Embedded Files
Class discussion:
What does a beaver dam do?
A beaver dam causes running water to flood and create a pond or other body of water that is flowing very little, if at all
Why do beavers build dams?
Many people think that beavers build dams to live in-- but in fact, beavers build dams so that they can flood an area and create a safe place to build their homes, called lodges. Beavers want their lodges to be surrounded by water, so they build dams to create small ponds first.
What is a beaver dam made of?
A beaver dam is made of different organisms, objects, and materials. Sticks, logs, and leaves are no longer alive, but are from living plants and trees. Mud used to fill in holes is a non-living material.
Many different living and non-living things can be found in nature.
Class Activity: The Shape of Things
Adapted from Project Learning Tree
Materials: construction paper and string (or plastic shapes), paper, crayons or writing utensils
- Practice identifying construction paper shapes on string 'shape necklaces' with class
- Ask students if they can name something that they have at home that has that particular shape
- Hand out shape necklaces to each student or pair of students to play 'I Spy' with shapes in nature
- When students find something that matches one of the shapes, ask them to say "I spy something shaped like a _________ "
- Allow students a few minutes to explore the immediate area and look for something in nature that is the same (or similar) shape to one of the shapes in the necklace
- If time permits, allow students to draw one of the shapes they saw in nature
- Take-away message:
- Forests and Wetlands contain habitat for a diverse population of living and non-living things
- Organisms are varied in size and structure (and shape!)
Class Demonstration:
Materials: picture of beaver and beaver skull to show teeth
- View picture of a beaver and/or beaver skull and point out the size of teeth
- What other living things have teeth that look like a beaver's teeth?
- Squirrels, chipmunks, and rabbits all have large teeth to chew plants
Pictures above: a beaver with yellow/orange teeth that contain Iron to make them strong; a beaver skull
Class discussion:
What does a beaver dam do?
A beaver dam floods a stream, river, or wetlands, to create a pond or other body of water that is flowing very little, if at all
Why do beavers build dams?
Many people think that beavers build dams to live in-- but in fact, beavers build dams so that they can flood an area and create a safe place to build their homes, called lodges. Beavers want their lodges to be surrounded by water, so they build dams to create small ponds first.
Are floods "good" or "bad?"
A beaver would say that a flood is good because flooded land creates deep water to keep him safe. Floods that occur in human communities can be very dangerous, while floods that occur on farmland can help keep the soil healthy. Floods can be both 'good' and 'bad!'
Class Activity: Water Words
Adapted from Project WILD: Aquatic WILD
Materials: writing materials, small whiteboard and marker, river copy pages (https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B0OI2sM2sfzjQ1hTNGVTWGd5Qms)
- Ask students to think about ways that they have used water today; ideas may include drinking water, showering, washing hands, flushing a toilet, etc.
- What are other ways that people use water that are not as obvious as using plumbing?
- To wash clothes, to water plants and animals that we eat, to water plants in our yard, for pets to drink, etc.
- What are other ways that people use water that are not as obvious as using plumbing?
- Ask students to think of as many words that have something to do with water as possible!
- Students can write their words on blank paper, or the instructor can record words on a small whiteboard
- Think of words that describe water or how it is important to people and wildlife
- Use the small whiteboard to create Word Trees using words they have written (see example below)
- After creating several word trees, have students look at them and create definitions of water in their own words, or poetic definitions
- Have students record their definitions of water on the river copy pages, which can be arranged by numerical order to form a river (two of same number stand face to face)
Class discussion:
Why do beavers build dams?
Many people think that beavers build dams to live in-- but in fact, beavers build dams so that they can flood an area and create a safe place to build their homes, called lodges. Beavers want their lodges to be surrounded by water, so they build dams to create small ponds first.
What do beavers eat?
Beavers are herbivores, and will eat fresh leaves, twigs, stems, and bark. They will chew on any species of tree, and enjoy eating aquatic plants such as cattails and water lilies as well.
Why do beavers want their lodges surrounded by water?
- Beavers surround their lodges with water for protection from predators. Beavers are not very fast-moving on land-- but they can swim very quickly in the water.
- Living in a lodge surrounded by water helps beavers gather food- they can easily and quickly swim to trees along the bank of their ponds, and can find aquatic plants along the bottom of the flooded areas they create.
Class Activity: Weaving the Web
Adapted from USDA Ag in the Classroom
Materials: print-out cards with pictures of wetlands plants and animals, ball of yarn, tape and scissors (optional)
- Introduction: All living things need energy
- Where do plants get energy? The Sun
- Where do animals get energy? Food
- Different animals will eat different kinds of food for energy. As animals eat, energy flows through each food item they eat as if it were a link-- to create a food chain.
