Model Lesson Plans

WWF Wild Classroom

Looking for a ready-to-go robust lesson plan on a particular topic? We’ve pulled together various Wild Classroom resources from our Curriculum Library to create a collection of prepackaged, multi-step lesson plans spanning topics in wildlife, ecosystems and habitats, and human impact on the environment. Choose a topic from the tabs below and select one or more activities from each of the four lesson plan parts.

Parts of each plan

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Warm up
Kick off each lesson with an article, video, or presentation from our warm-up resources.

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Tech Time
Use videos, apps, and podcasts to incorporate technology into your lesson.

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Activities
Choose from our subject content activities to practice ELA, social studies, STEM, and math skills.

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Assessment
Wrap up with fun assessments like puzzles and games to challenge students to show what they have learned.

Topics

tiger
Take a walk on the wild side as we dive into the captivating world of tigers and the challenges they face. In this plan, students will read a story about a rehabilitated tiger, practice persuasive writing, and create a tiger mask to embrace their own individuality.
  • Classroom Presentation: Tigers
    Reading: Uporny’s Story
    Begin class with the presentation about tiger conservation. Introduce students to Uporny’s Story about a tiger who was rehabilitated and studied in the wild. Ask volunteer students to share why tigers are so valued and why we should care about their survival.
  • Video: All About Tigers
    Online Game: A Tiger’s Tale Trivia Game
    Review the basics about tigers by watching the brief video. Use the trivia game and worksheet to discuss the benefits that tigers provide to their ecosystems.
  • Writing: Do the “Write” Thing for Tigers
    Craft: I’m Proud of My Stripes
    Guide students in a writing activity in which they will compose a letter to a friend or family member about why protecting tigers is important and what theycan do to help tigers survive. Encourage students to celebrate their artistic and creative individuality while learning about tigers’ physical characteristics and creating a unique tiger mask.
  • Kahoot!: All About Tigers
    Word Puzzle: Tiger
    Put your students’ tiger knowledge to the test with a Kahoot trivia game or give each student a printed word puzzle to wrap up class. Note that each student or small group will need a device to play the Kahoot game.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND RESOURCES

sea turtle
Let’s dive in and meet one of the ocean’s most magnificent creatures, the sea turtle, and discover the role they play in maintaining the health of our oceans. In this lesson, students can watch a video from a WWF coral expert, create an ecotourism brochure, or play a game to model sea turtle behavior.
  • Classroom Presentation: Sea Turtles
    Start class with a presentation about sea turtle species, the journeys that sea turtles follow over their lives, the importance of sea turtles, and how we can help them. Verbally quiz students to recall information about sea turtles and correct any misconceptions.
  • Video: All About Sea Turtles
    Recorded Livestream: Marine Turtles: Why Are They So Cool and What Can We Do to Protect Them?
    Review the basics of sea turtle conservation with the short video or go more in-depth with the recorded livestream. Students will get the chance to meet Ceci Fisher and Michael Jensen from WWF’s Coral Triangle Program and take a journey through the world of marine turtles, exploring their unique behaviors and delving into the challenges they face. Download the supplemental materials linked in the video description for additional discussion questions and activities.
  • Social Studies: Turtles on Vacation
    Active Game: How Low Can They Go?
    Guide students in practicing their research and writing as they learn about ecotourism around the world and create travel brochures featuring sea turtles. Alternatively, get kids moving with a sea turtle twist on the limbo and discuss the zones of the ocean and the diving abilities of various marine species, especially the leatherback sea turtle. Afterward, ask students to consider why the ability to dive is such an important adaptation for sea turtle survival and share their thoughts with the class.
  • Kahoot!: All About Sea Turtles
    Activity Book: Sea Turtle
    Word Puzzle: Sea Turtles
    Wrap up class with some fun! Split students into small groups to practice teamwork and play a Kahoot review game. Each group will need a device to play. For an independent alternative, use the word puzzle or the activity book with mazes, stories, jokes, and more information about sea turtles.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND RESOURCES

polar bear
Learn how the largest bear in the world has adapted to its unique environment of the Arctic but is also threatened by humans as your students listen to a podcast, write a journal entry, and create a plaster paw print.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND RESOURCES

