ObjectivesThe students will understand that:

2.1 Plants and animals have four basic needs incommon (Air, water, earth, sunlight).

2.3 People, animals and plants share a basic need to have a home.

BackgroundIn Saskatchewan the prairie is our natural home.Native prairie is a threatened ecosystem and thehabitat of prairie wildlife. Many endangered or threat-ened animal species of North America call the prairietheir home for at least part of the year.

Materials• Project WET Curriculum and Activity Guide• Project WILD Activity Guide• Paper • Crayons• Wildlife Cards• Plants: Woody Plants: Saskatoon, Dogwood,

Chokecherry, Aspen, Willow, Prickly Rose• Flowering Plants: Prairie Coneflower, Goldenbean,

Smooth Aster, Yarrow• Grasses: Blue Grama grass, Needle and Thread

grass• Animals/Birds/Insects: Coyote, Pronghorn,

Richardson’s Ground Squirrel, Swainson’s Hawk,Western Meadowlark, Grasshopper

• Box• Potted plant• Rock• Plant Puzzle Cards• Grassland Prairie Scape activity sheets• Grasslands Poster

VocabularyPrairieHabitatGrassland

ActivitiesActivity 1Through a thought-provoking activity called The LifeBox in Project WET, p.76, students guess which fourthings are needed by both plants and animals for life.Inside the box put a bowl of soil and a dish of water.Air is already there and of course the light will enterwhen you open the box.

Activity 2The activity Everybody Needs a Home in Project WILD,p. 26, helps children understand that a home isbigger than a house, it’s like a whole neighbourhood.In the natural world, neighbourhoods are called habitats. In a habitat, food, water, shelter and spaceare needed in just the right arrangement. Use theGrasslands poster to show grassland animals in theirhabitat.

Activity 3The prairie habitat is our natural home. Show students pictures of species of plants and animalsthat live on the Prairies. Pictures of mammals can befound in Natural Neighbours and plants pictures canbe either from the Plant Cards or colour picturesavailable online at the Saskatchewan WatershedAuthority website. Have the Grasslands poster on the bulletin board. Ask the students to identify as manyspecies as possible.

Activity 4Prepare the Plant Puzzle Cards which follow thislesson by cutting each puzzle card into two piecesalong the wavy line. Laminate all the pieces and trim.In partners, or individually, have the studentscomplete the puzzles. This activity might also beused as part of an activity centre.

Lesson One:The Basic Needs of Plants

Grade One - Plants

SSuummmmaarryyThrough a variety of hands-on and inquirybased activities the students will discover thatplants and animals both need air, water, earthand sunlight to live. They will be introduced tothe words prairie, habitat and grassland. Also,they will learn that plants need a habitat.

Wildlife Cards

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Activity 5Create a bulletin board display with pictures of different homes drawn by the children. Include theirhomes, homes of insects and rodents which maketheir homes in grasses, (mice, ground squirrels etc.)as well as the homes of birds and mammals.

AssessmentThe students will be able to name five flowering orwoody plants as well as several animals that live inthe grasslands. Using the Grassland Prairie Scapeactivity sheets, have the students cut out the wordsearth, air, sunlight, water and the pictures of the various animals and birds and paste them onto theGrassland Prairie Scape in the correct spaces.

Extension1. Play Habitat Lap Sit, in Project WILD, page 28,

an excellent game in which each student is eitherFood, Water, Shelter or Space. They form into atight circle, all facing the same direction, andslowly sit down onto each other’s knees untileach child is being supported by the child behindthem and supporting the one in front of them.

ResourcesExploring the Grasslands. Understanding an Ecosystem.

Natural Neighbours. Selected Mammals ofSaskatchewan.

Grasslands Poster.

Saskatchewan Watershed Authority website

Songbirds of Saskatchewan. Saskatchewan WatershedAuthority

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Selected Resources

Lesson One:The Basic Needs of Plants (cont.)

Grade One - Plants

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Grade One - Plants Lesson 1 Assessment Grassland Prairie Scape Answer Sheet

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Grade One - Plants Lesson 1 Assessment Grassland Prairie Scape Activity Sheet

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Grade One - Plants Lesson 1 Assessment Grassland Prairie Scape Puzzle Pieces

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