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Compare and contrast the basic needs that all living things, including humans, have for survival.
Standard #: SC.2.L.17.1
Standard Information
General Information
Subject Area: Science
Grade: 2
Body of Knowledge: Life Science
Big Idea: Interdependence -

A. Plants and animals, including humans, interact with and depend upon each other and their environment to satisfy their basic needs.

B. Both human activities and natural events can have major impacts on the environment.

C. Energy flows from the sun through producers to consumers.
Date Adopted or Revised: 02/08
Content Complexity Rating: Level 2: Basic Application of Skills & Concepts - More Information
Date of Last Rating: 05/08
Status: State Board Approved
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Lesson Plans
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  • Everglades Habitat Part 1 of 3 # In this lesson, students will learn about different habitats within Everglades National Park and how those habitats meet the needs of the animals that live there through a PowerPoint presentation and whole group discussion. Students will collaborate to complete an interactive matching activity involving animals that live in Everglades National Park habitats.
  • A Whale's Tale #    This lesson covers:
    • A humpback whale’s basic needs and how they are similar to humans
    • A humpback whale’s feeding habits and social behaviors
    • Threats to humpback whales and how scientists work to protect them
  • Juvenile Tarpon Reading #
    Students will learn about tarpon life cycles and the many different habitats and resources these fish need as they grow. They will create postcards as “tarpon” in different life stages, explaining what their life is like at that point in their life cycle.
  • Tarpon Lesson Plan #
    Students will learn how body shape and fin placements make tarpon efficient swimmers and leapers that are well adapted to their environments. They will complete exercises that help them understand the function of each fin, and they will create their own paper tarpon.
  • Gr. 2 Lesson 2-Everglades Seasons # Students will act out an "alligator hole ecodrama" occurring during the dry season. Each student will play a role of an animal that depends on the alligator hole.
  • Gr. 2 Lesson 1-Don't Feed the Gators! # Students will read a book on the importance of American alligators and listen to-or act out a play which demonstrates the dangers of feeding wild animals. This is lesson 1 in a series of 3 lessons. Animals in southern Florida are accustomed to their natural environment. They are wild animals with the ability to exist without human intervention. It is detrimental to the American alligator for humans to feed and/or change their natural environment. In areas of southern Florida where American alligators are found, we occasionally hear about problem gators that have attacked dogs and sometimes people. In most of those cases, it is the people who fed the American alligator that are the problem. The American alligators soon begin to associate people with food. When people feed American alligators, they are actually doing it more harm than good. The American alligator no longer gets the balanced diet it would if it were getting its own food in the natural environment. Also, once the American alligator gets used to being fed by humans, it will no longer be able to find food on its own.
  • Canopy Sloth Enclosures MEA # In this MEA, students are asked to rank four enclosures for a new sloth exhibit at the city zoo based on a given set of data. Only one enclosure can be chosen to be built for the new exhibit. Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought processes. MEAs follow a problem-based, student-centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEAs visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx
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  • To Squish or Not to Squish the Ant # In this Model-Eliciting Activity (MEA), students will collaborate with their classmates to solve the problem of removing ants from their playground. They have the opportunity to analyze and compare data sets to clarify, explain and defend their findings in a written letter to the client. In addition, the lesson provides an opportunity to reinforce respect for all living things. Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought processes. MEAs follow a problem-based, student-centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEAs visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx
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Original Student Tutorial
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Teaching Ideas
STEM Lessons - Model Eliciting Activity
  • Canopy Sloth Enclosures MEA # In this MEA, students are asked to rank four enclosures for a new sloth exhibit at the city zoo based on a given set of data. Only one enclosure can be chosen to be built for the new exhibit. Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought processes. MEAs follow a problem-based, student-centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEAs visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx
  • To Squish or Not to Squish the Ant # In this Model-Eliciting Activity (MEA), students will collaborate with their classmates to solve the problem of removing ants from their playground. They have the opportunity to analyze and compare data sets to clarify, explain and defend their findings in a written letter to the client. In addition, the lesson provides an opportunity to reinforce respect for all living things. Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought processes. MEAs follow a problem-based, student-centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEAs visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx
Original Student Tutorials Science - Grades K-8
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