Ferocious felines
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/lessons/08/g35/lionkings.html
A lesson plan for Grade 4 Science and English Language Arts
About this resource
- Appropriate grades
- 4
- Subjects
- science (biology and life science, environmental science), thinking skills (information literacy, research skills, visual literacy), education technology (integrating technology), teaching methods (cooperative learning, online learning)
- Provider
- National Geographic
Legal
This catalog record is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License. This license applies to the content of this page only and does not apply to the referenced website.
In this Xpeditions lesson, students study the biota—or flora and fauna—of the Kalahari Desert, and the importance of the lion's role as predator within this ecosystem. This lesson engages students in small group collaboration, research using online resources, and class presentations.
Students will:
- discuss their general impression of desert environments;
- conduct a vocabulary search to define terminology related to this lesson;
- read and answer questions about the Kalahari Xeric Savanna;
- distinguish and describe animal roles in a food chain;
- conduct research for presentations on the role of the lion in African ecosystems;
- work in groups to develop skits (for in-class presentation) depicting aspects of animal life in the Kalahari Desert;
- read and discuss the current problem of big cat ownership; and
- read about the historic Tsavo man-eating lions.
Xpeditions provides links to online resources, detailed instructions for the lesson, and suggestions for assessment and extension activities.
North Carolina Curriculum Alignment
English Language Arts (2004)
Grade 4
- Goal 4: The learner will apply strategies and skills to create oral, written, and visual texts.
- Objective 4.02: Use oral and written language to:
- present information and ideas in a clear, concise manner.
- discuss.
- interview.
- solve problems.
- make decisions.
- Objective 4.03: Make oral and written presentations using visual aids with an awareness of purpose and audience.
- Objective 4.05: Use planning strategies to generate topics and organize ideas (e.g., brainstorming, mapping, webbing, reading, discussion).
- Objective 4.10: Use technology as a tool to gather, organize, and present information.
- Objective 4.02: Use oral and written language to:
Science (2005)
Grade 4
- Goal 1: The learner will make observations and conduct investigations to build an understanding of animal behavior and adaptation.
- Objective 1.01: Observe and describe how all living and nonliving things affect the life of a particular animal including:
- Other animals.
- Plants.
- Weather.
- Climate.
- Objective 1.02: Observe and record how animals of the same kind differ in some of their characteristics and discuss possible advantages and disadvantages of this variation.
- Objective 1.03: Observe and discuss how behaviors and body structures help animals survive in a particular habitat.
- Objective 1.04: Explain and discuss how humans and other animals can adapt their behavior to live in changing habitats.
- Objective 1.01: Observe and describe how all living and nonliving things affect the life of a particular animal including:
