The Jeff Corwin Experience
Tanzania: Ecosystem in Motion
Teacher’s Guide
Grade Level: K–8
Curriculum Focus: Life Science
Lesson Duration: Two class periods
Program Description
Home to a massive wildebeest migration and the trail of predators that follow, this land is in
constant motion. Witness an event rarely seen as a cheetah captures prey for her cubs. Take
a wake-up call from an Egyptian cobra in the wilds of Tanzania.
Video Index
Segment 1: Welcome to Tanzania (16 min.)
Description
Explore Tanzania and meet exciting wildlife. Discover the venomous Egyptian cobra and the African
rock python. Then follow along as a ranger tracks elephants.
Pre-viewing question
Q: What animals live in Africa?
A: Answers will vary, but many students may say elephants, lions, and snakes.
Post-viewing question
Q: Why were Jeff and the ranger worried about the elephants?
A: They didn’t want any members of the herd to get hurt. Elephant mothers will go to great lengths to
protect their young.
Segment 2: Ngorongoro Crater (9 min.)
Description
Travel through Ngorongoro Crater and meet some of Africa’s most fascinating animals—lions and
endangered black rhinos. Observe cheetahs chasing and capturing a gazelle.
Pre-viewing question
Q: Why do you think cheetahs eat their prey quickly?
A: Answers will vary, but some students may figure out that they eat quickly to avoid attracting other
animals, such as leopards.
Post-viewing question
Q: What happens when a male lion takes over another lion’s pride?
Tanzania: Ecosystem in Motion
Teacher’s Guide
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A: He kills the other male lion and its cubs, and he mates with the lionesses. This establishes him as the
new leader of the pride.
Segment 3: The Serengeti (17 min.)
Description
Follow Jeff as he bikes across the Serengeti. Then meet an orphaned baby elephant at the campsite that
drinks from a bottle.
Pre-viewing question
Q: Why would a baby elephant come to be an orphan?
A: Answers will vary, but some students may mention that poachers may have killed its mother.
Post-viewing question
Q: What did you find unique about the animals of Africa?
A: Answers will vary.
Lesson Plan
Student Objectives
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Learn about the animals of Tanzania.
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Write a creative story about one of the animals.
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Share the stories with other members of the class.
Materials
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The Jeff Corwin Experience: Tanzania: Ecosystem in Motion video and VCR, DVD and DVD player
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Computer(s) with Internet access
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Paper and pencils
Procedures
1. Begin the lesson by showing students The Jeff Corwin Experience: Tanzania: Ecosystem in Motion.
If possible, try to show students all three segments of the video.
2. Tell students that Tanzania is home to some of the most exciting animals in the world—
elephants, cheetahs, lions, and black rhinos, to name a few. The video shows all these animals in
their natural habitats, hunting and interacting with each other.
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Tanzania: Ecosystem in Motion
Teacher’s Guide
3
3. Ask students to pick an animal showcased in the video and write a creative story about that
animal. The story could be about how cheetahs plan their hunts, how to safely catch an African
rock python, or how to take care of an orphaned elephant. While the story must be accurate, it
can be creative, using language to paint a picture of how these animals live in their different
environments or how humans interact with the animals.
4. Give students time in class to work on their stories. If students finish early, they may like to
draw a picture to go with their stories.
5. During the next class period, ask for volunteers to read their stories out loud. Then collect the
stories and display them around the room for visitors to read and admire.
Assessment
Use the following three-point rubric to evaluate students’ work during this lesson.
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3 points: Students were highly attentive while watching the video and wrote a highly
creative, accurate story based on an animal in the video.
•
2 points: Students were attentive while watching the video and wrote a somewhat creative,
mostly accurate story based on an animal in the video.
•
1 point: Students were only minimally attentive while watching the video and did not
complete a story based on an animal in the video.
Vocabulary
African rock python
Definition: The largest species of snake found in Africa; up to 25 feet long and 40 pounds
Context: The African rock python kills its prey by constriction and it is big enough to swallow a
small antelope.
black rhinoceros
Definition: A rare African mammal, highly territorial with two horns on its face
Context: The black rhino is close to extinction because it has been hunted so much;
conservationists are working to increase its population.
cheetah
Definition: The fastest land animal in the world, cheetahs can run up to 70 miles an hour.
Context: Baby cheetahs have a hard time surviving because food and water are often scarce and
they have many predators.
lion
Definition: A large carnivore of the cat family, found in open country in Africa
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Tanzania: Ecosystem in Motion
Teacher’s Guide
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Context: The lion is the only member of the cat family that lives in a social group, called a pride;
each pride has one male lion and two to twenty lionesses, who hunt for the group.
Serengeti
Definition: A wildlife sanctuary in Tanzania, home to lions, cheetahs, wildebeest, gazelles, and
other animals
Context: Jeff Corwin explored the Serengeti on a bicycle, a unique way to see this large, wellknown wildlife sanctuary.
Academic Standards
National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences provides guidelines for teaching science in grades K–12 to
promote scientific literacy. To view the standards, visit this Web site:
http://books.nap.edu/html/nses/html/overview.html#content.
Grades K-4
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Life Science: Organisms and environments
Grades 5-8
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Life Science: Populations and ecosystems
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Diversity and adaptations of organisms
Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL)
McREL's Content Knowledge: A Compendium of Standards and Benchmarks for K–12 Education
addresses 14 content areas. To view the standards and benchmarks, visit
http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/browse.asp.
• Language Arts—Viewing: Uses viewing skills and strategies to understand and interpret
visual media; Writing: Gathers and uses information for research purposes
Support Materials
Develop custom worksheets, educational puzzles, online quizzes, and more with the free teaching tools
offered on the Discoveryschool.com Web site. Create and print support materials, or save them to a
Custom Classroom account for future use. To learn more, visit
•
http://school.discovery.com/teachingtools/teachingtools.html
Published by Discovery Education. © 2005. All rights reserved.