Chapter 3 of 8

All 8 chapters
  1. 1Living and non-living, readunderstood
  2. 2Grouping animals, readunderstood
  3. 3Habitats, readunderstood
  4. 4Exploring a small habitat, readunderstood
  5. 5Fit for the habitat, readunderstood
  6. 6Plant eaters, meat eaters and both, readunderstood
  7. 7Food chains, readunderstood
  8. 8Changes to habitats, readunderstood

S2.2.3 Chapter 3

Habitats

What is a habitat?

Your guess

Pick one before you read on. It is fine to be wrong.

Your guess

  • You picked A. Read on. At the end, the chapter comes back to your guess.

  • You picked B. Read on. At the end, the chapter comes back to your guess.

  • You picked C. Read on. At the end, the chapter comes back to your guess.

By the end you can

  • Name habitats such as ponds, forests, grasslands, deserts and seas
  • Describe how a habitat gives food, water and shelter

A frog lives in a pond. A monkey lives in a forest. A fish lives in the sea. Each lives in its own kind of place.

A habitat is the place where a living thing lives. Plants have habitats too. A living thing finds what it needs there.

A habitat gives food. It gives water. It gives shelter. Shelter is a safe place to hide, sleep and raise young.

Draw it first

Draw what a habitat gives

  1. A scene on a ground line. A tree on the left is labelled shelter. A pond in the middle is labelled water. Blades of grass on the right are labelled food. A round animal in the middle is labelled animal.shelter

    1 Draw a tree on a ground line. Write shelter.

  2. A scene on a ground line. A tree on the left is labelled shelter. A pond in the middle is labelled water. Blades of grass on the right are labelled food. A round animal in the middle is labelled animal.shelterwater

    2 Draw a pond. Write water.

  3. A scene on a ground line. A tree on the left is labelled shelter. A pond in the middle is labelled water. Blades of grass on the right are labelled food. A round animal in the middle is labelled animal.shelterwaterfood

    3 Draw grass. Write food.

  4. A scene on a ground line. A tree on the left is labelled shelter. A pond in the middle is labelled water. Blades of grass on the right are labelled food. A round animal in the middle is labelled animal.shelterwaterfoodanimal

    4 Draw an animal in the middle. Write animal.

Take away any one of these, and the animal must move away. Or it dies.

There are many kinds of habitat. A pond has still water. A forest has many trees. A grassland is a wide place with grass and few trees. The sea is salt water. A desert is very dry.

Three habitats on land, each with a small picture and what it gives. A forest picture shows two trees and a bird. A grassland picture shows a goat and grass. A desert picture shows a cactus, a lizard and the sun. Labels: forest, food: leaves, water: rain, shelter: trees, grassland, food: grass, water: rain, shelter: grass, desert, food: seeds, water: rare rain, shelter: a hole.forestfood: leaveswater: rainshelter: treesgrasslandfood: grasswater: rainshelter: grassdesertfood: seedswater: rare rainshelter: a hole
Each land habitat gives food, water and shelter.
Two habitats in water, each with a small picture and what it gives. A pond picture shows a frog on the bank, reeds and water. A sea picture shows two fish and seaweed. Labels: pond, food: insects, water: the pond, shelter: reeds, sea, food: seaweed, water: salt water, shelter: rocks.pondfood: insectswater: the pondshelter: reedsseafood: seaweedwater: salt watershelter: rocks
A pond and the sea give food, water and shelter too.

See it three ways

As a picture

A table with two columns, Habitat and Lives there. pond: frog, fish. forest: birds, trees. grassland: grass, mice. desert: cactus, lizard. sea: fish, seaweed. Labels: Habitat, Lives there, pond, frog, fish, forest, birds, trees, grassland, grass, mice, desert, cactus, lizard, sea, seaweed.HabitatLives therepondfrog, fishforestbirds, treesgrasslandgrass, micedesertcactus, lizardseafish, seaweed

In words

Each habitat has its own living things. Each gives them food, water and shelter.

A habitat can be big, like a forest or a sea. It can be small. Under a stone is a habitat. A rotting log is a habitat. One tree is a habitat too.

Three small habitats on the ground. A hatched stone rests on a pebble, with a woodlouse in the gap under it. A long dotted log with a round ringed end has an ant on top. A tree has a bird in its crown. Labels: stone, log, tree, woodlouse, ant, bird.stonelogtreewoodlouseantbird
A stone, a log and a tree are small habitats.

A small habitat can hold many animals. Ants, worms and beetles can all live in one log.

Try it

Find a habitat near your home

You need: paper and a pencil, a tree, a patch of grass or a corner of a wall.

Be safe: Keep away from deep water, nests and anything that bites or stings. Look, do not touch. Wash your hands after.

  1. Pick a small place outside, such as one tree or some grass.
  2. Sit still a little way away. Look for five minutes. Do not touch.
  3. Write down every living thing you see.
  4. Draw a table with food, water and shelter. Write what you can find for each.
  5. Ask: which animal could live here? What would it eat?

What you will see: Even a small place has living things. You may see insects, birds, plants or snails. The place gives them food, water or shelter.

