Project WILD Activities for Grades 5 – 8 Correlated to TN

Standards in Science, Math, Language Arts, and Social Studies

Grade / Activity Title / Page # / Description (“Method”) / Grade Level Expectations
5 – 8 / Interview a Spider / 12 / Students use interview techniques, research and writing to develop natural history information about wildlife species.
Language Arts: Students interview each other as an animal and then switch roles. They then gather the information and write a report on their findings. / SCI GLE 0507.5.1
LA GLE 0501.2.1
5 – 8 / Bearly Growing / 19 / Math:Students illustrate, compute, and graph differences between people and black bears at various stages of maturity. / SCI GLE 0507.5.1
Math GLE 0506.5.1
5 – 8 / How Many Bears Can Live in this Forest? / 23 / Students become “bears” to look for one or more components of habitat during this physical activity.Math: Students collect “food tokens” and tally the amounts of foods of various types they collect, determining how bear survival is affected by food abundance and other factors. / SCI GLE 0507.2.1
Math GLE 0506.1.5
5 – 8 / Tracks! / 30 / Students make plaster casts of animal tracks. / SCI GLE 0507.5.1
5 – 8 / Spider Web Geometry / 34 / Language Arts:Students research the spider of their choice.Math: Students apply principles of geometry to construct a replica of a spider’s web. / SCI GLE 0507.5.1
LA GLE 0501.4.1
Math GLE 0506.4.1
5 – 8 / Oh Deer! / 36 / Students become “deer” and components of their habitat in physical activity. Math: Students graphs fluctuations in population size over time. / SCI GLE 0507.2.3
Math GLE 0506.5.1
5 – 8 / Habitat Lap Sit / 61 / Students physically form an interconnected circle to demonstrate components of habitat. / SCI GLE 0507.5.1
5 – 8 / Who Fits Here? / 64 / Students play an identification game with posters and cards to match animals with their habitats.
Language Arts: Students work in groups to research an ecosystem and create posters and sets of “animal cards”. / SCI GLE 0507.5.1
LA GLE 0501.4.1
5 – 8 / Which Niche? / 66 / Students compare ecological niches with careers in their community.Language Arts: Students conduct interviews and write a summary report of their results. / SCI GLE 0507.5.1
LA GLE 0501.4.1
5 – 8 / What Did Your Lunch Cost Wildlife? / 68 / Students trace food sources, diagram environmental impacts, and apply the knowledge they gain by making changes in some of their consumer choices.Language Arts: Students discuss and summarize their findings about how food transportation affects wildlife and the environment. / SCI GLE 0507.2.3
LA GLE 0501.2.4
5 – 8 / Good Buddies / 91 / Language Arts:Students research pairs of animals, play a card game, and classify the pairs of animals according to the three major forms of symbiotic relationships. / SCI GLE 0507.2.2
LA GLE 0501.4.1
5 – 8 / Owl Pellets / 100 / Inquiry:Students examine owl pellets, reconstruct skeletons, and identify skeletons and prey of owls. / SCI GLE 0507.Inq.1
SCI GLE 0507.2.1
5 – 8 / Eco-Enrichers / 102 / Inquiry:Students experiment with soil and redworms. / SCI GLE 0507.Inq.1
SCI GLE 0507.2.1
7 – 8 / Energy Pipeline / 105 / Students simulate organic production and energy loss in ecosystems. / SCI GLE 0507.3.1
5 – 8 / Quick Frozen Critters / 122 / Students play an active version of “freeze tag” to explore how various predator-prey adaptations benefit either predators or prey.Language Arts: Students discuss their experiences in a game of “freeze tag” and make inferences to wildlife. / SCI GLE 0507.2.1
LA GLE 0501.2.4
5 – 8 / Adaptation Artistry / 128 / Students design and create imaginary birds and write reports including descriptions of the birds’ adaptations.Language Arts: After students create imaginary birds, they write short reports that include descriptions of the birds’ adaptations. / SCI GLE 0507.5.1
LA GLE 0501.3.1
5 – 8 / Move Over Rover / 144 / Students play a game in which the object is to identify characteristic animals found in several ecosystems and match these animals to the environments in which they live. / SCI GLE 0507.5.1
5 – 8 / Planting Animals / 152 / Students write a letter to a state or provincial wildlife agency for information. As an Extension, they make dioramas of transplanted animals in new habitats.Language Arts: Students write letters to a wildlife agency or research wildlife publications to get information on “translocated” wildlife. / SCI GLE 0507.2.3
