Education Poster

BASIC NEEDS 

Next Generation Science Standard: K-LS1-1 | Georgia Standards of Excellence: SKL1, S1L1  
What is that thing and what does it do? All research starts with a question. If you knew nothing about elephants, what would you guess an elephant’s trunk does? How do elephants’  trunks help them survive? How do their trunks make them alive? Using observation, we know that a trunk is a tool that allows elephants to meet their basic needs. Trunks can pick up items and carry food into their mouths for eating. Trunks suck up water and shoot it into the elephants’ mouths for drinking. Trunks are also strong enough and agile enough to pick leaves off branches or move heavy logs out of the way.   

Ask students to pretend they are elephants and have them design their own trunks. Knowing that they need to meet their basic needs, what would they use to replicate the functions of an elephant trunk? Search Zoo Atlanta’s YouTube page to watch videos of the elephants using their trunks and engaging with their habitat. Extend the lesson by putting the students’ designs to the test.   

Looking for more? Register for a ZooMobile program. Our “Beastly Basics” program explores the basic needs of animals as students discover different adaptations and characteristics that allow them to survive.

CLASSIFICATION 

NGSS: 2-LS4-1, 3-LS3-1   |  GSE: S2L1, S5L1, S7L1  

What is a mammal? In short, it is an animal that has fur or hair, often for protection from their environment. Elephants fit into this category and are the largest land mammals in the world. Though it can be hard to see, elephants have short wiry hairs along their bodies and patches of hair at the ends of their tails. Take a look at Zoo Atlanta’s African Elephant fact page for closer pictures of those hairs.   

Start a discussion with your class and compare different mammals to discover what features they have in common, or what makes a mammal a mammal. In addition to having hair or fur, mammals are also warm-blooded vertebrates (animals with a backbone) who give birth to live young and produce milk to feed their young. Younger students can create a chart to compare the life cycles of elephants and compare them to other species. Older students can create a chart with these comparisons to differentiate between mammals and the other four vertebrate classes: reptiles, birds, fish and amphibians. Zoo Atlanta’s animal pages can be used to learn more about different vertebrates.   

Additionally, while looking at the hairs on the pictures of the African elephants from the fact page, students can look for differences between the elephants pictured. Look at their tails, ears, tusks and trunks to find some differences and decide what advantages each has that might help them survive better than another animal of their species.   

Students can use what they learned to create a diagram that shows the differences in the types of body coverings of different animals. To bring your lessons to life, bring your students to the Zoo for our Zoo Challenge program, Creature Classification, where students will apply what they have learned to solve a classic case of “whodunit!” Or let the Zoo bring classification to you in “What Vertebrate am I,” a popular ZooMobile program!

ADAPTATIONS 

Next Generation Science Standards: 3-5-ETS1 | Georgia Standards of Excellence: S5L2  
Look at how an elephant’s trunk moves. It can extend and reach far and high as well as retract and hang down short, all without any bones! This is an incredible adaptation that allows elephants to reach areas other animals might not be able to reach to acquire food and at the same time, not step on their own trunks. This ability assists elephants in overcoming obstacles that could be in the way of their survival. The physical trunk is considered an inherited characteristic, or a trait that was passed down from the parents.

Where elephants find food is an example of an acquired characteristic, as knowledge of their habitat, where to find food, and how to evade predators, is passed down over time from individual to individual.   

Using this elephant research as an example, students can use Zoo Atlanta’s animal pages to choose an animal, identify inherited characteristics that aid in the species’ survival, and define a design problem hindering that species. Explore that species' basic needs and threats to aid in that process. Using that knowledge, create a unique solution to the original design problem. Be creative in the new adaptations!  

Learn more! Join Zoo Educators on a Wild Walk - a one-hour guided tour of the Zoo to see animals up close and in action. Make observations and learn about Zoo Atlanta’s research and conservation work.   

Interdependence 

NGSS: 3-LS4-3, MS-LS2-3, HS-LS2-6   |  GSE: S2L1, S4L1, S7L4, SB5, SEV1, SEV2  
African elephants play an important role in their savanna ecosystem by shaping landscapes and dispersing seeds. They are considered keystone species because of the important services they provide to other organisms that live within the savanna ecosystem.   

Ask your students to spend time learning more about African elephants and other African Savanna species. Once they have created a list of plants and animals, ask them to determine what role(s) each species plays within the ecosystem (predator-prey, mutualism, parasitism, etc.). Create a food web to illustrate the relationships between species. And then ask students to remove the African elephant from their ecosystem and make predictions about what will happen to the savanna ecosystem.  

Looking for more connections? Bring your students to the Zoo on a Self-guided Field Trip and utilize the Teacher Resource Explore Guides for your visit. Or sign-up for an Educator led Wild Walk or Zoo Challenge program.   
 
Structure and Function 

Next Generation Science Standards:  1-LS1-1, K-2-ETS1-2, 3-5-ETS1-2, MS-ETS1-2, HS-ETS1-1. HS-PS2-6| Georgia Standards of Excellence: SKP1, S2E3, S8P1, SZ4  
As illustrated through the research in the Education Poster, there is still much to learn about the structure and function of elephant trunks. The same is true of other species in nature – plants and animals. Nature is often the best problem solver and inspires solutions to everyday problems. For example, flamingo beaks inspired efficient water filters based on the structure and function of how flamingos can strain and filter water when they feed. What will elephant trunks inspire in the future?   

