Download Giant Armadillo Lesson 1

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Lesson 1:
Activities 1-3
Classroom Activities for Schools or Zoos
(Great curriculum focus for use in schools)
LESSON 1.
HABITATS, ECOSYSTEMS, AND FOOD CHAINS
giant
a r ma di l lo
e d u cat i o n a l
r es o u r c es
Goa l /O b j ecti ves:
1. Students will be able to list three habitat requirements for giant armadillos.
2. Students will be able to define and compare the term habitat and ecosystem.
3. Students will be able to explain the importance of non-living components of an ecosystem.
4. Students will understand how energy moves between organisms in a food chain.
5. Students will be able to list two ways they can help protect habitats for giant armadillos.
Stan dar d s :
US Next Generation Science Standards: Interdependent relationship of ecosystems, Animals Plants and their Environment,
Habitats. (Biological Evolution, Unity and Diversity; Earth and human Connectivity). 2nd Grade-LS4-1, LS4.D, ETS1.B; 3rd GradeLS4-3; 5th Grade-LS2-1, LS2.A; 6th Grade-LS2.A, LS2.B
Age :
7-11 years old
M at e r i a ls :
• Supplemental natural history Teacher Resource Guide
• Paper, crayons/markers/colored pencils (can substitute with regular pen/pencil)
• Lesson 1 activity resources:
→→ Activity Sheet 1: Habitat Requirement Chart, for birds and giant armadillos
→→ Activity Sheet 2: Giant Armadillo Habitat
→→ Activity Sheet 3: Ecosystem Comparison Chart, local ecosystem vs. armadillo’s
→→ Activity Sheet 4: Giant Armadillo Food Chain
→→ Activity Sheet 5: Biomes of the World
• Lesson 1-Teacher Resource
Vo ca b u l ary :
Habitat, Ecosystem, Food Chain, Food Web, Biome, Decomposer, Herbivore, Insectivore, Omnivore, Carnivore
W Check marks notate teacher resource information such as answers to questions posed
LESSON 1.
HABITATS, ECOSYSTEMS, AND FOOD CHAINS
giant
a r ma di l lo
e d u cat i o n a l
r es o u r c es
Activity 1: Habitat
Mat e r i a ls :
• Activity Sheet 1: Habitat Requirement Chart, for birds and giant armadillos
• Activity Sheet 2: Giant Armadillo Habitat
Act i v i t y :
1. Introduce the class to armadillos and the giant armadillo using the natural history information located in the Teacher Resource
Guide.
W Armadillos are mammals, meaning they have hair and drink milk. Humans, dogs, cats, and even elephants are mammals.
Armadillos are special; they are the only mammals that have a shell! Armadillos are found throughout South America as well
as Central America and parts of the United States. There are 21 species of Armadillos. They come in all shapes and sizes.
W The largest species of armadillo is the giant armadillo. They can reach 1.5 meters (5 ft) long and 50 kg (110 lbs)! They eat
ants and termites. They have very long claws and a good sense of smell in order to find insects. Giant armadillos are nocturnal,
meaning they are awake at night. During the day they sleep safely in large burrows that they dig deep into the ground.
2. Define the term habitat and discuss the habitat elements that all animals need to survive
W A habitat is the place where a plant or animal naturally lives or grows. Many habitats together make up an ecosystem.
W Habitats include all of the elements an animal needs to survive including, food, water, and shelter.
3. Discuss the giant armadillo’s habitat in the Pantanal of Brazil.
W The giant armadillos we study live in a special area called the Pantanal in Brazil. The Pantanal is the largest floodplain in the
world! It is home to over 1,000 species of animals, making it a very important habitat for all of these species.
4. Explain that you will now be studying the habitats of two different animals: an animal that lives near the students’ home
and the giant armadillo’s habitat in the Pantanal. Give the class an example of a bird they see often or have the class choose a
different animal species that is found in your local environment. Then, have the class list the food, water, and shelter resources
that the animal needs to survive using Activity Sheet 1.
W Animal: Example-house sparrow
Food = Seeds
Water = Puddles, streams, ponds/lakes, bird baths
Shelter = Bushes and trees to perch on. Buildings and cavities of trees to nest in.
