Classroom Ideas

Elementary School (K - 4) | Middle School (5 - 8) | High School (9 - 12)

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL (K-4)

Animals and Us

Ask students to list all the ways in which human beings affect the lives of wild animals. Direct your pupils to draw pictures or create posters of human activities and the animals they affect.

Have students look at the pictures and write or tell stories about how the animals might respond to what people do.

Depending on grade and ability level, you might draw the students into a discussion of Congo Trek: A Journey Through the Heart of Central Africa. Explain the expedition and ask pupils what important things Mike Fay and his team might learn on their trek. How can the information help us be better stewards of the planet?

Try a Transect

Explain that scientists who want to find out how many animals and plants live in a certain area often divide the area into smaller parts, called transects, and count the species in those transects.

Take the class to the school yard or a local park, and help them designate transects. Older students can form small groups (one per transect) and count the plant and animal species in their transect. Younger students can stay together and survey a single transect with your assistance.

Ask students to write down (or write for them) the names of each species they encounter and the number of individual plants or animals they see. In some cases, such as grass or dandelions, this may be impossible.

Once the count is done, return to the classroom and draw a map on the board of the entire region you’ve covered. Mark the transects on the map and ask students to report on how many species they found in each. Write these numbers in the appropriate transects on the board.

Guide the class in analyzing the results. Why do they think some transects had more species than others? How could methods of counting have affected the results? What has studying transects taught your students about the region they covered?

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MIDDLE SCHOOL (5-8)

Understanding Elephants

Have students research the habitats and behaviors of African elephants. Ask them to learn as much as possible about how these giant animals eat, sleep, drink, and communicate. Other topics to explore include habitats, social structure, and threats to survival. Students should also look at Congo Trek and other sources to understand why scientists study elephants and what they hope to learn.

Once students have done some reading, ask them to write “guidebooks” for visitors to Africa. Students should explain key points about elephants, give tips on where to find them, and describe the work of scientists. Pupils might enliven their work with photographs and drawings.

The following Web sites should be helpful for your students’ research.

• The Oakland Zoo
• World Wildlife Fund: Species at Risk
• World Wildlife Fund: Threatened Species Accounts

Who Speaks for the Trees?

Explain to students that environmental issues often stir controversy. Ask students to look at the following Web sites and find other sources that advocate protecting rain forests.

• CNN: “Africa Takes Tentative Steps Toward Protecting Rainforests”
• CNN: “Eco-warrior Battling to Keep Gabon Rain Forest Safe”
• Rainforest Action Network
• RAN Action Alert: “Pristine Gabonese Rainforest Threatened by French Logging Company”
• Rainforest Facts

Then ask students to look at a site with a very different perspective, Wise Use: What Do We Believe?

Hold a class discussion about the views your students have read. What did they find convincing? When were they skeptical? You might hold a class debate on rain forest issues or ask students to send their thoughts to local newspapers.

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HIGH SCHOOL (9-12)

Environmental Impacts of Human Activities

Divide the class into small groups, and ask each group to research one of the following activities: logging, oil exploration and drilling, mining, agriculture, and animal poaching. Why do people do it? Does the activity have environmental consequences? Ask students to pay particular attention to what’s happening in central Africa.

The following Web sites may assist your students’ research.

• CNN: “Africa Takes Tentative Steps Toward Protecting Rainforests”
• CNN: “Eco-warrior Battling to Keep Gabon Rain Forest Safe”
• RAN: “Drilling to the Ends of the Earth: The Case Against New Fossil Fuel Exploration”
• RAN Action Alert: “Geovic Mines Cameroon’s Rainforests”
• RAN Action Alert: “Oil Pipeline Threatens African Rainforest”
• RAN Action Alert: “Pristine Gabonese Rainforest Threatened by French Logging Company”
• Sustainable Agriculture Networking and Extension
• TechnoServe
• WildNet Africa

Have each group present its findings to the class so that everyone learns about all five of the activities. If (as is likely) students find that certain activities injure the environment, challenge them to think of other ways of meeting the same human needs.

Ask students to imagine that they are environmental advisors to the governments of Congo and Gabon. What would they suggest?

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On Assignment at Home

Have students browse the Congo Trek site to learn how scientists are investigating human impacts on the environment in central Africa. What do Mike Fay and his team hope to do? What tools and methods are they using?

Then ask students to imagine that they’re planning a similar year-long investigation of how people are affecting the environment, particularly the animal population, of your area. Have them write up a research plan stating their goals, methods, and necessary equipment. You might encourage students to undertake an abbreviated version (a month perhaps) of their study.

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