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GRADE LEVEL: 5-8

TOPIC/SUBJECT MATTER: Science

TIME ALLOTMENT: 1-2 class periods

OVERVIEW

This lesson uses video segments from the NATURE film “Tall Blondes” to illustrate the effects of wildlife conservation and relocation, using giraffes as an example.  Students will explore the different types of human-animal relationships, and then view video segments which look at human-giraffe relations and the effect to preserve the giraffe population in parts of Africa.  This will be followed by a discussion of human behavior and impact on wildlife populations.  As a culminating activity, students will examine different careers in wildlife conservation.

MEDIA RESOURCES:

VIDEO

Clip 1: “In the Wild”

Introduction to translocation of giraffes.

Clip 2:
“On the Move”

Example of processes of translocation.

Clip 3:

“New Digs”

Giraffes arrive at the game farm and get used to their environment.

Clip 4: “Giraffe Manor”

Giraffe Behavior & human interactions

Access the streaming and downloadable video segments for this lesson at the Video Segments Page.

WEB SITES

NATURE: Tall Blondes: Giraffe Translocation

Background on translocation and an interview with the director of a wildlife relocation firm.

The Game Capture School

Web site for a school located in South Africa dedicated to wildlife conservation and education.

GCC: African Fund for Endangered Wildlife

Organization which concentrates on education school children about conservation efforts.

The Giraffe Manor

Official Web site for the Giraffe Manor hotel & giraffe preserve, as seen in “Tall Blondes.”

Wildlife Translocation Association

Association of companies engaged in the wildlife conservation industry in South Africa

Wildlife Conservation Society

Home of the conservation organization led by the Bronx Zoo.

STANDARDS:

National Science Education Standards, Grades 5-8

Content Standard E

UNDERSTANDINGS ABOUT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• Scientific inquiry and technological design have similarities and differences. Scientists propose explanations for questions about the natural world, and engineers propose solutions relating to human problems, needs, and aspirations. Technological solutions are temporary; technologies exist within nature and so they cannot contravene physical or biological principles; technological solutions have side effects; and technologies cost, carry risks, and provide benefits.
• Many different people in different cultures have made and continue to make contributions to science and technology.
• Science and technology are reciprocal. Science helps drive technology, as it addresses questions that demand more sophisticated instruments and provides principles for better instrumentation and technique. Technology is essential to science, because it provides instruments and techniques that enable observations of objects and phenomena that are otherwise unobservable due to factors such as quantity, distance, location, size, and speed. Technology also provides tools for investigations, inquiry, and analysis.
• Perfectly designed solutions do not exist. All technological solutions have trade-offs, such as safety, cost, efficiency, and appearance. Engineers often build in back-up systems to provide safety. Risk is part of living in a highly technological world. Reducing risk often results in new technology.
• Technological designs have constraints. Some constraints are unavoidable, for example, properties of materials, or effects of weather and friction; other constraints limit choices in the design, for example, environmental protection, human safety, and aesthetics.
• Technological solutions have intended benefits and unintended consequences. Some consequences can be predicted, others cannot.

Content Standard F

POPULATIONS, RESOURCES, AND ENVIRONMENTS

• When an area becomes overpopulated, the environment will become degraded due to the increased use of resources.
• Causes of environmental degradation and resource depletion vary from region to region and from country to country.

NATURAL HAZARDS

• Human activities also can induce hazards through resource acquisition, urban growth, land-use decisions, and waste disposal. Such activities can accelerate many natural changes.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN SOCIETY

Science and technology have advanced through contributions of many different people, in different cultures, at different times in history.

Scientists and engineers work in many different settings, including colleges and universities, businesses and industries, specific research institutes, and government agencies.

Science cannot answer all questions and technology cannot solve all human problems or meet all human needs. Students should understand the difference between scientific and other questions. They should appreciate what science and technology can reasonably contribute to society and what they cannot do. For example, new technologies often will decrease some risks and increase others.

