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Grade 4
Grade 4
Unit 4: Just Curious
 
Scruffy: A Wolf Finds His Place in the Pack
by Jim Brandenburg
 
Cross Curricular  
Animal Camouflage  
Cross Curricular
From the Student Web Page
Seeing through Camouflage
Connect to this link:
http://www0.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/leopards/seeing.html


  1. Click Play Seeing through Camouflage(nonShockwave version).
  2. Follow the onscreen directions.
  3. Keep trying until you get them all!
About the Site

Seeing through Camouflage is a section of Leopards of the Night, a NOVA Online Web site. An interactive matching activity enables students to increase their understanding of the four basic types of animal camouflage. Have students use the version that does not require the Shockwave½ plug-in.

What to Do

  1. To help students understand the four basic types of animal camouflage, write the definitions for each of the four types on the chalkboard and discuss them.

  2. For definitions, have students click Disguise for the first picture on the left, Mimicry for the second picture on the left, Disruptive coloring for the first picture the right, and Concealing coloring for the second picture on the right.

  3. Read the information for each type of animal camouflage with the students.
From the Student Web Page
Exploring Hide & Seek
Connect to this link:
http://www.muohio.edu/dragonfly/hide/index.HTMLX


  1. Click Laws of Camouflage. Read "Law of Proximity."
  2. Click Hide & Seek Sea and try to find the conger eel.
  3. Click on the conger eel when you have found it.
  4. Click the Back arrow to return and find other hidden animals.
About the Site

Exploring Hide & Seek is a section of Dragonfly, a Web site featuring elementary-grade level science links. Dragonfly is jointly sponsored by the National Science Teachers Association, the National Science Foundation, and Miami University of Ohio. At this site, students can learn about the four laws of camouflage and use them to help find sea animals concealed in a drawing.

What to Do

  1. Help students navigate the site as directed. You may need to paraphrase some of the material.

  2. At Hide and Seek Sea, invite students to click animals they find to learn more about them.

  3. Students may enjoy making their own camouflage poster similar to the one at the Web site. Have them research animals in a particular habitat and create a poster showing the background terrain and plants. Then have them draw, color, cut out, and attach animals to the poster.
Find Out More  
Wolves and Dogs  
Find Out More
From the Student Web Page
Wild Wolves
Connect to this link:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/wolves/


  1. Click The Wolf-Dog Connection and take the quiz.
  2. Click the other answer if your answer is not correct and back to questions for more.
  3. What new facts did you learn?
About the Site

At Wild Wolves, a Nova Online Web site, students can access information about the wolf-dog connection, some of which contradicts several commonly held beliefs. The site also features audio clips of wolf sounds, other wolf resources, and an interview with Ed Bangs, Wolf Recovery Coordinator for the U.ßS. Fish and Wildlife Service. You may want to preview Teachers Guide for suggestions.

What to Do

  1. Invite students to tell one or two things they learned about the wolf-dog connection from this site.

  2. After students have finished the quiz, you may want them to click Ed Bangs to read an interview.

  3. Invite students to comment on the government program to reintroduce wolves to certain parts of our country. What are some the advantages and disadvantages of this program?
From the Student Web Page
Gray Wolf
Connect to this link:
http://www.thewildones.org/Animals/grayWolf.html


  1. Read about the gray wolf.
  2. Click the play button under "What do wolves sound like?"
  3. Click Henry H. Houston Wolf Study and read what students have written about wolves.
About the Site

This page is sponsored The Wild Ones, an education site from Wildlife Preservation Trust International. Contributors share observations, research, artwork, and creative writing on this web site. You may have to paraphrase some text on the opening page.

What to Do

  1. Help student navigate the site and learn about gray and other wolves.

  2. Discuss the student work. You may want to have students attempt to write acrostic poems about wolves using the example on the Henry Houston page.

  3. Invite students to share one or two interesting things they learned about the gray wolf.
Leveled Books  
Nature Photography  
Leveled Books
From the Student Web Page
Captions for Wildlife Photography
Connect to this link:
http://www.gssm.k12.sc.us/Biology/Dr.%20Bill's%20Photos/


  1. Click on the Reptile Gallery link. Then click on the Other Reptiles link. Click on the link for Florida Softshell.
  2. Look at the photograph, and make a list of things the Softshell might be doing. Choose one of the items on your list, and use it to write a caption for this photograph.
  3. Return to the Wildlife Home by using the back button. Click on the Amphibian hypertext link. Choose two amphibian photos to look at by clicking on the small photograph. For each photo, brainstorm a list of possible actions the animal might be taking. Name the action and, using this, write a caption for both animal photos.
About the Site

This site is for South Carolina's Governor's School for Science and Mathematics (GSSM). It contains photographs of wildlife taken by students in a photography class.

Lesson Objectives

  • Students will use the Internet to explore wildlife photography.

  • Students will brainstorm a list of what an animal might be doing in one particular photo.

  • Students will write captions for photographs using the writing process.

Suggested Additional Activities

  • Have students write three additional captions for photographs from the Mammal or Bird Galleries.

  • Have students expand their captions from a one- or two-sentence description to a short story about a fictional character.
From the Student Web Page
Elephants of Botswana
Connect to this link:
http://www.africaguide.com/wildlife.htm


  1. Scroll down to the three pictures of the Elephants of Botswana. Click on each photo to enlarge it.
  2. Using a piece of paper or your computer, write a short article for your local newspaper about your experiences on an African Safari, and seeing this herd of elephants in Botswana.
About the Site

This site is a part of the Africa Guide which is a travel site to Africa. It displays photos taken by Vera Cheal and her family members or friends.

Lesson Objectives

  • Students will use the Internet to explore photographs of elephants in Botswana.

  • Students will write a short newspaper article based on a picture prompt.

Suggested Additional Activities

  • Have students publish their news story on the computer using a publishing software program. Have them type it in columns like a real newspaper.

  • Allow students to look at several other photographs on the site. Have them choose their two favorite photographs. The students can then do a compare and contrast activity using a Venn Diagram of the two photographs.