THEME 4:

NATURE’S BALANCE

In this theme, you will learn:

4.1 Investigate the variety of animals and plants found in

different habitats
4.2 Recognise the ways animals are suited or adapted to the
environment in which they live
4.3 Make a Food Chain
4.4 Recognise some ways that human activities affect the
environment
4.5 Differentiate between climate and weather
4.6 Find out how human activity is affected by climate and
weather
4.7 Define what is meant by responsibility and right
4.8 Discuss about human rights and responsibilities

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 Animal and Plant Habitats

A habitat is the place where a living thing lives.

A habitat must have the food, water and space that a living thing
needs.
Living things are suited to the place where they live, their habitat.
Look at each of these creatures.
Talk about where they live and why they are suited to it.

Clownfish live in the sea. Fish breathe in the

water. They live next to creatures called
anemones and eat leftovers from anemones.

Camels live in the desert where there isn’t

much food. Their humps can store fat to live
off until they can get food. Camels have long
eye lashes to protect their eyes from sand storms.

Just like animals, plants have habitats.

They are suited to the place where they live.
A desert is a hot dry place where not
many plants can grow.
Cacti can survive in the desert because
they have a lot of shallow roots which
collect any small amount of water in the
ground. Their stems can store this water
for a long time.
The spikes on cacti are actually leaves.
They protect the plant from being eaten by
animals. The spikes also stop air flowing near the cactus, which
keeps water in.

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Plants that live at the seaside need to be able to survive in strong
winds, bright sunshine, salty air and shallow sandy soil.

The savanna is a large area of

grassland in Africa. Animals such as
lions, wildebeest, zebras and giraffe
live in the savanna.
However, during other parts of the
year, there are heavy rains. Trees
have thick trunks to store some of this
water to use during the dry season. An
umbrella acacia tree growing on the
savanna.

Plants need at least some sunlight to grow, so in the deepest parts

of the sea, plants can’t grow. However, in more shallow water,
plants can grow. Some plants float on the surface of the water to
get sunlight.

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Let’s Figure Out!

Think of an animal that you are going to investigate.

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The Ways Animals are Suited or Adapted to Their
Habitats

A habitat is a natural environment that an animal lives in.

Animals are suited to their habitats because the habitats have
everything that animals need to live well.
How have these animals adapted to their environment?
Frogs
Food, such as flies, cockroaches
and spiders are caught on the
frog’s long, sticky tongue. Bigger
frogs can eat bigger animals, like
mice and birds.
Camouflage, so that they are less
visible to predators, such
as otters, birds and fish.
Water is needed for drinking and
for laying their eggs in.
This means frogs are best suited to living in places where there is
water, such as near a pond or lake.

Polar Bear
Food, such as seals, reindeer and
fish. They can even use their
sense of smell to find
seals hiding under the snow.
Camouflage, so that they are
harder to spot.
Their see-through fur reflects the
white of the snow around
them and lets them blend in.

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Sea ice for hunting on, living on and breeding on.
This means polar bears are best suited to living in the Arctic
Circle.

Birds
Food, such as berries, worms and
small insects.
Camouflage, so that they are less
visible to predators.
Materials for nest-building, such as
twigs and leaves.
This means birds are best suited to
living in places where there are plenty
of trees, such as woods, gardens
and parks.

Lion

• Water to stay hydrated in hot conditions.

• Prey, such as antelopes and zebras, to eat.
• Camouflage, such as long grass to hide in whilst they hunt
their prey.

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Panda

Food and Water, to stay healthy

and hydrated in all conditions.
Both come from bamboo, which
grows in cool forests. They also
eat other plants and even small
rodents.
Camouflage, to hide in. The
panda’s white fur helps it hide in
the snow in the mountains, while
the black patches help it hide in
the shade.
This means pandas are best suited to living in places where there
is plenty of bamboo and places to hide, such as a forest.

Fox

• Water to stay hydrated in all conditions.

