BACKGROUND:
Students have seen many different animals.
However, sometimes children associate animals with cartoons that might
incorrectly portray that specific animal. Children also get an incorrect idea
of where animals actually live in zoos. For instance, a polar bear and a
penguin may be close to each other in the zoo, but in real life the polar bear
lives near the North Pole and the penguin lives near the South Pole.
It is important to emphasize that just
seeing an animal does not make you an instant expert. You must learn by
observing animals, by reading books, or by talking to people that have
experience with specific animals.
PROCEDURE:
- Use the coloring exercise to explain
where the different animals come from. If you ask students where these animals
come from many will say, "the zoo." By showing the students where
these animals came from on the globe will help them learn how to identify
geographic locations.
- The elephant in the coloring exercise
can either come from India or Africa. The whale can be from any of the oceans.
Many whales swim from ocean to ocean, and are noted for their long migrations.
Lions are from Africa. Penguins are from the South Pole only. Different types
of frogs can be found on all the continents, except for Antarctica. Crocodiles
come from the Caribbean area, Africa, and Australia. Skunks are found in North
and South America. Turtles can be found just about everywhere, except
Antarctica and the Arctic region. Cats are found everywhere, but probably
originated in southwest Asia. Wild cats are native to Africa, Asia, and South
America.
- You might also want to tell students
that in this coloring exercise everyone is living happily with each other, but
in nature this does not happen.
- Different varieties of animal puppets
can also make this lesson more alive for students. Students should be able to
locate where the different animals are from on the globe. Use pictures any
magazine or book that might help show students where these animals live in
their native environment.
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