Chapter 8 of 8

All 8 chapters
  1. 1Living and non-living, readunderstood
  2. 2Grouping animals, readunderstood
  3. 3Habitats, readunderstood
  4. 4Exploring a small habitat, readunderstood
  5. 5Fit for the habitat, readunderstood
  6. 6Plant eaters, meat eaters and both, readunderstood
  7. 7Food chains, readunderstood
  8. 8Changes to habitats, readunderstood

S2.2.8 Chapter 8

Changes to habitats

What happens to animals when people cut down a forest?

Your guess

Pick one before you read on. It is fine to be wrong.

Your guess

  • You picked A. Read on. At the end, the chapter comes back to your guess.

  • You picked B. Read on. At the end, the chapter comes back to your guess.

  • You picked C. Read on. At the end, the chapter comes back to your guess.

By the end you can

  • Describe how cutting forests or dirty water harms living things
  • Suggest ways people can protect a habitat near them

Habitats change. People change them a lot. Some changes harm the living things there.

People cut forests for wood, for farms and for roads. Cutting a forest takes away homes and food.

Animals move away or die. Tree roots hold the soil. With no trees, rain washes the soil away.

Draw it first

Draw what cutting a forest does

  1. Ground with soil below it. First three trees stand in a row, labelled forest. Then the trees are gone and only three stumps are left, labelled stumps. Then rain falls, labelled rain, and an arrow runs along the soil, labelled soil washed away.forest

    1 Draw three trees on the ground. Write forest.

  2. Ground with soil below it. First three trees stand in a row, labelled forest. Then the trees are gone and only three stumps are left, labelled stumps. Then rain falls, labelled rain, and an arrow runs along the soil, labelled soil washed away.stumps

    2 Cut them down. Draw stumps. Write stumps.

  3. Ground with soil below it. First three trees stand in a row, labelled forest. Then the trees are gone and only three stumps are left, labelled stumps. Then rain falls, labelled rain, and an arrow runs along the soil, labelled soil washed away.stumpsrainsoil washed away

    3 Draw rain and an arrow in the soil. Write rain and soil washed away.

Two panels. On the left, before, two trees stand on the ground and a bird sits near them, labelled home and food. On the right, after, only two stumps with ring lines are left and no animals. The stumps are labelled stumps and the place is labelled no home. Labels: before, after, home and food, stumps, no home.beforeafterhome and foodstumpsno home
Cut the trees and the animals lose their home and food.

Dirty water harms living things too. Rubbish, oil and soap make water dirty. So do waste from toilets and sprays from farms.

Two ponds side by side. The left pond is plain with a few wave lines, labelled clean water, and has three fish, labelled 3 fish. The right pond is crossed with lines, labelled dirty water. A black bar of oil and two small boxes of litter float on top, and one fish swims below, labelled 1 fish. Labels: clean water, dirty water, 3 fish, 1 fish.clean waterdirty water3 fish1 fish
Oil and litter make water dirty. Fewer fish can live in it.

Fish and frogs get sick or die. The animals that eat them lose food. This harm is pollution.

Plastic is a problem too. It does not rot for a very long time. To rot is to break down and go back into the soil.

Animals can choke on plastic. Litter is rubbish dropped where it does not belong.

A food chain has links. When one living thing is lost, the others are harmed too.

See it three ways

As a picture

A food chain of boxes joined by arrows: grass, grasshopper, frog and snake. A cross is drawn on the corner of the frog box, labelled frog lost. Under the snake box are the words less food.grassgrasshopperfrogsnakefrog lostless food

In words

The frogs are lost. The snakes lose their food. The grasshoppers are eaten less, so there are more of them.

We can protect a habitat near us. Do not throw rubbish in water or on the ground.

Pick up litter with a stick or a bag on your hand. Wash your hands after.

Three ways to look after a habitat. A young plant is labelled new tree. A person with a bag is labelled litter bag. A tuft of grass is labelled wild patch.new treelitter bagwild patch
Plant a tree. Pick up litter. Leave a patch wild.

Plant trees. Leave a patch of ground wild. Plants and small animals can live there.

Never pour oil or paint on the ground or into water.

Try it

Does plastic rot?

You need: a soft green leaf, a small piece of plastic bag, damp soil outside, three sticks.

Be safe: Wash your hands after you touch soil. Do not leave plastic in the ground.

  1. Dig two small holes in damp soil with a stick.
  2. Put the leaf in one hole. Put the plastic in the other.
  3. Cover both holes with soil. Push a stick in to mark each place.
  4. Keep the soil damp. Wait three or four weeks.
  5. Dig them up with a stick. Look at each one.
  6. Take out the plastic. Put it in the rubbish.

What you will see: The leaf is soft, dark and breaking up. It is starting to rot. The plastic has not changed. Plastic does not rot. It stays as litter for a very long time.

If you cannot try it, this is what happens.
Two columns. On the left a leaf, labelled leaf, is a hatched patch. An arrow points down to a few small bits, labelled breaking up. On the right a piece of plastic, labelled plastic, is a plain box. An arrow points down to the same whole box, labelled not changed.leafplasticbreaking upnot changed

A wrong idea many people have

Rubbish in a river just goes away.

Why it feels right: The river carries it out of sight. Out of sight seems like gone.

The test that breaks it: Do the burying test. After weeks, the leaf is breaking up. The plastic has not changed. Plastic does not rot away. A river only carries it to another place, where other animals live.

