Should we allow wolves to resettle in Vermont?

 A WebQuest for Vermont Educators

Designed by Joyce Morris, Ed.D., Research Assistant Professor, The University of Vermont


Teacher's Page
    There are many ways to adapt this lesson to different content areas and grades although interdisciplinary learning is best, I have tried to identify some ways to focus on different subject areas. II suggest a visit to Project Wise created for middle school students at http://wise.berkeley.edu. You need to join but it is free. Follow the links to curriculum and then to Wolves in your backyard.
    
  • Art:
    • Examine different paintings and pictures of wolves. What impression do you get about the message the picture or painting is depicting?
    • Have students draw pictures of the wolf depicting a more favorable image.
    • Use pictures to tell a different story about the wolf.
    • Draw the food chain of the Wolf and its predator/prey relationship

  • Music:
    • What songs do we have that depict wolves? (Werewolf of London, Whose Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf, Peter and the Wolf)
    • What do their lyrics suggest?
    • What kind of music would you use to express your feelings about wolves?
    • What instruments remind of you how a wolf runs? 

  • Mathematics:
    • Examine the rate of wolf population growth in Yellowstone where data has been compiled. Turn this into a graph.
    • Predict what the wolf population growth in Vermont might become without any controls.
    • Compare dogs and wolves  in terms of size and weight.
    • Make a graph of wolves food sources.
    • How fast wolves run compared to other species?
    • How much meat can a wolf eat at one time compared to its weight? How does this compare to humans?
    • How many wolves can live in one area?

  • Social Studies:
    • How have different cultures depicted wolves?
    • What have been the political implications of allowing wolves to naturally reproduce and resettle in different places?
    • What geographical barriers control wolf population?
    • Historically, what have been the reactions of people to wolves?
    • How do wolves effect the economy?
    • What are the hunting laws where you live?

  • Language Arts:
    • Read stories about wolves from different cultures.
    • What myths are there about wolves?
    • Write editorials and opinion papers with accurate information about wolves.
    • Change the endings of some of our common anti-wolf fairy tales to create a different image of the wolf. 
    • Use digital story telling to promote a different image of the wolf or to  create an emotional response to wolves.

  • Science:
    • What are some facts about the behavior of wolves? 
    • How long do wolves live?
    • How do wolves interact with each other?
    • Describe the predator/prey relationship of wolves.
    • What is their effect on the "balance of nature"?
    • How do wolves differ in the way they impact the deer population in contrast to human hunters? What are implications of interfering with the balance of nature?
    • What evidence is there that wolves eat humans?
    • Describe the wolves life cycle
    • How do wolves and dogs differ? How are they similar?
    • Use a visual mapping tool (Inspiration or http://wise.berkeley.edu/student/topFrame.php?projectID=4595&gotoStep=92120) to draw a wolf food web.


Introduction   ||  Task  ||  Process  ||  Resources  ||  Evaluation  ||  Conclusion  ||  Credits   || Teacher's Page

Last updated on October 9, 2006.