Environmental Science Journal
Endangered Species
Students are often left in awe of the biodiversity of many of the ecosystems of the planet after watching a nature documentary. The BBC Planet Earth, Blue Planet, and Life series are particularly good at conveying the depth of biodiversity present in different areas. This activity has students document the different vertebrate animals they observe in a nature documentary, then visit the IUCN website and identify whether the animals are endangered. There are multiple levels of endangerment classification, each of which are explained in the activity. If an animal is endangered, the website offers some details as to why.
Essential concepts:Biomes, ecosystems, biodiversity, endangered species, extinction.