MATERIALS

For each group of students:

• Large sheets of paper or posterboard for Introductory Activity

For each student:

• Conservation Strategies Organizer (PDF) (RTF)

OBJECTIVES

Students will be able to:

• Provide examples of human interactions with animals;
• Understand ways in which human behavior affects wild animal populations;
• Detail processes of conservation and translocation;
• Explain the pros and cons of wildlife conservation efforts;
• Identify and describe careers in wildlife conservation.

Before the Lesson/Prep for Teachers

Prior to teaching this lesson, you will need to:

Preview all of the video segments and Web sites used in the lesson.

Download the video clips used in the lesson to your classroom computer, or prepare to watch them using your classroom’s Internet connection.

Bookmark the Web sites used in the lesson on each computer in your classroom. Using a social bookmarking tool such as del.icio.us or diigo (or an online bookmarking utility such as portaportal) will allow you to organize all the links in a central location

Next: Proceed to Activities

Excerpts from the NATURE episode, “Tall Blondes.”

Downloadable QuickTime versions of the video segments:
(Note: To download a video, right click on the video title and click “Save Link As…’ or “Save Target As…”. On a Mac, press the CTRL key and simultaneously click the mouse, then save the link.)

Clip 1: In the Wild

Clip 2: On the Move

Clip 3: New Digs

Clip 4: Giraffe Manor

These brief video segments can be used alone or in combination, to introduce a topic or to spark discussion among your students. The video segments can be adapted for any grade level – suggested focus questions are provided. Stream the video segments from the playlist below, or scroll to the bottom of the page to find downloadable QuickTime versions of the videos. These videos are also used in the lesson plan Bringing Up Birdy (grades 2-3).

Excerpts from NATURE: “American Eagle”

Downloadable QuickTime versions of the video segments:
(Note: To download a video, right click on the video title and click “Save Link As…’ or “Save Target As…”. On a Mac, press the CTRL key and simultaneously click the mouse, then save the link.)

Clip 1: Challenges of Incubation

Clip 2: Hatching

Clip 3: Fledglings

Clip 4: Growing Independent

GRADE LEVEL: 2 -3

TIME ALLOTMENT: One to two 45-minute class periods

OVERVIEW:

Students learn that living things experience diverse life cycles. For example, baby birds go through distinct stages as they grow up into adult birds. This lesson uses the eagle to model universal avian life stages: from egg, to chick, to fledgling juvenile, to adult.

Students begin by creating a collage of bird images, discussing the characteristics that all birds share. A well-known story, The Ugly Duckling, is then read to introduce the concept of change over the life span. Students then use segments from the NATURE film American Eagle to learn how eagles look and act in different stages of their life cycle. At the conclusion of the lesson, students diagram the eagle life cycle, and may enhance their science learning with vocabulary and math activities.

SUBJECT MATTER:

Science, Language Arts

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

Students will be able to:

• Describe the characteristics of birds;
• Understand that different kinds of birds display a wide variety of similarities and differences;
• Identify the stages in the life cycle of birds;
• Understand vocabulary associated with the life cycle of birds;
• Diagram the life cycle of the American Bald Eagle.

STANDARDS:

From the National Science Standards for Science Content, Grades K-4.

CONTENT STANDARD C: Life Science
As a result of activities in grades K-4, all students should develop understanding of:

LIFE CYCLES OF ORGANISMS

• Plants and animals have life cycles that include being born, developing into adults, reproducing, and eventually dying. The details of this life cycle are different for different organisms.
• Plants and animals closely resemble their parents.
• Many characteristics of an organism are inherited from the parents of the organism, but other characteristics result from an individual’s interactions with the environment. Inherited characteristics include the color of flowers and the number of limbs of an animal. Other features, such as the ability to ride a bicycle, are learned through interactions with the environment and cannot be passed on to the next generation.

MEDIA COMPONENTS

Video:

NATURE: American Eagle, selected segments

Clip 1: “Challenges of Incubation”

Eagles must protect their eggs from cold, snow and predators.

Clip 2: “Hatching”

For eagles, getting the hang of parenting takes practice.

