Prospect Park Zoo: High School
Researching
the Lynx and Other Species and the Reintroduction of Species Into Their Natural
Habitat
Grade
levels: 9th and 10th Grades
Learning
Standards: Science Standard 7, 9, 16
Time
requirements: 2 hrs. prep time, 2 hrs. class time
Topics
covered by this lesson:
The
lynx nearing endangerment, the causes
Actions
toward conservation of the lynx
The
effects of reintroduction of the lynx into its natural habitat
Materials:
Students journals, paper, pens/pencil, copies of The Long-Elusive
Lynx Is Returned to Colorado ; (one per students, encyclopedias, textbooks,
and books with information about different animal species that are near extinction,
computers with internet access(optional)
Pre-visit:
Discuss
vocabulary words: endangered species, repopulate, predator, elusive, natural
habitat, extinction
Investigate
the reintroduction of the lynx to its natural habitat in Colorado by reading
and discussing The Long-Elusive Lynx is Returned to Colorado ;. Discuss the causes of endangerment.
Discuss actions towards conservation of species.
Visit:
Students
will have notebooks and pencils. They will have decided in the previous
class who they will move around the zoo with. They will write, draw,
and take some pictures of the information that they learn during the visit.
They will ask questions.
Post
Visit:
Discuss
questions answered and their feelings and thoughts about the visit.
Each group of students selects an animal species that is nearing extinction
for the topic of research about that species. (suggested species: African
elephant, dwarf crocodile, kakapo, black lemur, orangutan, tiger, leatherback
turtle, gray whale, northern spotted owl, and brown pelican.) Using
available resource materials, students research their animal, answering the
following questions:
What is this animal's physical feature and how do they enhance its ability
to survive in its natural habitat?
What foods does this animal eat?
What are the causes of this animal's endangerment?
What actions have been taken towards the conservation of this species?
MSTEP
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