New Mexico Black BearsLisa Materne – Chaparral Middle School 6-8th grade SPEDTammie Mathewson – Kinder House Academy 1st – 2nd gradeElise Mathewson – Kinder House Academy K4 – K5

An introductory unit on the New Mexico Black Bear.

Objectives:•Students will compare and contrast similarities between bears and humans•Students will research bear habitats•Students will define how limiting factors affect animal populations

Activities:

Graphing Activity – Compare and Contrast human and bear similarities and differences

Hibernation Station

How Many Bears Can Live in This Forest? Game

Graphing Activity for early Childhood K4 – 5th gradeCurriculum Focus: Science and MathMaterials Needed:Project Wild K-12 Curriculum and Activity GuideChalkboard or Dry erase boardCompare Yourself to a Black Bear ChartGraph paper for 1st – 5th grade students (attached)Objects which compare in weight to newborn bear and newborn child

Prep for activity: (The day before activity is planned) HW students are requested to ask their parents what their birth weight and height was. This information will be used to complete our compare and contrast graphs.

Lesson: Part One: Read “Black Bear Biology. Discuss the size of bears at birth. Discuss what bears eat. Discuss how big bears grow. Discuss bears habitats and what happens in the fall. Part Two: Discuss the size of humans at birth. Discuss what humans eat. Discuss how big humans grow. Discuss where humans live.

Pass around an object which weighs approximately 8 ounces. Pass around an object which weighs approximately 7 pounds. Discuss the difference in size.

Prepare graph on chalkboard/dry erase board. Annotate a bears weight at birth and a humans weight at birth. Before explaining, ask the students which they think was the largest. Discuss graph findings.

Annotate a bears length at birth and a humans length at birth. Again, ask the students which they think was larger. Discuss graph findings.

(1st and 2nd grade students) Students can annotate their own birth weight and height on graph paper and compare it to a bears birth weight and height.

Discuss similarities of bears and humans:• What do we both need to survive (food, water, shelter)• What do we both eat (plants and animals)• How are baby bears and baby humans similar (They rely on their mother for food and care)

Additional enrichment: Shared reading activity - Big Black Bear by Wong Herbert Lee

Graphing and Data Activity for middle school 6th -8th grade

Curriculum FocusMath and Science

Birth Weights of Students

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 90123456789

10

6.115.4 5.6

9.14

7.58.2 8.13

6.3

9.11

Chart Title

Students

Wei

ght i

n lb

Leaf Stem PlotPounds Ounces

5 4, 6,

6 3, 11

7 5

8 2, 13

9 11, 14

Mean

What is the Mean?What do you mean?What is the mean?What do you mean, what is the mean?Exactly! I mean, what is the mean?

Mean is the average!

How do we get the Mean?

ummmmmm…..

?

Mean

We add all the weights in the data together!

6.11 + 5.4 + 5.6 +9.14 + 7.5 + 8.3 + 8.13 + 6.3 + 9.11=

65.59Great!

What do we do next?

We divide the sum by the number of numbers we added.

65.59/9 = 7.28777777777778

Let’s round it to the nearest tenth.

7.3

Extended Activity: Hibernation Station

Grades K4 – 5

Why do bears hibernate?

What happens while they are asleep?

Materials Needed•Large Box•Sticks•Grass and other small plants•Leaves•Glue•Medium to large stuffed bear•Small stuffed bear (optional)

Why do Bears Hibernate?• Read Sleep Black Bear Sleep during shared reading

time

• Discuss reasons bears need to hibernate (Allow students to make predictions on why they think bears

hibernate before giving reasons. )

• www.bear.org Visit the web-site where students an view a real bear den and observe a bear hibernating in

the den.

• Have students decorate the ‘den’ with sticks and leaves to simulate an authentic bear den.

• Place the large stuffed bear in the cave and explain to the children that our bear is going to hibernate for the

winter.

• View the bear.org website weekly and discuss what the children see as they observe the bear in its natural

environment.

• (optional) In the spring, place the small bear in the den and let the children discover the bear cub. Discuss how

bear cubs are born while the mother is hibernating.

•In the spring have a ‘bear’ celebration acknowledging the bear waking up from it’s winter slumber.

•Read the book, Wake me in the Spring.

Conclude the activity with a discussion of what has been learned over the course of the unit.