Transcript Introduction - Warren County Schools

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It is five o'clock at night and your parents are making
you watch the news. After whining to your parents
about the TV show, you sit down on the couch in
disgust. After trying to ignore the news show, you
suddenly hear a story. The newscaster starts talking
about how the dolphins are becoming more
endangered and that there are groups of people
working on helping the Dolphin population grow.
These people are trying to clean up the environment
so these animals have a clean place to live. You turn to
your parents and ask,"What is an endangered specie?"

Hundreds of Species are dying out each year due to many different
causes. Some of these causes are environmental, human caused,
natural selection, and changes over time to the specie(evolution).
Extinction has already taken over 500 species from the United
States alone. Plants such as the beautiful Sexton Mountain
mariposa lily, and animals like the colorful and once-abundant
Carolina parakeet are gone forever and will never be seen by
human eyes again.
(http://consci.tnc.org/library/pubs/rptcard/assets.html) As of 1997,
over 20,000 species are currently endangered in the United States.
(http://consci.tnc.org/library/pubs/rptcard/life.html) That number
is only increasing and everyone can do something to help stop
some species from going down the endangered species road.

The Endangered Species Act is meant to protect fish, wildlife, and plants that are listed as
threatened or endangered species in the United States. The Act also implements the provisions of
the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
(summary from Endangeredspecie.com on 8/9/01). There are also other laws helping to protect
the endangered species in the United States. Examples of other protective measures are Marine
Mammal Protection Act, Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and
Wild Bird Conservation Act of 1992.

You are a reporter for the local newspaper and your editor has given you your
first assignment as a reporter. You are to research an Endangered Specie from the
United States. You use your article to teach people about what an endangered
specie is, what causes them, should they be safe or not and why do you think
this. You are also to show an example of what an endangered specie is. Before
you can do this, you must first acquire a basic understanding of what an
endangered specie is, what causes them, what is being done to stop this
problem, and how does species going extinct effect us, as humans. You will do
research to gather information on your specified endangered specie. Start by
reading the listed articles, review the reference books available, and complete
the following items:
Compare and Contrast the difference between an endangered
species and threatened species (in your own words).
2.
Determine what causes a species to become endangered.
3.
Write an article describing the above information and your
endangered species.
This article must include:
A. Description of the animal and its habitat.
B. What does it need to survive?
C. What does it eat? How does it fit into the food web?
D. What areas of the world does it live in?
F. What organizations are helping the species? How are they helping?
What can be done to help the species survive?
G. Should we save this species? How can we do this? Is this possible
to do in today's world?
1.
Online Resources:

Endangered Species Program This link lists statistics about endangered species. It also has article
about many of the endangered species in the United States.

World Wildlife Fund This link is about the world wildlife fund. It shows examples of the work they
are doing and information of the animals.

Endangered Species Act of 1973 This link is about this act the congress passed in 1973. This was
the start of Americans showing they care about the other animals we share the planet with.

Endangered Species This link connects you to an Encarta page about endangered species. This it
general information and will give you examples of endangered species.

National Wild life Foundation This link is about this foundation and the work they do. Also,
includes information about endangered species.

CA Department of Fish and Game This link is about endangered species specific to California.

Endangered Species Information This link is about general endangered species information.

American Zoological Association This site is great. It talks about zoos and different animals
located in them. There is great stuff about endangered species.

Endangered species II This site has information about the Endangered Specie Act, Endangered
Species In Your State, Interesting Endangered Species Facts, Endangered Species Profiles &
Photo Gallery, and Laws That Protect Endangered Species
The product of your research and article helps you to see what an
endangered species is. Your research also should have lead you to
some of the causes for these species becoming endangered. You
have discovered that some of the reasons species are endangered
is because of humans and what we have done to the environment.
You have taken your base knowledge and applied it to researching
a particular species. You have found out about the habitat, where
your animal is located in the food web, and where it lives. You have
also found out about the organizations that are helping your
animal and how they are doing this. With all this new informaiton
you have gathered, think about what you are doing to help out
endangered species. Next time you should recycle, or reuse,
maybe you will remember this project and make the right
decision.