Clip 3: “Fledglings”

Fledglings begin to fly.

Clip 4: “Growing Independent”

Young eagles learn to catch food.

Access the streaming and downloadable video segments for this lesson at the Video Segments Page.

MATERIALS:

For the class:

• Nature and wildlife magazines (or pictures of birds from other sources)
• Scissors and glue
• Oaktag, posterboard or construction paper
• Feathers (optional)
• Hans Christian Andersen’s The Ugly Duckling (or any other storybook demonstrating changes in the bird life cycle)
• Photo of an American Bald Eagle
• Computer and projection system for class viewing of video segments

For each student:

• Eagle life cycle student organizer (PDF) (RTF), or 4 sheets of paper to complete life cycle drawings
• Pencil and crayons or markers

Prep for Teachers

Prior to teaching this lesson, you will need to:

Ask students to bring in nature and wildlife magazines from home.

Preview all of the video segments used in the lesson.

Download the video clips used in the lesson to your classroom computer, or prepare to watch them using your classroom’s Internet connection.

If desired, make a word wall of any of the following vocabulary words your students do not yet know: Egg, chick, eagle, eaglet, incubate, fledgling, hatch, instinct, endangered species.

Proceed to ACTIVITIES

Some are big, some are small. They wear feathered coats of amazing colors, or drab plumage that wouldn’t turn a head. Some are loud and raucous, others remarkably mellow. They are the world’s macaws — long tailed parrots that are both greatly beloved — and terribly endangered. And, for the most part, poorly understood.

Macaws are the world’s largest parrots. There are 17 different kinds, ranging in size from the magnificent cobalt-blue hyacinth, which can weigh in at 3 pounds, to the petite Hahns, which might weigh just a tenth as much. Whatever their size, however, macaws are marked by long, graceful tails that can be longer than their bodies. And, in general, larger macaws are more brightly colored than their smaller cousins.

Macaws can be found throughout Central and South America, from wet tropical rainforests to dry scrub lands. But many species prefer to be near rivers or streams; indeed, some of the most famous macaw-watching spots are muddy banks, where macaws apparently gather to harvest minerals and salt from the soil.

For heftier meals, macaws tackle everything from fruit and nectar to seeds and nuts. Often, they will forage over vast distances to find trees flush with ripe pickings. And they can be choosy about nesting sites, taking time to find just the right cavity in a tree or bank.

Scientists, however, know remarkably little about macaw family life. Some believe they mate for life, and produce just a few young a year. Some may live for 60 years or more.

Increasingly, however, they aren’t getting the chance. Habitat loss and hunting are taking a terrible toll. While a few of the 17 macaw species are still abundant, more than half a dozen are considered critically threatened or endangered. There are believed to be less than 3,000 hyacinth macaws in the wild, for instance, and less than 1,000 red-fronted and blue-throated macaws. Just a single Spix’s macaw may still be in the wild. The glaucus macaw is probably already extinct.

Conservationists are racing the clock to prevent that fate from overtaking other macaws. They are monitoring populations and weighing chicks — often working high in dangerous treetops. Others are recording habits and behavior, looking for clues to designing better protection strategies or reserves. Its often exacting, but necessary, work. “Unless we understand their wild biology,” says macaw expert Charles Munn, who is featured in NATURE’s The Real Macaw “we may not be able to avoid the extinction of species after species of these spectacular New World parrots.”

NATURE’s The Reptiles: Turtles and Tortoises takes a close look at ancient creatures marching slowly through the millennia.

A turtle’s shell is among the most peculiar but successful pieces of design in the natural world. Unchanged for 200 million years, it has allowed the various species of turtles to populate almost everywhere in the world. But the limitations of life in a shell are causing turtles problems in today’s world. Over exploitation by humans has caused many turtle species to become extinct or endangered. This episode introduces some inspirational people who are trying to help them.

To order a copy of The Reptiles: Turtles and Tortoises, please visit the NATURE Shop.

Online content for The Reptiles: Turtles and Tortoises was originally posted February 2003.