Weird Endangered Species Lesson Plan Gr 5-9

The Lesson Plan is a Pantomime Game using the Weird Endangered Species page, click here to see it in another window

Prior to Pantomime Day

(1) Instruct students in the use of the Green Education Network keyword Search box.

(2) If students haven’t had an introductory unit defining and explaining the significance of “endangered species”, assign the following for that purpose.

·         For grades 3-6, GEN recommends the presentation available as PDF or web pages at http://www.fws.gov/endangered/kids/pdf/html_presentation/html/017.htm

·         For Grades 6-12, also assign Endangered Species Overview on GEN

(3) Ask students to find and read “Weird Endangered Species” using GEN’s search box, or print and distribute copies of the page for them to read.

On Pantomime Day

(1) Distribute copies of the Weird Endangered Species article. Divide your students into two teams clustered on either side of the classroom. Appoint a leader for each team.

(2) There are 14 species on the Weird Endangered Species list. Alternating Teams for each species on the Weird Endangered Species list, call on the leaders to designate a student on their team to receive from you the species that student is to pantomime to his or her teammates until they correctly guess the species being pantomimed. Time each pantomime. Time’s up in one minute. The team with the lowest total time is the winner. [To reduce the time requirement, reduce the number of species pantomimed to 12, 10 or 8]

(3) After the pantomime, select one of the pantomimed species and ask students to conjecture why that species is endangered. Ask this about as many of species habitat types as time permits.

(4) Assign further research on GEN of endangered species, and/or species extinction, wildlife habitats, and ecosystems.