Herpetology Lesson Plans

Seventh graders engage in a lesson to learn more about herpetile orgainsims. They have a background in these types before this lesson. Students gather specimens from various ponds, streams, and forest. The importance of the organisms to the environment is discussed in class.

Students investigate exotic pets and the ecological and personal risks involved in trading and owning such animals. They synthesize their knowledge by creating advertisements that promote the sale of exotic pets and picket signs that protest their sale.

Students investigate the poisonous frogs of Manu, Peru. They watch and discuss a video, conduct Internet research on poison frogs, accurately color downloaded template models of the frogs of Manu, and create a poster using the colored frogs.

Students explore the idea that adaptations are necessary for the survival of a species. They gather books, magazines, and identified web sites to pick three species of animals, describe the type of environment in which each of the animals is found, identify an adaptation of the animal, and finally explain why that adaptation allows that particular animal to survive in its environment.

Students view a 30-minute video lesson to discover information about the characteristics of frogs and toads. They then transform themselves into frogs and participate in a Jumping Frog Jubilee. They work in groups of three to measure and record the average jumping length of each "frog" and graph the data, analyzing it to see if they can find any correlations between variables.

Students explore the historical and social significance of animals as cultural symbols in various countries around the world, as well as the impact that humans have made on the population and natural habitats of these animals.

Students examine the life and work of Tyrone Hayes. They explain how Hayes's cultural and life experiences influenced his career choice and locations of study and see how studying animals' may provide insight into environmental hazards for humans.

Young scholars study the biodiversity of animal life in a pond. They investigate the interdependence between pond organisms by completing a pond dipping activity and completing a checklist.

Students view a video on Arizona wildlife and relate to Native American beliefs.  In this Arizona wildlife lesson,  students answer critical thinking questions based on the video.

Students view a film on different wildlife views.  In this wildlife lesson students study vocabulary words and answer questions about the video.