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Backyard Explorer 3 to 5 / Week 02 / Wednesday
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Week 02 · Map Your Habitat

Wednesday

Water and cover
// Food, water, cover and space, drawn from above
⏱ about 15 min

Wednesday: Water and Cover

Rocket points at the yard. "There is no water out there. No pond, no creek. Nothing."

Raven kneels by the back step. She touches the grass. "Wet. It is dew."

She points at the faucet. A drop falls. Then another.

Nova blinks. "Water hides in small places," she says. "So does cover. Look lower than you think."

Finding water

Big water, like a pond or a creek, is easy to spot.

Small water matters just as much to small animals.

Dew collects on grass in the early morning. A puddle lasts for hours after rain.

A dripping faucet, a bird bath or a plant saucer can be a water supply.

Even a rolled leaf can hold a drop for an insect.

Mark every water source on your map, even the tiny ones.

Finding cover

Cover is anywhere a living thing can hide, rest or get out of the weather.

Good cover is often low and dark. Look under things.

Bushes, tall grass, a leaf pile and a rock all count.

So does a gap under a step or a crack in a wall.

More kinds of cover means more kinds of animals can live there.

  • Water: puddle, dew, creek, bird bath, dripping faucet, plant saucer.
  • Cover: bush, tall grass, leaf pile, rock, log, gap under a step, tree hole.
  • Use a blue symbol for water and a brown or green symbol for cover.
  • Add each new symbol to your map key.
Safety first
Never lift a rock or a log yourself. A grown-up lifts it, and you only look.
Some things under rocks sting. Keep your hands behind your back.
Never put your hands into a gap or hole you cannot see into.
Stay away from the edge of any creek or deep water. Wash your hands afterwards.
WATER OR COVER?
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
Dew on the grass in the morning is which need?
A pile of old leaves in the corner is which need?
Who should lift a rock to look underneath?
Which habitat can hold more kinds of animals?
What do we call the water drops that collect on grass early in the morning?
WHY THIS EXERCISEDew is small water. For a small animal it is a drink.
A dripping ____ can be a water source for animals.
Good cover is often low and ____.
Who lifts a rock so you can look underneath?
StatementTrue or false?
Only ponds and creeks count as water on a habitat map.?
A gap under a step can be cover.?
You should reach into a hole to feel what is inside.?
More kinds of cover means more kinds of animals can live there.?
WHY THIS EXERCISETiny water counts. Gaps count as cover. Hands never go where eyes cannot see.
Try it
Walk your space with your grown-up. Find every water source, even one drop.
Find three kinds of cover. Look low.
Add them all to your map with symbols. Update the key.
Draw one piece of cover from your space. Show who might hide there and why.

Water and cover, mapped! Tomorrow you work out who lives where, and why.

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