MAY 2013
SCIENCE LESSON PLAN
SUBJECT SCIENCE CLASS EXTREME PERIOD/TIME 2 Periods/80 minutes THEME Interactions TOPIC Interactions within the Environment LEARNING OBJECTIVES The theme introduces pupils to: § Interactions between organisms and the environment. § How Man interacts with his environment and the consequences of their actions. LEARNING OUTCOMES Students are able to: § Show concern for Man’s impact on the environment. § Give examples of Man’s conservation efforts. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIAL ü Introduction: National Geographic video, laptop, LCD projector, set of speakers. ü Main Lesson : Science textbook. ü Conclusion : NGX Extreme magazine, NGX Extreme projectable edition. SKILLS AND PROCESSES Evaluating and analyzing. ETHICS AND VALUES Responsibility and open-­‐mindedness. Introduction
(10
Introduction (10 mminutes)
inutes) Prepare a set of speakers for the lesson. Have the students view two National Geographic videos on Prepare a set of speakers for the lesson. Have the students view the National Geographic video found at the link : elephants found at the link: http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/animals/fish-­‐animals/bony-­‐fish/fish_camouflage.html http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/the-­‐magazine/the-­‐magazine-­‐latest/ngm-­‐orphaned-­‐
elephants/ Then ask the class: http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/animals/mammals-­‐
Why do you think the organisms in the video camouflage themselves as plants? animals/elephants/elephant_african_mourning/ These organisms camouflage themselves to escape from predators which may threaten their survival. Then ask tthe he tcopic lass: of the lesson: Introduce videos show he of aebout lephants. In The today’s lesson, we tw
ill loss learn the various animal adaptations for escaping from predators. What could be some reasons why the number of elephants is diminishing? 1 Introduce the topic of the lesson: In today’s lesson, we will learn about grassland habitat and Man’s influence on his environment. Main Lesson (50 minutes)
Grassland Habitats An animal's living place is called its habitat. Each of these habitats has distinct life forms living in it, forming complex communities of interdependent organisms. A complex community of plants and animals in a region and a climate is called a biome. Each habitat provides an animal with its own unique kind of food, cover, water, and living space. Most animals are only adapted to live in one or two habitats. Grasslands cover nearly 25% of the Earth’s land. They exist on every continent except Antarctica. Grasslands in different parts of the world have different names. In the North America, grasslands are called prairies. In South America, they are called pampas. In Asia, grasslands are called steppes while in Africa, they are savannas. Open, flat lands which receive little rainfall characterize grasslands. There are two kinds of grasslands: tropical and temperate. The African savanna is an example of tropical grassland, which is warm throughout the year with a dry and a rainy season. Elephants, giraffes, rhinoceros, lions and zebras are animals that we will see on the African savanna. Threats to Grasslands It is estimated that only 5% of the original prairies in the United States remains. Grasslands may have been common on Earth but global warming and human activities threaten the habitat. The need for more land for farming has resulted in the loss of many grasslands to agriculture. Poor agricultural practices have depleted the rich grassland soils of nutrients, turning the grasslands into barren land. The need for more living space for the increasing human population has also resulted in the shrinking of grasslands, turning these vast natural spaces into urbanized concrete jungles. The disappearance of grasslands means that many of the animals that live in this habitat face great threats to their existence. A single pride of lions for instance, needs 259 km2 of grasslands to hunt and this space is diminishing. In 2012, a paper published by Panthera, the Zoological Society of London, warned people about the devastating impacts of illegal hunting, bushmeat trade and wildlife trade in the African savanna. While trade in ivory was outlawed in 1989, poaching of elephants still continues. In Gabon’s Minkebe Park, once home to Africa’s largest forest elephant population, 11 000 elephants are believed to be illegally hunted since 2004 due to the ivory trade. Gabon was once home to 40 000 forest elephants. It is estimated that poachers kill 50-­‐100 elephants every day. Another extensive 9-­‐year study on African forest elephants by 60 scientists who studied elephants in 5 countries found that 62% of the elephants are killed in central Africa. 2 Interesting Facts about Elephants There are two kinds of elephants: African elephants and Asian elephants. African elephants are generally bigger in size and have huge ears shaped like the continent of Africa. Both male and female African elephants have tusks. Asian elephants have smaller ears and usually, only the males have tusks. Elephants are social creatures. They hug each other by wrapping their trunks together to show affection. An elephant’s skin is very sensitive. It can even feel that a fly has landed on it. Elephants have four molars in their mouth. They change six set of molars in their lifetime. The largest elephant ever recorded weighed 10 886 kg and was 3.96 metres tall. Note: Discuss the topic of habitats and Man’s impacts on the environment further with reference to the school science textbook. Conclusion (20 minutes)
Have the students read the article ‘Orphans No More’ from the National Geographic Extreme Explorer magazine. Students will work in groups of four to conduct research on the Internet to find out about animal conservation efforts. The students can present their findings in the form of a poster. In their write-­‐up, they should include relevant images as well as information detailing how various non-­‐profit organizations try to help protect endangered animal species. 3