Description: Participants/students will explore primate classification by means of the comparative method:

• Students will describe the distinguishing characteristics of various animal groups and objects and explore how these characteristics are used to classify animals.




• Students will explore the basic principles of biological classification by investigating similarities and differences between themselves and some of our most peculiar animal relatives, the lemurs of Madagascar. Students will use maps, computers, anatomy, and current literary resources to identify patterns in nature by means of the comparative method. The comparative method elucidates these patterns by finding common themes in the behavior, anatomy, and geographic distribution among seeming different biological organisms.

Number of Activities: 3
Age-appropriate for: 4th-6th grade
Supplies Needed: computer, internet access, colored pencils

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Module Overview

Exercise 1:
Classification Puzzle

Exercise 2:
Adopt-a-Primate: Finding a Pattern

Exercise 3:
Bone Detectives

Lecture Supplement 1

Lecture Supplement 2

Lecture Supplement 3

Lecture Supplement 4

Lecture Supplement 5

Description: The focus of this module is Madagascar’s geological history. With this vista students will explore the composition of the earth and how the earth changes through time. Additionally, students will investigate how geological change can affect global modifications. With the activities presented in this vista, students will discover how global changes affect plant and animal diversity and how these changes are traced through time.

• Students will explore the composition of the earth understanding that the earth is composed of four distinct layers.
   

• Students will become familiar with the processes involved in plate tectonics.
   

• Students will uncover the geological history of Madagascar and how its history has affected the evolution and diversification of lemurs.

Number of Activities: 4
Age-appropriate for: 4th grade
Supplies Needed: calculator, computer, internet access

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Module Overview

Exercise 1:
The Earth: Layers upon Layers

Exercise 2:
Wegner's Puzzle

Exercise 3:
Madagascar: The Traveling Island

Exercise 4:
Learning from Lemurs: A lesson in island biogeography.

Worksheet:
Learning from Lemurs

Lecture Supplement 1

Lecture Supplement 2

Lecture Supplement 3

Lecture Supplement 4

Description: Correlations are an important part of biology. Scientists use correlations to draw connections between two seemingly unrelated things. In this module students will explore the relationship between an animals body size (weight) and its biological history. Animals that vary in size require varying degrees of space, different habitats, foods, and attention. By understanding the relationship between an animal’s size and an animals size related requirements, scientists can make predictions about animals in the past, present, and in the future. Correlations allow scientists to make informed decision about the world around us.

• Students will understand the value and importance of correlations.
   

• Students will recognize the difference between is between a good and bad correlation.
   

• Students will appreciate the relationship between an animal's body size and its behavior.
   

• Students will understand that correlations allow for scientists to predict behaviors of animals in the past, present, and future.
   

• Students will create their own correlations between an animal's anatomy and body weight.

Number of Activities: 3
Age-appropriate for: 4th grade
Supplies Needed: calculator, computer, internet access

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Module Overview

Exercise 1:
Correlations: Why are correlations important?

Exercise 2:
Animal size and function

Exercise 3:
Bones bones bones: Predicting body size

Worksheet 1:
Correlation

Worksheet 2:
Animal

Teacher Practice

Answer Key

Lecture Supplement 1

Description: Students will reconstruct the lives of the recently extinct sub-fossil lemurs. In this module students will understand the difference between a sub-fossil and a fossil. Students will draw from various lines of evidence to reconstruct the behavior of these animals through skeletal remains.

• Students will be able to identify fossils down to sub-order level.

• Students will use classroom created graphs to interpret fossil remains.

• Drawing on information collected throughout the school year, students will be able to recreate the behavior, diet, and life span of an adopted sub-fossil.

• Students will think creativity to propose an explanation as to why this particular group of lemurs became extinct.

Number of Activities: 1
Age-appropriate for: 4th grade
Supplies Needed: calculator, computer, internet access

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Module Overview

Exercise 1:
Reconstructing the Fossil Record

Lecture Supplement 1:

Lecture Supplement 2: