Creature of the Week
Thomas Haren
1991 Woodrow Wilson Biology Institute
OBJECTIVES:
- To familiarize students with the wildlife that exists in their immediate environment.
- To gain an understanding of the impact that man has had on his local environment by gathering data on wildlife.
- To increase awareness of the dependence of humans on wildlife.
MATERIALS:
Creature of the Week sheets; 5" x 7" notecards; pen/pencil; Fieldbook of Natural History by E. Laurence Palmer; Peterson Field guides to birds, reptiles and amphibians, and mammals. Other textbooks and field guides can be used as supplements.
PROCEDURES:
- Place one name of an organism from your local environment on a 5" x 7" notecard. Place the notecard on the bulletin board in your classroom at the beginning of each week.
- Place a stack of blank Creature of the Week sheets on a desk or counter in your classroom. (Save paper---use both sides--good for 2 weeks)
- Place textbooks and field guides in Media Center/Library. Recommend placing textbooks on a reserve basis only!!
- Students must go to the Media Center/Library outside of class to complete Creature of the Week Sheet. This will encourage students to use Media Center/Library.
- Creature of the Week sheets are to be completed and collected by Friday of each week.
EVALUATION:
Teacher has several options for evaluation:
- Take a weekly grade on each Creature of the Week Sheet.
- Give weekly quiz on Friday over that particular Creature of the Week (option-allow students to use the sheet they have completed).
- Give a quiz/test at the end of your grading period over all of the accumulated Creatures of the Week.
ALTERNATE ACTIVITIES:
- Teacher can substitute plants in place of wildlife,
- Teacher can contact local Division of Wildlife or Park Service to have speaker presentation.
- Do lesson on significance of protective coloration.
- Compile list on bulletin board of how wildlife is beneficial to man.
- Study trophic levels- producers, consumers, decomposers- build food web (including humans) for your local environment,
Creature of the Week Sheet
| Common Name: |
|
|---|
| Scientific Name: |
|
|---|
| Description : size,weight, color: | Food-Diet |
|---|
| Length: | Circle one of the following:
Carnivore Herbivore Omnivore |
| Weight: |
| Height: | Main food items: |
| Coloration: |
| Unique Characteristics: | Reproduction |
|---|
| Gestation period: |
|
| Miscellaneous: | Number of Young: |
| Location-Range: |
| Incubation Period: |
| Habitat: |
| Beneficial to Man: | Number of eggs: |
| Dangerous: | Male-Female Characteristics: |
| Who is larger? |
Circle one of the following:
warmblooded coldblooded | Permanent Resident: Yes No |
| Nicknames: |
| Class: (circle one) Insect Fish Amphibian Reptile Bird Mammal |
|
Woodrow Wilson Index
