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Leopards of the Night

Ideas from Teachers

(Gr. 6-8)
NOVA's "Leopards of the Night" program is one of the most entertaining life science educational programs ever produced. The raw essence of life for this genus of cats is clearly portrayed and explained by a skillful combination of "in-your-face" photography and expressive narration.

Students of all ages will marvel at the cunning and skill required of the leopard simply to survive as an individual and as a species. Lessons incorporating this program (see Mapping Animal Behavior at the Zoo), will be enriched through its detail. Better, the students will watch this program and initiate their own discussions about a leopard's struggle for survival, and the survival of the species. The producers of this program have gone out of their way to put the audience in the program as participants rather than casual observers. Enthralling at times, graphic at others, this is the type of program that captivates students.

Subject: Mapping Animal Behavior at the Zoo

1. Overview
2. Purpose
3. Objectives
4. Resources & Materials
5. Activities & Procedures
6. Tying it Together
7. Questions for Further Inquiry

Sent in by
Wayne French
Lindsay Middle School
Hampton, VA

(Gr. 7-8)
This activity can be used with NOVA's "Leopards of the Night" program. In teaching natural selection and extinction, make graphs of several animals (using the leopard, rat, hare and wolf as examples) and their life cycles. Even younger students can construct a bar graph from colored paper to follow the length of each animal's infant, juvenile and adult stages. Have a different color for each stage of development. Have them draw a line across the last age of breeding. Include the information on the number of offspring for each organism. This makes it very real why we have endangered species and why extinction is a normal part of life.

Sent in by
Mary Beth Katz
Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic School
Homewood, AL