Big Cat Locations

Grade Level: First

Time Required: 30-40 minutes

Objective: Students understand that there are many different plants and animals living in many different kinds of environments (e.g., hot, cold, wet, dry, sunny, and dark).

Skills: Observing, classifying and categorizing,

 

Overview:
In this lesson the students learn about the many different environments in which animals live.

Materials required:
A computer connected to the Internet, desktop publishing software, writing and construction paper, crayon and markers

Vocabulary:
a. cold   b. hot  c. wet  d. dry  e. sunny  f. biome

Procedures:

This lesson is structured in the style of Bloom's Taxonomy.  It is meant to integrate higher level thinking skills into this unit.  The activities listed below are set up to be completed within a week.  

                                               
Activities:

Knowledge-Learn about the areas where big cats live.  Allow the class to orally discuss and pin point them on a wall map of the world.  Visit Atlapedia to view world maps and print them out for big cat location identification.

Comprehension- Make a wall hanging of the areas where big cats live.  Allow each student to draw a picture of their favorite big cat and place it in the right area. Students can use any draw/paint application to draw and print cat pictures; students can also locate cat pictures on Internet and print out for wall hanging.

Application- Design a space in a zoo for big cats.  Make sure your space has everything a big cat would need.

Analysis- Compare the different habitats of big cats.  Orally discuss how their physical looks tie into the location to which they live.

Synthesis- Read to the online story of
The Boy Who Drew Cats. Compose a story of your own about big cats; post at Just Write.

 

 

Technology Connections-

Biomes- a great site to learn about all kinds of biomes: grasslands, jungle, tundra, ocean, desert, woodland...

 

The Zoological Society of San Diego-Kids Territory- this site has zoo recipes and animal arts and crafts you can alsoE-mail the San Diego Zoo to get answers to all of your big cat location questions.

 

 



Extension:
Have the student to write a make-believe interview with a habitat. In the interview the habitat should tell how it takes care of the big cats who live in it.

 


Home Learning:
Make a chart comparing the different habitats of the black panthers who live in North American and  lions who live on the African Savannahs. Students can use a "Table" inserted into a word processing document; see Black Panthers and Lions Table.

                                                       

Evaluation:


Identify the big cats locations on a world map. Teacher can assist students by printing various maps found at National Geographic.

 


Book List: 

 

Nature’s Children                                           Big Cats! (Our Wild World)

By Bill Ivy                                                         by Patricia Corrigan (Editor), et al

Grolier Limited, 1990                                         Northward Press, 2002

 

Animals and Their “Hiding Places”               Big Cats (All Aboard Reading, Level 2,)

Books for Young Explores                                by Joyce Milton

National Geographic Society, 1986                     Price Stern Sloan Publishing Company 1994

 

Big Cats                                                     

By Simon Seymour

Harper Trophy, 1994

 

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