Crew Activity
SAVE A SPECIES POSTER

Your crew has been chosen by a group of wildlife organizations to help in their campaign to raise awareness about endangered species,

  • Use the links below to decide on an endangered animal your crew would like to protect.

  • Find at least one way you can help to protect that species from extinction.

  • Create a colorful, interesting, and informative poster that can be placed at your school or in your community to draw attention to your animal’s threat of extinction.

  • On your poster, explain why the species is endangered and how people can help protect it.

  • When you are finished, make your poster public at school, online and in your community (See SHARE & COMPARE below.)

Preparation

Before Your Research

Read the Endangered Species Profile questions (the next page in the lesson). This will help your team know what information you need to find about the animal you choose.

Consider the “Art” of Advertising - Be creative!

Since posters are a form of advertising, it is important to approach your project thinking about what will be the most interesting, persuasive, enlightening, and effective way to reveal your endangered animal to the public.

Since the endangered species problem is about life and death and the ongoing destruction of the world, you may want your posters to include key statistics and other related scientific information.

You may also decide to simply appeal to your audience’s emotions by presenting some sad or affecting aspects about your special animal. Facts and statistics are important, but gaining the public’s often-distracted attention about this very serious matter calls for creative approaches.

Resources

California Endangered Species https://www.dfg.ca.gov/wildlife/nongame/t_e_spp/
You will see links to information on many different species. Look for this image - with lots of links.

Species At Risk http://www.sararegistry.gc.ca/default_e.cfm is a Canadian-based resource that will provide you with a broader and more detailed look at endangered species problem in general. Read this to become better informed about the causes and consider ideas on how to best tell the story of your animal in your posters and profiles.

Animal Info - World's Rarest Mammals http://www.animalinfo.org/rarest.htm is a list of over 30 endangered mammals. Come up with a list of 3 or 4 mammals you would like to help. Your teacher will help you choose one mammal for your poster and profile. This website should be your primary source of information for your profiles, posters, and presentations.

MAKING YOUR POSTER

Materials

a large sheet of paper
pencils
markers
tape
research materials.

The posters must present the following information:

  1. Name of the animal (include the scientific name if you can)

  2. Brief description of its habitat and where it lives

  3. Why the animal is endangered

  4. Drawing or pictures of the animal

Depending on team preferences, you may decorate your posters with printed copies of downloaded photos, a drawing or drawings of the species, or both photos and drawings.

Teamwork

Your team will need to decide which members work on which aspects of the project. It is recommended that all members participate in the general reading and animal selection process.

IMPORTANT NOTE

One of the purposes of your research and posters is to help you understand why species are endangered. Many hard, realistic issues are involved in trying to save defenseless animals and plants species worldwide. You should now have a greater understanding of the real, mostly human, causes of the globe’s ongoing endangerment. Through this project, you have researched the topic of endangered species and used it to help a special species that is currently dying off and will likely be forever lost to the world.

* This activity is adapted from sciencelinks.net.

 
 
 

Share & Compare
SAVING SPECIES POSTER

When you are finished:

  • Take a photo of the poster and upload it to the SHARE portal.

  • Present your poster to the class and describe the details

  • Put all of the posters in the classroom or somewhere the rest of your school can see them.

  • Check out posters from the other crews!