Passport Around the World: Discover the Animals of the World NC Migrant Education: Science Curriculum

LESSON 1 Animals of North Carolina: Temperate Deciduous Forests

LESSON DESCRIPTION: In this lesson students will begin to discover what a biome is by looking at the distinct biome of North Carolina- the temperate deciduous forest. Students will watch videos, learn songs, read books, and do activities to discover some of the key traits to the temperate deciduous forest. Students will learn about the various animal adaptations that allow animals to survive in the winter. They will learn about bird migration, black bear hibernation and squirrel food storage to analyze 3 different adaptations in the winter. Older grades will also have an option to do an extension activity on how to successfully cohabitate with black bears in North Carolina.

MAJOR CONCEPTS:

Temperate Deciduous Forest

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temperate_deciduous_forest

One of the most interesting features of the temperate deciduous forest is

its changing seasons. The word "deciduous" means exactly what the leaves on these

trees do: change color in autumn, fall off in the winter, and grow back again in the

spring. This adaptation helps trees in the forest survive winter. Animals living within

this biome must adjust to cold winters and hot summers by hibernating, migrating,

or keeping active all winter. Leaves fall off trees here in the fall, leaving animals with

less cover to hide themselves from predators.

http://www.mbgnet.net/sets/temp/index.htm

Animals in temperate deciduous forests have to adapt to changing seasons. They

must be able to cope with cold winters and hot summers. Some animals hibernate

or migrate during the winter to escape the cold. Animals who do not hibernate or

migrate must have special adaptations to deal with higher exposure to predators in

the winter. When leaves fall, there is less cover for animals in this biome to hide

from predators. The black bear is an animal that is well adapted for the temperate

deciduous forest biome. It has a heavy coat made of many layers of fur to deal with

the winter cold. Black bears have long claws that help them to climb trees. This is an

essential adaptation because black bears often live in hollowed trees. Black bears

are omnivores, so they eat plants and animals. Most of their diet is composed of

plant material, so their long claws are useful to get their food from trees and shrubs.

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They also hibernate to avoid having to find food in the snowy, frozen winter.

http://kids.nceas.ucsb.edu/biomes/temperateforest.html

Surviving the Winter: Migration

Reasons birds migrate: http://www.ehow.com/info_7815585_reasons-bird-

migration.html

Why do birds migrate? Birds migrate to move from areas of low or decreasing

resources to areas of high or increasing resources. The two primary resources

being sought are food and nesting locations. Birds that nest in the northern

hemisphere tend to migrate northward in the spring to take advantage of

burgeoning insect populations, budding plants and an abundance of nesting

locations. As winter approaches, and the availability of insects and other food

resources drops, the birds move south again. Escaping the cold is a motivating

factor but many species, including hummingbirds, can withstand freezing

temperatures as long as an adequate supply of food is available.

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/studying/migration/

Black Bears and Hibernation:

Bear Essentials of Hibernation: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/nature/bear-

essentials-of-hibernation.html

Hibernation:

http://www.brainpopjr.com/science/animals/hibernation/grownups.weml

History of Black Bears in North Carolina:

http://www.ncwildlife.org/Portals/0/Learning/documents/Species/Bear/Appendix_

A.pdf

Threats to black bears: http://www.fieldtripearth.org/article.xml?id=733&ordinal=5

Surviving the Winter: Food storage

What do squirrels do in winter? http://www.lpzoo.org/blog/index.php/what-do-

squirrels-do-in-winter?blog=19

How does a squirrel survive in the winter? http://www.ehow.com/how-

does_4612243_squirrel-survive-winter.html

Eastern Grey Squirrel:

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/forestry/pdf/www/www02.pdf

http://www.hww.ca/en/species/mammals/eastern-grey-squirrel.html

ACTIVITIES: All Ages Activity 1 gives a general introduction to the Temperate Forest biome of NC. The

remaining activities cover the animal adaptations of the Temperate Forest biome. Then choose from other activities based on materials, time and interest.

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All Ages (includes K-2 and 3-5 variations within each activity):

o Activity 1: Introduction to Temperate Forests of NC Using songs, PowerPoints and a reading activity, students will understand

what a biome is and identify the biome that they live in o Activity 2: Surviving the Winter: Migration

Students will learn about bird migration by playing the “Migration: It’s a Risky Journey Game” across the classroom or in a gym/playground.

o Activity 3: Surviving the Winter: Hibernation

Videos, worksheets and a math worksheet will teach students about the

black bear of North Carolina and how and why bears hibernate in the

winter.

o Activity 4: Surviving the Winter: Storing Food

Students will participate in a food storage game to understand how

squirrels store their food in this active game. This can be played in a gym,

large classroom or outdoors.

