Education: Curriculum, Classroom Kits, and Activities
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Curriculum
Keeping It Cool: Hot Ideas for Helping Animals NEW! (Grades 3–5)
The objective of this program is to introduce students to the challenges that our animals and their habitats, as well as people, increasingly face as the world’s climate changes. To promote this topic, we utilize the character of one of the coolest animals we know—in so many ways—the polar bear!
Download curriculum pdf...
Andros Iguana (Grades 5–7)
The Andros iguana Cyclura cychlura cychlura is the largest native land animal on Andros Island, Bahamas. Like many of its Caribbean rock iguana kin, this large lizard is endangered. The iguanas' primary threats are cats that eat juveniles, dogs that kill adults, and hogs that destroy the termite mounds that the females use as their nest. More info...
San Diego Bay Watershed Steward (Grades 3–5)
The San Diego Bay watershed is unique due to its dry Mediterranean climate as well as its commercial and recreational uses in such close proximity to valuable wildlife habitat. Because everything that washes into a storm drain ends up in the ocean, what you do at home can affect the sea lions on our coast. Discover actions you and your students can take to protect our watershed and the animals that make the water their home. More info...
Bornean Nightlife: Journal Reading and Wildlife Search*
(Grades 4–6)
The Bornean rain forest is the second largest in the world. It is full of fantastic creatures like moths the size of birds and wild cats that hunt in trees. The San Diego Zoo’s newest exhibit, Monkey Trails and Forest Tales, displays a number of animals from the Bornean rain forest. Whether students go to see the animals at the San Diego Zoo or not, this activity introduces them to some new animals in these amazing rain forests.
*Some materials are bilingual.
More info...
The Lifestyle of the Komodo Dragon (Grades 4–6)
For teachers of 4th to 6th grade students, we have developed a set of activities that help students learn more about Komodo dragons and what they can do to help.
More info...
Buddies or Siblings? Determining Relatedness in Anegada Iguanas (Grades 9–12)
This lesson helps introduce science students to methods for examining microsatellites to determine relatedness. Download lesson in PDF format here.
More info...
San Diego's Habitats
Download this curriculum that describes
the variety of wildlife and habitats found in San
Diego County.
Download
curriculum PDF...
Step Up to Conservation (Grades 6–9)
Five action
steps (or toes!) show students how they can make
a smaller “footprint ” on Earth.
Download
PDF
Butterflies (Grades 2–7)
Explore butterflies and their role in conservation.
Download
PDF
Wildlife Wizards (Grades 3–6)
Wildlife
Wizards is a conservation action curriculum. It
is designed to support after-school programs, but
it can also be a great addition to classroom science
studies and school recycling projects. Wildlife
Wizards features actual wildlife research projects
being conducted around the world by our field biologists.
Take your students on an international conservation
adventure and help them learn ways to take conservation
actions right in their own backyard.
Download
the full Wildlife
Wizards package
in PDF format—this
is a large (1.9
MB) file and can
take some time
to load and display:
Download
PDF
Sweetwater
Safari Backpacks Program
(Grades 4–6)
Exploring the Wild Wetlands
of San Diego A field research experience
The Sweetwater Marsh National Wildlife
Refuge provides critical feeding and nesting
grounds for migratory birds, as well as habitat
for residential mammals and reptiles.
Download
the Sweetwater Safari Backpack materials for your
student "field researchers" in PDF format:
Pre-
and Post-Lessons (PDF)
The
Field Lessons (PDF)
Sweetwater
Safari backpacks is a collaborative effort between
the San Diego Zoo, the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, and the Chula Vista Nature
Center (CVNC).
Classroom Kits
Zoo Kits (Grades K–12):
Teacher-friendly science kits to use in your San Diego-area classroom. Reserve and pick up from the San Diego Zoo. More info...
Wild Animal Park Kits:
Safari Backpacks (Grades 6–8)
Take your class on a trek through the Wild Animal Park's Heart of Africa by checking out a safari backpack to guide your students through this amazing habitat. Each backpack contains seven hands-on activities that allow students to experience the life of a field researcher. The backpacks are designed to be used in groups of 5 (limit 6 backpacks per reservation). Life Science/Ecology
Fee: $5 plus a refundable $75 deposit for 2-week loan for use in the classroom and during a visit to the Wild Animal Park. To reserve: Call (760) 738-5057.
California Condor Classroom Kit/Actividades Sobre Condores de California (Grades 3–6)
Learn all about this magnificent native bird, its recent brush with extinction, and its extraordinary comeback. Check out our bilingual kits and study the endangered California condor in your classroom. Each kit contains hands-on materials and classroom lessons.
Fee: $5 for a two-week loan, plus a refundable $75 deposit. To reserve: Call (760) 738-5057.
Activities for your classroom
California Condors (Grades 5–12)
Turn the release of these endangered birds back into the wild into a learning opportunity for your students.
Conservation Cootie Catcher (Grades 3–6)
Kids can learn some conservation tips while having fun!
Download PDF
The Nose Knows (Grades K–3)
This student participation activity helps demonstrate how animals use their sense of smell to survive in the wild. (Adapted from an activity in the Classroom Kits.)
Animal
Magazine Activities (Grades
K–6)
Once you've read magazines such as the San Diego Zoo's ZOONOOZ, National Wildlife, and Audubon, don't just throw them in the recycling bin! Here are three great projects using the animal pictures in these publications in fun and educational ways.
Who Am I? (Grade 2)
This teacher-submitted activity encourages children to ask good, meaningful questions to identify animals that may be seen or have been seen on a visit to the Zoo or Park. Teaches some basic taxonomy (grouping) of different animal groups.
Tree of Life (Grades 3–6)
Combine language arts with science with this activity. Lynne Cherry's book The Great Kapok Tree leads to discussion about the animals and plants of tropical rain forests.
Animal Word Play (Grades 5–12)
Here are some fun activities using the names we give to groups of animals. Your gaggle of geese will love learning all the different names.
Biodiversity Activities (Grades 9–12)
Looking for a fun activity for your class that teaches the value of various species? This plan gives step-by-step instructions and a handout for students to use during the exercise.
