Teaching your children about nature and wildlife conservation
Wildlife refers to undomesticated animal species that evolve or exist in the wild. Wildlife is animals that humans have not domesticated. There are distinct types of wildlife in deserts, forests, rainforests, plains, grasslands, and other regions, considering the most populated urban areas. Another definition says, Naturally occurring plants, animals, and their species that are not cultivated/domesticated/trained are collectively referred to as?wildlife. While we are talking about wildlife, learning about wildlife and especially?endangered animals, is a great way for kids to learn empathy and show concern for the world around them.?
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?August 10 – World Lion Day
?August 12 – World Elephant Day
?August 13 – International Wolf Day
?August 15 – National Honey Bee Day
?August 19 – World Orangutan Day
?August 26 – World African Wild Dog Day
?August 30 – International Whale Shark Day
So take your children and students along and teach and show them how wildlife is essential and why we need to show interest in endangered species.?
Species with High Risk of Extinction
A species facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild. Britannica says that endangered species are any species in danger of death because of a sudden rapid decrease in its population or a loss of its critical habitat. Principal threats like global warming, pollution, and unsustainable hunting have affected habitat loss and thus endangered animals. Habitat loss is a sign that the ecosystem is falling apart. This habitat fall can happen naturally, and humans may destroy natural landscapes as they mine resources and urbanize areas. The habitat of the native organisms is decreasing due to infrastructural developments, living accommodations, industry expansion, etc. Such a process of development in jungle and agricultural areas can also endanger species. The devastation of habitats is one ground reason many animals become endangered.?
To teach children about endangered species, we can have several activities. We must be aware and make our kids aware of practicing them.
Here are a few doable activities for teaching kids about endangered animals-
Many wildlife conservation centers have content on endangered animals and species. Museums have a lot of information on endangered animals.?
Habitat matching games, Native environments of endangered species, protection of animal habitats, and Conservation efforts this all information that can be shared by way of games.?
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It is found that you can even design a scrabble of endangered animals. Relish the challenge of unscrambling each endangered animal name and observe how many you know.?
?Quizzes can also be a great way to increase information on endangered animals. It’s fun to test your knowledge of various food that animals eat and also their unique dating rituals and mating ways.?
This can be a fun way to know the endangered animals and learn more about their life and habitat.?
Usage of art, and crafts like origami to teach.
Origami?developed from techniques for?folding paper?and has been around for thousands of years. In its infancy, these creased charges of creations ranged from applicably practical to purely whimsical. In the 21st century, its uses have enlarged, particularly in schoolroom settings. It can help children understand physics, geometry, and even simple fractions.
Origami permits students to deliberately think, interpret, and engage with the learning material, all things essential when it comes to holding information. Clear memories of a lesson paired with positive, novel, or visual content can create strong ties to what is being taught. There is a small window of time to take something from our short-term memory and place it in our long-term memory. Manipulating paper to make origami is one way to prevent knowledge memory loss.
Folding With Origami
Setting up an origami lesson such as this takes practice and preparation. Here are some tips to assist you in your folding journey.
First, you will need paper. If your time or budget allows, consider buying precut squares of origami paper. You can purchase packs of up to 500 sheets for a low price. Six- to 8-inch squares should suffice. Another alternative is to cut up the paper yourself. Regular printer paper works well if you are going this route. Stay away from material that is too soft or too rigid, such as tissue paper or construction paper, as they tend to rip or not hold their shape and can be hard to fold. You could also have pupils cut their squares using printer paper. Fold one corner of the paper to an opposite side until it forms a triangle, and cut off the bottom. You can use this diagram to help.
Next, in preparing the lesson, please familiarize yourself with various origami models by folding them. If planning a more direct-instruction style lesson where you will teach children how to fold the model, you will want to practice many times until the foldaway of that animal becomes second nature to you. Always think to select models that are skill-level and developmentally appropriate. Most origami books, websites, and videos rank models using a system such as easy, medium, or hard. Determine which is best for you and your students.
Consider scaffolding the lesson by starting with a simple animal and working your way up. For example, a third-grade class may begin with a dog face, fold a simple butterfly, and end with a traditional swan. Some selected threatened animals for these models could be the African wild dog, Karner blue butterfly, and trumpeter swan.
Integrating Inquiry-Based Learning
Another way to structure the lesson is through inquiry-driven work. Allow students to research an endangered animal of their choice. The International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species has a wealth of information and pictures of threatened animal species. Once their animal is chosen, pupils can find origami websites, videos, or books to show how to fold their origami animal selected.
Resources such as the school library; YouTube, which has many step-by-step videos; and websites like origami-fun and the art for kids hub can all be accessed by students in person or online. Give your students ample time to practice until they get it right. Be encouraging and offer assistance when needed.