3-5 only:

o Extension Activity 1: Are bears threats to us or are we threats to bears?

Have a discussion and complete a handout to learn about how to

cohabitate with bears.

Optional week-long activity:

Hand out passports to students and explain that this week we will be traveling around the

world. They will be exploring 5 countries of the world to learn about the biome of each country.

Each day, they will receive a sticker or stamp to put into their passport after they complete the

lesson of that day.

How to create a pretend passport for students:

o http://www.fiarcircle.com/downloads/lessons/fc_passport.pdf

o http://www.ehow.com/how_5575074_make-pretend-passports-children.html

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Lesson 1: Animals of NC

ALL AGES Activities Duration: 30 min

Student Objectives: To discover the meaning of

a biome To examine which biome

the students live in Key Vocabulary: Biome Temperate Deciduous

Forest Deciduous

Materials Needed: Student Passport (optional) Book Options: Check your

local library!

Many Biomes, One

Earth by Sneed B.

Collard III and James M.

Needham

What Are Earth's

Biomes? (Big Science

Ideas) by Bobbie

Kalman

Biomes and

Ecosystems (Gareth

Stevens Vital Science:

Earth

Science) by Barbara J.

Davis

K-2 extension materials: Land Biomes Intro K-2

PowerPoint- How do animals spend the

winter story- Refer to “I can Read” section

Materials continued on page

below

Activity 1: Introduction to Temperate Forests of NC (all ages)

Lesson Plan: 1. (optional) Video introduction to the world: Get the

students excited to travel around the world with this song: I

Love the Whole World (boom de yada song)-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nC1yLD7R0ZU

(duration 2:01 min)– Ask students to look for different

types of land, animal, habitats that they see in the video

2. Introduction to Biomes

a. K-2 Variation:

i. Tell students that today we will be learning

about the animals and environment that

they live in. Pick one of the following options

to present Biomes to the students.

1. Technology option: Show students

Land Biomes Intro K-2 PowerPoint

http://alex.state.al.us/uploads/9797/

science%20biomes%20ppt.ppt

2. Book option: Read one of

the Biome books (refer to

materials) to the students.

b. 3-5 Variation:

i. Tell students that today we will be

learning about the animals and

environment that they live in.

ii. Introduce students to land biomes of the

world using youtube song, powerpoint or

book. It might be helpful to show both, but

go quickly through the powerpoint since you

will be covering each biome in further detail

in the future days).

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3-5 extension materials:

Land Biomes 3-5

PowerPoint-

3-5 How do animals spend

the winter Reading-

http://www.sciencemadesi

mple.com/animals.html -

Read “How do animals

spend the winter? –

hibernate, migrate, adapt”

section

3-5 Temperate Forest

Worksheet-

http://www.education.com

/worksheet/article/temper

ate-forest/ - You might

need to make a free

education.com

username/login to access

the worksheet

Youtube video:

https://www.youtube.com/

watch?v=0A5eeE93uEA-

Coming Home to my Biome

(based on P.Diddy song).

After showing the song, ask

students what they learned.

Powerpoint: Land Biomes

3-5 PowerPoint

Book option: Read one of

the Biome books (refer to

materials) to the students.

3. After the biome

powerpoints/videos/boo

ks, ask the students the following questions:

4. Which biome is North Carolina part of? How do you know?

(Answer: temperate deciduous forest).

5. Show students a picture of the temperate deciduous forest

biome: (source:

http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/images/deciduous_loca

tion_map001.gif)

6. Explain to students that they live in the temperate

deciduous forest. Ask students: What are some of the

things that you see in the biome around you? Explain that

the things that make up a biome are the animals, plants,

trees, climate (weather), seasons, and environment that

they see where they live. Ask probing questions if the

students are lost.

a. Possible answers:

i. Trees, forests, four seasons (summer, fall,

winter, spring), leaves fall off the trees, black

bears, grey

squirrels,

chipmunk, deer,

raccoon, skunk,

opossum, birds

(woodpecker, blue

jay, hummingbirds),

bugs, snow, rain,

hot in the summer, cold in the winter,

7. Tell students that deciduous means the leaves fall off of the

trees. Ask students in what season the leaves fall off of the

trees? (fall) What happens after the leaves fall off? (it turns

to winter, it gets cold)

8. Ask students what they do when it gets cold outside in the

winter.

a. Possible answers: Wear winter clothes (coat, scarf,

mittens, gloves, sweater, etc), turn the heat on, sit

around a fire, stay inside

9. Do animals wear winter coats?

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10. K-2 Variation: What do you think animals do in the winter?

