Local Plants & Animals
Identify and name a variety of plants and animals in their habitats, including microhabitats such as under a log or in a pond
What a learner can do afterwards
- Name at least three animals and plants found in a specific local habitat
- Explain what a microhabitat is (a very small habitat within a larger one)
- Describe conditions in a microhabitat (e.g. 'under a stone is damp and dark, woodlice like that')
1 · Read
A garden, a park, or a stream near your home is a habitat. Habitats are full of plants and animals living together. Look closely and you will spot tiny worlds hidden inside the big one.
A microhabitat is a very small habitat inside a bigger one. Under a stone, inside a rotting log, or in a puddle are all microhabitats. Each one has its own damp, dark, wet, or sunny conditions that suit certain plants and animals.
Zara lifts an old log in her garden. Underneath she finds three woodlice, a shiny black beetle, and a curled-up worm. It is damp and dark under the log, and these animals need that dampness so their bodies do not dry out.
When you go looking, lift logs and stones gently, look for a moment, then put them back exactly where they were. A microhabitat is made by the damp, dark space underneath, so a log left turned over or shifted aside destroys the very thing you came to see, and the animals living there lose their home.
A microhabitat is a tiny space inside a bigger habitat, and its damp, dark, or wet conditions decide which plants and animals live there.
More to read
Biodiversity: Plant Identification
Your town is full of plants if you know how to look. Each plant has clues that tell you its name. Look at the shape of the leaves. Are they round, pointy, or in tiny pieces? Count the petals on the flowers. Feel the stem. Is it smooth or hairy?
Write down what you see and draw a quick sketch. Then check your notes against a plant guide. When your clues match, you have named your plant. Real scientists do exactly this. Naming the plants near you is the first step to knowing your home habitat.
How to Identify Plants Using an iPhone: Photos App & More
A phone camera can be a plant detective tool. Take a clear photo of one leaf and one of the whole plant. Make sure the picture is bright and sharp. Then use a plant identifier to get ideas about the name.
Always double check. Look closely at the real plant again. Do the leaves match? Do the flowers match? Never taste a wild plant. Some plants can make you sick.
Unit 2.3 Habitats & Biodiversity
Now look for animals, and do not forget the tiny ones. Lift a stone gently and you may find woodlice, worms, or a beetle. That damp dark spot is a microhabitat, a very small home inside the bigger garden.
Ask why each creature is there. The woodlouse loves it damp and dark. The worm loves the soft soil. The robin loves the open grass where it can spot worms. When you can name three plants and three animals in one spot and say why each likes it there, you truly know your local habitat.
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2 · Watch
En anglaisTake it off screen
Where it sits
Learn first
Optional connections
This opens up
Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
24 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.