5. Now discuss what types of food, water, and shelter giant armadillos need to survive. Look at the giant armadillo habitat picture
in Activity Sheet 2. What items do you think are sources of food, water, and shelter for giant armadillos? Add these to Activity
Sheet 1.
W Giant Armadillo
Food = Ants/termite mounds
Water = Puddles, streams, ponds/lakes
Shelter = Burrows, and substrate suitable for burrowing.
6. As a class, compare these two habitats. How are they alike and different? What would happen if one of the habitat elements
was removed? Could the giant armadillo survive in the other animal’s habitat? Why or why not? To wrap-up, ask students to
summarize the three habitat elements that every animal needs to survive.
LESSON 1.
HABITATS, ECOSYSTEMS, AND FOOD CHAINS
giant
a r ma di l lo
e d u cat i o n a l
r es o u r c es
Activity 2: Ecosystems
Mat e r i a ls :
• Activity Sheet 3: Ecosystem Comparison Chart, local ecosystem vs. armadillo’s
• Paper, crayons/markers/colored pencils (can substitute with regular pen/pencil)
• Websites/books as local ecosystem resources
Act i v i t y :
1. Define the term ecosystem and discuss the elements found in the giant armadillo ecosystem of the Pantanal using the
information found in Activity Sheet 3. (additional ecosystem resource http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/ecosystems.
html) Which ecosystem elements are living components? Which are non-living? How do the non-living components of an
ecosystem affect the living organisms?
Ecosystems are a collection of habitats where all living and non-living elements interact to function as an ecological unit.
Our giant armadillos live in an ecosystem in the Pantanal of Brazil. Their ecosystem includes the habitats of many other
species, like pumas and raccoons. It also includes non-living components like rainfall and sunlight. Non-living components
of ecosystems are very important! Plants get their energy from the sun, water from rain and nutrients from the soil to grow.
Plants are important food for animals. Without sun, rain, and soil plants would not survive. Without plants animals would not
survive because they would not have food.Define the term habitat and discuss the habitat elements that all animals need to
survive
W
W
W A habitat is the place where a plant or animal naturally lives or grows. Many habitats together make up an ecosystem.
W Habitats include all of the elements an animal needs to survive including, food, water, and shelter.
2. Have the class use books or approved websites to research the ecosystem that you live in and add the information to Activity
Sheet 3.
• What non-living elements contribute to your ecosystem?
W The class should discuss how temperature, rainfall, and even soil types contribute to the local ecosystem. These
resources limit what organisms can survive.
• Ask the class to give examples of some animals that could not survive in your local ecosystem. What resources limit their
ability to survive?
Use a polar bear as an example. Why doesn’t a polar bear live in your ecosystem? Polar bears survive in cold weather
along the ocean, living in ice and snow and feeding on seals.
• What kind of plants and animals live in your ecosystem?
Have students list the plants and animals they have seen locally or know about. You may also choose to search online to
learn more about plants and animals that live in your ecosystem.
• In an ecosystem all living and non-living things interact. As a group discuss how these plants and animals might interact
with each other and their environment?
3. Have students draw a picture of a giant armadillo’s ecosystem. Include other living and non-living components to the ecosystem
found in Activity Sheet 3. Make sure to include the giant armadillo’s food, water, and shelter resources in the drawing.
You may choose to have students draw their own armadillo ecosystem or you may choose to add ecosystem components to
the armadillo habitat picture on Activity Sheet 2, found in Activity 1..
W
W
W
LESSON 1.
HABITATS, ECOSYSTEMS, AND FOOD CHAINS
giant
a r ma di l lo
e d u cat i o n a l
r es o u r c es
Activity 3: Food Chain
Mat e r i a ls :
• Lesson 1 activity resources:
→→ Activity Sheet 3: Ecosystem Comparison Chart, local ecosystem vs. armadillo’s
→→ Activity Sheet 4: Giant Armadillo Food Chain
• Chalk board/white board or large flip chart
• Colored pens or chalk
Act i v i t y :
1. An easy way to show how plants and animals in an ecosystem interact is by drawing a simple food chain. Food chains are a way
of showing how energy flows from one organism to the next when animals consume other organisms.
