Project WILD Activity Descriptions
Section One - Ecological Knowledge
Activities found in this section are generally introductory lessons that focus on awareness.
Wildlife Populations
Addresses characteristics and population dynamics.
1. Insect Inspection – Students learn how to identify insects and form an investigative question related to insects. Then students collect live insects (and other arthropods) to observe, handle, and describe before release. Page 2.
2. Color Crazy – Students create representations of wild animals designed to visually blend into or stand out in their habitats. Page 8.
3. What’s Wild? – Students locate pictures of animals, classify them as wild or domesticated, and construct collages of the pictures based on their classification. Page 12.
4. Interview a Spider – Students research and interview native wildlife species in a mock web talk show. Page 15.
5. Monarch Marathon – Students simulate the multi-generational monarch butterfly migration and experience the limiting factors affecting monarch survival. Page 18.
6. Limiting Factors: How Many Bears? – Students simulate bear behavior as they actively gather essential factors in a habitat. They gather, create, interpret, and analyze the data to determine the limiting factors and carrying capacity for the given population. Page 26.
7. Tracks! – Students observe the tracks of different animals and then make plaster casts of an animal track. Page 36.
8. Oh Deer! – Students represent deer and habitat components in a physical activity that demonstrates population fluctuations, carrying capacity, and limiting factors. Page 42.
9. Wild Words – Students write entries in their hand-made journals and then compare their entries to journals of naturalists they research. Page 51.
10. Carrying Capacity – Students demonstrate the concept of carrying capacity by simulating herds of animals seeking food in a physical activity. Page 55.
Habitats, Ecosystems and Niches
Addresses distribution and importance of these concepts.
11. Graphananimal – Students visit two different habitats in their outdoor environment, tally the number of animals seen, and then graph and compare the results. Page 61.
12. What's That Habitat? – Students categorize household items as essential or nonessential for human survival. Students then compare their needs with those of animals. Page 65.
13. My Kingdom for a Shelter – Students will make a list to compare the survival needs of wildlife and people. Then, they will design and create a model of a shelter for at least one animal. Page 70.
14. Map That Habitat – Students create a map to identify the location of the components of an animal's habitat. Page 73.
15. Habitat Circles – Students represent interconnected habitat components in a physical circle to demonstrate the importance of those components being in a suitable arrangement. Page 78.
16. Which Niche? – Part 1: Students compare and contrast the ecological niches of several animals in the same and different environments. Part 2: Students identify niches of animals in their schoolyard or community through participation in a field investigation. Page 82.
17. Urban Nature Search – Students will conduct a field investigation to gather data at an outdoor urban nature site to discover wildlife and signs of wildlife. Page 94.
18. Raindrops and Ranges – Students construct digital maps depicting data on rainfall, temperature, vegetation, and selected wildlife species in their state or region. They then analyze the data to determine relationships among these living and nonliving elements. Page 99.
Interdependence
Addresses commonalties and interactions among living things.
19. Ants on a Twig – Students observe and model ant behavior. Page 105.
20. Busy Bees, Busy Blooms - Students model the process of insect pollination in an active simulation. Page 111.
21. Seed Need - Students conduct an investigation by gathering seeds around their school grounds and sorting them based on dispersal method. Students then play a game to demonstrate the role wildlife plays in seed dispersal. Page 117.
22. HabiCache - Students go outside to locate, document, and map with GPS coordinates (longitude and latitude) indicators of wildlife and components of habitat present at the study site. Their findings will be used as clues for geocache targets. Afterwards, students describe how their findings represent concepts about relationships between humans and wildlife. Page 123.
23. Good Buddies - Students research pairs of animals, play a card game, and classify the pairs of animals according to three major forms of symbiotic relationships. Page 128.
24. Bat Blitz - Students simulate bats feeding on insects then perform calculations based on the number of insects caught during the activity. Page 135.
25. Owl Pellets - Students examine owl pellets, reconstruct prey skeletons, and draw a food chain based on the contents. Page 146.
26. Trophic Transfer - Students simulate organic production and energy loss for major trophic levels in an ecosystem. The class acts as a "growth" assembly line that becomes increasingly complex with each round of play. Page 151.
27. Environmental Barometer - Students compare and contrast abiotic and biotic components inventoried at two outdoor study sites in an effort to investigate wildlife as indicators of ecosystem health. Page 158.
28. Phenology at Play - Students analyze data and perform skits to interpret the effect of shifting climate conditions in relation to the annual migration pattern of a species of bird. Page 167.
