Animals in Danger Unit 6

Language Learning Goal Be able to define: Balance Endangered Environment Extinct

Content Learning Goal We will learn how animals survive and why sometimes whole species of animals struggle to survive.

“Upsetting the Balance” Many plants and animals in an area make up an “ecosystem.” They are a “food chain” For instance: bugs eat pond scum (algae), frogs eat bugs, snakes eat frogs, and birds eat snakes.

What happens? If there are too many or too few of any animals in the food chain, the balance is lost. For Instance, see the diagram on the following page: if the birds are scared away by people, then there could be too many snakes. Too many snakes could eat too many frogs. If there weren’t enough frogs, there could be too many bugs. Too many bugs would eat too much pond scum making the pond a bad place to live for everything, which could kill the snakes.

NO BIRDS Eat snakes Too Many Snakes Eat Frogs Not enough Frogs Eat Bugs Too many Bugs Eat Algae No algae BALANCE NO BALANCE Snakes die Birds scared away

“Endangered Species” An “Endangered Species” is a species of animal that has too many animals dying and not enough babies born. When an animal is an “endangered species” and no one can help them, they eventually become extinct. Extinction happens when there are no more animals in one species alive on Earth.

Endangered Species Species can become endangered because of: Being hunted too much Changed environment Polluted environment Look at the pictures on page 92 and answer questions #1-4 together as a class.

Report Project We are going to research endangered species and report back to the class. 1.Pick one endangered species to research. 2.Learn about it by looking on the internet or reading in the library. 3.Write what you know about the animal in a Powerpoint presentation…try to answer all of the 8 questions on page Report back to the class.

Possible Choices for your report Humpback whale Timber wolf Bald eagle Grizzly bear Spotted owl Chinook salmon Lynx Sea Lion