• Energy starts with the sun. Plants use the sun’s energy and nutrients from the soil to grow. Animals eat the plants and use
the plant’s energy to survive. Some animals eat other animals, converting their energy into use for themselves. Eventually,
when plants and animals die, decomposers break down the nutrients and energy and return it to the soil.
• Decomposers are living organisms that break down and recycle nutrients from dead animals and plants.
2. Look at the example of a giant armadillo food chain provided on Activity Sheet 4. Have students draw a food chain using
species found in their local ecosystem, listed on Activity Sheet 3. How do the animals in your local ecosystem interact and
exchange energy?
3. There are many ways to create a food chain using the plants and animals listed. Explain that interactions in ecosystems are
much more complex than a simple food chain. Food chains follow a simple one directional path between consumers. Food
webs show how plants and animals are connected through many different paths; they are a combination of many related food
chains.
4. As a class, work together to build a food web from the plants and animals you find in your local environment. Start with
vegetation at the center of your food web. Then, add herbivores to the web. Next, add insectivores and omnivores to the web.
Connect all animals to their appropriate food items. Finally, add carnivores to the web. Connect each carnivore to all of their
potential prey items. An example can be found in the Lesson 1-Teacher Resource document.
5. Discuss with the class the complexity of the food web you have created. This can be demonstrated by taking one of the
herbivore species out of the food web. How does this affect the rest of the ecosystem? How many animals are affected by
removing the one herbivore species? An example is located in the Lesson 1-Teacher Resource document.
W This activity should show students how closely connected all organisms are within an ecosystem. Removing one species
from an ecosystem will affect many other species of animals. Use giant armadillos as an example. If termites are removed from
an ecosystem then giant armadillos cannot survive. If there are no giant armadillos, then there is less food for the pumas that
eat them. If there are no giant armadillos, then there is no other animal to dig large burrows which other animal species use.
We will talk more about armadillo burrows in Lesson 3.
LESSON 1.
HABITATS, ECOSYSTEMS, AND FOOD CHAINS
giant
a r ma di l lo
e d u cat i o n a l
r es o u r c es
Extension Activity
Mat e r i a ls :
• Activity Sheet 5: Biomes of the World
Act i v i t y :
1. Show the class the Biome map of the world found on Activity Sheet 5. Biomes are regions around the world that are made up
of similar ecosystems. The Pantanal is located on the map with a star. What biome is the Pantanal in? Where are you located on
the map? What biome are you in?
• Older students may research their local biome as well as the biome where the Pantanal is located, and then write a report,
make a poster or create a travel brochure comparing the similarities and differences between the two. Have students
share their project with other students in the class.
BECOME AN “ARMADILLO AMBASSADOR”
Wh at can you d o to he l p a rmadillo h ab i tats a nd ecosyste ms?
Wh at can you do to h elp all
an imals an d t h eir h abitats ?
Buy ecologically-friendly products that help
preserve habitats:
• Shade grown coffee helps sustain rainforests, reduces
Create habitats for native species in your own
backyard by including natural sources of food, water,
and shelter.
•
•
•
pesticide use and promotes greater biodiversity than other
coffee growing techniques, and it often tastes better. Look
on the coffee label for words like fair trade, certified organic, or bird friendly.
Sustainable chocolate is very similar to shade grown
coffee. Sustainable chocolate reduces deforestation and
pesticide use, promoting biodiversity. Look for labels that
indicate the chocolate is shade grown, organic, or fair trade.
Additional information on sustainable chocolate can be
found at http://www.nwf.org/How-to-Help/Live-Green/
GreenPurchasing/Chocolate.aspx
Certified bananas through the Rainforest Alliance ensure
that bananas have been grown under strict criteria preventing deforestation, maintaining standards for waste
management and recycling, reduced use of pesticides, and
providing decent wages and conditions for workers. Learn
more about the Rainforest Alliance’s banana certification
at http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/agriculture/crops/
fruits/bananas
Certified lumber is sustainably harvested lumber that ensures the long term health of a forest. Trees are selectively
cut and replanted, preventing clear cutting which destroys
sections of forests and habitats. Look for lumber certified
through the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).
Food
• Plant native plants which offer food (and shelter) to many
bird and butterfly species.
