Teaching Animal Habitats in First Grade: Project-Based Science and Writing Unit

In this episode of The Firstieland Podcast for Elementary Teachers, your host Molly Schwab shares how to integrate science with writing with a project based learning unit about Animal Habitats.

If you’ve ever wondered how you’re supposed to fit science and writing into an already packed day, this episode is for you. Instead of teaching everything separately, you’ll learn how to use a simple project-based unit to cover multiple standards at once, without adding more to your plate.

Molly walks you step-by-step through her favorite animal habitats unit, a unit she taught year after year in first grade, and shows you how to make it engaging, manageable, and fun for kids.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

✔️ How to introduce animal habitats in a way that’s simple and age-appropriate for first grade

✔️ Easy ways to build background knowledge using books, videos, and anchor charts

✔️ How to guide students through basic animal research, even with emerging readers

✔️ A simple writing project that helps students organize facts and write an animal report

✔️ How to wrap up the unit with a hands-on shoebox habitat project kids love

✔️ How combining science and writing actually saves time and increases student engagement

By the end of this episode, you’ll have a clear picture of how to plan and teach an animal habitats unit that covers science standards, strengthens writing skills, and keeps students excited about learning, all without needing a formal curriculum.

Animal Habitats Unit (TPT) –https://firstieland.com/animalhabitats

Animal Habitats Blog Post – https://firstieland.com/animalhabitatblog

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Need classroom resources? Visit the TPT store: https://firstieland.com/TPT-store

Have questions or want more ideas? Send me a message on Instagram @firstieland

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Have a wonderful day and remember to make learning feel like play… see you next...