TERRESTRIAL SOUND Hunter Hike

Transcription

1 Hunter Hike SET THE SCENE OPTION 1: Tell your students You are a coyote in search of food. You need to feed yourself and your pups who are waiting for you at the den. You listen for the sound of your prey in the brush, under foliage, and in the grass. You use your ability to move silently to stalk your prey. You don t want to scare your prey away. Other animals like mountain lions, bears, wolves, and rattle snakes are a danger to you. You use your hearing to listen for danger as well as prey. It is better to hear or smell the danger before they see you or hear you. You can have them practice their coyote calls to get into character. Talk about potential food for coyotes: chipmunks, mice, wood rats, squirrels, rabbits, crickets, grubs, ground-nesting birds and their eggs, waterfowl, other predators such as cats, dogs, and raccoons. Coyotes are omnivores: an animal or person that eats both plants and animals. They eat plants, fruit as well as meat. Coyotes are mesopredators: a medium-sized, middle trophic level predator, which both predates and is predated upon. Other examples are foxes, raccoons, skunks, snakes, cownose rays, and small sharks. Predators are wild animals that hunt, or prey on, other animals. Weasels, hawks, wolves, mountain lions, and grizzly bears are all predators. Ask students if insects can be predators? Yes! Examples are praying mantis, spiders, and wasps. Prey is an animal that is hunted and killed by another for food. Prey can be as small as a fly to as large as a moose! OPTION 2: Tell your students "You are a Native American hunter. People are typically omnivores like coyotes and eat meat, berries, plants, and crops. Other members of your tribe do the gathering and/or farming. You are in charge of supplying the meat or protein for your tribe. You need to be able to hear a possible meal and possible threats like a bear or an unfriendly tribe. You rely on hearing your prey and your prey not hearing you or it will run away. You can try for large or small prey. The large prey will sustain your tribe longer. Talk about potential food for Native Americans. Examples are game birds (such as grouse, waterfowl, turkey, and bird eggs), mammals (such as deer, elk, beaver, and raccoon), honey from bee hives, fish, and crayfish. You can talk about what is available in your area. Are there animals that historically were present and gone now? OPTION 3: You are a homesteader and need to get food for your family. Follow the description for the Native American. OBJECTIVES To role play a hunter (animal or human) to better comprehend how to utilize senses and react appropriately to avoid danger and catch food To appreciate and interpret sounds in the environment NEXT GENERATION SCIENCE STANDARDS Kindergarten K-LS1-1, K-ESS3-1, K-ESS3-3, K-2-ETS1-1 Grade 1 K-2-ETS1-1 Grade 2 K-2-ETS1-1 Grade 3 3-LS1-1, 3-LS4-3, 3-LS4-4 Grade 4 4-LS1-2 Grade 5 5-ESS3-1 Middle School MS-LS1-5, MS-LS1-8, MS-LS2-2, MS-LS2-4 Worksheets are provided for exercises but you may want to keep it experiential and not be bogged down with sheets.

2 Hunter Hike Activity ACTIVITY - HUNTER HIKE adapted from our friends in the National Park Service Location Materials Outside Hunter Hike Worksheet Preparation Plan different stopping points along the way where you can easily hear different sounds: birds, running water, wind, insects, traffic, etc. Instructions Have the group be still, close their eyes, and listen for 30 seconds to 1 minute. What did they hear? Either have them point to the sound source or draw/record it on the related worksheet. Where was the sound coming from? Was it natural? Was it man-made? What do they think made the sound? See how many heard the same thing and if they agree on what made the sound. KEY DEFINITIONS Omnivore: an animal or person that eats food of both plant and animal origin Predator: an animal that preys on others. Prey: an animal that is hunted and killed by another for food Estimate the direction and distance. If it is reasonable, attempt to locate the source of the sounds. Have them approach quietly, like a stalking coyote or hunter, so they don t scare off their meal. Can you see or identify what made the sound? Did the sound indicate a possible meal for the coyote or hunter? Continue to walk, stopping when a sound is heard. Point to it and investigate the sound. Did the sound lead to a possible meal? Travel to additional sound locations and repeat the exercise above. Have the students try to peel away layers of sound by listening again for 30 seconds in the same location. Have them write down what they hear, then listen for another 30 seconds. What sounds were natural? What sounds were a potential threat or meal for a predator? Have them listen for another 30 seconds. Were there man-made sounds? Did they hear anything they did not the first round? Did they hear more as they practice the art of listening? Did they hear anything that could be dangerous or keep them from hearing their prey/meal? What did they learn? Did they experience the hike differently by the end? Discuss how noise impacts wildlife around us. (Hunt and Seek and A Balancing Act activities also relate to this subject). What do you think animals do when their habitat (the place they naturally or normally live) becomes noisy? When we are loud, how does this affect predator and prey? How does it impact other people that want to watch birds or wildlife? How can you make a difference? HIKE VARIATION: You can add the extra challenge of making it a silent hike and write down all of their findings or talk about the experience and what they heard at the end. Have paper or a dry erase board to write out the next step if you are doing the silent hike.

3 Hunter Hike - Extension Activity ACTIVITY INSTRUCTIONS - Sneaking up on Prey adapted from our friends in the National Park Service Space Needed Materials Outside or Inside in a gym or other large space (optional) blindfolds Instructions Have students practice creeping around as quietly as possible to get ready for this exercise. Choose one or more students to be the prey. Blindfold the prey or have them turn their backs from the group and close their eyes. Select an equal number of students to be hunters. (2 prey and 2 hunters is a good number to start with. If there is plenty of space, try more.) The rest of the group will stand out of the way to be spectators. Position the prey apart from each other and away from the spectator group. The hunters will attempt to sneak up and tag the prey without being heard. If the prey hears a sound, they will point to where they hear the sound coming from (with eyes closed if they are not blindfolded). If the prey is correct, the hunter they pointed to is out and goes back to the main group hungry. Make sure the prey is not cheating and randomly pointing. If no one is able sneak up onto the prey, have them talk about how they could be quieter. Have them try again. Remind them that a lot of animals have better hearing than humans. Students take turns being both prey and hunters. SOUND OFF - Discussion Questions How easy is it to sneak up on prey? Who was able to be the quietest? Can you hear what is around you if you are making noise?

4 TERRESTRIAL SOUND Hunter Hike Activity Worksheet Peeling Away Sound Round 1 - Write or draw what you hear. Round 2 - Write or draw sounds that are natural or a potential meal for you. Round 3 - Write or draw sounds that are man-made or a danger to you. Did you hear more sounds as you practiced? What did you learn being a coyote or hunter? How would your life be different if you needed to hunt for your food instead of going to the grocery store?

5 TERRESTRIAL SOUND Hunter Hike Extension Activity Worksheet Sneaking Up on Prey How easy was it to sneak up on your prey? What did you do to sneak up your prey? What do you think animals do when their habitat (the place they naturally live) becomes noisy? When we are loud, how does this affect predator and prey?