If you cannot try it, this is what happens.
A table with two columns, Need and What I saw. food: leaves. water: a puddle. shelter: a bush. Labels: Need, What I saw, food, leaves, water, a puddle, shelter, a bush.NeedWhat I sawfoodleaveswatera puddlesheltera bush
A cut through a desert. The sun is at the top right. Dotted sand fills the lower page. A sloping tunnel runs from the surface down to a hatched hole with a lizard inside it. Labels: hot sun, hot sand, cool hole.hot sunhot sandcool hole
Many desert animals hide in a cool hole by day.

A wrong idea many people have

A desert has no life.

Why it feels right: A desert is very dry and very hot by day. It seems nothing could live there.

The test that breaks it: Look in a book, or ask someone who knows. Name what lives in a desert. Some deserts have cactus. Some have camels. Many have lizards and beetles. Or sit by dry dusty ground near you for ten minutes. Look for ants and beetles.

What is true: A desert is full of life. Cactus and other plants store water. Many animals hide from the heat in holes by day.

Key words

habitat
the place where a living thing lives and finds what it needs.
shelter
a safe place to hide, sleep and raise young.
grassland
a wide habitat with grass and few trees.
desert
a very dry habitat with little water.

Back to your guess

The answer is C: The place where a living thing finds food, water and shelter.

A habitat is the place where a living thing lives. It finds food, water and shelter there.

Check yourself

Try each one before you look. A wrong answer tells you where to go next.

  1. What does a habitat give a living thing?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Not this one. Food is not enough. A living thing needs water and shelter too. Try another.

    2. Yes, that is right. A habitat gives food, water and shelter.

    3. Not this one. Shelter is one of three things. A habitat also gives food and water. Try another.

    See the answer

    Food, water and shelter

    A habitat gives food, water and shelter.

    • If you chose A: Food is not enough. A living thing needs water and shelter too.
    • If you chose C: Shelter is one of three things. A habitat also gives food and water.

  2. Which of these is a small habitat?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Not this one. The sea is a very big habitat. Try another.

    2. Not this one. A forest is a big habitat. Try another.

    3. Not this one. A habitat gives food, water and shelter. An empty box gives none. Try another.

    4. Yes, that is right. A habitat can be small. Ants, worms and beetles can live in one log.

    See the answer

    A rotting log

    A habitat can be small. Ants, worms and beetles can live in one log.

    • If you chose A: The sea is a very big habitat.
    • If you chose B: A forest is a big habitat.
    • If you chose C: A habitat gives food, water and shelter. An empty box gives none.

  3. Mei says a desert has no life. Which fact shows she is wrong?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Yes, that is right. A habitat that holds lizards and beetles is not empty. A desert is full of life.

    2. Not this one. Heat does not mean no life. Living things in a desert have ways to cope with it. Try another.

    3. Not this one. Little water makes life hard, but not impossible. Cactus store water. Try another.

    See the answer

    Lizards and beetles live in deserts.

    A habitat that holds lizards and beetles is not empty. A desert is full of life.

    • If you chose B: Heat does not mean no life. Living things in a desert have ways to cope with it.
    • If you chose C: Little water makes life hard, but not impossible. Cactus store water.

  4. From an earlier chapter

    Joseph finds an animal under a log. It has 8 legs and 2 body parts. What is it?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Not this one. An insect has 6 legs and 3 body parts. Go to S2.2.2. Try another.

    2. Not this one. A reptile has dry skin with scales and four legs or none. Count the legs again. Go to S2.2.2. Try another.

    3. Yes, that is right. A spider has eight legs and two body parts. It is not an insect.

    See the answer

    A spider

    A spider has eight legs and two body parts. It is not an insect.

    • If you chose A: An insect has 6 legs and 3 body parts. Go to S2.2.2.
    • If you chose B: A reptile has dry skin with scales and four legs or none. Count the legs again. Go to S2.2.2.

  5. Draw a pond habitat. Show what a frog finds there for food, water and shelter.

    See the answer

    A pond with water. Insects, slugs and worms for food. Reeds or stones for shelter.

    The pond gives water. Insects give food. Reeds and stones give shelter.

  6. A habitat is a wide place with grass and few trees. What is it?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Not this one. A desert is very dry. It has little grass. Try another.

    2. Yes, that is right. A grassland is a wide place with grass and few trees.

    3. Not this one. A forest has many trees. A grassland has few. Try another.

    See the answer

    A grassland

    A grassland is a wide place with grass and few trees.

    • If you chose A: A desert is very dry. It has little grass.
    • If you chose C: A forest has many trees. A grassland has few.

  7. A pond dries up in a long hot spell. What happens to the frogs?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Yes, that is right. A living thing needs food, water and shelter. Take away water, and the frogs must go.

    2. Not this one. A habitat must give all three things. Without water, the frogs cannot stay. Try another.

    3. Not this one. The young of a frog live in water. Its skin must stay damp. It needs water. Try another.

    See the answer

    They must move away, or they die, because the water is gone.

    A living thing needs food, water and shelter. Take away water, and the frogs must go.

    • If you chose B: A habitat must give all three things. Without water, the frogs cannot stay.
    • If you chose C: The young of a frog live in water. Its skin must stay damp. It needs water.

Keep it

Copy this into your exercise book.

A habitat is where a living thing finds food, water and shelter. Ponds, forests, grasslands, deserts and seas are habitats. A habitat can be big or small, like a log.

Draw: Draw a tree, a pond and grass. Label shelter, water and food.

Reading with a child? A short page for the adult: what this chapter teaches and three questions to ask.

No internet tomorrow? Save the whole book as one file (856 KB). It opens on any phone.