Print out the “I can Read” section of

http://www.sciencemadesimple.com/animals.html to

groups of 2-3 students and have students read the story in

their groups. Go around the room to help students that are

struggling with words. Tell students if they don’t know a

word to raise their hand so you can help them.

i. After students read the story, ask the class

what they have learned.

11. 3-5 Variation: Do animals wear winter coats? What do you

think animals do in the winter? Print out the “How do

animals spend the winter? – hibernate, migrate, adapt”

section of http://www.sciencemadesimple.com/animals.html

to students and have them read in groups or individually.

After students read the story, ask the class what they have

learned.

a. If you have time, pass out the 3-5 Temperate Forest

Worksheet-

http://www.education.com/worksheet/article/tem

perate-forest/ - You might need to make a free

education.com username/login to access the

worksheet

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Duration: 20-30 min Student Objectives: To explore bird migration

and the dangers that birds face when migrating

To identify ways that bird migration is similar to human migration

Key Vocabulary: Migration Materials Needed: Migration: It’s a Risky

Journey Game- Print out the sheets

Dice

Activity 2: Surviving the Winter: Migration (All ages)

Lesson Plan:

1. Ask students “What do bird do to survive the winter”? (They migrate south). Tell students: Sixty to seventy percent of the birds found in the Temperate deciduous forest migrate to the tropics for the winter months.

2. Migration: It’s a Risky Journey Game Set up 24 stations throughout the room/field/gym. Print out the game station sheets 1-24 and put them on the ground. Explain to students that they are a migratory bird and that they need to leave the snow and cold of North Carolina in order to survive the winter. They plan on flying South to where it is warmer. The journey can be difficult though, and they have to survive to get to the end of their journey. They will be traveling in groups because birds never migrate alone!

a. Depending on the reading level of your students, you can do this activity in three ways:

i. Split students up into groups and give them each a dice. They must roll the dice and travel together throughout each station. Help students that need help reading.

ii. Do the stations as a whole class. Roll one dice, and depending on what it lands on, all students have to travel to the station.

iii. Adapt the game to fit your own students’ needs!

3. Extension: Ask students to compare bird migration to human migration. Do they go in the same direction? (Birds go south in the winter. Do migrant families go south too to escape the cold and find work? The birds had to go through a lot of challenges to survive the trip. Do migrant families go through any challenges to migrate?)

Lesson Plan Source:

http://www.birdday.org/pdf/migrationgame.pdf

Passport Around the World: Discover the Animals of the World NC Migrant Education: Science Curriculum

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Duration: 50-60 min Student Objectives: To learn about black

bears of North Carolina To learn why some

animals must hibernate in the winter

To understand the details behind hibernation

Key Vocabulary: Hibernate Body temperate Heartbeat Materials Needed: Videos: Bears aren’t full

hibernators video: (duration 3:33 min)

Bear snoring video (duration: 0:52 min)

Bear hibernation video: (Duration 2:59 min)

K-2 variation materials: Check your local library for one of the following books-

Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson

Don't Wake Up the Bear! by Marjorie Dennis Murray

Hibernation Station by Michelle Meadow

o Hibernation pages

o Markers

Materials continued on page below

Activity 3: Surviving the Winter: Hibernation (All ages)

Lesson Plan: 1. Tell students we are learning about

black bears and what they do in the

winter. Black bears are the most

common bear in North Carolina.

2. Hibernation introduction:

a. K-2 variation activities:

i. Use a teddy bear to explain hibernation.

Read a bear book (choose

a book from the materials

section) to teach students

about hibernating.

ii. Hibernation Song:

Teach this hibernation

song to your students.

Sing a line or a verse and

have students repeat. You

can put the words on the

board or a handout for

students to refer to. Sing

the song slowly. Then try

to see if the students can

sing the whole thing

through with you.

To get the students

moving, have students

sing the song while doing

the movement of the

animal (bear, frog, snake,

bat). E.g. When they say

“in the winter, where’s

the bear” the students

walk around like a bear.

