LEARN NC

K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

Endangered Species Scavenger Hunt

This lesson will help your students better understand endangered species. It requires a field trip to the North Carolina Zoological park.

A lesson plan for grade 7 English Language Arts and Social Studies

By Craig Smith

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Learning outcomes

After completing this lesson, students should have an understanding of why some animals are endangered.

Teacher planning

Time required for lesson

3 Days

Materials/resources

  • Pictures of Endangered Animals (attachment 1)
  • Paper
  • Pencils
  • Worksheet (attachment 2)

Technology resources

None

Pre-activities

None

Activities

Day 1

Invitation - Divide students into groups. Give each group a couple of the pictures of endangered species and a large piece of paper. Have the groups list any observations they make on the paper. Then have the groups list any questions they may have under their observations. Each group will present its observations to the class.

Exploration - Using observations and questions provided by the group, lead the students to a discussion of why some animal and plant species become endangered.

Day 2

Exploration - Field Trip to the North Carolina Zoological Park. While at the park, have students complete the Scavenger Hunt Worksheet. All of the clues come from the signs posted in the animal’s habitat. Hint - some habitats have more than one sign!

Day 3

Closure - Go over the Worksheet.

Writing assignment - Write an obituary for your animal. It must include a cause of death relating to reasons why the species is endangered. Include several specific details of the animals life. Conclusion should have a plea to help the species survive.

Assessment

Attitude and Effort -

4 - Honors thinking of others even if disagreeing, attempts all tasks, participates, willing to try again, open to suggestions.
3 - Participates in work of the class, completes work most of the time, willing to try agian.
2 - Participation is uneven, gives up easily, does not always stick to task.
1 - Fails to complete many assignments, at times gives up as soon as assignment is given, may be disruptive to class discussion.

Worksheet -

4 - All answers correct.
3 - Most answers correct.
2 - Some answers correct.
1 - No answers correct.

Writing Assignment -

4 - Grammar, spelling, punctuation, capitalization are correct. No errors in the text.
3 - Includes 2-3 grammatical errors, misspellings, punctuation errors, etc.
2 - Includes 3-4 grammatical errors, misspellings, punctuation errors, etc.
1 - Includes more than 5 grammatical errors, misspellings, punctuation errors, etc.

Supplemental information

Attachments:

If you do not have Microsoft PowerPoint, you may download a free viewer from the Web Utilities page of Learn NC.

Related websites

http://www.nczoo.org The homepage of the North Carolina Zoological Park. See the list of all animals in the park listed under the Media Kit.
http://nc-es.fws.gov/es/es.html
http://mbgnet.mobot.org/

Comments

None.

North Carolina Curriculum Alignment

Social Studies (2003)

Grade 7

  • Goal 2: The learner will assess the relationship between physical environment and cultural characteristics of selected societies and regions of Africa, Asia, and Australia.
    • Objective 2.02: Describe factors that influence changes in distribution patterns of population, resources, and climate in selected regions of Africa, Asia, and Australia and evaluate their impact on the environment.
  • Goal 3: The learner will analyze the impact of interactions between humans and their physical environments in Africa, Asia, and Australia.
    • Objective 3.02: Describe the environmental impact of regional activities such as deforestation, urbanization, and industrialization and evaluate their significance to the global community.
  • Goal 5: The learner will evaluate the varied ways people of Africa, Asia, and Australia make decisions about the allocation and use of economic resources.
    • Objective 5.03: Explain how the allocation of scarce resources requires economic systems to make basic decisions regarding the production and distribution of goods and services, and evaluate the impact on the standard of living in selected societies and regions of Africa, Asia, and Australia.
  • Goal 10: The learner will compare the rights and civic responsibilities of individuals in political structures in Africa, Asia, and Australia.
    • Objective 10.03: Describe rights and responsibilities of citizens in selected contemporary societies in Africa, Asia, and Australia, comparing them to each other and to the United States.
  • Goal 11: The learner will recognize the common characteristics of different cultures in Africa, Asia, and Australia.
    • Objective 11.02: Examine the basic needs and wants of all human beings and assess the influence of factors such as environment, values, and beliefs in creating different cultural responses.

English Language Arts (2004)

Grade 7

  • Goal 1: The learner will use language to express individual perspectives in response to personal, social, cultural, and historical issues.
    • Objective 1.03: Interact in group settings by:
      • responding appropriately to comments and questions.
      • offering personal opinions confidently without dominating.
      • giving appropriate reasons that support opinions.
      • soliciting and respecting another person's opinion.
  • Goal 2: The learner will synthesize and use information from a variety of sources.
    • Objective 2.01: Respond to informational materials that are read, heard, and/or viewed by:
      • monitoring comprehension for understanding of what is read, heard and/or viewed.
      • analyzing the characteristics of informational works.
      • summarizing information.
      • determining the importance of information.
      • making connections to related topics/information.
      • drawing inferences and/or conclusions.
      • generating questions.
  • Goal 3: The learner will refine the understanding and use of argument.
    • Objective 3.02: Use the problem-solution process by:
      • studying problems and solutions within various texts and situations.
      • utilizing the problem-solution process within various contexts/situations.
      • constructing essays/presentations that respond to a given problem by proposing a solution that includes relevant details.
      • recognizing and/or creating an organizing structure appropriate to purpose, audience, and context.
    • Objective 3.03: Create arguments that evaluate by:
      • understand the importance of establishing a firm judgment.
      • justifying the judgment with logical, relevant reasons, clear examples, and supporting details.
      • creating an organizing structure appropriate to purpose, audience, and context.
  • Goal 4: The learner will refine critical thinking skills and create criteria to evaluate text and multimedia.
    • Objective 4.02: Develop (with assistance) and apply appropriate criteria to evaluate the quality of the communication by:
      • using knowledge of language structure and literary or media techniques.
      • drawing conclusions based on evidence, reasons, or relevant information.
      • considering the implications, consequences, or impact of those conclusions.