Threatened Species – Postcards from the Edge
Name: ________________________________ Period: ____ Date: ______________
Overview:
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s mission is to work with others to conserve, protect,
and enhance fish, wildlife, and plants, and their habitats. The bureau manages the 93
million acre National Wildlife Refuge System with more than 520 individual refuges, and
thousands of wetlands and special management areas. Among its key functions is the
protection of endangered species.
In this lesson, you will learn about endangered species in the United States, some of the
reasons they are endangered (e.g. habitat destruction or the introduction of invasive
species), and what is being done to protect them. You will choose one species to focus
on and examine the reasons it is endangered, and why it is important to make an effort to
save it.
Objectives:
 Students will learn about endangered species in the United States.
 Students will identify endangered species in their state.
 Students will create poster of facts and pictures about the species.
 Students will analyze reasons to protect endangered species.
Opening:
Since the arrival of Europeans in North America, more than 500 species have become
extinct. The populations of many more have declined due to loss of habitat, degradation
of the environment, pollution, pesticide use, and other factors. Within the United States,
517 species of animals and 745 species of plants are listed as threatened or endangered.
The U.S. took a giant step toward saving plants and animals with the passage of the
Endangered Species Act in 1973.
Materials:
 One worksheet
 computer with internet access
 Poster or large sheet of white paper
 Colored pencils and/or markers
 Scissors
 Glue
Procedures:
 Choose an endangered species
 Use these websites to get started researching your species:
1. Endangered Species on EE: http://eelinknet/EndSpp/specieshighlightsmainpage.html
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2. Green Kids Guide to Threatened Species: Nine ways you can help:
http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/publications/index.ht
ml
3. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: Endangered species information:
http://www.fws.gov/endangered/wildlife.html
4. WWF: U.S. World Wildlife Fund: http://www.worldwildlife.org/
Research the following information about your species:
 Important facts about the species
1. Species’ habitat(s)
2. Species’ geographic location(s)
3. Interesting facts (for animals: mating rituals, feeding habits,
migration, etc; for plants: seed/fruit/flower production, animals
that may live in the plant, etc.)
 Reasons for the decline of its numbers
1. When the numbers of this species started to decline
2. Why the numbers of this species started to decline
3. What the major threats to this species are
 How we can protect the species from further loss.
1. What has been done so far (if anything) to save this species
2. Why it is important to save this particular species (do other species
depend on it for some reason?)
3. What your group would recommend doing to save this species
from extinction
Create a poster about your species that includes the following:
1. photos (cut out of magazines or printed from the internet) or original
drawings of your species
2. a list of the important facts about your species (listed above)
3. a list of the reasons for the decline of its numbers (listed above)
4. a list of how to protect the species from further loss (listed above)
5. any other information you feel is important
Each group will take turns and give a brief presentation about the species they
studied and answer any questions other students have.
Grading Rubric
Item(s) Included
and Correct
Item(s) NOT
Included and/or
Incorrect
Photo and/or drawing of
species
8 points
0 points
Species’ habitat(s)
5 points
0 points
Species geographic
location(s)
5 points
0 points
Three interesting facts about
species
5 points
0 points
When numbers started to
decline
5 points
0 points
Why numbers started to
decline
5 points
0 points
Major threat(s) to species
9 points
0 points
What has been done so far to
save species
9 points
0 points
Why it is important to save
this species
9 points
0 points
Group’s recommendation to
save species from extinction
10 points
0 points
Group presentation (all
members participating)
10 points
0 points
All group members name on
poster/postcard
5 points
0 points
15 points
0 points
(100 points
maximum)
Your Score →
Criteria
Overall appearance of
poster/postcard (i.e. neatness,
color, correct
spelling/grammar)
TOTAL POINTS EARNED
Total