• Prey, such as birds and mice. They are scavengers, which
means they will eat almost anything like insects,
earthworms, fruit, berries, and food waste left by humans.
• A den to live in. This is usually a hole under the ground.

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Humans are able to change our environments to make them
habitable with technology and buildings. We are able to live in
most conditions. Some animals cannot do this and have become
extinct as a result.

Let’s Figure Out!

Draw lines to match each animal with its adaptation

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 Food Chain

A food chain is a diagram shows how energy is transferred

from the Sun to living things.
Look at this food chain diagram below:

We start with the Sun. All of the energy on Earth comes from the
Sun. The Sun shines light energy down, and the grass uses that
energy to make its own food. Because the grass makes its own
food, it is called a producer. Then, along comes a grasshopper
which eats the grass. Energy is then transferred from the grass to
the grasshopper. Because the grasshopper cannot make its own
food, and gets its energy from other sources, it is called a
consumer. The grasshopper is then eaten by a frog. So, the
energy in the grasshopper goes to the frog. The frog is also a
consumer. The frog is then eaten by a snake. So, the energy in
the frog is transferred to the snake. The snake is a consumer too.
Lastly, the snake is then eaten by a hawk. So, the energy in the
snake is transferred to the hawk. The hawk is a consumer as well.
Have a look at the completed food chain. A food chain gives us a
way to show how energy is transferred from a Sun to living things.

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When creating a food chain, arrows are used to show the feeding
relationship. The direction of the arrows is important. The arrows
always point in the direction the energy is going.

Let’s Figure Out!

Make 3 (three) possible food chains from the pictures

below.

Rhino

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 Human Activities & Environment

The environment is everything that surrounds us. It

encompasses all the natural, living, nonliving, and artificial things.
Environment can also be defined as our surroundings with all its
living and non-living things such as air, water, soil, plants and
animals.
Humans are mainly responsible for the destruction of the
environment. The impacts of human activity on the environment
are from the time of our very earliest ancestors. Since then we
have all been modifying the environment as per our convenience,
and at this point, today, we are losing all the valuable natural
resources which cannot be gained back.

The human effects or the factors contributing to the loss of the

environment are:
 Pollution
 Deforestation
 Overpopulation
 Disposal of wastes
 Wastage of natural resources

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 All these factors lead to acid rain, increased carbon dioxide
levels in the atmosphere, acidification of lakes, depletion of the
ozone layer, climate change, global warming, extinction of species,
etc.
Deforestation is a major issue in global land use. Clear-
cutting of forests not only removes all the trees from the land but
also destroys habitats and alters ecosystems. Even partial logging
in a forest can destroy enough trees to change the forest structure
dramatically. Changes in tree cover affect soil quality and
facilitate erosion. Because trees naturally remove a great deal of
carbon dioxide from the atmosphere during photosynthesis,
deforestation can produce a net increase in the global atmospheric
concentration of carbon dioxide, an important greenhouse gas.
Increased carbon dioxide levels can affect climate by contributing
to higher temperatures at Earth’s surface (see greenhouse
effect; global warming).

Air, soil, and water pollution are among the negative effects
of urbanization. The development of natural lands to build towns

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 and roads also causes habitat loss and degradation, posing a grave
threat to ecosystems in general and wildlife in particular.
The introduction of new roads and traffic in natural areas
destroys habitat and causes direct mortality to wildlife.

Let’s Figure Out!

1. Fill in the blanks with the correct words in the box below.

Climate change deforestation rainfall

Habitat destruction pollution population growth

Soil erosion hurricanes

2. List two ways that human population growth has damaged the
country in which you live.
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
3. List three ways in which you impact the environment. It may be
positive and negative.
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________

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 Climate & Weather

Weather is the day-to-day variation of the atmosphere’s

condition locally. Climate is the variation of weather conditions
over long periods of time, usually years.