freshwater dolphin
Learn about freshwater dolphins as you explore their unique adaptations and behaviors and the importance of protecting their fragile habitats. In this lesson plan, students can create mobiles that represent the Amazon ecosystem, conduct research, create flipbooks, and play a game to mimic dolphin echolocation.
  • Classroom Presentation: Freshwater Dolphins
    Start class with the presentation to introduce students to freshwater dolphins, threats to their survival, and why they matter. Once students are familiar with freshwater dolphins, ask student volunteers to share what facts they found the most interesting and lead a brief discussion comparing what students already knew about marine dolphins to what they just learned about freshwater dolphins.
  • Video: River dolphin populations have plummeted by 73% since the 1980s
    Show the video on the dramatic decline in freshwater dolphin populations over the past several decades to provide students with insight into the critical challenges faced by these animals. After watching the video, ask students in pairs to recall two or three human actions that are threatening freshwater dolphin populations and brainstorm an action that people can take to protect these unique animals.
  • Craft: The Umbrella Effect
    Social Studies: Dolphin Geography Flip Books
    Active Group Game: Food or Foe?
    Guide students in creating hanging mobiles showcasing an Amazon River ecosystem, emphasizing the important role of dolphins as indicators of overall river health. Lead students in conducting research and creating flipbooks that distinguish between different freshwater dolphin species, identify their geographical habitats and their threats, and explore other living things that rely on freshwater. For a more active alternative, play a dolphin-themed twist on Marco Polo to model how freshwater dolphins rely on echolocation.
  • Kahoot!: All About Freshwater Dolphins
    Word Puzzle: Freshwater Dolphins
    Conclude the lesson with a Kahoot game to reinforce key concepts about freshwater dolphins. Each student or small group will need a device to play. For an independent option, students can complete a fun word puzzle activity on their own to apply their newfound knowledge of freshwater dolphins.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND RESOURCES

elephant
From African savannas to southern Asian forests, these unique animals engineer the landscapes of their ecosystems and support wildlife around them. In this lesson, meet the earth’s largest land mammals and learn how students can participate in their conservation by reading nonfiction, teaching their peers, and meeting an elephant expert.
  • Classroom Presentation: All About Elephants
    Begin the lesson by presenting the slides about elephant facts. Once students have built a basic understanding of elephants, verbally quiz students to see what they recall about elephant lifestyles, diets, threats to elephants, and why we should care.
  • Recorded Livestream: African Elephants: From Their Tusks to Their Poop
    Play the video and learn from WWF’s Director of African Species Conservation Bas Huijbregts about the importance of elephants as ecosystem engineers, how human pressures threaten them, and even some surprising information about their poop! Be sure to download the supplemental resources linked in the video description for pre- and post-video questions.
  • Team Research: Trade Knowledge, Not Ivory
    Reading and Writing: The Ranger Diaries
    Guide students in conducting mini-research projects about the geographical, economic, historical, and civic aspects of the ivory trade and in teaching their peers about their findings. Build your learners’ creative writing skills as they read informational text and compose a journal entry from the point of view of a wildlife ranger.
  • Word Puzzle: Elephant
    Kahoot!: All About Elephants
    How much have your students learned about elephants? Test what they remember by playing the trivia game as a class or having students complete the word puzzle independently. Each student or team will need a device to play Kahoot.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND RESOURCES

monarch butterfly
Prepare to be amazed as your students learn about monarch butterflies, their remarkable life cycles, epic migrations, and the vital role they play as pollinators with resources like a webinar with a butterfly expert, a social studies activity about illustrating the monarch migration, and fun review games.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND RESOURCES

monarch butterfly
Pollinators play an essential role in maintaining beautiful, healthy grasslands, but humans rely on them too! Use articles, games, a scavenger hunt, and other activities to help your students learn who pollinators are, why they matter so much, and how we can change our actions to keep these bees, bats, birds, and butterflies safe.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND RESOURCES

black-footed ferret
Meet the black-footed ferret, one of North America’s most endangered mammals. The resources included in this lesson plan will help your learners understand how these small but fierce creatures serve as keystone species that support the health and biodiversity of the Northern Great Plains.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND RESOURCES

pangolin
Learn about pangolins, the world’s most trafficked mammal, their unique characteristics, and how you can help save them from extinction. Students will also meet Lin the pangolin and learn more about how we can understand our emotions and embrace what makes us unique.
  • Web Story: What is a pangolin?
    Before beginning, ask students to share anything they already know about pangolins. Teach your students the basics about pangolins by reading the web story aloud and asking what new information they learned.
  • Recorded Livestream: Protecting the Pangolins
    Video: Top facts about pangolins
    Get to know pangolins—the most trafficked mammal in the world—as WWF's wildlife trafficking expert, Giavanna Grein, shares some of the unique characteristics of pangolins and why they are often a target for wildlife poachers. Download additional materials linked in the video description for discussion and assessment questions. If you are short on time, watch the “Top facts about pangolins” video for quick information about pangolins.
  • Interactive Presentation: Lin the Pangolin 
    Lead students through an interactive presentation where they will meet Lin the pangolin and learn about what it means to be unique, lean on our friends for support, and understand the perspectives of others. Reflect on the social and emotional learning lesson about Lin and ask student volunteers to share a time when they felt like Lin.
  • Science Vocabulary Handout: Lin the Pangolin Student Activity Pack (K-2 or 3-5)
    Review any new vocabulary and wrap up the lesson with a vocabulary matching exercise (K-2) or short essay exercise about wildlife trafficking (3-5).

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND RESOURCES

bison
Get ready to explore the world of bison, the threats they face, and how they maintain balance in grassland ecosystems. In this lesson, students can meet a member of the Sicangu Lakota Nation to learn about the history of bison in indigenous cultures, create personalized bison paper masks, and test their knowledge with a trivia game.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND RESOURCES