Last updated: February 26, 2021
Lesson Plan
Spotted Salamander Crossing
- Grade Level:
- Upper Elementary: Third Grade through Fifth Grade
- Subject:
- Science,Social Studies
- Lesson Duration:
- 60 Minutes
- State Standards:
- 3rd Grade (Science: 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d, 3e) (Social Studies: 2g, 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d)
4th Grade (Science: 3c) (Social Studies: 2c, 3f)
Essential Question
What can I do to help protect spotted salamanders?
Objective
Enduring Understanding: People can help correct past incidences of societal growth that were harmful to the environment.
The students will learn:
1) the life cycle of the spotted salamander
2) where it lives
3) the life needs of the spotted salamander
4) how humans influence the spotted salamander life cycle
5) how citizens can positively contribute to an environmental problem.
Background
To download full lesson plan please email us at natr_education@nps.gov
The spotted salamander is indigenous to the areas surrounding the Natchez Trace Parkway. When the salamanders breed, they usually return to the same vernal pond from which they hatched. Unfortunately for some populations, this presents a hazard as the Natchez Trace Parkway is in between their forest habitat and the vernal breeding ponds. In the spring during the first few warm rains, the salamanders migrate en masse to the vernal pools. This means that many of them are crossing the road at the same time. Unfortunately, many are killed during this reproductive migration. As time passes, the salamander population may be affected. They are not an endangered or threatened species, but they are a species that has been in Mississippi for as long as anyone knows.
Preparation
Included in the lesson plan are:
1.) Spotted Salamander Fact Sheet
2.) Spotted Salamander Crossing Map
3.) Spotted Salamander Life Stages Photos
4.) Life Stages Notes Sheet
5.) Life Stages Worksheet
6.) Life Stages Worksheet Answer SheetStudents will also need:
7.) Poster making materials
Materials
Procedure
Student Instruction: The students will learn about the life stages of the Spotted Salamander and put the life stages in the correct sequence. They may also color the page appropriately. The students will study the map and discuss the plight of the salamanders. The students will create a poster to advertise the problem and they may present a possible solution.
Student Task: Students will participate in a teacher lead class discussion about the needs and characteristics of the spotted salamander and then complete the Life Stages worksheet. They will look at the map and discuss the effect of living on one side of the Natchez Trace and laying eggs in pools on the opposite side. Have the students look at the map. Explain to them that it is a picture taken from above, as if the photographer were in an airplane. Have them locate the Natchez Trace Parkway, the neighborhood, the forested area and the letters showing where the spotted salamanders live and where they lay their eggs. The salamander live at “A” and breed at “B”.
Vocabulary
salamander, metamorphosis, Amphibian, spotted salamander, adaptations, community service, natchez trace parkway, resource protection, animal protection, animal population, vernal pool, instinct, gills, cold-blooded, larva