Wild and Crazy Life!
Field Introduction
Overview: Students explore the concept of wild and domestic, and review how they can enhance

Welcome to Monte Vista NWR

    Explain. . .

    1. Welcome to the Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge. You have been learning all about your senses and wildlife in your classroom, and today we are outside to learn more about wildlife and our senses during this time of year.
    2. In order for us to learn as much as we can and have fun at the same time, it is important for all of us to be on our best field trip behavior. Outline your own ground-rules for the day.

Wild or Tame Life?

    Do. . .

    1. I am going to say a phrase. In your seats I want you to act out the word I say with your hands, bodies and voices.
    2. Quiet like a good student
    3. Big like a large house
    4. Loud like a television
    5. Small like a mouse
    6. TAME, like your pet dog
    7. WILD, like a prowling mountain lion.
    8. Quiet like a hiding rabbit.

Ask. . .

  • How did we act when I said the word TAME? Listen to our owners, quiet, protective, fed by our owners
  • How did we act when I said WILD? Like animals, out of control, roaming where we wanted.

Explain. . .

  • Today we are going to use our WILD senses to learn more about WILD life, so we need to make sure all of us know the difference between wild and domestic life.
  • Two circles are set up in front of us. I am going to assign one for the WILDLIFE (put picture of bear in middle of one of the rope circles). The other circle is going to be DOMESTIC LIFE. I will then show you a picture, and I want each of you to answer WILD LIFE, DOMESTIC LIFE, or BOTH by moving to the right place in the circles. Where the two circles overlap is the BOTH area. Remember to be wild, an animal must find its own food, be unpredictable and not tamed by humans.

Do. . .

  • Show the various domestic and wildlife pictures and have students move to the corresponding place in the circles. Correct any misunderstandings and discuss some of their answers.
Time: 30 minutes

Location: Outdoors

Learner Outcomes:

  1. Students will be able to correctly categorize various pictures into WILD and DOMESTIC categories.
  2. Students will be able to correctly remember their animal senses: See the wild senses fox walking, eagle eyes, wolf nose and deer ears.

Vocabulary:

  1. Wild, tame, domestic, wildlife, wildlife refuge.

Materials

  1. Domestic and wild labels
  2. Pictures of various wild and domestic animals.
  3. Two ropes of equal size

Preparation

  1. In an open space, set up the ropes in the following configuration. (physical VEN diagram)