Lesson: Bear Protector

Activate prior knowledge and brainstorm questions about black bears.

• Show a photo of a black bear. Ask students what they know about black bears. What do the bears need to survive? (food, water, a place to hibernate, etc.) As a class, come up with a list of questions about black bears. 
• Ask: Have you ever seen a large animal like a bear in the wild? Where? Discuss what students know about how to act if they encounter large wild animals. (back away slowly, make noise, etc.) Ask: Why might black bears show up where humans are? (Humans now live in places that were black bear habitat, and bears travel to find food.) 

Watch a video about a bear scientist.

• Show the video “Meet a Bear Scientist.” Ask: Which of your questions did the video answer? What did you learn about how scientists study bears?

Read an article about a bear scientist and interpret a map of bear habitat.

• Open the article. Preview the “Words to Know” on page 7. Ask for examples of predators in local ecosystems (e.g., snakes, owls, sharks). Discuss how humans might affect predators in an ecosystem (e.g., hunting, encroaching on their habitat, cutting down forests). Read the article, then ask students what new information they learned.
• Preview the map skills sheet Bear Country. Discuss what the map shows about your state, connecting it to students’ knowledge of its topography, ecology, etc. Have students complete the skills sheet and review it as a class.

After playing a game, describe how habitat loss affects different animals.

• Introduce the game “Habitat Hopper.” Explain that students will pretend to be small primates called tamarins, whose habitat is under threat. Let students play. Then ask: How was your experience as a tamarin in the game similar to what bears face? (Human development can reduce habitat for both.) How is it different? (Bears can’t create new habitat, but they can travel where humans cleared forests. Bears also get food from where humans live, like from garbage cans.)

Summarize key ideas and educate others about black bears.

• Check for student understanding with the Think It Through or Quick Quiz.
• Guide students to a reputable website like a government website or the “Be Bear Aware Campaign” (https://bebearaware.org/) for information about living near bears. Read as a class. Then have students design a poster that explains why bears come into human communities and what people can do (e.g., bear-proofing trash, scaring bears away if you encounter them).

⇨ Learning Extension: If you were an ecologist like Rae Wynn-Grant, what large predator would you study? Draw yourself performing your research outdoors. Then explain your choice in a paragraph.