Endangered Species Lesson Plan

Grade: Students aged 8-16 (modify as needed) Length of Class Period: One hour Objectives:

Students will gain an understanding of the importance of saving endangered animals. Students will be able to define and identify endangered species. They will also be able to provide solutions for protecting animals and increasing endangered species populations.
Rationale/Purpose: To create student awareness that humans are connected to their ecosystems and they need to take an active role in protecting it. Students should understand and be able to explain how endangered species directly affects their lives and why it is important to protect them. Preparation: The following materials must be gathered before class: 100 dried beans Ball of yarn Signs with tape for: soil, grass, birds, trees, water, insects, sun, microorganisms, fish, rocks, bears, snakes, deer, frog, people Assessment: Verbal questioning at end of lesson to see if objectives were met as well as a completed Web of Life worksheet from each student (optional) Body of Lesson (with running times): 0 min. Warm-up Activity: Endangered Animals Hunt Before class hide the dried beans around the room. When the students come to class ask them to hunt for the hidden beans. Count to see how many beans are found and record the number

(They probably wont find all of them). Challenge them to look for more beans, then count and record how many are found the second time. Ask the students to hunt for beans a third time. Count and record the final results. Explain that each time they looked for beans they were harder to find and there were fewer of them. The same is true with some of the animals on the earth. There are fewer and they are more difficult to find they are called endangered animals. 10 min. Defining Endangered Species

Similarly, ask your students to describe how the absence of one student impacts the class. What needs to be done differently or in addition due to the absence? Now ask them what might happen if several students could not attend classes. What if all of the students in the

class could not be there? How might this affect the teacher's position? How would it impact the school? This is one example of how groups and their environments change when their numbers change. Animals also affect each other, and when their populations dwindle, there are many effects. Lead a discussion and ask students:

Is the world a safe place for all animals and plants? Why or why not? What does it mean for a species to be endangered? What, if anything, do you know about this topic? What animal or plant species do you know of that are endangered or extinct? (Ex. Venus Fly Trap, Polar Bear, Mexican Bobcat, Fig Tree). What endangered animal and plant species do you know of in Macedonia (Ex. Great Snipe, Stone Crayfish, Balkan Snow Vole http://www.earthsendangered.com/searchregions3.asp?search=1&sgroup=allgroups&ID=531).

For a list of endangered species see: http://www.earthsendangered.com/list_html.asp 20 min. Web of Life Activity

Have the children stand in a large circle. Explain that the game theyre going to play shows how parts of natural communities and ecosystems depend on each other. Ask campers if they know what an ecosystem is and have them describe it (An ecosystem is a complex set of relationships among living resources, habitats, and residences. It includes plants, animals, insects, microorganisms, water, soil, and people). Ask what role plants and animals play in the ecosystem, e.g. food, shelter, pollination, medicine, etc. Ask everyone to stand in a circle and put on a sign. Then ask Whats the source of almost all of the energy on earth? (The sun.) Have the child who answered correctly be the sun and stand in the middle because all life obtains its energy from it. Hand the sun the ball of yarn. Then ask: What depends on the sun to make food? (plants). Can anyone name a plant? Have the sun toss the ball of yarn to the plant-child, while holding onto one end. Then ask who is dependent on this plant (for food, shelter, warmth, building material, protection, etc.). When a child answers, toss them the yarn and have them explain their connection. Continue connecting the children with the yarn as their interdependence and relationships emerge. Have each child explain their connection. Be sure to include all ecosystem parts in the web (soil, water, air, decomposers, people, etc.). As you connect the web, keep the yarn on top of the web so that it is easier to untangle after you have completed the activity. Continue this process until all components are somehow connected. The web of life/ecosystem has been created. Have the children pull up the slack and raise the web above their heads and look through it. Bring the web back down, warning them to hold on tightly to their yarn. Wrap-up: Pluck on the yarn and note how strongly connected everyone is. Then introduce a threat to the web (unsafe drinking water due to groundwater contamination; extinction of one of the animals due to loss of habitat). Have the effected individuals take a step

back. Has anyone felt tension in the yarn? Is it just one person or many? Have the effected individuals step back into the center and give another example of part of the ecosystem being damaged: ex. theres no water (life dies), all the bees die (plants dont get pollinated, animals that depend on the plants die), too many trees get cut down (soil erosion, rockslides, not enough animal habitat), etc. Repeat the process of stepping back and assessing where the tension is felt. Point out how losing one life form of the ecosystem affects everything else. Therefore, losing one animal or plant in the world will affect all people eventually. 45 min. Further Defining Endangered Species

Lead a discussion: Increasing human population has made the web of life change and get out of balance. Bigger human populations naturally mean increases in human activities worldwide, leading to changes in landscapes, oceans, atmospheres, and the path of human history. For example, human activities like reducing the amount of forest cover, increasing the amount and variety of chemicals released into the atmosphere, and intensive farming, have changed the earth's land, oceans, and atmosphere. Some of these changes have decreased the capacity of the environment to support some life forms. The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) forecasts that the human population is slated to reach 8.5 billion in 2025, up from 5.2 billion in 1990. Right now, the NWF asserts that plant and animal species are disappearing at least 1,000 times faster than any other time in the last 65 million years. It also claims that habitat loss is accounting for almost 75 percent of the extinctions occurring now. Students should come to understand that the earth and its various species will continue to be threatened and that most of humanity is either uninformed or seemingly too preoccupied to care about the slow and dying animal and plant species that help to give everyone life. Ask students:

Why do you think species are endangered? How do you think or feel about this ongoing global problem? What, if anything, happens when an animal or plant species becomes extinct? How do you think this situation can be realistically improved? Why should it be improved? Close

55 min.

Summarize how the web of life is connected and animal and plant species are becoming endangered. Make a list of activities students can do to help prevent further animal and plant extinction.

***Going further: Have the students research an endangered species and complete the following worksheet. Then have the students share what they find with the class.

***Alternate activity. Materials needed: Jenga game or a handcrafted alternative. Write or tape names of animal and plant species in the world or only those from Macedonia onto the playing pieces. Set up the game and explain that the Jenga tower represents the ecosystem of the world/Macedonia. As the children take out a playing piece from the Jenga tower, have them read off the animal or plant name on the piece they took. As the tower gets weak and eventually topples over, point out that the world is similarly affected when plant and animal species become extinct. Lead a discussion on how everything is interconnected (see above lesson discussion notes).

Sources Used: http://www2.educationworld.com/a_lesson/03/lp310-03.shtml http://www.umaine.edu/umext/earthconnections/activities/36.htm http://www.teachervision.fen.com/endangered-species/lesson-plan/6239.html

Name _____________________________

Web of Life

DIRECTIONS: Choose an endangered species and complete the web below to prove to members of We Love Wildlife that you understand the interdependence of creatures on Earth.

2003 by Education World. Education World grants educators permission to reproduce this page for classroom use.