→→ National Audubon Society’sNnative Plant Guide:
http://web4.audubon.org/bird/at_home/pdf/Plant_
Natives_ACTION_PLAN.pdf
→→ The Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Guide to Bird-friendly
Plants:
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/page.aspx?pid=1146
→→ National Wildlife Federation’s Butterfly Gardening
Tips:
→→ http://www.nwf.org/How-to-Help/Garden-for-Wildlife/
Gardening-Tips/How-to-Attract-Butterflies-to-YourGarden.aspx
→→ Pollinator Partnership’s Planting Guides:
http://pollinator.org/guides.htm
Water
• Add a small pond or birdbath to your yard. This offers
drinking water to many native species.
Shelter
• Provide areas of plant cover in your yard where birds and
other animals can hide and raise their young.
• Wait to trim trees and bushes until after the nesting season
of birds and other tree dwelling species.
Ac#vity Sheet 1: Habitat Requirement Chart Animal: Giant Armadillo FOOD WATER SHELTER 1 Ac#vity Sheet 1: Habitat Requirement Chart-­‐Answer Key Species: House Sparrow Giant Armadillo Seeds
Ants and termites
FOOD WATER Pools and streams
Bird baths
Pools and streams
SHELTER Tree cavi#es and houses
Trees and bushes Burrows
Ac#vity Sheet 2: Giant Armadillo Habitat Ac#vity Sheet 2: Giant Armadillo Habitat Answer Key Shelter: burrow Food: termites and ants Water: ponds and streams Ac#vity Sheet 3-­‐ Ecosystem Comparison Chart Rainfall Pantanal 1185 mm (46.5 inches) Rainy Season October-­‐March Temperatures average 25 Celcius (77 Fahrenheit) Soil Type Plant Communi#es acidic and low fer#lity grasslands, scrub grasslands and forest semi-­‐deciduous forest, marshes gallery forest Herbivores (plant eaters) ants and termites, beetles, birds, tortoises, agou# (rodent), small rodents tapir (rela#ve to horse and rhino) Insec#vores (insect eaters) all armadillo species, tamandua (lesser anteater) birds, lizards, giant anteater, giant armadillo Omnivores (eat plants and meat) Carnivores (meat eaters) Your Local Ecosystem: coa# and raccoon, peccary (pig species) six-­‐banded armadillo tayra (weasel rela#ve), bush dog, fox ocelot, puma/mountain lion 3 Rainfall Rainy Season Temperatures Soil Type Plant Communi#es Herbivores (plant eaters) Insec#vores (insect eaters) Omnivores (eat plants and meat) Carnivores (meat eaters) Ac#vity Sheet 3-­‐ Ecosystem Comparison Chart-­‐ Answer Key Pantanal 1185 mm (46.5 inches) October-­‐March average 25 Celcius (77 Fahrenheit) acidic and low fer#lity grasslands, scrub grasslands and forest semi-­‐deciduous forest, marshes gallery forest ants and termites, beetles, birds, tortoises, agou# (rodent), small rodents tapir (rela#ve to horse and rhino) all armadillo species, tamandua (lesser anteater) birds, lizards, giant anteater, giant armadillo coa# and raccoon, peccary (pig species) six-­‐banded armadillo tayra (weasel rela#ve), bush dog, fox ocelot, puma/mountain lion Your Local Ecosystem: Orlando FL, USA 1290 mm (50.6 inches) June-­‐September average 72.6 Fahrenheit sand and clay with poor water reten#on high pine, sand hill, scrub, flatwoods cypress dome, clay hill ants and termites, beetles, birds, gopher tortoise small rodents, white tailed deer, sand hill crane 9-­‐banded armadillo, spiders, lizards, birds black bear, wild pig, raccoon, opossum snakes, red and grey fox, bobcat owl, coyote, puma/mountain lion Ac#vity Sheet 4: Giant Armadillo Food Chain 4 Food Web Example owl raccoon lizards fox rodent/mouse termites plants armadillo white-­‐tailed deer gopher tortoise puma/mountain lion coyote Food Web Example What happens when you remove a species owl raccoon lizards fox termites plants armadillo white-­‐tailed deer gopher tortoise puma/mountain lion coyote Ac#vity Sheet 5: Biomes of the World-­‐ Where do you live? Pantanal of Brazil 5 h\p://www.windows2universe.org/earth/ecosystems.html