted; and, a pet dog that is given too
much food and little exercise may become overweight (ngss.nsta.org)
What makes the wetland creatures different than the woodland or grassland creatures?
Include something about food chains and energy transfer if this program is for a group of older
kids (5-LS2-1)
o 5-LS2-1: Develop a model to describe the movement of matter among plants, animals,
decomposers, and the environment
What kinds of characteristics make different habitats suitable for different animals?
New Program: Nature’s Neighborhoods
Goal: By the end of the program, students should understand that plants, animal, and other living
organisms need food, water, shelter, space, and interaction to create a suitable habitat. They should
understand that, although they all need these things to survive, they don’t all get them in the same way;
through this they will understand that different animals have different adaptations to help them survive
in their respective habitats
Objectives: Students will be able to place their respective animals in the right “neighborhood”, and
explain why they live here. They will be able to explain what kinds of characteristics help their animals
survive in their habitat. Students will be able to differentiate between grassland, woodland, and wetland
characteristics.
Theme: There are many different places for plants and animals to make their home, but they have to
make sure that they have all of the important factors before they can be comfortable.
Introduction: The wild plants and animals here at the Wehr Nature Center all live together in harmony
to create a beautiful environment. But, these animals all need different things to make their lives easy.
Do you know what an animal needs to survive in the wild?
Food! All animals and plants need food to survive. Have the child who answered food come up and hold
the sign.
Do the same for all of the other factors (water, space, shelter).
Aimee Posnanski
Wehr Nature Center
NGSS – Nature’s Neighborhoods
All four of these create something that the animal or plant can call home, do you know what word I’m
talking about? HABITAT. Display the word HABITAT so they know what it looks like and how it is spelled.
An animal’s habitat is just like its neighborhood. As people, we live in neighborhoods, just like animals.
But, instead of living in houses like we have, and getting water from the faucet or food from the store,
animals depend on things in nature to get their food, shelter, and water. They all need these things to
survive, but do they all get them from the same place?
Different animals have different ways of getting what they need to survive. Because they all live in
different areas, they have different adaptations to survive! An adaptation is the way an animal or plant
changes because it helps them survive in their neighborhood. Do you think a beaver would need
webbed feet if he lived in a grassland? Use more examples like this if the kids don’t understand what an
adaptation is.
Here at Whitnall Park, we have three different neighborhoods. Explain to the group the differences
between wetland, grasslands, and woodlands. Use the ecosystem murals to help you. Make sure that
they understand that these are all different areas, and why they are different. You can also tie animal
adaptations into the neighborhood explanations.
Hand finger puppets out to kids, and hand their cards out as well. Go around the circle/group, and have
the kids say their animal, their dream home, and what is on their grocery list. Explain to them that each
animal likes something different, so they will have different advantages to get what they need.
As we go for our hike, remember to be looking for signs that this is where your animal likes to live. Keep
an eye out for its home, or for something that it may like to eat.
The Hike
As you take your group to the different neighborhoods of the area, stop to explain about what kinds of
animals live here, and why. Describe the neighborhood, and ask the students what kinds of things
animals would need to do or have to survive in this habitat. What makes this place more suitable for a
squirrel than a raccoon? What are the characteristics of the beaver’s habitat? This will help them
understand that animals need to adapt to survive in different places. Ask if any of the students think
their animal belongs here. Move onto the next neighborhood, and do the same thing for each
neighborhood.
Conclusion
After walking through all three of the neighborhoods, gather up one last time. Ask the students to form
a circle. Have them go around the circle, one at a time, and put their finger puppet into the correct bag
(wetland, woodland and grassland). They should be able to explain why they think their animal should
be in this habitat, and what kinds of adaptations they had to make to be able to survive here. What
would happen if the beaver decided to try living in the grassland?
As a way to tie this program into the kids’ lives and hopefully get them thinking on a larger scale, have a
discussion about where they think their neighborhood would be. If they live in the city, they could think
about what kinds of adaptations animals in the city would have to survive. You can also ask about what
the neighborhood of their school would be.
Aimee Posnanski
Wehr Nature Center
NGSS – Nature’s Neighborhoods