Brainstorming the meaning of endangered/extinct species Science small group Ask students to form groups of 3-4. Write the words endangered and extinct on the board. Ask groups of students to brainstorm the meaning of each word. Students may give example of endangered or extinct animals, as well as what makes an animal be endangered or become extinct. After 5-10 minutes, open the discussion to the entire class and come up with a definition for each word. Discussing the near extinction of humpback whales Science, Social Studies class Show students different soaps, such as liquid/solid soaps, soaps of different shapes, colors and scents. Ask students why people use soap (wash hands, hair, dishes, laundry, etc) and when they use it. Tell students that in the old days, soap was made out of whale fat, and particularly from the fat of humpback whales. These whales were so hunted at the turn of the 19th century that they nearly died out. Today, worldwide there remains only about 30,000 humpback whales out of the original 150,000. Brainstorm and discuss with students the reasons why humpback whales were almost extinct, such as the fact that because they are slow swimmers (7mph), they were easy targets for sailors with harpoons; indiscriminate killings (babies, pregnant or nursing mothers, etc.); and the lack of time to reproduce (humpbacks give live birth to a young every three to seven years). Relate the story of the humpback whale to that of the Galapagos turtles. How is the situation similar, and how is it different? As a side/follow-up activity, you may want to make soap with the children, after explaining that humpbacks have the status of endangered species and are therefore protected from killing. Soaps are now made with different ingredients, such as glycerin. Download a glycerin-based soap recipe from the Internet (search: soap glycerin recipe). Finding the Galapagos on the map through commands in Spanish [Language Arts class Review or practice with students the words for direction in Spanish. When students are comfortable saying the directions to each other as commands, project a map of Central/South America onto the white screen or wall. It is important that the map be fairly enlarged. Ask for a student volunteer, and blindfold him/her. Have the student turn on himself/herself 2 or 3 times, and give him/her directions to get close to the projected map.  Turn the command giving to the students. They need to help the blindfolded student touch the Galapagos Islands with their finger through commands in Spanish. Once the Islands have been touched, or after 5 minutes of playing, blindfold another student, until all students have had a turn. This activity can also be done in the computer lab: pair students at each computer. Bring up a map of Central/South America on each screen. Have one blindfolded student follow the directions that his/her partner gives in Spanish in order to point the mouse on the Galapagos Islands. Making a Galapagos turtles booklet Language Arts, Social Studies individual Help students create a booklet by taking one colored and ten white 8.50 x 11 in. sheets of paper. Students will fold the stack of sheets in half with the colored sheet on the outside and staple the crease twice. Have students write Galapagos Turtles on the booklet cover and illustrate it. Have them write their names on the inside cover. On the first white page, have students trace a map of The Galapagos islands, and place/label the capital and major cities. As the unit unfolds, have students fill out the remaining pages with activities, drawings and writings about the Galapagos turtles. Making a Galapagos board game Science, Art/PE/Music small group, class This activity can be started at the beginning of the unit, and students may be collecting pieces of information to add to the game as the unit unfolds. The games can also be played at the end of the unit as an evaluation of children’s learning. Let students form groups of three or four, and let them brainstorm the kind of game they want to create. Students should first submit a contract to you detailing the type of game, the role of each participant and the principles of the game.  Following the contract, have students create the game within the following 2 weeks. The types of games students may be interested in creating can be modeled after ‘Pictionary’ type games, Trivial Pursuit type games, Clue type games, etc. Set aside one class period to play the games. Let students play and switch games, keeping a 5 to 10 minute period for the collegial evaluation of all the games. Students will collegially evaluate the games using a rubric and their critical judgment; the students whose game is being evaluated are not to participate in the evaluation. Understanding the relationship between animals and environment Science class Brainstorm with students the different environments that exist in the Galapagos Islands, such as sea, sea line, rocks, sand, bushes, forest, desert, etc. Write them on the board. Show pictures of Galapagos animals. Ask students to guess which environment each animal is most likely to inhabit. Write students’ answers on board. When all animals have been placed in one environment, ask students to form small groups. Ask each group to look at one or several environments and the animals that inhabit them, and to try to find common traits in animals that correspond to their Galapagos environment. As a class, go over groups’ brainstorming, and come to a common understanding of the relationship between environment and animals. Making a Galapagos terrarium Science, Art/PE/Music individual This activity is a home project. Students are to research the natural habitat of one animal native to the Galapagos. This animal may be extinct or endangered. Ask students to recreate this habitat on a small scale, using a standard size aquarium or shoebox, leaves/bushes, water, sand/soil, etc. Any art/craft techniques can be used to create this terrarium; however, a combination of one- and three-dimensional artwork is recommended. Making a poem about the Galapagos turtles Language Arts class, individual Brainstorm with students words that relate to endangered species, turtles in general, as well as Lonesome George in particular. Write them out on the board or on a transparency, and go over them several times with the students. Ask students to orally make up a poem using three or more of these words. Assist students in writing these poems into their turtle books. Have them decorate their poems. Ask students to record these oral poems on audiotape or directly into sound files (digital format). Post the poems on the class website as well as into the students’ individual folders. Drawing the life cycle of a Galapagos turtle Science, Art/PE/Music individual After having studied the turtles for a few days or weeks into the