Weather

Weather can change quickly. TV weather reporters make daily

predictions of weather conditions in your area. One day it can be
sunny, the next day it is cloudy, and the next day it is rainy. The
weather is constantly changing day-to-day. Just because it is
summer, that doesn’t mean that every day will hot – the daily
weather varies. To prepare for your day, most people check the
weather report.

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 Many different elements combine to create weather.
Temperature is one of the basic elements of weather. Temperature
is how warm or cold it is outside.
Wind, or the movement of air across Earth’s surface, is a
second element of weather. Winds may be gentle or powerful.
A third element of weather is humidity, or the amount of moisture
in the air. Warm air can hold more moisture than cold air can.
Precipitation is a fourth element of weather. Precipitation may
come in many forms, including rain, hail, sleet, and snow. The
form precipitation takes depends on other weather conditions, such
as temperature.
A fifth element of weather is atmospheric pressure. This is the
weight of air above a given area. Changes in pressure help people
to predict approaching storms. A storm is a disturbance in the
atmosphere—for example, a thunderstorm or a hurricane.
Meteorology is the scientific study of weather. People who
study and predict weather are called meteorologists.

Climate

There are five general types of climate: tropical, subtropical, temperate, polar, and highland.

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 Many factors affect climate. These factors include the Sun,
oceans, winds, land types, clouds, and human activities.
Sunlight affects climate by hitting Earth unevenly. Places near
the Equator receive lots of strong sunlight throughout the year.
This gives them a hot climate year-round. Places far from the
Equator get less strong sunlight, and so they are cooler.
Oceans also affect climate. Land near an ocean usually has a
milder climate than an inland area. The ocean warms the land in
winter and cools it in summer. This happens because water cools
and heats more slowly than land.
Winds affect climate by carrying warm or cool air to areas. Winds
also bring different amounts of moisture.
The type of land in an area affects the climate, too. For
example, mountain ranges can block cold air. Also, places that
are at higher elevations are usually cooler than nearby places at
lower elevations.
Clouds affect climate by blocking some of the heat received from
the Sun during the day. During the night, clouds keep heat from
escaping into space.
Finally, human activities may affect climate. When people burn
fuels such as oil and coal to run cars and heat homes, the fuels
release certain gases into the air. These gases trap heat on Earth.
Some scientists think that Earth is slowly getting warmer and that
this may be because of the extra gases in the air. This idea is
known as global warming.

Types of Climate
No two places on Earth have exactly the same climate.
Nevertheless, many climates are similar to one another. Some of
these general types of climates are tropical, subtropical,
temperate, polar, and highland.

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Tropical climates are warm all year and have no winter. They lie
near the Equator. Some tropical climates have a lot of rain. Others
are dry.
Subtropical climates are found north and south of the tropical
climates. They have a greater range of temperatures than tropical
climates. They also may be humid or dry.
Temperate climates are found mostly north of the Equator. In
these climates, cold air from the north mixes with warm tropical air
from the south. This mixing often causes rain and snow.
Temperate climates usually have warmer summers and colder
winters.
Polar climates are very cold. Snow and ice often cover the land.
Some polar areas always have a layer of frost, called permafrost,
below the soil.
Highland climates have a great range of temperature between
day and night. They tend to be humid and cooler than the lower
lands nearby.

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Let’s Figure Out!

Write each statement in the Venn diagram.

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Human Activity that is affected by Climate &
Weather

The weather and climate play a huge role in defining what

human activities can and cannot occur. For instance farming types
are directly influenced by the climate. Some of the more extreme
weather conditions are shown below to describe how they might
affect human activity.

Can you think of an example of how the weather and climate

have affected you in some ways? Maybe heavy rain caused your
football match to be cancelled, or perhaps there was some damage
to your house.

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Let’s Figure Out!

How does the weather affect us? Complete the table below.

Positive Impacts Negative Impacts

Health Sunshine can cause

sunburn and heatstroke

Farming

Transportation

Retail (shopping) Sales of cold drinks and ice

cream increase in hot
weather

Tourism &
Recreation

Energy Sunshine can produce

solar power

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 Responsibilities & Rights

What is right?
What is responsibility?
A right is a choice to make your own opinion and entitlement to
things such an education, religion, and freedom of speech.
Responsibilities are duties or something an individual should do
such as law and rules.

