Wildlife Preservers

Science/Social Studies

Students will learn more about endangered animals and how they might be preserved.

What You Need

What to Do

  1. Ask students to choose and research an endangered animal species. Your class can research and compile a list of animals from which to choose, or you can provide a list for them. (Examples: mountain gorilla, African elephant, black rhinoceros, bighorn sheep, Florida panther, orangutan, komodo dragon, northern spotted owl.)
  2. Tell students to find the following information about their chosen animal: What does the animal look like, and what are its habits? What is the animal's natural habitat, and in what part of the world is it found? What makes this habitat ideal for the animal? (What kinds of foods does the environment provide? How does the animal protect itself in this environment?) How is the animal's habitat threatened? What, if anything, is being done to preserve the species?
  3. After students have gathered information on their chosen animal, ask them to write a speech to present to the class, answering the above questions and explaining why it is important to preserve that species.

Internet Resources

Endangered Animal Stories
Fifth graders from Pocantico School in Sleepy Hollow, New York have written 45 stories for endangered animals, from the Amazon manatee to the whooping crane. Use them to model story writing or as a springboard to dramatic play.
http://www2.lhric.org/pocantico/5thgrade99/animals.htm

ES2000 - Endangered Species of the Next Millennium
Students in Singapore, the Netherlands, and California produced this excellent Web site about endangered species. The site explores the causes of endangerment and the steps being taken to save animals that are threatened. Click on Species Profiles for in-depth information about specific animals or Media Gallery for pictures, videos, and sound clips.
http://library.thinkquest.org/25014/english.index.shtml?tqskip1=1&tqtime=0429