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Lesson Plan: Oh Deer!

Subject: Science
Grade: 8th
Objective:
Students will identify and describe food, water, and shelter as three
essential components of habitat
Students will describe factors that influence carrying capacity
Students will define limiting factors and give examples
Students will recognize that some fluctuations in wildlife populations
are natural as ecological systems undergo constant change
Materials:
An area large enough for students to run, whiteboard, writing materials and
colored paper to represent food water and shelter
Procedures:
Teacher will begin the lesson by reviewing key terms: habitat, limiting
factors, predator, prey, population, balance of nature and ecosystem. The
teacher will then tell students that they will be participating in an activity
that emphasizes the most essential things animals need in order to survive.
We will review the essential components of habitat with the students (food,
water, shelter and space.)
The teacher will have students count off in fours. All of the ones go to one
area, all twos, threes, and fours go together to another area. The teacher
will have marked two parallel lines on the ground or floor around 10 to 20
yards apart. The teacher will have all the ones line up behind one of the
lines and the rest of the students line up behind the other line, facing the
ones.
The ones become deer. All deer need good habitat to survive. The teacher
will again ask the students what the essential components of habitat are
(food, water, shelter and space in a suitable arrangement.) For this activity,
we are going to assume that the deer have enough space in which to live.

The deer (the ones) need to find food, water, and shelter to survive. When
a deer is looking for food it will hold up the colored paper that represents
food. When it is looking for water it holds up the colored paper that
represents water and the same for shelter. A deer can choose to look for any
one of its needs during each round or segment of the activity; the deer
cannot, however, change what it is looking for during the round. It can
change what it is looking for in the next round, if it survives.
The twos, threes, and fours are food, water and shelter. Each student is
allowed to choose at the beginning of each round which component he or
she will be during that round. Students depict which component they are in
the same way the deer show what they are looking for.
The activity starts with all players lined up behind their respective lines
(deer on one side, habitat components on the other side.) They should be
lined up with their backs facing the students along the other line. The teacher
should begin the first round by asking all of the students to make their signs
(each deer deciding what it is looking for, each habitat component deciding
what it is.)
When students are ready, the teacher says, Oh Deer! Each deer and each
habitat component turn to face the opposite group, continuing to hold their
signs clearly. When the deer see the habitat component they need, they
should run to it. Each deer must hold the sign of what it is looking for until
getting to the habitat component student with the same sign. Each deer
Practice (Guided and Independent):
The students will complete the assessment. They will also collaborate with
peers to construct a conclusion about what determined the outcome of the
scenario. The students will also write a 5-6 sentence paragraph, for
homework, describing their visualization and create a detailed drawing that
depicts their visual experience.

Evaluation or Assessment:
The teacher will assess the students by reviewing their answers to questions.
The teacher will also assess the students responses on their assessment sheet
that they completed in class and their paragraph that they will have
completed for homework.

Closing/Reteaching/Extention/:
After the students have shared their conclusions, the teacher will lead the
class in a discussion regarding the idea that people, pets, and wildlife share a
common environment. The teacher will explain that events, such as summer
storms and strong winds, send every animal seeking some sort of protection.

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