iii.
In-Classroom Activities
A) What is a Mammal? What is a Bird?
Class Discussion: This could be done in a circle for open discussion or on the chalkboard/chart paper.
1. What is a mammal? What is unique (special) about mammals?
Ask the children to complete these statements. A mammal is… A mammal is unique because...
2. Ask them to identify different characteristics of mammals:
Fur or hair, tails, teeth, whiskers, live on land and water, born like people, mother
mammals nurse their young, four legs and nails.
3. Ask them to name mammals they know.
Examples: cat, dog, cow, pig, deer, bear, elephant, zebra, lion and tiger.
4. What is a bird? What makes a bird unique (special)?
Ask the children to complete these sentences. A bird is…. A bird is unique because….
5. Ask them to identify different characteristics of birds:
Beak, wings, feathers, chirp, build nests, lay eggs, two feet, live on land, water and in trees, male has
colourful feathers and most times are able to fly.
6. Ask them to name birds they know.
Examples: sparrow, crow, duck, goose, parrot, Blue Jay, Cardinal, ostrich, emu, hawk, eagle, and owl.
7. Ask the children if they know of any birds that do not fly.
Three examples are the ostrich, emu & rhea. All can be seen at African Lion Safari.
8. If you could be a bird or a mammal for one day, what would you choose to be?
Suggested Activities for the children:

Draw the mammal or bird they would like to be for a day and then describe it to the class, giving the
reasons why that creature was chosen.

Write a short story entitled “A day in the life of ______________________________”.


Ask them to choose a mammal or bird to write about.
Cut out paper forms of mammals and birds made by the children. Place them into a paper Environment
Mural illustrating trees, mountains, lakes, etc. (made by the teacher or children). Ask the children to
place the mammals and birds where they would be comfortable living in the environment mural.
B) Species Charades!
The object of the game is to introduce the children to a variety of species that are endangered.
Materials needed: Slips of paper with the names of endangered species and/or pictures, container to hold the
papers.
Activity Set Up:
1.
Ask the children to stand in a circle. To begin the lesson, discuss the term “endangered species”
and what the students know about it. Questions you may want to ask your students 1) What animals do they
believe are recognized as “endangered”? 2) What do they believe causes animals to become endangered or
extinct? 3) How do they think society is helping to save endangered animals? Many students may be surprised
to learn that many of their favourite animals from books and zoos are not prevalent in the wild. Review what
the definitions of “endangered” and “threatened” mean to help the children understand the game.
2.
Prepare a list of animals that are endangered (use pictures if it is more helpful) and cut the list
apart. Fold the slips of paper/pictures and put them into a container or paper bag.
3.
Ask a student to select a paper from the container and “act out” the animal he/she has chosen
without the use of voice. Tell the students they will be pretending to be an endangered species.
4.
Ask the rest of the class to guess what animal the student is acting out. The student that guesses
the animal will then select from the container and continue the game.
5.
After the game, talk about the animals the students have acted out and why some of them are
endangered. What animals on the list surprised the students?
Examples:
Animals To Act Out:
Asian elephant
Rhino

Cheetah

Barn Owl

Tiger

Gorilla

Polar Bear
C) I've Got the Whole World in My Hands!
The object of the game is to have the children identify things that threaten or help endangered species and
their environment.
Materials needed: Inflatable World Globe, balloons (one per child), markers.
Activity Set Up:
 Ask the children to stand in a circle. Explain that as a group they will be identifying things that threaten
and help endangered species and their environment.
 The world globe is to be blown up and passed around the circle. As the world is passed to each child,
he/she tries to identify a threat to endangered species and then let some air out of the globe. After
everyone has had a turn, the world should be flat.
 Pass out the balloons so each child has one. The balloon represents the world and they will now have
the chance to help. Teacher keeps globe to inflate it.
 Ask students to name things that can help endangered species. Each time a child gives an answer
everyone puts one puff of air into his or her balloon. Continue until the balloons are fully inflated.
 Explain to the children that endangered species face numerous threats but everyone can make a
difference by helping.
 Tie up the balloons and have the students draw their favourite animal or bird on the balloon.
Examples:
Threats to your world
Acid rain, using too much water, over fishing…
Taking care of your world
Recycling glass, plastic and paper, carpooling, reusable containers…
D) Animal Tag
The object of the game is to fill up your food and water chart and make it back to the “sanctuary”
(a predetermined area of the playing field).
Materials needed:



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Paper with animal names and hat or jar to draw animal names from.
3 different coloured card stock (cut up into pocket size squares).
Small items which can be hidden (such as marbles).
Ensure that students know all the rules and regulations (same as a regular game of tag).
Game should be played outside or somewhere with a lot of room for them to safely run around.
Activity Set-Up :
Marbles (or other small objects) must be hidden around the playing area ahead of time.
Each student needs a food/water chart (following page, there are 3 per page, students need one per animal)
Eg : Lions 3 (student needs 3 charts)
Students choose an animal (draw out of a hat) and are accordingly divided into 3 teams:
 Carnivores (lion, tiger, one…)
 Omnivores
 Herbivores (rabbits…)
Each student should have a different animal. Each animal has a number allocated to it (according to the ratio in the
wild). This number represents the number of cards that a student will have in his or her pocket. The
colour of the card is determined by whether the student has chosen a carnivore (eg. red card), omnivore
(eg. blue card) or herbivore (eg. green card). Eg : Lion 3 (student will have 3 red cards) – Student
represents 3 lions (which are carnivores)
Activity:
-
This is a game of tag.
The carnivores can catch (or “eat”) the omnivores and herbivores.
The omnivores can eat the herbivores but need to watch out for the carnivores.
The herbivores need to watch out for the carnivores and herbivores.
All animals must find food and water (hidden stamps) regularly.
Once someone is caught and has given up a card they have 15 seconds to run during which the
predator may not follow.
Eg : Lions 3 (student can stamp each of his/her 3 charts once)
If caught student must give up one card to the one who caught him/her
Animals:
ANIMAL
Deer
Rabbit
Llama
Elephant
CATEGORY
Herbivore
Herbivore
Herbivore
Herbivore
6
8
5
5
Baboon
Chimpanzee
Omnivore
Omnivore
4
4
Omnivore must collect
3 marbles
and 2 herbivore cards
Lion
Carnivore
2
Carnivores must
collect 5 herbivore
and/or omnivore
cards
NUMBER
FOOD
Herbivores must collect 5
marbles before they can run to
safety