Wildlife, Weather, Climate & Change Module

Below you will find each of the five lessons that make up the project WILD curriculum, Weather Wildlife, Climate & Change. Each of the lessons have been aligned with national education standards. By clicking “here” under each lesson title, you will be taken to a PDF copy that you can print for your personal use.

Lesson 1: Weather, Climate, & Wildlife

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Description: Students collect and graph local weather data and overlay it with 30-year average temperatures for that location. They then play a game to understand the difference between weather and climate and the impacts of each on local wildlife species.

Lesson Objectives:

1. Collect and graph local weather and climate data
2. Describe the difference between weather and climate
3. Explain that daily weather is highly variable compared to long-term climate data
4. Describe how weather is more variable than climate.
5. Identify ways in which weather and climate events may affect local wildlife species.

Lesson 2: Climate and Habitat

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Description: Students create maps for average temperature and rainfall in their state. They then overlay these with vegetation and wildlife range maps and use the comparisons to consider factors that affect regional climate and how these determine wildlife habitat.

Lesson Objectives:

1. List key factors that contribute to regional climate.
2. Describe the links among precipitation, vegetation and habitat, using maps as supporting evidence.
3. Describe the relationships among climate, habitat, vegetation types and wildlife species.
4. Hypothesize how changing regional climates may affect wildlife.

Lesson 3: Adapting to Change

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Description: Students engage in a jig-saw activity in which student groups become experts on one major climate-related impact on wildlife (sea level rise, transforming habitats, and changing seasonal cues) or a management response (adaptive management, collaboration, or habitat conservation and restoration). Teachers then shuffle these groups so that a representative from each expert group is represented in a new small group. These groups are then asked to consider what likely impacts will affect a local wildlife species and what a good management response would be.

Lesson Objectives:

1. Identify both natural and human-caused reasons for climate change.
2. Identify three key impacts climate change will have on wildlife.
3. Identify three ways in which wildlife managers are planning for climate change.
4. Identify potential climate change impacts on local species and create an action plan for helping protect these species.

Lesson 4: Doing Our Part

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Description: Students complete an online ecological footprint calculator and complete an activity to connect personal actions to building wildlife resilience to climate change.

Lesson Objectives:

1. Identify their impacts on the planet.
2. List at least five specific ways they can take action on climate change.
3. Connect the actions they can take to benefits for society, individuals or local communities and wildlife.
4. Communicate with others the importance of “doing our part” to reduce impacts on the planet.

Lesson 5: Adapting to Change

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Description: This lesson was added as a part of our new Intergenerational Transfer project. Students participate in a service-learning project with a community partner, interview their parents/guardians, and complete a reflective blog post.

Lesson Objectives:

1. Participate in a service-learning project with a community partner.
2. Reflect on the experiences of the curriculum, parent interview, and service-learning project using critical thinking skills.
3. Think of ways that they can help mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change.

Appendix A: Species Cards Part 1

*This appendix is split into two parts due to upload size

To access appendix A part 1, click here

This Appendix contains all the species cards needed in the module. These cards are needed to complete lessons 1 and 3.

Appendix A: Species Cards Part 2

*This appendix is split into two parts due to upload size

To access appendix A part 2, click here

This Appendix contains all the species cards needed in the module. These cards are needed to complete lessons 1 and 3.

Appendix B: North Carolina Maps

To access appendix B, click here

This Appendix contains all the species cards needed in the module. These cards are needed to complete lessons 2.