Lesson “Virtual tour of the zoo” with elementary school students
Extracurricular lesson on ecology for primary schoolchildren.
Abstract Author: Novikova Ekaterina Mikhailovna, head of the department for the main activities of the State Educational Institution “Slutsk Ecological and Biological Center for Students”, Slutsk, Minsk region, Republic of Belarus. Purpose of the lesson: to help expand students’ knowledge about the importance of zoos and the species diversity of zoo animals. Objectives: Educational
– expand knowledge about the functions and features of zoos, rules of behavior and safety measures when communicating with animals.
Developmental
– to develop communication skills through interactive games.
Educational
– to cultivate a culture of communication and respect for nature.
Age of children: 6 - 10 years old Teaching methods used in the training session: - verbal method (explanation, conversation); — visual method (demonstration of images, presentations); - practical method (exercise) - game method (games, quiz). Material and technical support for the training session: paper, pens, colored pencils, illustrations of animals, multimedia installation, multimedia presentation.
Lesson structure: 1. Organizational stage (2 min)
Greeting.
Message of the topic, purpose of the lesson. 2. Orientation-motivational stage (3 min)
Mini-conversation “Where are we?”
3. Operational-cognitive stage (20 min)
3.1.
Interactive conversation “Who lives in the zoo?” 3.2. Physical education 3.4. Exercise “Natural habitat” 4. Control and correction stage (15 min)
4.1.
Interactive game “Who lives in this cage?” 5. Reflection.
(5 min) Summing up the lesson.
Interactive game "Suitcase". PROGRESS OF THE LESSON 1. Organizational stage (2 min)
Hello guys, today we will go on an excursion to the zoo, but we will do it without leaving the classroom.
During the lesson we will get acquainted with various animals, study their habits, and also find out why zoos are created. 2. Orientation-motivational stage (3 min)
Mini-conversation “Where are we?”
Teacher:
Guys, I’ll ask you to guess a riddle.
This is a very strange garden, Animals sit there in cages, They call it a park, People relax in the park. There are shelters, enclosures, animals walk behind the fence. What do we call this park and go see the animals? Student: Zoo Teacher:
Of course, this is a zoo.
The zoo is home to various animals from different countries of the world. Each animal is unique, some of them are rare, listed in the Red Book. Now I will ask you all to get up from your seats and walk around the classroom. (Imitations of cages with animals that are hung with fabric are placed around the class. Students can go to any cage and remove the cloth with which the cage is hung.) Teacher:
You can go to any cage, pay attention to the animals that are in the cages.
These animals can be found in many zoos. Today we will get to know each of them. Teacher:
Guys, maybe among these animals there are some of your favorites?
(students answer the question) So, let's begin. 3. Operational-cognitive stage (20 min)
3.1.
Interactive conversation “Who lives in the zoo” During the conversation, a presentation is shown (Appendix 1) Teacher:
Guys, how many of you know what a zoo is?
Student:
A unique museum of living nature.
Student:
An institution for keeping animals in captivity for the purpose of demonstrating them.
Student:
This is a place where people come with their loved ones and friends to take a break from the city noise and everyday bustle.
Teacher:
Okay, everything you said is correct.
According to the “Biological Encyclopedic Dictionary”, a zoo is a scientific and educational institution whose tasks include demonstrating the diversity of the animal world, disseminating knowledge about nature, promoting animal conservation and preserving the gene pool of rare and endangered animal species [1]. The main function of all zoos is the conservation of species. A zoo can house and study rare and endangered species in order to create artificial populations in captivity. That is, zoos are genetic banks for the conservation of rare and endangered species of animals by keeping specific individuals in order to obtain offspring from them and further develop their populations in captivity. Teacher:
Zoos contain animals from all over the world, every animal is unique, each has its own characteristics and habits. Now we will get to know some animals in more detail. Let's start our acquaintance with such an amazing animal as nutria (swamp beaver). Nutria is a rodent mammal that looks like a rat.
Nutria can stay under water for 10 minutes.
Poor vision and sense of smell are compensated by acute hearing. The external clumsiness of nutria is deceptive: if necessary, it moves quite quickly. Nutria fur is highly valued in fur farms and the fur industry in general. Keeping nutria in zoos is not so easy. Since these animals lead a semi-aquatic lifestyle, they need water in the enclosure in which they can splash. Teacher:
What animal are we talking about?
They are caught and eaten by wolves, large birds of prey kidnap the cubs, and the golden eagle even attacks adults. What kind of animals are these? Student:
Fox.