What is true: Rubbish does not go away. The river moves it. Plastic stays for a very long time.

Key words

pollution
harm to water, air or soil from things that do not belong.
rot
to break down and go back into the soil.
litter
rubbish dropped where it does not belong.

Back to your guess

The answer is A: They lose their homes and food. Many move away or die.

A forest is home and food for many animals. When it goes, they lose both. Many must move away, and some die.

Check yourself

Try each one before you look. A wrong answer tells you where to go next.

  1. Why do many animals leave when a forest is cut down?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Not this one. A forest gives food and shelter. With no trees, they have neither. Try another.

    2. Not this one. Cutting trees takes away plants and the animals on them. Try another.

    3. Not this one. A stump gives little shelter and little food. The trees that gave both are gone. Try another.

    4. Yes, that is right. The forest was home and food for them. Without it, they move away or die.

    See the answer

    They lose their homes and food.

    The forest was home and food for them. Without it, they move away or die.

    • If you chose A: A forest gives food and shelter. With no trees, they have neither.
    • If you chose B: Cutting trees takes away plants and the animals on them.
    • If you chose C: A stump gives little shelter and little food. The trees that gave both are gone.

  2. Which of these can make river water dirty and harm fish?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Yes, that is right. Oil, rubbish, soap and farm sprays make water dirty. Fish and frogs get sick or die.

    2. Not this one. A leaf rots and goes back into the soil. Oil and plastic do not. Try another.

    3. Not this one. Clean rain does not harm fish. Try another.

    See the answer

    Oil poured into the water

    Oil, rubbish, soap and farm sprays make water dirty. Fish and frogs get sick or die.

    • If you chose B: A leaf rots and goes back into the soil. Oil and plastic do not.
    • If you chose C: Clean rain does not harm fish.

  3. Kofi buries a leaf and plastic in damp soil. Four weeks later, what does he find?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Not this one. Plastic does not rot for a very long time. Try another.

    2. Not this one. A leaf starts to rot in damp soil. It goes soft and breaks up. Try another.

    3. Yes, that is right. A leaf starts to rot in damp soil. In time it goes back into the soil. Plastic does not.

    See the answer

    The leaf is breaking up. The plastic has not changed.

    A leaf starts to rot in damp soil. In time it goes back into the soil. Plastic does not.

    • If you chose A: Plastic does not rot for a very long time.
    • If you chose B: A leaf starts to rot in damp soil. It goes soft and breaks up.

  4. In grass → grasshopper → frog → snake, dirty water kills the frogs. What happens to the snakes?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Not this one. Each link needs the one before it. A snake eats frogs. Go to S2.2.7. Try another.

    2. Yes, that is right. The frogs are food for the snakes. When the frogs are lost, the snakes are harmed too.

    3. Not this one. A snake eats animals, not grass. Go to S2.2.6. Try another.

    See the answer

    They have less to eat.

    The frogs are food for the snakes. When the frogs are lost, the snakes are harmed too.

    • If you chose A: Each link needs the one before it. A snake eats frogs. Go to S2.2.7.
    • If you chose C: A snake eats animals, not grass. Go to S2.2.6.

  5. From an earlier chapter

    Ravi lifts a stone to see what lives under it. What should he do after?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Not this one. Small animals need the dark, damp place under a stone. Put it back as it was. Go to S2.2.4. Try another.

    2. Yes, that is right. The stone is a home for small animals. Putting it back keeps their habitat safe.

    3. Not this one. Animals need their own habitat to live. Leave them there. Go to S2.2.4. Try another.

    See the answer

    Put the stone back as it was.

    The stone is a home for small animals. Putting it back keeps their habitat safe.

    • If you chose A: Small animals need the dark, damp place under a stone. Put it back as it was. Go to S2.2.4.
    • If you chose C: Animals need their own habitat to live. Leave them there. Go to S2.2.4.

  6. Name two ways you could protect a habitat near you.

    See the answer

    Any two. Pick up litter safely. Plant a tree. Leave a patch wild. Keep rubbish out of water.

    Each one keeps homes and food safe for living things.

  7. Which action helps to protect a habitat?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Not this one. A river only moves rubbish to another place, where other animals live. Try another.

    2. Not this one. Plastic does not rot. It stays in the ground for a very long time. Try another.

    3. Not this one. Rain washes litter into rivers and drains. Pick it up. Try another.

    4. Yes, that is right. Litter in a bin cannot harm animals or water. Never touch sharp litter. Leave it for a grown up.

    See the answer

    Put litter in a bin, or take it home.

    Litter in a bin cannot harm animals or water. Never touch sharp litter. Leave it for a grown up.

    • If you chose A: A river only moves rubbish to another place, where other animals live.
    • If you chose B: Plastic does not rot. It stays in the ground for a very long time.
    • If you chose C: Rain washes litter into rivers and drains. Pick it up.

Keep it

Copy this into your exercise book.

Cutting forests and dirty water take away homes and food. Plastic does not rot. When one living thing is lost, the others suffer. We can protect habitats. Keep rubbish out, plant trees, leave a wild patch.

Draw: A tree and a stream. Add one thing you can do to help.

Reading with a child? A short page for the adult: what this chapter teaches and three questions to ask.

No internet tomorrow? Save the whole book as one file (856 KB). It opens on any phone.