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Lesson Plan for Interaction and Review

Extinct Mega Fauna of the Pleistocene in North America

9th Grade World History/11th Grade American History

Background

This class has been studying the process of Human Development, beginning with the first upright walking hominids. The students have learned of the cultural and behavioral adaptations that took place over millions of years as Premoderns slowly evolved into modern humans. Our last lesson covered the extinction of the Neanderthal people and the reasons and implications of the success of modern humans. The students understand that our ancestors were able to adapt to their environment and that technology helped them forge new beginnings in new environments. This lesson comes near the end of the Prehistory Unit. We will look at the warming climate in North America, the resulting human migration and the mass extinctions of mega fauna that followed.

English proficiency level: Intermediate

Grade: 9

Social Studies Standards:

Strand 1- American History, Concept 2 Early Civilizations P.O. 1 Describe prehistoric cultures of the North American continent.

Strand 2- World History, Concept 2 Early Civilizations P.O. 1 Describe the development of early prehistoric peoples.

Preparation

Content Objective: Students will learn about some of the extinct species of Mega Fauna that lived in North America before the mass extinctions of 9,000 years ago, and the causes of those extinctions.

Language Objectives: Students will listen, discuss and write vocabulary related to the Pleistocene extinctions of Mega Fauna. In pairs, students will discuss the significance of the mass extinctions and apply the vocabulary to a graphic organizer. Students will later work in groups of three or four, drawing cave art featuring some of the extinct animals we have discussed.

Materials:

Quest for Fire DVD

PowerPoint “Extinct Mega Fauna of the Pleistocene in North America”

Graphic Organizer

Sheets of 11 X 17” paper

Group Project Instruction Sheet

Crayons (red, black, brown, blue and yellow) –these pigments are common in cave art

Motivation

Opening Teaser: We begin with a short film clip from the movie Quest for Fire. Three unsuspecting cavemen are ambushed by a pack of saber tooth tigers. They take refuge in a tree until the predators lose interest and withdraw. Afterwards I have the students Think-Pair-Share about what they just observed. The focus question is: What does this scene reveal about the lives of early humans and their interaction with prehistoric wildlife?

The students share their opinions on this topic. I ask the students to ponder this question as we discuss the diverse wildlife encountered by the first human pioneers in North America.

Presentation

PowerPoint: We take a “zoo-trip” back in time to see the mega fauna wildlife that wandered North America before human colonization. I explain the theories for the causes of the mass extinction of mega fauna that occurred between 13,000 years ago and 9,000 years ago.

As a class the students fill in the empty boxes on the graphic organizer (below). The purpose of the flow chart is to show the cause and effect relationships of each theory/concept we discuss, and how they relate to the ultimate outcome. During the presentation, I announce when to write in each new point and call upon a different student each time to summarize what has happened so far.

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Competing Theories of Pleistocene Mass Extinction

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Critical Thinking: After the presentation and graphic organizer are completed, I have the students pair up and discuss their opinions concerning the roles climate change and overkill played in the mass extinction of mega fauna. After 3-4 minutes, I call upon students from each pair to share their views on this issue.

Practice and Review

I show slides at the end of the PowerPoint that feature mega fauna in ancient cave art.

Group Project: I number off the students to divide them in groups of three or four. They push their desks together to form tables. Each group obtains an 11 X 17” sheet of paper, an instruction sheet and a zip lock bag of five crayons.

This is the instruction sheet:

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Mega Fauna in Cave Art:

Group Project

You are to take on the roles of early human migrants who have recently settled in a cave in ancient North America. Through your travels, you have encountered many species of mega fauna. Your tribe hunts herd animals, such as mammoths, horses and camels. These herbivores eat plants and are no threat to the tribe. However, vicious packs of saber tooth tigers and dire wolves prowl the region. These carnivores prey upon single humans who travel too far from the safety of the cave.

The task of each group is to draw cave art depicting at least four of the mega fauna shown in the presentation. All drawings must be labeled. You may collaborate to tell a story with your artwork if you wish. Also, create a name for your tribe and cave.

Creativity will be awarded with extra points.

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The Practice and Review part of the lesson will spill over into the next class day. I allot extra time where necessary to finish the drawings and establish a reasonable time limit to keep everybody on task. Once completed, each group shares their drawings with the rest of the class.

Extension (2nd class period day)

For homework, the students write a one page opinion essay about the possibility of future mass extinctions. If time permits, they can begin this assignment in class. Focus questions include:

Do you think the wildlife of today’s world in danger of mass extinction due to human activity (e.g. pollution, deforestation, urbanization, hunting, etc…)? Explain.

Can the current issue of Global Warming be related to the climate changes that occurred at the end of the Ice Age? Explain.

Do you think the world is headed toward a future mass extinction? What role (if any) do you think humans have in this process? Explain.

Do you think humans can adapt to future climate change, or could we go extinct like the mega fauna? Explain.

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Theory #2:

Word Bank:

Mass Extinction

Climate Change

Pleistocene Overkill

Human Migration

Theory #1:

End of the Ice Age

(14,000-9,000 y.a.)

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