LA GLE 0501.4.1
5 – 8 / Here Today, Gone Tomorrow / 154 / Students become familiar with classification of animals.Language Arts: Students conduct research and make a master list of threatened and endangered animals locally and/or nationally, including factors affecting the animals’ condition. / SCI GLE 0507.5.2
LA GLE 0501.4.2
5 – 8 / Time Lapse / 158 / Students explore the changes in species diversity that occur during succession. Language Arts:Students prepare and present a visual interpretation of successional stages in a forest. / SCI GLE 0507.2.3
LA GLE 0501.7.2
5 – 8 / Prairie Memoirs / 188 / Students analyze three literary selections about bison.Language Arts: Students research and read some selections on U.S. History from 1840 to 1890. Students analyze the findings and discuss the reading selections. / SS GLE 5.5.04
LA GLE 0501.2.4
LA GLE 0501.8.1
5 – 8 / Cartoons and Bumper Stickers / 192 / Students find, analyze, and discuss cartoons and/or bumper stickers.Language Arts: Students analyze persuasive devices in order to decide the purpose of the cartoons and/or bumper stickers. / LA GLE 0501.7.1
5 – 8 / Power of a Song / 194 / Students listen to environmental songs and analyze their lyrics.Language Arts: Students discuss how environmental songs influence people’s attitudes. As an Extension, students write an environmental song. / LA GLE 0501.7.1
5 – 8 / For Your Eyes Only / 196 / Students observe, write, discuss and make judgments about attitudes concerning the environments in which they live.Language Arts: Students write about their observations, express their ideas clearly, and discuss their findings with the class. The students also analyze their findings and compare them to famous quotes. / LA GLE 0501.4.2
5 – 8 / What You Wear Is What They Were / 210 / Language Arts:Students draw, label and analyze their clothing according to the natural resources from which they are derived; and make personal judgments about appropriate uses of such natural resources based on criteria which they establish. / SCI GLE 0507.2.3
LA GLE 0501.5.2
5 – 8 / Does Wildlife Sell? / 213 / Students evaluate and categorize advertisements to assess the uses and impacts of nature-derived images in advertising.Language Arts: Students read various advertisements and analyze the purpose of the material. / LAGLE 0501.7.1
5 – 8 / Pay to Play / 216 / Students act as either consumptive or non-consumptive users of wildlife as they move around a game board and land on designated private or public lands.Language Arts: Students discuss the simulation/game and consider various modifications and their potential effects. / SCI GLE 0507.2.3
LA GLE 0501.2.4
5 – 8 / Lobster in Your Lunch Box / 245 / Students plan meals for a family of four for one day.Math: Students calculate the cost of a family’s meals for one day. They classify the food sources as plant or animal-derived, and as from wild or domesticated sources. Language Arts: Students create a classroom chart of plants and animals that provide human food; and analyze, discuss, and summarize findings. / SCI GLE 0507.2.3
LA GLE 0501.2.4
Math GLE 0506.1.5
5 – 8 / Let’s Talk Turkey / 248 / Language Arts and Social Studies:Students create a time line chronicling the historical use of wild turkey by societies through time and its ultimate decline and restoration in the wild. / SCI GLE 0507.2.3
LA GLE 0501.6.1
5 – 8 / Wildlife Bibliography / 253 / Language Arts:Students research and construct annotated bibliographies on wildlife topics. / LA GLE 0501.4.2
5 – 8 / History of Wildlife Management / 267 / Language Arts:Students generate questions and contact agencies and organizations involved in wildlife management for information. / SCI GLE 0507.2.3
LA GLE 0501.4.1
5 – 8 / Animal Poetry / 282 / Students go outside, imagine themselves as animals and then write poems.Language Arts: Students write poems as they imagine themselves as animals. / LA GLE 0501.3.1
5 – 8 / Drawing on Nature / 285 / Students use techniques of observation and visualization to record wildlife by drawing. / Use this activity in conjunction with any inquiry activities.
