African Safari

Focus: This lesson could be used for 2nd or 3rd grade. My main purpose was to introduce students to the awesome animals of Africa, their habitats and adaptations as well as the problems they face trying to survive. I wanted the students to be able to identify how man is contributing to their problems with survival. By the end of the lesson my hope is that every student will be motivated to do something, no matter how small, to contribute to the solution. Jane Goodall's Roots and Shoots Program (website listed in Resources below), is a student-oriented program and is a great place to start with involving kids, if you want to go deeper into conservation.

Learning Objective: By the end of this WebQuest, the student will be able to identify six endangered species, causes of their endangered status, their habitats, as well as general characteristics and adaptations of those animals.

Tennessee Department of Education Content Standard: 2.0 Interactions Between Living Things and Their Environment

The student will investigate how living things interact with one another and with non-living elements of their environment.

Learning Expectations: 2.3 Examine interrelationships among plants, animals, and their environment.

Accomplishments: Interactions Between Living Things and Their Environment

3.2.3 Examine interrelationships among plants, animals, and their environment.

Explain how plants and animals depend upon each other and the non-living elements of an environment to meet basic needs.

Performance Indicators State:

At Level 2, the student is able to (3.2.spi.2) select the plants and animals found in a specific environment.

Performance Indicators Teacher:

As documented through teacher observation,

At Level 1, the student is able to (3.2.tpi.3) associate an organism with its environment.

At Level 2, the student is able to (3.2.tpi.6) explain how organisms meet their survival needs.

Resources - Purpose, Website Name, Website Link
Safari Picture (Title Page)   Microsoft Clip Art and Media
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/clipart/default.aspx 

Safari Picture (Intro Page)   Microsoft Clip Art and Media
 http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/clipart/default.aspx 

African Landscape Picture (Task Page)  Microsoft Clip Art and Media
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/clipart/default.aspx 

African Graphic (Animal Report Form)  Microsoft Clip Art and Media
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/clipart/default.aspx 

Map of Africa (Animal Report Map)  Mongobay.com
http://photos.mongabay.com/en/Africa_Map.htm

Animal Puppet Patterns   DLTK's Crafts for Kids 
http://www.dltk-kids.com/animals/tproll.html

Cheetah Research    Cheetahspot.com   
http://www.cheetahspot.com/

Cheetah Research    National Geographic http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/cheetah.html

Cheetah Research    American Wildlife Foundation 
http://www.awf.org/content/wildlife/detail/cheetah

Elephant Research    World Wildlife Fund  
http://www.panda.org/what_we_do/endangered_species/endangered_species_list/elephants/african_elephants/

Elephant Research    National Geographic  
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/african-elephant.html

Elephant Research    Defenders of Wildlife  
http://www.defenders.org/wildlife_and_habitat/wildlife/elephant.php

Giraffe Research    Kids’ Planet   
http://www.kidsplanet.org/factsheets/giraffe.html

Giraffe Research    American Wildlife Foundation 
http://www.awf.org/content/wildlife/detail/giraffe

Giraffe Research    National Geographic  
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/giraffe.html

Lion Research    American Wildlife Foundation 
http://www.awf.org/content/wildlife/detail/lion

Lion Research    National Geographic Kids  
http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/Animals/CreatureFeature/Lion

Lion Research    National Geographic  
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/african-lion.html

Ring Tailed Lemur Research   National Geographic  
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/ring-tailed-lemur.html

Ring Tailed Lemur Research   National Geographic Kids  
http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/Animals/CreatureFeature/Ring-tailed-lemur

Ring Tailed Lemur Research   The Big Zoo   
http://www.thebigzoo.com/Animals/Ring-tailed_Lemur.asp

Zebra Research    American Wildlife Foundation 
http://www.awf.org/content/wildlife/detail/zebra

Zebra Research    San Diego Zoo   
http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t-zebra.html
Zebra Research    National Geographic  
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/zebra.html

PowerPoint Graphics and Sounds  Microsoft Clip Art and Media http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/clipart/default.aspx 

Conservation Link    Jane Goodall Institute  
http://www.janegoodall.org/

Conservation Link    Jane Goodall Roots & Shoots Program 
http://www.rootsandshoots.org/

Conservation Link    PBS Kids Conservation  
http://pbskids.org/eekoworld/index.html

Conservation Link    World Wildlife Fund  
http://www.worldwildlife.org/

Conservation Link    National Geographic Kids  
http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/

Curriculum Standards   TN DOE Curriculum Standards 
http://tennessee.gov/education/ci/curriculum.shtml