29. Eco-Enrichers - Students dig in the soil to make observations and comparisons about organisms found in soil from different areas. Students then organize and interpret their data to draw conclusions about soil conditions. Page 177.
30. Birds of Prey - Students interpret data to determine the influence of abiotic factors on wildlife populations. Students hypothesize potential explanations related to the data, as well as future population trends due to climate change. Page 184.
Changes and Adaptations
Addresses environmental changes and organism adaptations.
31. Surprise Terrarium - Students make observations and collect data, in the classroom and then in the field, about live animals that use camouflage techniques. Page 189.
32. Thicket Game - Students become 'predator' and 'prey' in a version of hide and seek. Page 193.
33. What Bear Goes Where? - Students construct posters of three different bear habitats. Page 195.
34. Keeping Cool - Students conduct a field investigation using a thermometer to measure temperature in order to predict the movement of reptiles. Page 200.
35. Adaptation Artistry - Students design and create imaginary birds and then write reports including descriptions of the birds' adaptations. Page 206.
36. Muskox Maneuvers - Students simulate predator-prey relationships as muskoxen and wolves in a physical activity. Page 209.
37. Quick Frozen Critters - Students play an active version of 'freeze tag'. Page 214.
38. Forest in a Jar - Students conduct a simple investigation using soil, water, seeds, a plant, and a jar; present their observations and findings; and design an experiment to further investigate the concept of succession. Page 218.
39. A Home Away from Home - Students design and draw a zoo enclosure appropriate for the survival of a polar bear in a hot, arid climate. Page 222.
40. Water Mileage - Students use data provided to perform mathematical calculations and to make inferences. Page 226.
41. Fire Ecologies - Students conduct a field investigation to compare burned and unburned areas by identifying and measuring vegetation and looking for signs of wildlife. Page 233.
Biodiversity
Addresses types of biodiversity, human influence, and the importance of habitat.
42. Time Lapse - Students create and analyze sketches depicting changes in the variety and quantity of species in an ecosystem as it undergoes successional changes. They research the kinds of animals that are found in each stage of succession in a given example. Page 239.
43. Here Today, Gone Tomorrow - Students consider factors that make wildlife vulnerable to extinction, read about a variety of threatened and endangered species, and rank the animals according to the identified vulnerability factors. Page 251.
44. Ecosystem Architects - Students simulate the restoration of a healthy, sustainable ecosystem on the site of an abandoned shopping center or an island in a river corridor within an urban area. Students share their ecosystem designs, comparing and contrasting the two types of systems and the influencing factors on these systems. Page 260.
45. Bottleneck Genes - Students simulate the gene pool analysis of a population of black-footed ferrets using colored beads. Page 268.
Section Two: Social and Political Knowledge
This section builds on awareness and moves the students toward understanding.
Cultural Perspectives
Addresses cultural development, expressions and appreciation of wildlife and natural resources
46. First Impressions - Students respond to a variety of images to study contributions of a range of animals. Page 278.
47. Fabled Fauna - Students read and watch stories about real and imaginary animals, classify different representations of animals and their characteristics, and discuss how these representations can influence people's feelings about animals. Page 281.
48. Museum Search for Wildlife - Students visit a museum, nature center, or other institution to find examples of how wildlife is represented in cultural art forms. Students may also use reference books or the internet for additional information. Page 284.
49. Power of a Song - Students listen to songs, analyze lyrics, and create their own song. Page 288.
50. Wildlife Symbols - Students research how and why wildlife is used in national symbols, on currencies, or on stamps, and then create a poster or other visual presentation that highlights their findings. Page 291.
51. Does Wildlife Sell? - Students assess uses of wildlife and nature images found in advertisements, on bumper stickers, and in social media messages. Page 294.
52. Natural Dilemmas - Students read, discuss, make assessments, and write about hypothetical dilemmas concerning wildlife, natural resources, or both. Page 297.
Economic, Commercial and Recreational Considerations
53. What You Wear Is What They Were - Younger students make a replica of a coat using various materials. Older students brainstorm a list of the materials used to make clothing, determine the source of the materials, distinguish whether it is from a renewable or nonrenewable natural resource, and then make assessments about appropriate uses of such natural resources using criteria that they establish. Page 304.
54. Pay to Play - Students act as consumptive and non-consumptive users of wildlife resources as they move around a game board and land on spaces designated as either private or public lands. Page 309.
Historical and Geographic Development
Addresses the development of society and commerce as related to natural resources
55. Let's Talk Turkey - Students create a timeline chronicling the historical use of the wild turkey by societies - from a time of abundance, to decline, to restoration in the wild. Page 322.