Hibernation Song lyrics: Tune: Allouette Chorus: Hibernation, time for hibernation, Hibernation, time to go to sleep. In the winter, where's the bear? Sleeping in its log or lair. Where's the bear? Log or lair. Oh! Chorus In the winter, where's the frog? Sleeping by a pond or log. Where's the frog? Pond or log. Where's the bear? Log or lair. Oh! Chorus In the winter, where's the snake? In the mud beneath beneath the lake. Where's the snake? In the lake. Where's the frog? Pond or log. Where's the bear? Log or lair. Oh! Chorus In the winter, where’ the bat? In a cave is where it’s at. Where’s the bat? A cave it’s at. Where's the snake? In the lake. Where's the frog? Pond or log. Where's the bear? Log or lair. Oh! Chorus

Passport Around the World: Discover the Animals of the World NC Migrant Education: Science Curriculum

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3-5 variation materials: Black Bears workbook-

Teacher note: This was written about black bears of New Jersey, but the content and facts about black bears are the same for NC. Go through the pages and cross out New Jersey and write in North Carolina before giving copies to the students OR hand out original copies to the students but tell them that it’s about New Jersey bears but black bears are the same in North Carolina! (teachers should not hand out pages 4-8, and should choose the other pages based on how much time they have).

Pens/pencils Bear math sheet Bear activity guide- Use

pages 12-14 to create a game

a. 3-5 Variation activities:

i Hand out Black Bears workbook to each

student, or have students share workbooks.

Teacher note: This was written about black

bears of New Jersey, but the content and

facts about black bears are the same for NC.

Go through the pages and cross out New

Jersey and write in North Carolina before

giving copies to the students OR hand out

original copies to the students but tell them

that it’s about New Jersey bears but black

bears are the same in North Carolina!

(teachers should not hand out pages 4-8,

and should choose the other pages based on

how much time they have).

3. Hibernation Details: Some animals "hibernate" for part or

all of the winter. This is a special, very deep sleep. The

animal's body temperature drops, and its heartbeat and

breathing slow down. It uses very little energy. Sometimes

hibernating animals wake up, but their heartbeat stays low

and they use very little energy. In the fall, these animals get

ready for winter by eating extra food and storing it as body

fat. They use this fat for energy while hibernating. Some

also store food like nuts or acorns to eat later in the winter.

Bears, skunks, chipmunks, and some bats hibernate. While

some animals fall asleep for the whole winter, bears don’t

fully hibernate since they sometimes wake up.

4. Show bear videos: (optional)

a. Bears aren’t full hibernators video: (duration 3:33 min)- hibernating bears can wake up from sleeping, and also can have cubs during hibernation.

a. Bear snoring video (duration: 0:52 min) - Although

bears don’t fully hibernate (meaning they are not

fully asleep the whole winter), when they are asleep

they are in a deep sleep! (Source)

b. Bear hibernation video: (Duration 2:59 min)

Passport Around the World: Discover the Animals of the World NC Migrant Education: Science Curriculum

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5. Student hibernation activity: Have students lie down on the

carpet and count how many times they breathe per

minute. Have them imagine what it would be like to

breathe only once or twice per minute. Take one student’s

pulse, which should be anywhere between 80 and 130

beats per minute. Now have the student imagine that his or

her heart was beating only 5-10 times per minute, like a

hibernating animal’s. Have the students think about how

hungry they are for breakfast in the morning, and imagine

how important food is for animals that are preparing for a

long hibernation. Source

6. Interactive Workbook Activities:

c. K-2 Variation:

i Drawing and writing: Give students the

Hibernation pages and markers. Students fill

out the pages and draw in their own bear,

frog and chipmunk. You can have bear, frog

and chipmunk visuals on the board to help

students.

d. 3-5 Variation:

i Hand out Bear math sheet to engage

students in math while learning about bear

facts

ii Bear survival board game: Split students into

groups of 2-4. Give them each a dice, and a

game board (game board is on page 12-14 of

Bear activity guide). Students must get

water, air and food for their bears to survive.

Bears start at their den and must arrive back

at their den before winter begins.

Passport Around the World: Discover the Animals of the World NC Migrant Education: Science Curriculum

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Duration: 30 min Student Objectives:

To investigate how squirrels can survive in the winter by storing food

To understand different food storage strategies that animals use

Key Vocabulary:

Food storage

Hoarding

scatter-hoarding

larder-hoarding

nests

burrow Materials Needed:

10 cut outs of nuts (or can use other things like little balls, cotton balls, etc) per student

Piece of construction paper for each student

Scotch tape

Activity 4: Surviving the Winter: Storing Food (All ages)

Lesson Plan:

1. Ask the students to raise their hand if they have ever

seen a squirrel.

