Prospect Park Zoo: Middle Grades
Grade
Levels: 7th Life science
Learning
Standard: Standard 4 and 6.
Time
Requirements: 4-5 class periods and Field trip
Topics
Covered by This Lesson: An animal's family dynamic, lifestyle, and the
differences between a domestic, wild and tame animal.
Pre-Visit:
1)
Classroom discussion and possible background reading.
2)
Separate students into groups of three, each of which
will become experts on one of the field houses.
3)
Give each group member a copy of every team project
(3 total), consisting to a series of questions that can be answered by that
specific exhibit.
4)
After completing the project for each house, the
experts of each house will spend the next class period or two in the
library doing extra research on their particular house.
5)
An additional class period or two should also be
provided to prepare for each group's oral presentation the following week.
Visit:
Students already know what they need to do. Encourage groups to compare
notes and discuss ideas.
Post
Visit: Library time, class time, and time to present their expert ; opinion.
Possible
questions that may be brought up: Students may have more in depth questions for the experts ; or the teacher on the topics
they researched. This may be about the animals they research or other
animals they may be interested in.
MSTEP
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