- Animals do not eat the same thing every day, so they may be part of many different food chains.
- Display Food Chain Example rings; in this activity, we will create multiple food chains, or a Food Web
- Pass out printed cards of plants and animals to students and allow students to tape one card each on their chest
- Have students form a circle and take turns reading out their plant or animal
- The student with the Sun picture should stand in the center
- Ask students to consider who in the circle they might give their energy to (who might eat me?) and who in the circle could give me energy (whom might eat me?)
- Begin constructing a food chain by handing the end of the ball of yarn to the Sun; the yarn will represent energy passing through links in the food chain
- The Sun will hold onto the end of the piece of yarn, and pass the ball to a plant that would get energy from the Sun
- The student who received the ball of yarn from the sun will hold onto the string and pass the ball of yarn to an animal that may eat them (a herbivore)
- The herbivore will hold onto the string and pass the ball of yarn to someone who may eat them (a carnivore)
- Students will continue to pass the ball of yarn, while holding the string, until the food chain reaches a Carnivore or predator that does not get eaten by anything
- After the ball of yarn reaches the top of the food chain, the instructor will either cut the string or ask the student with the ball of yarn to pass the ball back to the Sun (still holding the piece of string), to create a new food chain
- Construct enough food chains so that all students are participating
- Some students will be involved in many food chains, and it may become difficult to hold on to all of the pieces of string!
- Take-away: Many food chains make up Food Webs, which describe how energy flows through an entire ecosystem. Food webs are often complicated, since they can involve a large variety of plants and animals that all eat different things.
- Further Learning: What would happen if some species were removed from the food web?
Class discussion:
Why do beavers build dams?
Many people think that beavers build dams to live in-- but in fact, beavers build dams so that they can flood an area and create a safe place to build their homes, called lodges. Beavers want their lodges to be surrounded by water, so they build dams to create small ponds first.
Why do beavers prefer their lodges to be surrounded by water?
- Beavers surround their lodges with water for protection from predators. Beavers are not very fast-moving on land-- but they can swim very quickly in the water.
- Living in a lodge surrounded by water helps beavers gather food- they can easily and quickly swim to trees along the bank of their ponds, and can find aquatic plants along the bottom of the flooded areas they create.
A beaver lodge and surrounding pond provides a beaver with the necessities to live-- food, water, and shelter. What may happen if the ecosystem can not provide enough food, water, or shelter for a population of plants or animals?
Excess plants and animals will not be able to survive in an environment that can not provide food, water, and shelter. The term carrying capacity describes the maximum number of animals in a particular habitat that can be supported all at one time.
Natural of physical disturbances can also affect populations of plants and animals. What are possible examples of disturbances that can harm a population?
- Natural disturbances can include flood, drought, winter blizzards, etc.
- Physical disturbances can include pollution, deforestation, and destruction of habitat
In this image, the number individuals in the population is represented by water in the hose-- it continues to spray into the bucket
The bucket represents the ecosystem carrying capacity--when there are too many individuals, disturbances occur that reduce the number
Numerous disturbances are always occurring, and can affect more than one species of animal
Class Activity: Beaver Fever
Adapted from Project WILD
Materials: paper and pencil to record results
- This activity will be dealing with the three main necessities that all plants and animals need to survive: food, water, and habitat/shelter
- Divide students into groups of 4 by counting off; students who are 1's will move together in one area while the 2's, 3's, and 4's will make one large group separated from the 1's
- The 1's group will stand in a line facing down the trail, shoulder to shoulder
- The 2's, 3's, and 4's will walk 10-20 yards away and create another line, all facing the 1's
- The 1's group will play the Beavers. Every beaver will need to choose one necessity that it needs to survive-- beavers who need food will place their hands over their stomachs, beavers who are thirsty will place their hands over their mouths, and beavers who need shelter will place their hands over their heads.
- Beavers can only look for one necessity each round, but can change the necessity at the start of each round
- The group of 2's, 3's, and 4's will be representing food, water, and shelter. The students will choose which necessity they will represent and will use the same signs with their arms as the beavers.
- To start the round, both sides will turn their backs to each other and make the sign for the necessity they need/ are
- The instructor will call 'Go!' and the students will all turn to face each other, holding their sign
- Beavers will look for a necessity that matches their need, and will race to that necessity. Each beaver has to keep holding their sign until they reach the necessity on the other side.
