The Sunshine State is home to a wide variety of diverse flora and fauna. Florida’s pine flatwoods, prairies, hammocks, and coastal ecosystems provide shelter for over 4,000 different species, from iconic reptiles such as alligators and gentle sea mammals such as manatees to rare species only found in Florida, such as the endemic Florida scrub jay and the quiet key deer. Of the thousands of animals that call Florida home, 124 species are listed as endangered or threatened due to perils such as habitat loss and invasive species. We are passionate about protecting the environment–Hadassah wants to be a conservationist when she grows up–so we created a unit study to help students learn about Florida’s endangered animals.
This unit is designed to take about a week and includes free downloadable reading passages and comprehension questions, book recommendations, hands-on activity ideas, and videos. Most of the resources are geared toward upper elementary students, but of course you can modify as necessary for your family. We have previewed all the videos included, but please view them first to determine their appropriateness for your students. Links to all the books are also included, but you may be able to find some of them at your local library. We hope you enjoy this unit study!
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DAY ONE - INTRODUCTION TO ENDANGERED SPECIES
You can use this reading passage with comprehension questions and/or a selection from the following suggested books and videos to provide an introduction to endangered species. After using these resources to learn about what it means to be endangered and threats that vulnerable species face, have students list characteristics of endangered species and find examples of endangered animals around the world. To lead into the next lesson, you can ask students if they know which species might be endangered in Florida.
Books:
- DK Eyewitness Books: Endangered Animals by Ben Hoare
- Almost Gone: The World’s Rarest Animals by Steve Jenkins
- Can We Save Them?: Endangered Species of North America by David Dobson
- Will We Miss Them?: Endangered Species by Alexandra Wright
Video:
DAY TWO: FLORIDA'S ENDANGERED ANIMALS
Begin today by quickly reviewing what it means for an animal to be endangered. Next, use this reading passage with comprehension questions and/or the following websites and videos to explore some of Florida’s threatened species.
Later this week, students will have the option to create an informative poster and/or diorama about one of Florida’s endangered animals, so today is a good time to have students select an animal they want to research and start a notebook to record what they learn. We’ve provided a few suggestions in the following list, which includes both animals classified as endangered as well as those classified as threatened in Florida:
- Florida panther
- West Indian manatee
- Florida scrub jay
- Key deer
- Gopher tortoise
- Everglade snail kit
- Green sea turtle
- American crocodile
- Eastern indigo snake
Have your student begin researching his/her chosen animal and record the following information about the animal in a notebook:
- Scientific name
- Physical description
- Habitat and diet
- Lifespan in the wild
Websites:
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: Environmental Conservation Online System
- Florida Wildlife Federation
- Florida Museum of Natural History
- For this website, select a habitat in the left column and a drop down menu will show a link for endangered/threatened species in that habitat.
Books:
Videos:
DAY THREE: THREATS TO FLORIDA'S ENDANGERED ANIMALS
Today, take a deeper dive by learning about the threats that Florida’s vulnerable species face, as well as conservation efforts to help them. You can use this reading passage with comprehension questions and/or the following books and videos, as well as any of the previously shared websites for today’s lesson.
For a fun hands-on activity to help students understand how habitat loss and human activity affects animals, you can use this In Danger of Becoming Endangered lesson plan provided by Sarasota Dolphin Research Program.
Another hands-on activity is to have students identify a threat to a specific species and create an invention to help that species. They should begin by identifying the threat and how the invention will help. Then they should sketch their invention and construct it with household materials. For example, if a student chooses the problem of panthers being struck by cars (due to development and habitat loss), he/she could design and build a wildlife corridor to help panthers safely move through their habitat.
After completing the lesson, students should continue researching their chosen animal and record the following information in the animal notebook:
- Why the animal is endangered
- Conservation efforts
- Interesting facts
Books:
Videos:
DAY FOUR: POSTER PRESENTATIONS
Today, students get creative by putting all of their research together and creating a poster about their animal. This poster should include a drawing and basic facts about their animal, as well as threats that animal faces. If they want to take it further, students can also include calls to action to encourage others to help.
Another fun activity to do today is construct a diorama showcasing the animal in its habitat. This can be accomplished with materials around the house, but some of the following animal figurines may be useful depending on which animal your child has researched. Hadassah used several figurines from the North American Forest Animals Figurines for her diorama about the Florida Panther.
DAY FIVE: FIELD TRIP
If you are able, today is a perfect time to take a field trip to a zoo or wildlife sanctuary. There are too many options to share them all here, but we’ve tried to provide a few below, organized by geographical region so you can see which options might be closest to your location.
North Florida:
- Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge – Navarre, FL
- St. Augustine Alligator Farm – St. Augustine, FL
- Santa Fe College Teaching Zoo – Gainesville, FL
- Jacksonville Zoo and Botanical Gardens – Jacksonville, FL
- Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuge – Chiefland, FL
- St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge – St. Marks, FL
Central Florida:
- Audubon Center for Birds of Prey – Maitland, FL
- Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge – Titusville, FL
- Back to Nature Wildlife Refuge – Orlando, FL
- Egmont Key National Wildlife Refuge – Crystal River, FL
- Brevard Zoo – Melbourne, FL
- Zoo Tampa – Tampa, FL
South Florida:
- The Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservancy – Key West, FL
- J.N. Darling National Wildlife Refuge – Sanibel, FL
- Loggerhead Marine Life Center – Juno Beach, FL
- Ten Thousand Island National Wildlife Refuge – Immokalee, FL
- Naples Zoo at Caribbean Gardens – Naples, FL
- Palm Beach Zoo and Conservation Society – West Palm Beach, FL
- Zoo Miami – Miami, FL
We hope you enjoyed this free Florida Endangered Animals unit study! Looking for more Florida-themed lessons and resources? Check out our Educational Materials here!
Sarah
I am the main writer and website designer for Florida Unveiled. I love the parts of Florida visitors don’t often see: the tea-colored water that flows in cypress-laden rivers; the chorus of frogs after a hard rain; the rustle of palmetto as an unseen creature scampers by. Some of my favorite places in Florida are the Everglades, the Keys, Smyrna Dunes Park, Bok Tower Gardens, Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park, and St. Augustine’s Historic District.
