Purpose: The cheetah is in a race for survival. People must become familiar with its habitat, feeding habits, mating patterns, family structure, and the life expectancy in order to best understand these animals and their needs. How does the concept of “Conservation” affect the destiny of the cheetah? The Geography Awareness Week Poster 2000 can be used as a springboard for this unit plan.
Focus Questions: Where are cheetahs found in the world? What kind of habitat is needed for the cheetah to survive successfully? What is the significance of its location and the effects of humans (settlement, use of resources, etc.)? Will the cheetahs continue to exist in the future? What kinds of conservation efforts will be needed to help the cheetah survive?
National Geography Standards: The geographically informed student knows and understands:
Standard 1: How to use maps and other geographic representations, tools and technologies to acquire, process, and report information from a spatial perspective.
Standard 3: How to analyze the spatial organization of people, places, and environments on Earth’s surface.
Standard 4: The physical and human characteristics of places.
Standard 8: The characteristics and spatial distribution of ecosystems on Earth’s surface.
Standard 14: How human actions modify the physical environment.
Standard 18: How to apply geography to interpret the present and plan for the future.
Hawaii Content and Performance Standards:
K - 3
•World in Spatial Terms: Read and make geographic representations (i.e. maps, globes, graphs, charts, models) to locate and describe locations, distances, and directions and scale.
•Places and Regions: Use physical and human characteristics to compare and contrast places and regions, near and far.
•Physical Systems: Give simple explanations of earth’s physical systems (water, air, and land), physical features and ecosystems.
•Environment and Society: Explain how people depend on, adapt to and modify the physical environment in their community, and demonstrate stewardship of a local environment.
4 - 5
•World in Spatial Terms: Collect, organize, and analyze data to interpret and construct geographic representations.
•Places and Regions: Use physical and human characteristics to compare places and regions in Hawai’i, the United States and other countries.
•Physical Systems: Explain how physical processes affect formation and distribution of climates, natural resources and ecosystems.
•Environment and Society: Analyze the consequences of human modification of the physical environment in Hawai’i, the United States, and other parts of the world, and implement a plan of action to address the consequences.
Geographic Skills:
ask geographic questions
acquire geographic information
organize geographic information
analyze geographic information
answer geographic questions
Other Units of Study: Habitats, Africa, Asia, Endangered/Threated Animals, Mammals, Cats, Interdependence
Student Objectives: The students will be able to:
1. display information of cheetah habitats, past and present, on blank physical feature world maps.
2. label the equator, Tropic of Cancer, Tropic of Capricorn, oceans, and climatic zones on a map.
3. formulate generalizations based upon their findings and observations.
4. participate in classroom discussions.
5. organize and display their information and generalizations.
6. complete a mini-research project on the cheetah using resources: nonfiction books, magazines, the internet.
7. categorize information cards to the HIPPO categories.
8. apply information gathered from the Cheetah research to HIPPO concepts.
9. categorize information cards into Conservation Triangle categories.
10. apply information gathered from Cheetah research to Conservation Triangle categories.
11. develop a plan of action and poster promoting a Conservation position.
Materials:
Classroom supplies
Research books and/or magazines
Internet connection
Graphic Organizers
HIPPO cards
Conservation Triangle cards
Procedure:
1. Distribute a blank physical feature map of the world to the students. You may have them work individually or in small groups. Have the students color in the areas where they think cheetahs are found. Share and discuss. Have the students check their findings by using resource materials. Did the students have a clear understanding of where cheetahs are located? What kind(s) of bioclimatic zones do cheetahs live in? Share and discuss their findings. Display the maps for future reference.
2. Distribute another blank physical feature map of the world to the students. Again, they may work individually or in teams. Have the students use resource materials to identify the orginal habitats of the cheetahs by coloring in the areas. You may want to have the students label the continents and the countries where the cheetahs were once found. The students should identify the equator, Tropic of Cancer, Tropic of Capricorn, oceans, tropical, temperate and polar zones on their maps.
3. Discuss what has happened to the cheetah by comparing both maps of where the cheetahs are found today and the former habitats of the cheetah. Ask the students: What do you observe from both maps? Why are the cheetahs only located where they are today? What has caused the displacement of the cheetahs? Have the students generalize what has happened to the habitats of the cheetahs and why? Record the generalizations and display during this unit of study.
4. Optional: Have the students locate maps that show how human population has changed through time. Is there a correlation between the maps that show the diminishing of cheetah habitats, human settlement and human activity. Record student observations.
5. Have the students complete a research project on the cheetahs. Possible topics for study include: Physical Characteristics, Unique Behavior/Characteristics, Eating Habits, Predator/Prey Relationships, Habitat, Interdepence within the Ecosystem, and Personal Connections. Have the students share and discuss their findings.
6. Introduce the concept of HIPPO. See Appendix I for information on HIPPO. Using the HIPPO game cards (Appendix II), have the students categorize (See Appendix III for a suggested graphic organizer) each card to the appropriate heading. Discuss each card and why the card was categorized as such.
7. Take the information from the research project and see if they can find information that can be placed under the HIPPO categories. Discuss. Have the students draw conclusions about the cheetah and HIPPO. Take the generalizations from Step 3 and see if the students have made any additional personal connections and new learnings.
8. Introduce the Conservation Triangle: Preservation, Restoration and Sustainable Use. Appendix IV for more information. Have the students categorize the game cards (See Appendix V for suggested game cards) and categorize these actions into one of the three conservation categories. Discuss.
9. Have the students take the information gathered from their research and categorize their findings using the Conservation Triangle. See Appendix VI for a possible graphic organizer. What generalizations can be made about the cheetah and conservation?
10. Discuss: Here today but will they be here tomorrow? Why or why not? What does this theme mean? Create a position paper and a poster with suggestions, ideas, and a plan of action to promote the students’ ideas on the cheetah survival. Share with others.
Extensions:
Have the students investigate other animals in other habitats. Are there indications of interdependence between the animal(s) and their habitats? Are there any similarities between the cheetah and these animals? Can the HIPPO and Conservation Triangle be used with other animals and their habitats? What generalizations can be made? Encourage students to use maps and other references to organize their information. Have the students take action by developing a Conservation Plan.
Have the students look for examples of HIPPO and the Conservation Triange in reference materials and/or newspapers.
Have the students become familiar with folk tales and legends that deal with the cheetah.
Resources:
National Geographic Magazine, December 1999
National Geographic Magazine, May 1980
Swift as the Wind, The Cheetah; Barbara Juster Esbensen; copyright 1996; Orchard Books
The African Cats; Geoffrey C. Saign; copyright 1999; Franklin Watts
Cheetahs for Kids; Winnie MacPherson; copyright 1998; Cowles Creative Publishing, Inc.
Cheetah; Taylor Morrison; copyright 1998; Henry Holt and Company
How It Was With Dooms; Xan Hopcraft and Carol Cawthra Hopcraft; copyright August 2000; Alladin Picture Books
Wild Animals, Explore the Fascinating Worlds of Pandas, Cheetahs, Elephants, Koalas; Kathy Feeney, Winnie MacPherson, Anthony D. Fredericks; copyright 2000; Northword Press
Welcome to the Cheetah Conservation Fund:
www.cheetah.org
African Wildlife :
www.awf.org/animals/cheetah.html
The Cheetah Spot : www.cheetahspot.com
Discovery Online: Cheetah :
www.discovery.com/cams/cheetah/cheetahmain.html
World Wildlife Fund:
www.wwf.org