Kids' Planet
About this resource
- Appropriate grades
- 3–8
- Subjects
- science (biology and life science, environmental science, natural history)
- Provider
- Defenders of Wildlife
Legal
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Learn about the challenges to animals and their habitats through activities and by playing Wild Games including puzzles, a word search, a quiz and a memory game, all featuring animals and categorized by difficulty level. The most unique game plays twenty sounds and you must try to identify the animal.
Educator's guide
Kids' Planet provides an attractive introduction to endangered species and environmental conservation for students in grades 3-8.
Younger students will enjoy the Web of Life story, a linear animated presentation told from the point of view of a spider. Older students will find the Factsheets useful as they research the characteristics of various endangered species. The World Wide Wolves section includes an interactive map explaining the population and conservation status of wolves in various countries worldwide.
Rather than just presenting a problem, Kids' Planet suggests actions to move toward a solution. Defend It provides ideas for action and service learning in the area of conservation. From ideas about how to get the student's point of view heard by legislators, to simple ideas for making backyards more welcoming to wildlife, this area empowers students to make a difference. Older students can get involved through advocating for habitat preservation, biodiversity, and energy conservation, and classes or families are encouraged to provide support through an "adopt an animal" program.
Be sure to check out the Teacher's Table for complete curriculum units and a bibliography of resources. The Wolf Discovery unit includes activities in reading, writing, and social studies with a significant research component integrating technology. Also interdisciplinary, the Sea Otter unit includes informational reading passages with reading comprehension questions and glossaries. These are challenging selections appropriate for middle school readers.
