Understanding By Design Program Title: Habitat Detectives                                                                             Grade Levels:   K-1                                                                                 Subject Area:  Life Science

Education Standards
•	K-LS1-1 Use observations to answer scientific information. Describe patterns of what plants and animals (including humans) need to survive.
•	K-ESS3-1 Use a model to represent the relationship between the needs of different plants or animals (including humans) and the places they live. 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
•	1-LS1-A: Structure and Function                                                                                                                                    All organisms have external parts that help them to survive and grow. 		                                                        The shape and stability of structures are related to their function.
•	1-LS1-D: Information Processing                                                                                                                             Animals have different body parts that capture and convey information needed for growth and survival.

Knowledge Acquired 
•	Key terms: habitat, healthy, observation, living, non-living
•	Components of a habitat- All living things need food, water, shelter, space.
•	Certain things live in a habitat because of the unique conditions offered by that habitat. (Different types of animals need different kinds of foods.)
•	(For 1st grade only) Increased ability to recognize how structure relates to function in living things.

Desired Understandings
•	National Parks belong to everyone, and are places for learning and recreation
•	The process of scientific inquiry 
•	The wellness of living things is dependent on a healthy habitat

Evidence of Understanding
•	Responses to pre-site discussion, inquiries and activities
•	On-site notes and drawings of specified observations
•	Post-site activity: representation of a healthy habitat with all the needed components

Essential Question
    How does a healthy habitat help living things to thrive?

Summary of Learning Activities 
Pre-site Visit
NPS staff conducts a classroom lesson. Students define key terms and concepts, using motions and song. Students as a group categorize photos of different habitats (K), or match structure of plant/animal parts to their function and corresponding human biomimicry (1st grade). Students are introduced to scientific inquiry and practice inquiry skills with a collection of items from the park.
On-Site Visit
NPS staff leads field investigation of coastal habitat by Crissy Field. After reviewing key terms, students engage in plant identification followed by habitat investigation. Adults assist students in recording their findings on investigation sheets. The group shares at the conclusion. For First Grade students, program includes structure/function discussion and observation of marine life. 
Post-site Activity 
K students construct a representation of a relationship between a plant or animal and its habitat. Ex. Bee pollinating flower, roly polys living under rocks, birds eating blackberries
First grade students create a representation of a plant or animal, demonstrating how its structure relates to the function. Ex. Antenna of a banana slug, sharp beak and long legs of a great blue heron, ‘armor’ of a roly poly, thorns of a blackberry, tendrils of a vine, peeling bark of a eucalyptus tree.
These expressions can take any artistic form, including a drawing, model, or tableau performance (in small groups, students ‘form’ a living thing with each student explaining a different structure/function).