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3rd grade · Science · Unit 9 of 12

Surviving in a Habitat

Groups, traits and habitats that help animals survive.

What your child practices

Practices why some animals live in groups, how small differences in traits can help some individuals survive, and why some organisms do well in a habitat while others cannot survive there.

Alabama Course of Study content standard: 3.9; 3.10; 3.11 · how differences help some individuals survive, habitat resources, and living in groups

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Some animals live in groups to survive: bees in a colony, fish in schools.
  2. Groups help find food, share jobs and stay safe from predators.
  3. Small trait differences help some animals survive better in a habitat.

Example: Why do fish swim in schools? Many fish together confuse a predator. Answer: it is harder for predators to catch one

Surviving in a Habitat in Alabama

In the Alabama Course of Study, this is unit 9 of 12 in 3rd grade Science, after Traits & Variation and before Weather Hazards & Solutions.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE)

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    Honeybees live in a colony. Each bee…

    • has a job
    • lives alone
    • never works
    • is the queen

  2. Question 2

    A cactus would NOT survive well in…

    • a swamp
    • a sandy place
    • a dry hillside
    • a desert

  3. Question 3

    Why do geese fly in a V shape?

    • To scare clouds
    • To find snow
    • To spell a word
    • It saves energy for the group

  4. Question 4

    Ants work together to…

    • carry food back to the nest
    • make rain
    • fly to the moon
    • melt snow

  5. Question 5

    A moth with coloring that matches tree bark is more likely to…

    • fly away forever
    • be eaten
    • survive
    • turn into a bird

  6. Question 6

    Some trees in a forest have thicker bark and survive a fire. Why?

    • Thin bark is stronger
    • Fire likes thick bark
    • Bark makes fire
    • Thick bark protects them

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