Have your students look to nature to make observations and inspire solutions to problems. Visit Georgia Tech’s Center for Biologically Inspired Design (CBID) site for teacher and student resources to begin looking at nature in new and wonderful ways. Introduce your students to the engineering design process and have them develop their own animal-inspired product. Have students practice developing solutions to real-world problems by using natural solutions. Students can work collaboratively to make a stronger design and perhaps, their design could inspire future research!  

Looking for more ways to connect and discover? Take a trip to the Zoo without getting on a bus and sign-up for “That Animal Does What?,” a Virtual Zoo Exploration program that explores research at Zoo Atlanta and the ways animals have inspired new technologies and breakthroughs in science.  

Life Cycles

Next Generation Science Standard: 3-LS1-1  

Georgia Standard of Excellence: SKL2, S5L1 

From eggs to adulthood, reptiles have quite an interesting life cycle. Use this year’s education poster to start a conversation about the life cycle of an eastern indigo snake. Start by looking at the top, right image of the poster. There you will see a newly hatched snake around a few oval-shaped eggs. How are these eggs similar to eggs that you have seen? How are they different? 

Have students make a sketch of the life cycle of a snake. Use the poster and Zoo Atlanta’s animal pages to see up-close images of the indigo snake and their eggs. From there, have students complete a sketch of the phases of development. Extend the lesson by having students compare the life cycle of a snake to the life cycles of birds, amphibians and mammals! 

Looking for more? Register for a Virtual Wild Walk! Our “Cycle of Life” program showcases the life cycles of various animals at Zoo Atlanta!  

Classification

NGSS: 2-LS4-1, 3-LS3-1 

GSE: S2L1, S5L1, S7L1 

What makes a reptile a reptile? For one, reptiles are covered in scales, which help protect them in their habitats. Compare the scales of the indigo snake to the body coverings of other animals. For a close-up picture of scales, check out Zoo Atlanta’s eastern indigo snake fact page. Have students closely look at the scales and compare and contrast them to the body coverings of other animals. 

From there, start a conversation with your students about all of the fascinating characteristics of the reptile class! Reptiles are a member of the vertebrate class, meaning that they have backbones. There are four other classes of vertebrates: fish, birds, mammals and amphibians. Each of these classes have unique characteristics. Have students create a diagram that indicates the characteristics of each of the five vertebrate classes. Use the animal pages from Zoo Atlanta’s website to find images and facts about each of the vertebrate classes! 

Students can use what they learned to create a diagram that shows the differences in the types of body coverings of different animals. To bring your lessons to life, bring your students to the Zoo for our Zoo Challenge program, Creature Classification, where students will apply what they have learned to solve a classic case of “whodunit!” Or let the Zoo bring classification to you in “What Vertebrate am I,” a popular ZooMobile program!  

Georgia Native Species & Interdependence

NGSS: 2-LS4-1, MS-LS2-2 

GSE: S7L4, SEC3 

Georgia’s diverse regions are home to a variety of animals specially adapted to the region in which they live. Several of these species have symbiotic relationships in which they depend on one another for survival.  

Eastern indigo snakes have a special connection to the gopher tortoise and can often be found in the burrows of the tortoise. In fact, the indigo snakes that are released back into the wild by Zoo Atlanta are released into gopher tortoise burrows! That way, the indigo snakes already have a ready-made home to move into! 

Visit Zoo Atlanta’s website to learn more about indigo snakes and their symbiotic relationships,   and watch our Zoo2You on the gopher tortoise! From there, have students determine what type of symbiotic relationship exists between gopher tortoises and eastern indigo snakes. Ask students to take on the role of Zoo exhibit designer and create habitat signage for both the gopher tortoise and the indigo snake to explain their relationship! For even more fun learning about the very special animals that call Georgia home, visit Zoo Atlanta for the “Discover Georgia” Zoo Challenge program.  

Food Webs

NGSS: 3-LS4-3, MS-LS2-3, HS-LS2-6 

GSE: S3L1, S4L1, SB5, SEV1, SEC1 

Ecosystems are dependent on a delicate balance of species. Unfortunately, due to habitat fragmentation, the wild populations of indigo snakes are dwindling. How does the indigo snake fit into that delicate ecosystem balance, and what would happen if there were no more indigo snakes?  

Have students visit Zoo Atlanta’s website to learn more about the indigo snake and what it eats. After researching the animal’s diet, have students create a food web and then present to the class on what would happen if indigo snakes were removed from the ecosystem. 

Human Impact on the Environment

NGSS: K-ESS3-3, HS-LS2-7 

GSE: S2E3, SZ4 

Eastern Indigo snakes have quite a varied diet of rodents, insects, amphibians, birds and even venomous snakes such as rattlesnakes, cottonmouth snakes, and copperheads. For this reason, they are quite beneficial in keeping backyard habitats safe from these venomous snakes. However, due to habitat loss and a general fear of snakes, indigo snake populations have been decreasing in the wild.  

Have students research the indigo snake on Zoo Atlanta’s website and do their own research to learn how the indigo snake’s habitat has become fragmented and their populations have declined due to the fragmentation, as well as general fear of snakes. Have students create a Fact Vs. Myth presentation on snakes to explain their importance in the ecosystem. Students can even create campaign posters and presentations to inform the public on the benefits of having snakes, including eastern indigo snakes, in their yards and present to their school community.