Home > Lesson Planning > Lesson Plan

Tracking the Wild Ones

Return to Wild and Wonderful Lessons About Endangered Species

Subjects Mathematics: Applied Math Mathematics: Arithmetic Mathematics: Process Skills Mathematics: Statistics Science: Life Sciences: Animals

Grades 3-5 6-8

Brief Description Use statistics about endangered species to learn more about the extent of this global concern. Objectives Students will analyze graphs to answer specific questions. look for trends in graphed results. Keywords Endangered species, animals, graphs Materials Needed copy of Tracking the Wild Ones work sheet for each student statistics about threatened and endangered species (available online) Internet access (optional) Lesson Plan Most students will eagerly agree that endangered species need help and attention, but they often do not have a true understanding of the depth of the problem. In this activity, children use their math skills to interpret data from reputable sources and size up the current status of the endangered species of our nation and the world. Start this lesson with a brief discussion of endangered species. If you choose, visit The Wild Ones, a Web site with information about endangered species, the environment, and those who protect it. Ask your students to share what they know about the number of endangered species in our nation and the world. Explain that they are about to examine some current data to find out just how many endangered species have been identified. Remind them that these are the animals and plants that are known to be in trouble. Many others probably exist. Distribute copies of the Tracking the Wild Ones work sheet. Instruct students to use charts and graphs found in the following locations to answer the questions; if Internet access is unavailable, students might use printed copies of the charts. Number of U.S. Listed Species Per Calendar Year Summary of Listed Species The pages above are accessible from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service page Species Information. (The second chart is up-to-date, so minor changes may occur in the answer key below.) When students have completed the handout, correct the answers as a group and talk about the large numbers of endangered species found in the United States. Were the students surprised to find that there are more listed species in this country than in the foreign countries? How might that be explained? Assessment The following answers reflect the endangered species data posted on the charts and graphs cited in this lesson as of April 4, 2003. Answer Key: 1. The number of listed species grew every year. 2. 991 3. 166 more plants were listed 4. 1349 species 5. 139 fish species 6. corals, 2 species 7. lichens 8. 775 more U.S. species than foreign ones Lesson Plan Source Education World Submitted By Cara Bafile National Standards MATHEMATICS: Number and Operations GRADES 3 - 5 NM-NUM.3-5.3 Compute Fluently and Make Reasonable Estimates GRADES 6 - 8 NM-NUM.6-8.3 Compute Fluently and Make Reasonable Estimates MATHEMATICS: Data Analysis and Probability GRADES 3 - 5 NM-DATA.3-5.2 Select and Use Appropriate Statistical Methods to Analyze Data GRADES 6 - 8 NM-DATA.6-8.2 Select and Use Appropriate Statistical Methods to Analyze Data MATHEMATICS: Connections GRADES Pre-K - 12 NM-CONN.PK-12.3 Recognize and Apply Mathematics in Contexts Outside of Mathematics SCIENCE GRADES K - 4 NS.K-4.3 Life Science GRADES 5 - 8 NS.5-8.3 Life Science Find more great lessons for teaching about Earth Day issues on Education World's Earth Day resources page. Click to return to this week's Lesson Planning article, Wild and Wonderful Lessons About Endangered Species. Originally published 04/25/2003 Last updated 03/17/2009