Overview

As an undergraduate Biological 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.

Grade Level: Undergraduate Discipline: Biological Sciences Topics:

• Biodiversity, Animal Diversity (Chordates, Mammals)
• Evolution and Behavior (Species and Speciation)
• Ecology (Populations; Precipitation Patterns, Vegetation, Soil Types; Zoogeography) Climate Topic: Climate and theBiosphere Location: USA
  Languages: English Duration: 120-150 min

Learning Outcomes

The tools in this lesson plan will enable students to:

• categorize species by family and by habitat
• compare and analyze past and modern data on species distribution and habitat
• interpret the effect of climate change on changes in species distribution and habitat
• explain how the monitoring of some species can serve as an indicator of the effect of climate change on biodiversity and ecosystems