Political and Legislative Frameworks
Addresses both domestic and international.
56. Wild Bill’s Fate - Students investigate pending legislation affecting wildlife. Page 328.
Section Three: Sustaining Fish and Wildlife Resources
Activities found in this final section of the book are generally high level lessons that take the students from understanding to action.
Attitudes and Awareness
Includes human values and perspectives.
57. Learning to Look, Looking to See - Students write what they remember seeing in a familiar setting, then check their accuracy and discuss the results. Next the students apply those experiences and new skills to an unfamiliar outdoor setting. Page 334.
58. Animal Charades - Students use charades to distinguish between wild and domesticated animals. Page 337.
59. Animal Poetry - Students go outside to imagine themselves as animals and then write poems. Page 339.
60. Nature in Art - Students use photography and illustration of wildlife as techniques for observation and information collection. Page 343.
61. Wildlife and the Environment: Community Survey - Students design, conduct, and compile results from a community interview or survey and summarize their findings. As an option, students may also conduct a simulated Town Hall Meeting. Page 346.
Human Impacts
Includes both positive and negative.
62. No Water off a Duck's Back - Students conduct an investigation using water, oil, hard-boiled eggs, detergent, and feathers to study the effects of human-induced pollution on wildlife. Page 353.
63. Smokey Bear Said What? - Students brainstorm positive and negative effects of forest and grassland fires, conduct research, and create murals showing changes caused by fires in forest and grassland systems. Page 57.
64. A Dire Diet - Students become hawks, shrews, and grasshoppers in a physical activity to demonstrate the biomagnification of toxic chemicals in a food chain. Page 361.
65. Lights Out! - Students discuss light pollution, how it affects humans and wildlife, and actions people can take to reduce light pollution. Students then conduct a lighting audit of their school grounds or other study site and develop their own action plans to address light pollution in their community or school. Page 366.
66. Food Footprint - Students create a flow diagram to trace components of a food item to the original source and determine the environmental costs associated with each step of food production. They then present recommendations for sustainable food options. Page 375.
67. The Power of Planning - Students create concept maps to better understand the impacts of multiple sources of energy production, then in a simulated town council meeting, make arguments from evidence for the use of energy sources that would benefit the environment, wildlife, and people. Page 382.
68. To Zone or Not to Zone - Students portray a meeting of a county commission deciding on a land-use issue. Page 388.
Issues and Trends
In global perspectives, land uses, consumptive and non-consumptive uses of wildlife and wildlife populations.
69. Changing the Land - Students use worksheet maps to study fragmentation and use aerial photographs to examine changes in land use and how those changes affect ecosystems. Page 395.
70. World Travelers - Students conduct research and field investigations; develop graphs or pie charts and maps depicting the frequencies and proportions of non-native and invasive species; and create reports on the effects of these species on native populations. Page 404.
71. Back from the Brink - Students are given background information on the recovery of wildlife species and are asked to analyze the issues and make recommendations for their resolution. Page 414.
72. Turkey Tallies - Students compute and interpret turkey population data. Page 426.
Wildlife Management
Addresses basic concepts related to management considerations and practices.
73. Career Critters - Students match organisms to environmental problems in a local community and evaluate the potential of the organisms to help control problems. Page 433.
74. Checks and Balances - Acting as wildlife managers, students play a card game and perform calculations to understand factors affecting a herd of animals. Page 448.
75. Migration Barriers - Using a real-life example, students make recommendations based on the consequences of developing a highway through a deer migration path. Page 455.
76. Bird Song Survey - Students investigate an area and use identification techniques to create a bird inventory. Page 459.
77. A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words - Students will compare photos that represent changes in technology and practices in wildlife management. Page 463.
78. Dropping in on Deer - Students estimate population density of deer in a given area by counting deer pellet groups. Page 475.
79. Deer Dilemma - Students conduct a board of commissioners meeting to hear the concerns of constituents regarding the ever-increasing deer population in and around a local park and make a decision concerning this issue. Page 481.
Responsible Action and Service
Focuses on how students and others can take action on behalf of wildlife and the environment.
80. Sustainability: Then, Now, Later - Students explore the concept of sustainability through a natural resources consumption simulation, then apply this concept through analysis of first-person narratives reflecting the lifestyles of various time periods. Page 491.
81. Habitat Heroes - Students design a project to improve wildlife habitat in their community, make plans, and if possible, follow procedures to accomplish the project. Page 499.