| Lesson Plan: Rough-legged Hawk |
Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5
Objectives Materials Requisite Skills Evaluation Follow Up Education Main
- Correlate geographic features and climate with migration patterns of the rough-legged hawk
- Describe differences between the rough-legged and the red tailed hawk.
Materials:
- Atlas
- Globe
- World map
- North America map (terrain clearly marked)
- Transparencies
- Overhead projector
- Reference books that include photos of rough-legged and red tailed hawks
Prerequisite Knowledge: Students should be familiar with climate/terrain markings found in an atlas and on the maps listed above. Students should also be aware of how climate and terrain shape the lives of human populations.
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Day One: Using the North American map, discuss different regions of the continent and the daily lives of human populations residing in each region. Questions for discussion might include: What types of clothes do residents wear? What kinds of food do they most likely eat? What kinds of jobs are available? Do seasons of the year change any of these?
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Day Two: Using reference materials and range maps (of raptors, taken from field guides) identify seasonal lapping of ranges among hawks. Group students (4 in each group), then assign a question for each group to answer.
Focusing on the red tailed and rough-legged hawks,
- Describe what protection the shared terrain might offer.
- List common prey.
- Describe roosting habitats.
- Identify migration periods and routes.
- Describe how hawks interact with members of their own species and with other species.
Day Three: Each group is to present its findings to the class as the teacher records information on a transparency. Using the information collected by the class, create Venn diagrams illustrating common needs, habits, locations, and other factors shared by red tailed and rough-legged hawks.
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Day Four: Examine photos of red tailed and rough-legged hawks, noting differences in appearance. Using information from day three to form hypotheses, have groups explain why physical differences occur. Post hypotheses and discuss as a class.
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Day Five: Invite a wildlife educator to the class for a presentation with a red tailed and a rough-legged hawk. Present hypotheses, discuss further, and determine if they are correct (the wildlife educator will be able to affirm or correct answers if hypotheses are relayed in advance).
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Evaluation:
Objective 1: This objective will be assessed on groups' accuracy and thoroughness of responses to questions posed on days two and four.
Objective 2: This objective will be assessed on reasoning for hypotheses from day four and pro-/con-arguments waged during the class discussion on day five.
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Follow up:
- Write a newspaper article for the school paper describing similarities between the rough-legged and red tailed hawks.
- Draw a rough-legged hawk and a human who live in the same climate. How are they alike in terms of adaptation to weather and terrain?
- Compare the prey taken by the red tailed and rough-legged hawks. What differences and similarities are evident? How do these correlate with differences and similarities between the hawks?