- When they reach their necessity, they will tag that person and both students will return to the beaver side/start to become beavers for the next round (the beaver has successfully found its necessity and will survive to reproduce)
- If some beavers are unable to find their necessity, they will 'die' and become a necessity for the next round
- Keep track of the number of beavers that survive during each round for 10-15 rounds; discuss any trends at the end of the activity
- Activity Discussion:
- How did the population of beavers change as the number of necessities changed?
- At the start of the game, it was easier for beavers to find necessities- but as the beaver population increased, this became more difficult since the population was reaching its carrying capacity
- Do beavers need all of these necessities in order to survive?
- Yes, but they would not die instantly like in the game. In a real population, beavers who do not find their necessities may die from disease or starvation.
- What are animal populations constantly doing in order to survive?
- The populations are in a constant balancing act- always changing
- How did the population of beavers change as the number of necessities changed?
Class discussion:
Why do beavers build dams?
Many people think that beavers build dams to live in-- but in fact, beavers build dams so that they can flood an area and create a safe place to build their homes, called lodges. Beavers want their lodges to be surrounded by water, so they build dams to create small ponds first.
Why do beavers prefer their lodges to be surrounded by water?
- Beavers surround their lodges with water for protection from predators. Beavers are not very fast-moving on land-- but they can swim very quickly in the water.
- Living in a lodge surrounded by water helps beavers gather food- they can easily and quickly swim to trees along the bank of their ponds, and can find aquatic plants along the bottom of the flooded areas they create.
A beaver lodge and surrounding pond provides a beaver with the necessities to live-- food, water, and shelter. What may happen if the ecosystem can not provide enough food, water, or shelter for a population of plants or animals?
Excess plants and animals will not be able to survive in an environment that can not provide food, water, and shelter. The term carrying capacity describes the maximum number of animals in a particular habitat that can be supported all at one time.
Natural of physical disturbances can also affect populations of plants and animals. What are possible examples of disturbances that can harm a population?
- Natural disturbances can include flood, drought, winter blizzards, etc.
- Physical disturbances can include pollution, deforestation, and destruction of habitat, etc.
The disturbances and other limiting factors determine the carrying capacity of a population.
What limiting factors could be influenced by the population size?
Competition for food, Predation, Parasitism and disease are all examples of limiting factors that are caused by the population size; these are called density-dependent
What limiting factors are not influenced by the population size?
Unusual weather, natural disasters, pollution, deforestation, destruction of habitat, etc. are examples of limiting factors that are not caused by the population size; these are called density-independent
In this image, the number individuals in the population is represented by water in the hose-- it continues to spray into the bucket
The bucket represents the ecosystem carrying capacity--when there are too many individuals, disturbances called limiting factors (holes in the bucket) occur that reduce the number
Numerous disturbances are always occurring, and can affect more than one species of animal
Class Activity: Beaver Fever
Adapted from Project WILD
Materials: Graphing paper/posterboard, necessity flash cards (https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1bkiQAbEbs2I4Rn5HfNX-TqP72xtxLhy1T8l-Dyk0Vr4/edit?usp=sharing) , beaver population data sheet (https://docs.google.com/document/d/18mkls1ZupDipdkekZqI6hqZHh8MGLvmLjHzgZ6Kf5Q4/edit?usp=sharing)
- This activity will be dealing with the three main necessities that all plants and animals need to survive: food, water, and habitat/shelter
- Divide students into groups of 4 by counting off; students who are 1's will move together in one area while the 2's, 3's, and 4's will make one large group separated from the 1's
- The 1's group will stand in a line facing down the trail, shoulder to shoulder
- The 2's, 3's, and 4's will walk 10-20 yards away and create another line, all facing the 1's
- The 1's group will play the Beavers. Every beaver will need to choose one necessity that it needs to survive-- beavers who need food will place their hands over their stomachs, beavers who are thirsty will place their hands over their mouths, and beavers who need shelter will place their hands over their heads.
- Beavers can only look for one necessity each round, but can change the necessity at the start of each round
- The group of 2's, 3's, and 4's will be representing food, water, and shelter. The instructor will pass out necessity cards to the students to represent these resources. Students will become the necessity on their card, and use the same signs with their arms as the beavers.
- To start the round, both sides will turn their backs to each other and make the sign for the necessity they need/ are
- The instructor will call 'Go!' and the students will all turn to face each other, holding their sign
- Beavers will look for a necessity that matches their need, and will race to that necessity. Each beaver has to keep holding their sign until they reach the necessity on the other side.
