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ParkWise
> Teachers >
Nature > Fly
Away! > Unit Outline
Activity
1:
Exploring Migration
Students
discuss migration and research specifics about a migrating species.
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Unit:
Fly Away
Guiding Question: Why
do some animals migrate?
Critical Content: Students
will know how to define migration and how migration helps
some animals to survive.
Grades: 4-8
Duration: 30-45
minutes
Group size: 3-4
students
Setting: classroom
Materials: paper
and pencils
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Before
You Begin: Review Migration
Basics
Procedures: ·
- As a class, discuss what migration means. Then students list
on the board all of the animals that they can think of that migrate.
Example migratory species: golden eagles, bald eagles,
caribou, hummingbirds, leatherback turtles, loggerback turtles,
loons, manatees, moose, dall sheep, monarch butterflies, humans,
orioles, peregrin falcons, whooping cranes, humpback whales, right
whales, gray whales, arctic terns, earthworms, frogs, ducks, and
geese.
- In pairs, students choose a species from the list and find out
some facts about the species. Specifically students should consider
what the animal eats, its type of habitat, and how it moves (walk,
fly, swim) as well as when and where it migrates.
- After considering these facts students should come up with an
explanation for why the species migrate. One student from each
pair can present their findings to the class and explain their
reasoning.
- A tally of the different reasons for migration can be made on
the board.
Discussion
Questions: Why do animals
migrate?
Extensions:
Predict the timing of the different migrations. Then look up the
timing to see how close you came.
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