Learning Objectives

Notes

Use a concept attainment activity to elicit the idea of domestic or wild. Have students examine definitions of wildlife from the resources, dictionaries and encyclopaedias. Animals such as elk, bison or deer that are raised for production should be discussed in terms of their status. Discuss plants as well as animals.

Define invertebrates and vertebrates. Brainstorm the variety of wildlife found in each area of Saskatchewan. Refer to the bibliography for a listing of resources dealing with Saskatchewan wildlife. Have students research a number of Saskatchewan animals and give brief descriptions of their habitat and niche.

Define the terms biotic and abiotic. Use Saskatchewan wildlife as a basis for developing a game of charades. Research a list of plants and animals found in the local area. Important terms such as producers, consumers, decomposers, habitat, food chains, food webs and niche could also be included in the charades.

Have students examine an aquarium ecosystem or the school yard and develop a list of biotic and abiotic components within that ecosystem. Describe relationships between these components.

Use resources listed to develop an ecosystem tree for the different biomes of Saskatchewan. Dioramas or posters for each of the areas could be created and a narrative developed.

Examine owl pellets to identify relationships between predator prey species. See Ecology section (1.3 to 1.7) of Biology 20. Biological supply houses sell owl pellets or if there are owls are in the local area, pellets can be retrieved.

Introduce the concepts of "limiting factors" and "carrying capacity" by playing games that illustrate population dynamics.

Have students research the fox, coyote, swift fox, wolf and plains grizzly in Saskatchewan as examples of adaptation and change. (IL) Use a jigsaw approach to share information.

Take a field trip to a natural conservation site in the local area. Ducks Unlimited or Wildlife Habitat Canada sites are excellent. Invite a guest speaker to share the perspective of his/her job as it relates to conservation or preservation.

Debate the concept of preservation versus conservation. Have students examine these concepts from regional, provincial and federal perspectives.

Contact agencies such as the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation, Nature Saskatchewan and Saskatchewan Environment and Resource Management. Obtain their vision statements and compare and contrast them as they relate to preservation and conservation. The bibliography provides Internet addresses for these and other agencies.

Do a guided imagery activity using a descriptive writing from the bibliography. Have students use discussion and a writing or drawing activity to draw parallels between human and wildlife needs.

Use the Saskatchewan Education video duplication service to develop a library of videos that illustrate the need to examine how human needs are similar to those of wildlife.

Learning Objectives

Notes

Students should brainstorm examples of wildlife in Saskatchewan and then create groupings that would accommodate the examples. Make sure that all major groups are represented e.g., micro-organisms, plants, invertebrates, insects, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals. Refer to the Diversity of Life unit in Biology 20.

Watch videos that illustrate the wildlife found in Saskatchewan and Canada. Have students develop concept maps or mind maps that would illustrate their location and relationship with each other. Maps of Canada and Saskatchewan could be used to illustrate range.

Discuss keystone species and in small groups have students develop their own keystone species for each grouping that was developed.

Categorize the list of organisms as to whether they would be common in rural or urban, terrestrial or aquatic habitats.

Have students use resources to create a profile of the keystone species developed in 2.2. Drawings or dioramas could be used to illustrate structure, behaviour and habitat.

Use simulations and games to develop the following concepts:

• predator/prey relationships
• food chains and webs
• symbiotic relationships.

Curriculum resources include Biology 20, Grade 6 Science and Grade 8 Science.

Map the major ecozones and/or ecoregions of Canada and include their climatic and physical features. Create an extensive inventory of key plants and animals for each of the ecozones. List these on slips of paper and have students draw out names at random for each ecozone. Describe why the wildlife would or would not fit each of the ecozones based on their adaptations, e.g., a polar bear drawn for the Prairie Grassland would not allow the bear to obtain the food of its choice or be appropriately dressed for the climate.

Refer to the bibliography for resources that deal with Saskatchewan wildlife.

Conduct a research study on one or more wildlife species present in Saskatchewan. Topics that could be investigated are: structural and behavioural adaptations, interactions with other species, habitat, life cycle and social organization.

Have students work in small groups to develop a creature/plant that would be well developed for a specific environment. Posters, dioramas or clay models can be used here. Have students describe the special adaptations to the rest of the class.

Brainstorm reasons for differences between biomes. Climatograms and information on soil types would help here. Refer to Biology 20 (1.1 to 1.3) for information on ecosystems.

Develop a game that illustrates biome characteristics and the range traits of indicator species that would exist in those biomes.