- When they reach their necessity, they will tag that person and both students will return to the beaver side/start to become beavers for the next round (the beaver has successfully found its necessity and will survive to reproduce)
- If some beavers are unable to find their necessity, they will 'die' and become a necessity for the next round
- At the end of each round, collect necessity cards from the students who were retrieved by the beavers, and pass new necessity cards to beavers who 'died'
- Model limiting factors by passing out limited food, shelter, or water cards
- Do not tell the beavers which necessity is being reduced before the round begins
- Ex. deforestation may cause a decrease in available food or shelter for beavers, remove food to increase the competition among the population
- Keep track of the number of beavers that survive during each round for 10-15 rounds using the Beaver population data sheet
- Activity Conclusion:
- Graph the population size of the beavers over time. What trends can be noticed?
- At the start of the game, it was easier for beavers to find necessities- but as the beaver population increased, this became more difficult since the population was reaching its carrying capacity
- Do beavers need all of these necessities in order to survive?
- Yes, but they would not die instantly like in the game. In a real population, beavers who do not find their necessities may die from disease or starvation.
- What are animal populations constantly doing in order to survive?
- The populations are in a constant balancing act- always changing, not static
- Give examples of limiting factors and describe how these would affect the beaver population.
- Graph the population size of the beavers over time. What trends can be noticed?
The graph above depicts an example population fluctuating over time due to limiting factors that influence population carrying capacity.
Class discussion:
Why do beavers build dams?
Many people think that beavers build dams to live in-- but in fact, beavers build dams so that they can flood an area and create a safe place to build their homes, called lodges. Beavers want their lodges to be surrounded by water, so they build dams to create small ponds first.
Why do beavers prefer their lodges to be surrounded by water?
- Beavers surround their lodges with water for protection from predators. Beavers are not very fast-moving on land-- but they can swim very quickly in the water.
- Living in a lodge surrounded by water helps beavers gather food- they can easily and quickly swim to trees along the bank of their ponds, and can find aquatic plants along the bottom of the flooded areas they create.
A beaver lodge and surrounding pond provides a beaver with the necessities to live-- food, water, and shelter. What may happen if the ecosystem can not provide enough food, water, or shelter for a population of plants or animals?
Excess plants and animals will not be able to survive in an environment that can not provide food, water, and shelter. The term carrying capacity describes the maximum number of animals in a particular habitat that can be supported all at one time.
Natural of physical disturbances can also affect populations of plants and animals. What are possible examples of disturbances that can harm a population?
- Natural disturbances can include flood, drought, winter blizzards, etc.
- Physical disturbances can include pollution, deforestation, and destruction of habitat, etc.
The disturbances and other limiting factors determine the carrying capacity of a population.
What limiting factors could be influenced by the population size?
Competition for food, Predation, Parasitism and disease are all examples of limiting factors that are caused by the population size; these are called density-dependent
What limiting factors are not influenced by the population size?
Unusual weather, natural disasters, pollution, deforestation, destruction of habitat, etc. are examples of limiting factors that are not caused by the population size; these are called density-independent
What would happen to populations that are unable to grow due to disturbances or limiting factors?
These species could be considered Endangered or Threatened, and could become extinct if population size continually decreases over time. Endangered and Threatened species are protected by federal laws. Scientists will develop wildlife Recovery Plans to attempt to reintroduce or recover a population.
The graph above depicts an example population fluctuating over time due to limiting factors that influence population carrying capacity.
Class Activity: Back from the Brink
Adapted from Project WILD
Materials: paper and pencils (optional), copies of the background sheets for North American alligator, black-footed ferret, and the gray wolf (https://drive.google.com/open?id=1BRq43y577bLW90ieS2LtKFM877SNvIaM ), Issue Analysis half-poster (https://drive.google.com/open?id=1CnZaW5xAbW8SCBBUn23rJp2UbPe4RErOtDyTu2rVO4g )
- In this activity, students will split into groups and read about the recovery efforts of three different endangered wildlife species (option to read about one species aloud as a class)
- While reading, students should consider these questions:
- About the animal species-- what is the:
- Preferred habitat, Food, Historic Range, Current Range, and Current Status
- About Decline and Recovery-- what is the:
- Major reason(s) for the decline of this species
- Events, changes, or laws that occurred to enable recovery
- About the animal species-- what is the:
- While reading, students should consider these questions:
- Each group will share what they have learned about their endangered animal with the rest of the class
- Connections Close to Home--
- The Gopher Tortoise is a very important member of the longleaf pine ecosystem, which at one point covered a majority of Southern Georgia, Alabama, and Florida.
- Due to habitat destruction and predation, gopher tortoise populations are considered threatened in the Southeast US.
- Gopher Tortoises are a keystone species, meaning that many other species depend on the gopher tortoise for survival-- burrows dug by gopher tortoises provide habitat to over 350 other animal species!
- See the 2 min video below for more information on Gopher Tortoise recovery!
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