Teacher:
That's right, it's all about the fox. Although the fox itself is a predator, many animals also hunt it. There are envelopes on your tables, I ask you to open them. As you can see, there are drawings of tails, your task is to find the tail that belongs to the fox.
(each student raises a drawing with the correct tail, the teacher checks that the task is completed correctly) The tail is a very important organ for a fox.
While running, it helps her keep her balance, and in winter it serves as additional protection from the cold. Foxes are very active, so keeping foxes requires a lot of space. It is very difficult to create the necessary conditions. The enclosure should be spacious, with various elevations and pits, so that the animal can move a lot. Teacher:
There are also animals in zoos that are accustomed to living where it is cold, beyond the Arctic Circle.
Do you know such animals? Student:
Polar bear, reindeer, walrus and seal.
Teacher:
Okay, there is another animal that lives next to the polar bear and eats what the bear did not eat.
What kind of animal is this? Student:
Arctic fox.
Teacher:
The Arctic fox is a very interesting animal.
He is omnivorous, which helps him survive in the wild, and his warm fur protects him from the cold. The young leave their parents in late autumn or early winter, approximately 4 months after birth. But by the following summer, they return to their parents and help raise their new offspring. It is not very difficult to create conditions for an arctic fox to live in an enclosure; they just need free space and shade. Teacher:
Try to guess the next animal by its eyes, take an envelope with the number 2 from the tables, there are drawings of the animals’ eyes and a brief description of the animal. You need to read the description, guess what animal we are talking about, and find the drawing of its eyes. You have 2 minutes to complete the task.
(each student picks up the drawing with the correct eyes, the teacher checks that the task is completed correctly)
Teacher:
Well done guys, you answered correctly.
This is a chameleon. Any animal that can change color and look in two directions at once is worth learning more about. Armed with its long tongue, the chameleon is perhaps one of the most interesting reptiles on our planet. Most chameleons vary in color from brown to green to black, but some can become almost any color. The change can happen in less than 20 seconds. Chameleons are born with special cells containing color pigment inside. These cells lie in layers under the chameleon's outer skin. They are called chromatophores. The top layer of chromatophores has a red or yellow pigment, the bottom one has blue or white pigment. When these cells change, the color of the chameleon's skin changes. Chromatophores change when they receive a signal from the brain. This signal tells cells to expand or contract. Because of this, the pigments mix like paint. A chemical called melanin also helps the chameleon change color. Melanin fibers can spread like a spider's web through layers of pigment cells, and their presence causes the skin to darken. Many people think that chameleons change color to blend into the background. Studies have shown that mood, light and temperature cause chameleons to change color. Sometimes a change of color can “calm” a chameleon, and sometimes it helps individuals communicate with each other. To keep chameleons in captivity, it is necessary to have a large number of branches in the terrarium, there must be heating, as well as the presence of sand. 3.2. Physical education teacher:
Now we will rest a little.
And for a few minutes we will turn into monkeys - the most common inhabitants of zoos. They are very active, with very curious habits. I will ask everyone to get up from their seats, listen carefully and repeat after me. The monkey woke up: one, two, three. (rubbing our eyes) The monkey stretched: one, two, three. (stretched upward) And she went to look for something to eat: one, two, three. (walking in place) In front of her is a large palm tree: one, two, three. (look up) And there are bananas on the palm tree: one, two, three. (pull the hands up) You need to shake the palm tree: one, two, three. (we shake the palm tree) All the bananas fell: one, two, three. (look down) We'll pick up a banana: one, two, three. (we crouch) And, of course, we ate them: one, two, three. (we rub our belly) Well done guys, we had a little rest, warmed up, we can continue working. During physical education, I think many of you noticed that primates have habits that are in many ways similar to human behavior. 3.3. Exercise “Natural habitat” Exercise rules: Students form two teams in random order, each of which is given envelopes with the task (Appendix 2). They need to divide the animals according to their habitat: residents of Africa and residents of the Republic of Belarus. As clues, the pictures depict animals in natural conditions (the image may include: forests, rocks, vegetation typical for a particular area). You have 5 minutes to complete the task. At the end of the time, the teacher checks the correctness of the task. Teacher:
For further work, you need to unite in two teams: “Predators” and “Herbivores”.
I will distribute envelopes with different tasks to each team. Your task is to “resettle” the animals in their habitats. After all, animals from different parts of the globe live in the zoo, and each animal has its own “home”. You have 5 minutes to complete the task. Time has passed. Teacher:
So, let's see how you coped with the task.
(each team names animals and their habitats, the teacher corrects the students’ answers as necessary) Teacher:
You all coped with the task very well.
