Welcome to Utah!

Grade 4

Standard 5

Students will understand the physical characteristics of Utah's wetlands, forests, and deserts and identify common organisms for each environment.

Objective 2

Describe the common plants and animals found in Utah environments.

a. Identify common plants and animals that inhabit Utah's forests, wetlands, and deserts.

Ed Tech Standards: Standard 8 

Use technology resources (e.g., calculators, data collection probes, videos, educational software) for problem-solving, self-directed learning, and extended learning activities. 

I used Google slides to introduce students to Utah's Wetlands, Forests, and Deserts.  I have included animals and plants that are in each area and facts about each animal and pictures of each plant. Google slides is a great way to present information so the students can learn about and on their own. Google Slides was easy to use and fun to create.  I enjoyed creating this project.  I will be using Google Slides more in the future.

I will have the students watch the Google slides on their own and then discuss the information in class.  This information will be over 1 week.

Activity #1

The class will be split into groups where they will discuss by answering questions with pictures of wetlands, forest and desert at each group table.

• What habitat is most likely to be lowest in elevation: deserts or forests?
• What will most likely be the highest in elevation: deserts or forests?
• What environment can be at any elevation? Why?
• Why can a wetland be at any elevation?
• What environment, or environments, do you see?
• What time of year is it?
• What might the temperature be?
• Is there any evidence of precipitation?
• Do any of the pictures have common characteristics?
• What clues (inferences) were used to decide any information?

Activity #2
The class will get to create new animals and plants for an environment. The students will create an animal for one of three environments. We will put it all together.  Here are some questions to ask to decide where to place their animals.

• What shall we name this new animal? (For example, a boy named Dylan who likes to skateboard could be called “Dylan Skateboardicus.”)
• What is the weather like in this animal’s habitat?
• How does this animal find shelter?
• How does this animal find food?
• Does this animal have any predators?
• What behaviors show this animal has "adapted" to its environment?
• What would happen if the animals switched habitats?
• What adaptation features would be useful or useless in the new habitat?
• Do you think the animal could survive in the unfamiliar habitat?
• What does that tell you about how animals adapt to their environments?