What human rights do we have?

Everyone in the world has the same rights.

One of the human right do we have is education.
Everyone has the right to education.
According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
you have the right to go to school.
You should be able to learn a profession
or continue your studies to whatever level you wish.
Everyone has the right to a decent standard of living.
You have the right to the things
you need to live a healthy and prosperous life.

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This includes food, clothing, housing, and medical care and social
services.

Let’s Figure Out!

1. Make groups in a classroom.

2. A group consist of 3—4 students.
3. Students have to think about the right and responsibility in
their classroom.
4. Each group come forward in front of the classroom to declare
the right and responsibilities of students in the classroom.

Exercise

1. Is a freedom that is protected by law a right or a responsibility?

_________________________________________________
2. Is having food, shelter, and clothing a right or a responsibility?
_________________________________________________
3. Is following your family's rules a right or responsibility?
_________________________________________________
4. Is having a safe home a right or responsibility?
_________________________________________________
5. Is being treated fairly and with respect at school a right or
responsibility?
_________________________________________________

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Rights and Responsibilities at Home and School

We have responsibility and right in family community.

You are children of your parent. Children have the right to be
safe, to be treated with affection, to be educated, to have medical
care, and to be protected against cruelty and abuse.
While, your parent have the duty to protect their children. The
father and mother use the right their duties by making a decision
in place of their child.

A family can be said as a team. Being a family member, we have

to help each other among family member. A father is a leader in a
family. Beside a leader, a father will be discussed with mother in
making any decision for the family purposes.
A mother who keeping the household and taking care the house.
While, a team, father and children work together to reach a happy
family.

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Children’s responsibilities and rights at home

Parents are the first to have the power to act on behalf of the
child and ensure their rights are
respected. The father and mother
use their rights and carry out their
duties by making decisions in place
of their child. Children have
responsibility not to waste or spoil
any of the things provided for them.
Children should obey household rules. Children should show
respect and care towards other family members.

Children should get all

they need to feel happy and
respected and be healthy.
Children should receive any
medical care they need.
Children should be kept safe
and be taught about staying
safe.
 Children should get affection from the
family and it makes them happy

Students’ responsibilities and

rights at school
People go to school have different
aim. Each person has a duty to attend
for their hours of work and to do their
task as well as they can. Each person
has different responsibilities and
different rights.

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Students’ responsibilities at school are:

 Students should attend school and study hard

 Students’ behaviour should make everyone feel safe
 Students should obey the class rules
 Students’ should not waste or broke the equipment of the
class

Students’ rights at school:

 Students should be
treated with respect
 Students should feel safe
at school
 Students should get the
education at school

Responsibilities to ourselves

People are still

responsible for the choices
they make. The important
thing is to make good
choices. Rules help us to
think about good choice for
us and for others. We should
responsibility about our choice.

For example, when you want to have a pet, you have to

take care for it.

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Let’s Figure Out!

1. Having food, shelter, and clothing is a ___________

(right/responsibility) for children.
2. Following family rules is a ______________
(right/responsibility) for children.
3. Have a safe home is a ___________ (right/responsibility) for
children.
4. Helping parents to cook and wash the car is a __________
(right/responsibility) for children.
5. Cooperating with brother or sister is a ____________
(right/responsibility) for children.
6. Paying taxes is a __________ (right/responsibility) for parent.
7. Paying the bills is a _________ (right/responsibility) for parent.
8. Serving food is a __________ (right/responsibility) for parent.
9. Make a decision is a ________ (right/responsibility) for parent.
10. Protecting the family is a ____________
(right/responsibility) for the parent.

Exercise

Complete the chart by writing your rights and responsibilities in

each box!

Place Right Responsibility

At Home

At School

To Ourselves

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