As an undergraduateBiological Sciences teacher, you can use this set of computer-based tools to help you n teaching evolution and behavior, biodiversity, and ecology.
This lesson plan helps students to learn about the current and past habitats of an animal (specifically, squirrels), and how changing habitats can affect the distribution of a species. The activity will also allow learners to examine data and interpret whether climate change can cause changes in habitats and consequently, changes in species distribution.
Thus, the use of this toolkit allows you to integrate the teaching of a climate science topic with a core topic in the Biological Sciences.
Squirrel
Questions
Use this lesson plan to help your students find answers to:
1. What are the factors that influence the distribution of a species?
2. How does climate impact biodiversity?
3. What is range shift? Examine global databases to find out examples of climate-related range shifts.
A video that explains how the monitoring of a climate-sensitive species, the American Pika, can reveal the possible impact of climate change on the habitat and population of a species. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t31rFXQSUno
Classroom/Laboratory Activity (90 – 120 min)
A classroom/laboratory activity to examine and analyze squirrel species distribution and habitat data (from the USA) over time,and to interpret the possible relationship between climate change and biodiversity.
Here is a step-by-step guide to using this lesson plan in the classroom/laboratory. We have suggested these steps as a possible plan of action. You may customize the lesson plan according to your preferences and requirements.
1.Introduce the topic
• Discuss one or more species of animals and their habitats.
• Introduce the topic of species distribution and biodiversity.
• Discuss how a species adapts to changes in habitat or climate.
2. Play a short video
• Now, play the short video (approx. 5 min), “The American Pika: A climate indicator species?”. In this video, Chris Ray from the University of Colorado Boulder talks about her research on the American Pika, a species that is sensitive to climate change. The monitoring of pikas could serve as an indicator of the effect of climate change on biodiversity and ecosystems.
• The video “The American Pika: A climate indicator species?”, produced by Earth Initiatives, is available at
• Now, explore this topic in an interactive and engaging manner through a classroom/laboratory activity, “What do Squirrels know about Climate Change?”, contributed by Beth Norman, Allan Ashworth, and Russell W. Graham, available on the SERC Carleton website.
• This activity will help your students analyze data for past and modern squirrel populations and habitats. They will then determine how climate change may affect habitat changes and species distribution. Students will use actual data from some states in the USA to perform data analysis and interpretation.
All the teaching tools and images in our collated list are owned by the corresponding creators/authors/organizations as listed on their websites. Please view the individual copyright and ownership details for each tool by following the individual links provided. We have selected and analyzed the tools that align with the overall objective of our project and have provided the corresponding links. We do not claim ownership of or responsibility/liability for any of the listed tools.
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