Science // Animals of the World

Animal Homes

Know that animals make or find many different kinds of homes — birds build nests, rabbits dig burrows, bees live in hives, hermit crabs use empty shells, spiders spin webs — and that these shelters protect them and their young

Ages
5 to 7
Type
Concept
Builds on
1 topic
Leads to
4 topics

Quick check

If you ask the learner where different animals live, can they describe several animal homes — like a bird's nest, a rabbit's burrow, or a bee's hive — and say why animals need shelter?

Ask this to see whether the topic is secure.

Topic // Mastery

What mastery looks like

What a learner can do once this topic is secure.
  • Names at least 4 different types of animal homes (nest, burrow, hive, web, shell, den, lodge)
  • Explains that animals need homes for shelter and to keep their babies safe
  • Matches common animals to their homes

Topic // Map

Where this fits

What to learn first and what this topic opens up, with the reason for each link. Required links come first.
  • RequiredMust come first
  • HelpfulHelps, but not essential

Before this

1 topic
  • Animals EverywhereRequired

    Animals of the World // Ages 5 to 7

    Animal homes builds on knowing animals live everywhere

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Animal Homes

Ages 5 to 7 // Concept

Leads to

4 topics
  • Nocturnal AnimalsHelpful

    Animals of the World // Ages 5 to 7

    Nocturnal animals often use homes (burrows, dens) as daytime shelters

  • Habitats & Basic NeedsHelpful

    Ecosystems & Habitats // Ages 6 to 8

    Animal homes concept is enriched by curriculum habitats topic

  • The World of MinibeastsHelpful

    Animals of the World // Ages 7 to 9

    Insect homes (hives, webs) were introduced in animal homes topic

  • Rainforest AnimalsHelpful

    Animals of the World // Ages 7 to 9

    Rainforest layers connect to the idea of animals having different homes

Topic // Research-informed

Teaching notes

From the Marble Skill Taxonomy. These notes have not been validated in classrooms, so treat them as a starting point for your own judgement.

The approach

For ages 5–7 (Animal Homes): children learn that animals MAKE or FIND many kinds of home (nest, burrow, hive, web, shell, den, lodge), that each home has a JOB — shelter from weather and predators and a safe place for young — and can match common animals to their homes. The central activity is an active animal↔home match where a correct match reveals the animal and its babies sheltered inside, plus a BUILT-vs-FOUND sort. Supporting scaffolds (tap-to-reveal cutaway scenes and a short recognition check) and a hands-on 'gather natural materials' step are included to make 'home = protection' concrete and to distinguish the specific home from the wider habitat.

Common misconceptions

  • Thinking every animal builds its own home — missing that some FIND or borrow one (the hermit crab uses a cast-off shell; some animals shelter in existing holes).
  • Believing a home is just 'where the animal sits/lives', not grasping its job as protection and a safe place for babies.
  • Assuming animals build like people do (with tools or bought materials) rather than from natural materials (mud, twigs, wax, silk).
  • Over-generalising one home type ('all animals live in nests') to every animal.
  • Confusing a whole HABITAT (the woodland, the pond) with the animal's specific HOME (its nest, its burrow) within that habitat.

Useful representations

  • Cutaway home illustrations (a burrow underground, a nest in a tree, a hive's cells, a lodge in water) showing the animal and its young sheltered inside.
  • An animal↔home matching board (bird→nest, rabbit→burrow, bee→hive, spider→web, hermit crab→shell, fox→den, beaver→lodge).
  • A MAKE / FIND sort (built homes vs found/borrowed homes).
  • Home→material pairings (nest = twigs & grass, hive = wax, web = silk, lodge = sticks & mud) to show animals build from nature.

Teaching practices

  • Tie every home to its PURPOSE (shelter from cold/rain, hiding from predators, a safe nursery for young) so 'home' means protection, not just a location — a cutaway showing the animal and its babies tucked inside makes this concrete.
  • Draw the MAKE-vs-FIND contrast explicitly: some animals build their home (nest, web, hive, lodge, burrow) and some find or borrow one (hermit crab in a shell, animals sheltering in a hollow log) — this adds a satisfying sorting dimension for 5–7.
  • Use matching as the core activity (animal ↔ home) because the KS1 evidence is 'matches common animals to their homes'; give immediate feedback so a wrong match is a gentle, correctable surprise.
  • Cover a spread of home types across land, water and air to reinforce the just-learned 'animals everywhere' idea (underground burrow, treetop nest, underwater lodge, garden web).
  • Keep human houses as a relatable bridge but distinguish them — animals build with what nature provides (mud, twigs, wax, silk), no shops or tools.

Activities to try

  1. 1

    Take each animal home (match and peek inside)

    Why it works: A home is not just where an animal sits — it is shelter that protects the animal, and many homes also keep babies safe; different animals have different homes.

    1. Look at a scene with several places — a tree, a grassy bank, a pond, a garden corner and a seashore rock pool — and a row of animals waiting to go home.
    2. Match each animal to its home: bird→nest (in the tree), rabbit→burrow (in the grassy bank), bee→hive (in a hollow in the tree), spider→web (in the garden corner), hermit crab→shell (in the seashore rock pool), fox→den (in the bank), beaver→lodge (in the pond).
    3. On a correct match, look inside the opened/cutaway home to see how it protects the animal (eggs warm in the nest, kits deep in the burrow, cubs in the den, bee grubs in the wax cells). Not every home holds babies: the hermit crab's shell protects its soft body, and a spider's web mainly catches food, with eggs kept in a silk egg sac.
    4. Say out loud what the home is for — e.g. 'it keeps them warm', 'it hides them from danger'.
    5. When a match is wrong, notice the animal won't fit and try a different home.
  2. 2

    Built or found? (a sorting surprise)

    Why it works: Some animals build their home and some find or borrow one — so 'animals have homes' does not mean 'every animal builds a nest'.

    1. Sort the homes into two groups: ones the animal BUILT (nest, web, hive — bees build the wax comb, often inside a hollow they found — lodge, burrow) and ones it FOUND or borrowed (the hermit crab's empty shell; an animal sheltering in a hollow log).
    2. Explain for one or two examples how it was made or found — a bird gathers twigs and grass; a hermit crab backs into an empty shell left behind by a sea snail.
    3. Talk about the surprise that not every animal makes its own home.
  3. 3

    Explore the habitat scene (tap to peek inside)

    Why it works: Animals live in homes all around us — underground, up in trees and bushes, and in and beside water — and each cutaway shows the animal sheltered inside.

    1. Explore a habitat picture spanning land, water and high places (underground burrow, treetop nest, beaver lodge in a pond with an underwater entrance and a dry room above the water, garden web).
    2. Tap a place — the tree, the ground, the pond — to open a cutaway of the home with the animal and its young inside.
    3. Read or hear a one-line 'what it's for' and point to where the babies are kept safe.

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