2. What do they see squirrels doing? (eating, climbing

trees, etc)

3. Explain to students that the most common type of

squirrel in North Carolina is the grey squirrel. Grey

squirrels don’t migrate and they don’t hibernate in the

winter. Ask the students what they think the squirrels

do to survive.

a. To prepare for the winter squirrels hoard their

food, which means they secretly store their

food. They dig or burrow holes and tunnels into

the ground to store their food.

b. Optional Video: Show a video of squirrel burying

its nuts:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYYkzciiCW

4 or

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HLLCgnKF

ng

c. They have two methods of storing food: One

method is known as "scatter-hoarding," in which

the animal places a handful of nuts and seeds in

numerous locations -- that way if another critter

finds one stash, chances are their remaining

stores will stay hidden. The other method is

"larder-hoarding," when a squirrel will select

just a few locations and store a mother lode

within each.

d. Ask students the good and bad things about

each method.

4. Squirrels food storage activity:

-Phase 1: Give each student 10 cut outs of nuts (or use

other things like little balls, cotton balls)

Passport Around the World: Discover the Animals of the World NC Migrant Education: Science Curriculum

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Have each student hide their nuts around the

room/field. Explain to the students that it is the Fall and

they have to start collecting nuts to store so that they

can survive the winter. Give students a piece of

construction paper to write their name on and tape to

the floor (or a basket). This will be the spot where they

store their food. The students’ mission is to find as

many nuts as possible. They can pick up their own nuts

or other people’s nuts. Students will look for nuts and

are only allowed to pick up one at a time and bring it

back to their food storage area. The students have 5

minutes to find as many nuts as possible. When the

teacher yells stop, they must stop gathering nuts.

-Phase 2: Now the students have to survive the winter

with the amount of nuts they have. Students must

count up their nuts. Tell the students they have 12 days

to survive, and that each squirrel must eat at least 1 nut

a day to survive. Give students time do the math to

figure out how many nuts they have and whether they

will survive. Explain to students that they are allowed to

create nests or burrows together with other squirrels to

survive. Students are allowed to pair with other

squirrels to combine their food. Students that create

pairs/groups should split up the nuts so that they will all

be able to survive for 12 days.

-Phase 3: Students line up behind a line and teacher

holds a limbo stick. In order to go through the student

has to hand the teacher a nut. Teacher holds up a sign

saying what day it is (day 1-12), so that the students can

keep track of the days. The teacher should change the

day sign to the next day when all students have gone

through the limbo line. If a student runs out of nuts,

they are out and do not survive the winter. Play until

Day 12 to see which squirrels survived.

-Phase 3 Alternative: Students line up to go down a

slide and can only pass through if they have a nut.

Passport Around the World: Discover the Animals of the World NC Migrant Education: Science Curriculum

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Duration: 20 min Student Objectives: To understand how

humans and bears cohabitate

To learn about how to remain safe from bears

Key Vocabulary: Cohabitate Coexistence Poaching Habitat Degradation of Habitat Materials Needed: Bears and You packet

Activity 5: Are bears threats to us or are we threats to bears?

(3-5 activity) Lesson Plan:

1. Raise your hand if you are afraid of bears.

2. Although humans are afraid of bears, bears can also be

afraid of humans. Humans can be helpful to bears!

What are some ways that humans are harmful to

bears?

3. Ways humans threaten bears:

a. Poaching—45 to 80 bears (and

likely many more) are lost to

poachers each year;

b. Vehicles—road kills are

frequent, especially during the

fall when bears are ranging

widely in search of food.

Expansion of the local road network also

increases habitat fragmentation; one study

shows that construction of an improved road

and a campground in a previously undeveloped

area will cut a female bear's 20 square-mile

range in half. New roads also allow increased

access for poachers;

c. Loss of habitat—increased use of the Park's

remote backcountry by hiker and campers,

coupled with increased development around

the Park's boundaries, limits the amount of

habitat available to animals, and also increases

the number of "garbage bears" and other

problem animals;

d. Degradation of habitat—the effects of growing

Park visitation—as well as the impacts of acid

rain, insect infestation, and non-native species—

Lesson 1: Animals of NC

3-5 Activities

Passport Around the World: Discover the Animals of the World NC Migrant Education: Science Curriculum

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on bear habitat are of concern as well. As the

quality of habitat in the Park declines, so too will

the health of the American black bear

population.

4. The key to successful co-existence between humans

and bears is to recognize that it is no longer possible for

either species to occupy all habitats but that where co-

occupancy is possible and desirable, humans must be

responsible for the welfare of the bear population. Wild

areas with little human footprint will remain the most

important habitat for bears but peaceful co-existence

can occur in the urban-wildland interface as long as

humans take the necessary steps to assure that the

relationship remains a positive one.

5. Hand out Bears and You packet to each student or

groups of 2 students. Do not include page 2. (Source:

http://myfwc.com/media/425972/Bears_and_You.pdf)