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School › Habitats › Ages 6–7

Where do animals live?

Every animal and plant has a home with everything it needs. Meet a camel, a polar bear and some woodlice, then go on a habitat hunt in the school grounds.

🖨 Printable worksheet👩‍🏫 Teacher sheet📚 Sources

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A habitat is the place where an animal or plant lives and grows.[1]

A habitat gives living things what they need: food, water, shelter and space.[2][1]

There are many kinds of habitat: rainforests, deserts, oceans and coral reefs are just a few.[1]

Animals have bodies that suit their habitat. A polar bear lives on the sea ice. A thick layer of fat and its special fur keep it warm.[4]

A camel lives in the hot, dry desert. Its long eyelashes keep out dust, and it can close its nose to keep out sand. Its hump is full of fat, not water![3]

Small habitats are everywhere. Woodlice like damp, dark places, such as under a log. For a caterpillar, shelter might be the underside of a leaf.[5][2]

Try it: A habitat hunt

⏱ 30 minutes

You need

  • Clipboard and recording sheet
  • Pencil
  • A magnifying glass
  • A soft paintbrush and a clear pot for looking (optional)
  • Gloves

Safety

An adult lifts logs and stones and checks the area first for broken glass and other hazards. Wear gloves, do not touch animals with bare hands, and wash your hands afterwards. Put everything back where you found it.

What to do

  1. Go outside with your teacher. Look in four places: under a log or stone, in long grass, on a leaf, and on a sunny wall or path.
  2. Gently lift the log or stone (an adult helps). What lives underneath?
  3. Look closely with the magnifying glass. Do not pick animals up with your fingers.
  4. Fill in the table: what did you find? Is the place damp or dry? Dark or light?
  5. Put the log or stone back exactly as it was, so the animals keep their home.
  6. Back in class: which place had the most small animals? Why do you think they like it there?
What happens, and why?

Under logs and stones it is damp and dark. Woodlice and many other small animals like damp, dark places because they dry out quickly in dry air. Each little place is a habitat with its own food, water and shelter.[5][2]

Play: Who lives where?

Does this living thing live in the desert, on the polar ice, or in a garden or wood? Tap the right home.

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Quiz

Other ages: Ages 10–11 · Ages 15–16