Lesson 7: Animals in the Environment
Getting Started
Questions to Explore
- What changes do humans cause in the environment?
- How do changes in the environment affect living things?
- How can changes be positive? How can they be negative?
Facts and Definitions
- Extinct animals are those species that are no longer found on the planet.
- Endangered species are animals that will become extinct if care is not taken to protect them.
Skills
- Analyze the effects of change in communities and predict future changes. (SS)
- Analyze environmental issues, past and present, and determine their impact on different cultures. (SS)
- Describe human movement in the settlement patterns of rural, urban, and suburban areas. (SS)
- Identify and describe the people, vegetation, and animal life specific to certain regions and describe their interdependence. (SS)
- Recognize what animals need to live and grow. (S)
- Ask and answer questions about an organism. (S)
- Explain a problem and identify a task and solution related to the problem. (S)
- Observe and record functions of animal parts. (S)
- Identify characteristics of living organisms. (S)
- Cite ways that living organisms depend on one another in their environments. (S)
Materials
- crayons or colored pencils
Introduction
Review that people can change the environment in positive and negative ways. Ask your child if he knows what endangered species are. Explain that some animals are on an endangered species list, which means that there are very few of that type of animal living on earth. There are also species of animals that cannot be found on earth anymore. These animals are extinct. Once an animal is extinct, it has vanished from the earth and will never return. Laws protect endangered species so that the animals do not become extinct. Changes in the environment caused by humans can contribute to animals being endangered or extinct.