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| Overview |
| Grade Level: 6-8 |
| Background Information:
The activities of our society have caused species to become extinct
at catastrophic rates. The last two centuries have seen the extinction
of thousands of species worldwide and some people estimate that
as many as half of the species on Earth will become extinct in the
next 30 years ( see http://www.amnh.org/museum/press/feature/biofact.html
for more information). In response to this crisis, the United States
has written the Endangered Species Act, which prohibits interfering
with listed species or their habitats in order to try to reverse
the decline of those species. The Endangered Species Act has had
successes, most notably that of the bald eagle. However, it remains
controversial because of the impact it can have on individuals.
In this series of lessons, students will learn about the Endangered
Species Act and how it can impact people in our society. They will
also learn about the life of an endangered sea turtle and about
the efforts to keep it from becoming extinct. Finally, students
will examine their values with questions about how much they think
should be devoted to preserving species.
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| Content Standards |
| Related National Standards:
This lesson addresses the following National Content Standards
found at: http://books.nap.edu/html/nses
Life Science
Content Standard C: As a result of their activities in grades
5-8, all students should develop understanding of:
- Populations and ecosystems
- The number of organisms an
ecosystem can support depends on the resources available
and abiotic factors such as quantity of light and water,
range of temperatures, and soil composition. Given adequate
biotic and abiotic resources and no disease or predators,
populations increase at rapid rates. Lack of resources
and other factors, such as predation and climate, limit
the growth of populations in specific niches in the
ecosystem.
- Diversity and Adaptation of
Organisms o Extinction of species occurs when the environment
changes and the adaptive characteristics of a species
are insufficient to allow its survival.
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Science in Personal and Social Perspectives
Content Standard F: As a result of their activities in grades
9-12, all students should develop understanding of:
- Populations, Resources, and Environments
- When an area becomes overpopulated,
the environment will become degraded due to the increased
us of resources.
- Causes of environmental degradation
and resource depletion will vary from region to region
and from country to country.
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| Extension Web Sites
from PBS: |
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Scientific
American Frontiers - Turtle Travels
For more activities related to the life cycle of sea turtles.
Scientific
American Frontiers - The New Zoos - Zoos as Arks
Graph human population growth, and investigate its impact on other
species.
Scientific
American Frontiers - Rescuing the Black-Footed Ferret
Create a game that reveals some of the challenges involved in helping
an endangered species make a comeback.
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| Activity 1: The Endangered
Species Act |
| Time Allotted:
20 minutes
Materials:
Butcher Paper
| Objectives: |
- Students will be introduced to the concept of the Endangered
Species Act.
- Students will interpret the language of the E.S.A. to
brainstorm the impact of the act on people.
- Students will learn about some of the successes of the
E.S.A.
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Watch the AFG Video Segment:
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The
Endangered Species Act
The
United States adopted the Endangered Species Act to preserve
biodiversity, but often there are disputes as to how this act
should be implemented. |
- Place the following statement,
written by the E.P.A., on the chalkboard or where students
can see it:
- "The law prohibits any action,
administrative or real, that results in a "taking" of
a listed species, or adversely affects habitat."
- Be sure that all students understand
the statement. Then, in groups of two or three, students
should brainstorm activities that might be included in this
law. In addition to hunting, collecting, and picking plants
and animals from their natural habitat, the law also protects
the habitat itself, so farming practices, development, and
many other activities can be prohibited if an endangered
species is found to be living in an area. It is possible
that your playground could be closed down if an endangered
species was to build a nest there.
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| Discussion Questions: |
- What activities did students come up with on their butcher
paper?
- What are some of the benefits of the endangered species
act?
- To what extent do you think species should be protected?
- Should a farmer be forced to leave fields fallow because
an endangered butterfly lives there?
- If an endangered bat were to move into your attic,
you would have to let it live there. Are you willing
to do that?
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| Activity 2: Endangered Sea
Turtles |
| Time Allotted:
One 45 minute class period
Materials:
Butcher paper
Crayons, pens, or markers for drawing and brainstorming
Access to computers or printouts of information from the Sea
Turtle Behavior site (see below)
| Objectives: |
- Students will learn how sea turtles are threatened at
different stages of their life-cycle.
- Students will distinguish between natural and human induced
hazards for sea turtles.
- Students will brainstorm how the endangered species act
applies to human activities around sea turtles.
- Students will learn about scientific efforts to monitor
and help maintain sea turtle populations.
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| Teaching Instructions |
- Divide students into three groups and assign one of the
readings from the website below to students in each group.
Sea
Turtle Behavior site
- Instruct students to read one of the following topics
(or print out pages and copy each of the topics separately
for distribution).
- general behavior
- nesting, incubation and emergence
- migration and navigation abilities
- After reading through the information provided, they should
create a diagram showing the information they learned. This
diagram should include pictures showing their normal habits
and the threats to survival described by the website.
- Have students share their diagrams to explain what happens
during different phases of the turtle's life.
- Tell students that some scientists estimate that only
1 in 1000 to 10000 hatchlings survive to become an adult.
Have students brainstorm threats to the turtles. They might
divide these into natural threats (such as predation by
birds on the beach, predation by sharks, etc.) and human-induced
threats (development, lighting, ocean pollution etc.).
Watch the AFG Video Segment:
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Protecting
the Sea Turtles of Baja
Protecting
the turtles in Baja's Magdalena Bay is a challege since
they are used by the local people as a food source. |
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| Discussion Questions for Video Segment: |
- Were there any other threats suggested by the video that
you hadn't considered before?
- How far did the turtles migrate, according to the video?
- How does their migration affect the effectiveness of the
Endangered Species Act?
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| Extension Activity |
| To view the tracks of turtles
monitored by satellite go to Sea
Turtles of the Pacific Tracking Project |
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| Activity 3: The
Value of Protecting Species |
| Time Allotted:
30 minutes
Materials:
Overhead copy of the graph or projection capability.
| Objectives: |
- Students will analyze the numerical results of conservation
of the Kemps Ridley Sea Turtle
- Students will examine their values with regards to protecting
species
- Students will weigh the pros and cons of protecting species
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| Teaching Instructions: |
- Show students the Graph of Kemp Ridley Sea Turtle Nests
at Rancho Nuevo.
- Ask them to describe the trends they see.
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Watch the AFG Video Segment
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The
Kemps Ridley Sea Turtle
Fifteen
years ago, the State of Texas began a project to help the Kemps
Ridley sea turtle find safe nesting ground - and it has just
begun to be successful. |
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- Writing Activity: Ask students
to think about the graph, and the two videos that they have
seen about Sea Turtles. Have them write a response to "How
much time and effort should we put into saving endangered
species? Is it all worth it?"
- Discuss their writing responses.
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Watch the AFG Video Segment
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Value
of an Endangered Species
Exploring
the tunnel of a Red Hills salamander reveals a complex structure;
however, many mysteries about this newly-discovered creature
still remain. |
| Discussion Questions for Video Segment |
- Writing Activity: Ask students
to think about the graph, and the two videos that they have
seen about Sea Turtles. Have them write a response to "How
much time and effort should we put into saving endangered
species? Is it all worth it?"
- Discuss their writing responses.
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