5 – 8 / The Hunter / 287 / Students consider the pros and cons of hunting and examine their own attitudes about hunting.Language Arts:Students read and discuss a story, or write their own ending. / SCI GLE 0507.2.3
LA GLE 0501.3.1
5 – 8 / No Water Off a Duck’s Back / 305 / Inquiry:Students conduct an investigation to explore what happens to wildlife during an oil spill. / SCI GLE 0507.Inq.1
SCI GLE 0507.2.3
5 – 8 / Migration Barriers / 308 / Language Arts:Students draw murals showing deer migration routes and the consequences of development of a highway through the area. / SCI GLE 0507.2.3
LA GLE 0501.2.4
LA GLE 0501.7.2
5 – 8 / Shrinking Habitat / 310 / Students simulate a process of land development in a physically involving activity.Language Arts: Students discuss potential impacts of land development on wildlife. / SCI GLE 0507.2.3
LA GLE 0501.2.4
5 – 8 / Smokey Bear Said What? / 314 / Language Arts:Students brainstorm positive and negative effects of forest and grassland fires; conduct research; and create murals showing changes from fire in forest and grassland ecosystems. / SCI GLE 0507.2.3
LA GLE 0501.4.1
5 – 8 / Noisy Neighbors / 317 / Inquiry:Students conduct an investigation of noise levels in their community and generate and test hypotheses. Language Arts: Students research noise ordinances and make recommendations. / SCI GLE 0507.Inq.1
SCI GLE 0507.2.3
5 – 8 / Flip the Switch for Wildlife / 319 / Students illustrate the route of energy from its sources to human use, including environmental impacts along its path. Language Arts: Students discussthe potential impacts of their personal energy-use practices on wildlife. / SCI GLE 0507.2.3
LA GLE 0501.2.4
5 – 8 / To Zone or Not to Zone / 321 / Language Arts:Students role-play a meeting of a county commission pertaining to land use issues. / SCI GLE 0507.2.3
SS GLE 5.3.02
LA GLE 0501.2.4
7 – 8 / Hazardous Links, Possible Solutions / 326 / Students become hawks, shrews and grasshoppers in a physical activity to explore biomagnification. Language Arts: Students research and report on chemicals known to bioaccumulate in food chains. / SCI GLE 0507.2.3
LA GLE 0501.4.1
5 – 8 / World Travelers / 330 / Inquiry: Students conduct field research to identify, map, and graph exotic plant species on an assigned plot.Math: Students develop graphs or pie charts and maps depicting the proportions of exotic species of plants on their designated plots.Language Arts: Students create reports on the effects of exotic species on native plant populations and ways to manage exotic species. / SCI GLE 0507.Inq.1
SCI GLE 0507.2.3
LA GLE 0501.4.1
Math GLE 0506.5.1
5 – 8 / Rare Bird Eggs for Sale / 335 / Language Arts:Students participate in a debate to consider reasons for and against collecting wildlife and wildlife products. They create a list of alternatives to collecting. / SCI GLE 0507.2.3
LA GLE 0501.4.1
5 – 8 / Pro and Con: Consumptive and Non-consumptive Uses of Wildlife / 338 / Students research and debate consumptive and non-consumptive uses of wildlife.Language Arts: Students research consumptive and nonconsumptive use and organize the information for a debate. Students use pros and cons of each to defend their standpoint on the topic. / SCI GLE 0507.2.3
LA GLE 0501.2.4
LA GLE 0501.4.1
SS GLE 5.3.02
5 – 8 / Riparian Zone / 341 / Students simulate a Board of Commissioners hearing.Language Arts: Students work in groups to research and prepare a presentation for a mock “commission hearing” on a proposal to remove non-native tree from 100 miles of riverbank. / SCI GLE 0507.2.3
SS GLE 5.3.02
LA GLE 0501.2.4
6 – 8 / Changing the Land / 345 / Students use included worksheet maps to study land fragmentation.They use aerial photos of the local community to examine changes in land use and how those changes affect ecosystems.Language Arts: Students read background information and two land-use change scenarios to answer questions. They create a projected land-use plan for the local community based on a hypothetical scenario. / SCI GLE 0507.2.3
LA GLE 0501.5.2
SS GLE 5.3.02
5 – 6 / Career Critters / 371 / Students match organisms to environmental problems in a community and evaluate the potential of the organisms to help solve the problem.Language Arts: Students discuss the solutions to environmental problems presented by the reading excerpts. The students use logic to make inferences and draw conclusions about how to solve the problem. / SCI GLE 0507.5.1
LA GLE 0501.5.2
LA GLE 0501.6.1
5 – 8 / Wildwork / 385 / Students brainstorm a list of wildlife related careers, prepare presentations and dramatize occupations for their classmates.Language Arts: Students research wildlife related careers and develop presentations to be given to the class. / SCI GLE 0507.2.3
LA GLE 0501.4.2
5 – 8 / Checks and Balances / 387 / Students become managers of a herd of animals in a paper and pencil discussion based activity.Math: Teams track herd size based on the series of imaginary events that occur over time.Language Arts: Students discuss the changes they record and how realistic the events in the simulation are. / SCI GLE 0507.2.3
Math GLE 0506.1.5
LA GLE 0501.2.4
5 – 8 / Litter We Know / 434 / Inquiry:Students collect and evaluate litter’s potential effects on wildlife, making collages.Language Arts: Students discuss ways litter could harm wildlife and ways litter could be eliminated.Math: Students assign a relative value to each piece of litter in a collection and tally the total “score” for the collection. / SCI GLE 0507.Inq.1
SCI GLE 0507.2.3
LA GLE 0501.2.4
Math GLE 0506.1.5
5 – 8 / Improving Wildlife Habitat in the Community / 440 / Inquiry and Service Learning:Students design and accomplish a project to improve wildlife habitat in their community. / SCI GLE 0507.Inq.1 SCI GLE 0507.2.3
SS GLE 5.3.02
5 – 8 / Enviro-Ethics / 443 / Students develop and use a “Personal Code of Environmental Ethics.”Language Arts: Students work in teams and discuss topics that relate to what is ethical when it comes to the environment. / SCI GLE 0507.2.3
LA GLE 0501.2.4

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