Endangered Species

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As we enter the next millennium, it's scary to think that we humans threaten many other animal species with extinction. While there have been some success stories of animals such as the peregrine falcon who have come back, many more creatures are placed at risk each day. It's important that we as educators keep our students tuned in to these facts because, as they say, "Extinction is Forever!"

Endangered Means There's Still Time: Slide Show
http://training.fws.gov/deo/endang/index.html
This site can either be accessed as a direct link off the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Endangered Species Home Page (see above), or students can go to it directly as a stand-alone activity. By viewing the show in sequence, kids get an excellent background on endangered species, how the Endangered Species Act works, and most importantly, what they can do to help.

World Conservation Monitoring Centre: Threatened Animals of the World
http://www.wcmc.org.uk
/data/database/rl_anml_combo.html
If you are looking for data on endangered species, this is the place. While the list is two years old, it is the most comprehensive one I've found on endangered species around the world. You can sort the database by a variety of different categories and locations. A super resource for you or for kids doing reports!

Environmental Education Link: Endangered Species
http://eelink.net/EndSpp/
At this University of Michigan-sponsored site, you can not only get sorted lists of endangered species, but lots of lesson ideas, too! Explore "Investigating Endangered Species in the Classroom" to obtain a whole host of activities and projects that have been linked from other sites. While some of these are simply schematic ideas posted by actual classroom teachers, others such as "The Raptor Center" are professionally developed and obviously have been tested.

Trading Species
This content resource contains information on the controversial issue of Alaskan wildlife officials killing wolves to save caribou. It looks at predator-prey and ecosystem relationships. Students can write letters to express their opinions.

Return of the Wolves
Animal activists are working to bring back the wolf. But some farmers and ranchers worry that this meat eater will endanger their way of life.

LESSON PLAN	Taking an Animal Census Grades 3-8 Students conduct an animal census in a designated area for six months to observe and record what types of species are present, in what numbers,...
UNIT PLAN	Endangered Ecosystems Students will learn firsthand how Earthwatch teams study animals in their environment and work to preserve these endangered ecosystems.
ONLINE ACTIVITY	Costa Rican Caterpillars Join research teams in Costa Rica to learn about tropical forest ecosystems, the important role of caterpillars within an ecosystem, and the...
BOOK INFORMATION	My Visit to the Zoo Filled with all the fun (and facts) of an actual field trip, Aliki's colorful picture-book introduction to animals and their conservation bursts with life (of every sort) on each inviting page. The young narrator is reluctant to visit the zoo, having previously been to zoos where the animals seemed sad. But she and her cousin, as well as readers who join them on their expedition, are in for a wonderful surprise.