Therefore, we move on to the next stage of our excursion. 4. Control and correction stage (15 min) 4.1. Interactive game “Who lives in this cage?” Rules of the game: The game takes place in several rounds. In the first round, students need to find the answer to a riddle about an animal (go to the cell with the answer). The teacher reads out the riddles and corrects the students’ “answers.” When students solve the last riddle, they go to the cell that contains the task board. The game moves on to the next round. In the second round, students need to independently find answers to the tasks written on the tablet. The correct answer will lead to the next animal. The game continues until the students find a sign with a picture of a desk. This will indicate that they can sit down in their seats. Teacher:
Guys, today we talked a lot about animals, their habits, nutrition, and natural habitat.
Now we will play, your task is to listen to me very carefully and follow all the steps. Progress of the game Round 1. “Who am I?” Teacher:
Guys, now I’ll ask you to stand up. In our class, in addition to large cages, there are also small ones, in which various animals also live. Your task is to approach the cage with the animal in question. 1. Gray, but not a wolf, long-eared, but not a hare, With hooves, but not a horse. (donkey)
2. At the Zoo we saw exotic distances: Parrots and monkeys, Crocodiles, polar bears, And in the water, with his mouth open, he surprised everyone... (hippopotamus)
3. We live in southern countries and love all bananas. And we can’t live without them, We are... (monkeys)
4. This beast is very tall and will not enter the apartment door. Don’t invite him to visit, but rather go to him yourself. He's at the zoo, dear brother, I'm always glad to see you. (giraffe)
5. If I want to eat - I don’t jump anywhere, But I’ll crawl into a hole, into my mother’s bag - ... (kangaroo)
6. Once I saw a dark red beauty in the forest. She jumped along the branches, apparently looking for cones there. (squirrel).
Round 2 “In which cage?”
Teacher:
Very good, now pay attention to the cage with the squirrel.
You see, there is something in the cage. I will ask you to take the task board out of the cage and read what is written there. A cage with a squirrel.
The brain of this animal weighs 5 kilograms, the heart - 20-30 kilograms. It beats at a frequency of 30 beats per minute. To feed such a “colossus”, he has to look for food and eat most of the day, at least 20 hours. He eats from 45 to 450 kilograms of plant food per day and drinks from 100 to 300 liters of water. (ELEPHANT)
Elephant Cage These animals have gained a bad reputation due to the pungent substance with a persistent unpleasant odor secreted by the anal glands. They can spray this secret at a distance of up to 6 m, but they do this only for the purpose of self-defense and with a warning - first the animal raises its tail and stomps its feet, warning the enemy that it still has a chance to escape. (SKUNK)
Cage with a skunk The eyelashes of these animals consist of two rows. Nature did this to protect the eyes from the desert sands. They can also close their nostrils and lips to keep sand out. This animal can drink up to 7 liters of water per day. (CAMEL)
Cage with a camel This is the largest rodent of all known. To communicate with each other, these animals use different sounds, they resemble a dog barking, grunting, purring, whistling, squealing. They can dive and hold their breath underwater for up to 5 minutes. (CAPIBARA) Cage from a capybara Today, this animal is the largest representative of predators. The maximum body weight reaches 725 kg. Maximum height is 3.5 meters. (BEAR)
Bear Cage This animal's stripes are unique, just like a person's fingerprints.
Another interesting thing is that if this animal is shaved, it will still remain striped, due to the fact that stripes appear not only on the fur of the predator, but also on its skin. (TIGER) Teacher:
You coped with the tasks very well, you can sit down in your seats.
5. Reflection. (5 min) Teacher:
Our lesson has come to an end.
I hope you learned a lot of new and interesting things. Now I will ask you to write down your emotions from the lesson on pieces of paper. You can write who liked what, or vice versa, you can write which of the animals you remember most and why. As soon as you write it, put your piece of paper in your “suitcase”; you don’t need to sign it. (when everyone has put the leaves in the “suitcase”, the teacher reads out the students’ emotions and impressions) Teacher:
Thank you all, see you again.
Literature 1. Biological encyclopedic dictionary / Ch. ed. M. S. Gilyarov; Editorial team: A. A. Baev, G. G. Vinberg, G. A. Zavarzin, etc. - M.: Sov.encyclopedia, 1986. - 831 p. — 100,000 copies. Applications
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Regarding the variety of virtual excursions, we can safely distinguish two main types: video format and virtual reality format (360 degrees). Of course, the format of video excursions or online excursions is closer and easier for all of us. You can also divide all these types into paid and free online excursions.
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