Animals Field Study Curriculum Outline
MESD Outdoor School > For Teachers > Animals Field Study Curriculum Outline

See also: Outdoor School Curriculum
Field Study Curriculum Outline: Animals • Plants •  Soil • Water
​Field Study Tour: Animals • Plants • Soil • Water 
Next Generation Science Standards: Animals • Plants • Soil • Water

Theme: COMPLEXITY
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Course Concept: ​ADAPTATION 
​Animals have characteristics that best suit them for a specific environment.
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Standards: 
  • The student will identify the specific adaptations of animals.
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Course Concept: ​CHARACTERISTICS 
​All animals have specific features that make them unique.
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Standards: 
  • The student will be able to identify animals and their characteristics using reference materials.
  • ​The student will locate and identify animals, signs and behaviors using reference materials.​​
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Course Concept: ​NICHE 
​Animals perform specific ecological roles within their ecosystem.
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Standards: 
  • The student will describe an animal’s niche and compare niches of different species.
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Course Concept: ​HOMEOSTASIS 
​An ecosystem seeks balance, and that balance is affected by the population of particular species or the introduction of a new species.
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Standards: 
  • The student will describe how animal populations tend toward homeostasis. 
  • The student will describe the factors that determine the carrying capacity of a habitat and how it impacts animal population cycles. 
  • The student will explain the significance of competition in an animal population.
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Theme: ECOSYSTEMS
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Course Concept: ​FLOW 
​Animals, water, soil and air produce flows within a corridor.
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Standards: 
  • The student will be able to explain an environmental flow.
  • ​The student will be able to give examples of animals that create environmental flows within a corridor.
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Course Concept: ​INTERACTIONS 
​An ecosystem is composed of complex interactions between animals, plants, water and soil.
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​Standards: 
  • The student will identify interactions within an ecosystem.
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Course Concept: ​COMMUNITY 
​Animals and plants occupy specific areas and function through interrelated trophic systems.
Standards: 
  • The student will explain the role that specific animals play in the natural processes of an area. 
  • The student will develop observations as to why certain animal communities exist on site.
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Course Concept: ​HABITAT 
​Animals require components of a natural environment including food, water, shelter and space. Humans are animals influenced by the same environmental factors that affect other living things.
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Standards: 
  • The student will list the elements of an animals habitat. 
  • The student will identify transitional zones as “edges” in an area. 
  • ​The student will explain how edges affect animal populations.
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Theme: IMPORTANCE
Course Concept: HUMAN DEPENDENCE 
​Individual and collective human behavior has profound and direct consequences on animal communities.​
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Standards: 
  • The student will discuss how human behavior affects animal populations.
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Course Concept: BIODIVERSITY 
​An ecosystem requires a variety of species to remain stable.
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Standards: 
  • The student will identify causes of threatened, endangered and sensitive animal populations. 
  • The student will explain why biodiversity is important.
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Course Concept: ENERGY FLOW 
​The flow of energy from the sun through plants to successively less numerous organisms.
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Standards: 
  • The student will describe the role animals play as consumers in nutrient cycling and energy flow. 
  • The student will describe ways animals impact plants, soil and water quality in an environment. 
  • The student will explain the flow of energy through the trophic levels of a terrestrial habitat (food pyramid). 
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​Course Concept: RESILIENCE 
​Animals are able to survive a variety of environmental pressures.
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Standards: 
  • The student will give examples of introduced species and discuss their ability to survive in various environments. 
  • The student will identify causes of threatened, endangered and sensitive animal populations.
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Course Concept: CAREER 
​The study of animals offers a wide range of career opportunities.​
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Standards: 
  • The student will complete tasks that wildlife biologists and population ecologists perform.
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​Animals Field Study Activities
The following activities are typical of a day on Animals Field Study at Outdoor School. Actual activities will vary by site and season.

Nutrient Cycle / Decomposition: Students examine decomposition and study the means by which nutrients are cycled through an ecosystem.

Adaptations Activities: Students identify adaptations of animals and describe how those adaptations help animals survive in their habitats. They use measurement and observations to identify animals using reference materials such as field guides.
The most common activities:
  • Pelts
  • Skulls
  • Horns, Antlers and Hooves
  • Birds
  • Live Animal Stations

Arthropod study: Students find and examine arthropods and discuss the role arthropods play in local ecosystems.

Food Web: Students demonstrate interrelationships among structures in an ecosystem.

Animal Signs Hike and Survey / Casting Animal Tracks: Students identify a wildlife-related question for inquiry and then survey the site for signs of wildlife and draw conclusions about presence and populations of animals.

Bear Game: Students use role-playing and simulation to explore concepts of carrying capacity and competition for food, water, shelter and space.

Oh Deer!: Students role play deer population cycles to discuss carrying capacity and wildlife population cycles.

Bird Observations: Students perform a bird population survey by counting and cataloging bird songs and observed birds.

Food Pyramid: Students study the numerical relations in a terrestrial food pyramid.

​Deadly Links: Students actively simulate the process of bioaccumulation of toxins in a wildlife population. Debrief discussion explores how human choices affect animal populations.