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COUGAR ALERT
                                                                           Created by Lynne Bloom and Cindy McGrellis
INTRODUCTION
This lesson was inspired by a recent cougar siting in our school's neighborhood.
Asked to turn this siting into a learning experience and to help reassure the children,
we compiled resources from the internet and books to help guide the children in
gathering cougar facts.
 
CONTENT AREA and GRADE LEVEL This lesson was designed for a second grade classroom but can be adapted for use in grades 1-3 and targets the areas of science, language arts, and technology.
CURRICULUM STANDARDS The main objectives of this lesson are for students to use technology to research cougars and to use that information to create a presentation of facts about the cougar. 
  • As an outcome of this lesson, students will learn  the requirements for living things to survive in their habitats. (Nature and Application of Science and Technology-Grade 1/standard 1.314 and Diversity and Continunity of Living Things-Grade 2/Standard 2.316.)
  • Students will learn that animals interact with their environment. (Life Processes-Grade1/Standard 1.312.)
  • Students will observe parents and offspring and identify characteristics that both have in common.(Diversity and Continunity of Living Things-Grade 2/Standard 2.317)
  • Students will demonstrate how to achieve a goal by dividing responsibilities within a group( Participation-Grade 2/Standard 2.407)
  • Students will demonstrate how to work cooperatively toward a specific goal (Participation-Grade1/Standard 1.406)
  • Students will learn to gather information from different sources. (Critically Analyze and Evaluate Information-Grade 2/2.165
  • Students will formulate and express, and support opinions. (Critically Analyze and Evaluate Information-Grade 2/2.166
  • Students will evaluate texts and media presentations for bias and misinformation, with teacher assistance. (Critically Analyze and Evaluate Information-Grade 2/2.170
  • Students will locate material on a specific topic (Identify, Locate, and Select-Grade 2/2.177, 2.178, 2.179, 2.180, 2.181
  • Students will use available technology to express ideas and information(e.g., drawings, graphs, charts, etc.) (Organize, Manipulate, and Express-Grade 2/2.183, 2.184

    • Students will use specific information in logical sequence to write a report or present information in oral form. (Organize, Manipulate, and Express-Grade 2/2.185, 2.186
RESOURCES NEEDED
  • internet connection

    • Suggested student book titles:

    • Banfield, A.W.F. 1974. The mammals of Canada. University of Toronto Press, Toronto. 
    • Hornocker, M. 1970. The American lion. Natural History 79 (9): 40-49 and 68-71. 
    • Lindzey, F. 1987. Mountain lion. Pages 656-668 in Novak, M., J.A. Baker, M.E. Obbard, and B. Malloch, editors. Wild furbearer management and conservation in North America. Ministry of Natural Resources, Ontario, Canada. 
    • Lynch, W. 1989. The elusive cougar. Canadian Geographic 109(4): 24-31. 
    • Pall, O., M. Jalkotzy, and I. Ross. 1988. The cougar in Alberta. Alberta Forestry, Lands and Wildlife, Fish and Wildlife Division, Edmonton, Alberta. 
    • Wright, B.S. 1959. The ghost of North America -- the story of the eastern panther. Vantage Press. New York. 
    • Young, S.P. and E.A. Goldman. 1946. The puma -- mysterious American cat. The American Wildlife Institute. Washington, D.C. 
    ENTRY LEVEL SKILLS and KNOWLEDGE Students prior knowledge might add interest but is not necessary.  Students should have basic technology skills, such as clicking the mouse, scrolling, forward and backward, and an introduction to the internet and its usage.
    EVALUATION Students will be evaluated on the following: 
    MANAGEMENT My classroom has access to 5 computers. Hence the reason for dividing the roles into 5 groups. Each group, ie trackers, will work on the computers to gether for 45 minutes. I can work with this group more easily when they are all on the same topic; you might want this team of 5 to work on indiviual topic areas. I will have an parent volunteer helping the 20 off-line students who will be working on related activities. 
    If you have only 1 computer you may want to do this quest as a whole-class activity. Access to a TV and LCD projection is needed. 
    If computers are down or not accessable just work together as a group on these quest activities.
    ACTIVITIES 1. Make plaster cast of a paw print.  You will need sand, dishpan, plaster of paris, and stones of various sizes.  Place the sand in the dishpan.  Use one of the large stones to make the large pad of the paw.  Use your fingers and make 4 indentions to form the 4 top pads.  Make sure the indentions are deep, about 1/2 to 3/4 ".  Mix and pour the plaster into the sand.  Set for 30 minutes before removing.  Brush off the sand and you have a paw print.  Set up 4-5 pans to allow groups to work on this activity. 

    2.  Make a classroom story book about a cougar.  Pretend that one was sited near your school and have students write about how they might feel or what they might do.  Put these pages together to make a classroom book. 

    3.  If you are really daring, get clay and make cougar figures.  The Crayola wet set clay works well in cold water. 

    4.  Older children may want to do an individual cougar report.  Have books available to gain information when the computers are in use or have 1 computer set up at any search engine and allow the children to search together.  If you have a printer in the classroom you can print out articles, allowing everyone a chance to use the computer.  Work in teams with younger children. 

    Try using Yahooligans or Altavista search engines. 

     5.  Make a classroom mural to hang in the hallway.  Great chance to use habitat knowledge too.
    CONCLUSION Hopefully, students will gain knowledge about the cougar and reassurance about their safety through a fun way to learn.
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