unit, ask students to pick their favorite turtle, and to draw and color the life cycle of that turtle. Students can draw the life cycle in their Galapagos turtles booklet, make a mobile, make a 3-D paper maché, etc. Making a Lonesome George picture book Art/PE/Music, Language Arts individual Have students go to the provided websites and collect pictures of Lonesome George. These pictures can be in digital format or they can be printed on paper. Depending on the nature of the picture book (paper or virtual), have students recreate the story of Lonesome George either in a presentation software such as Hyperstudio or PowerPoint, or on paper. Captions describing Lonesome George’s life must accompany the pictures. Brainstorming what it would feel like to be the last person on earth Language Arts class, individual Ask students to brainstorm what it would feel like to be the last person on earth. Have them write individually one or two paragraphs about the issue,  with the expressed task of communicating their feelings to the reader. Ask student volunteer to read their stories. Ask students for feedback as to the feelings conveyed. Collect, evaluate and place into students’ folders. Making a life-size paper maché of Lonesome George Art/PE/Music, Science class, individual Help students measure and draw the outline of Lonesome George’s shell on butcher paper. Using a large exercise ball and cardboard, provide support for the paper maché. Once the shell has dried, have students paint it to the colors of Lonesome George’s shell. Have students try to recreate the patterns. Ask each student to draw and color an endangered animal from the Galapagos. Glue all drawings on Lonesome George’s shell. Have students research and be the expert on the animal they drew. Have them present their animal to the class and/or the school, providing information about their status, specie, reasons for endangerment, and steps to be taken to protect that animal. Making a lonesome George song Language Arts individual Brainstorm with students vocabulary for endangered species and Lonesome George, and write it on the board or on transparency. Play the tune “Old McDonald had a farm”. Ask students to play with words and tune, and create a song about Lonesome George on the tune. Ask each student in turn to sing their song. Record the songs either in analog or digital format. Help students write their songs on a colored sheet of paper and draw a picture of Lonesome George on it. Place the illustrated song and song files in students' folders and websites. Recreating Lonesome George’s story Language Arts class After having studied the issues surrounding Lonesome George and other endangered species, have students form a circle on the floor. If your students are not familiar with the round-robin technique, explain that each student must contribute information to a story and make sure that they do not end the story. Orally if your students are not yet very proficient in writing, or in writing for higher grades, have students recreate the story of Lonesome George through a round-robin. Student may and should embellishing the story where needed to make sure that they provide enough of a lead for the following student to continue the story. Provide a limit to the game, such as 3 rounds, or three turns per student. Weighing Lonesome George Math class Have students visit the provided websites and find out how much Lonesome George weighs. Ask students what weighs as much as Lonesome George. Do they understand the measurement? Give students examples of objects that weigh a lot and other that do not, such as a car, a feather, etc. Have students empty bags of play sand into two or three tubs until Lonesome George’s weight is obtained. Have students weigh themselves against the sand (John “weighs” one and a half bags of sands; Julie “weighs” one and three fourth). Make a table and compare students’ weight in sand with Lonesome George’s. Making clay turtle shells Art/PE/Music individual Obtain self-hardening clay or other types of clay if your school has the means to fire clay.  Have students either pinch clay, coil clay, or make a slab of clay and drape it over another bowl to create a turtle shell shape. When the clay is leather-hard (shiny and hardened yet still relatively flexible), have students delicately carve gouges into the clay to represent a particular endangered turtle’s pattern. Let the clay harden totally or fire. Have students decorate the shells either with clay paints for self-hardening clay or with glazes/engobes for firing clay. Make sure students understand and follow the pattern of a particular endangered turtle. Drawing a scaled map of the Galapagos Social Studies individual Provide students with rulers and graph paper. Print the map of the Galapagos on transparency paper and project onto a screen or white wall. Ask that students reproduce the map of the Galapagos on their own graph paper. Illustrating a map of the Galapagos Art/PE/Music, Social Studies individual Have students print out pictures of the Galapagos’ different animals as well as environments. Assign one picture per child. Ask that each child color his/her picture. Have each child glue his/her picture on the enlarged Galapagos map (see Drawing a map of the Galapagos) Writing an eulogy for Lonesome George Language Arts class, pair Brainstorm with students the purpose and circumstances of a eulogy, as well as the usual format and content of a eulogy. Brainstorm with students what could go into a eulogy for Lonesome George. Have students pair up, and work on developing their eulogy. Help them write it out. Writing an eulogy for Lonesome George Science individual Have students search, or provide them with plants native to the Galapagos. Have students draw the plant in their Galapagos booklet, color and label the parts. Counting the Galapagos Islands Social Studies, math individual Project the map of the Galapagos Islands or have students locate the Islands in a book. Ask them to locate the equator. Ask them to silently count how many islands are above the equator, on the equator, and below the equator. Hand out 3 Post-its per student and ask them to write the numbers they have come up with for each category (above, on, below the equator). On the board, make 3 columns, one for each category. Within each column, make sub-columns such as more than one, one, and less than one. Have students come to the board and stick their Post-its one above the other for the three categories and in the appropriate sub-column. For example, if a child counted that there were three islands above the equator, than he should have written 3 on his Post-it, and place it in the More than one sub-column within the Above the equator column. Explain to students that they have created a bar graph, and help them count how many are in each sub-category.