The National Zoo in Washington, DC has just received three new animals: Gerry the giraffe, Bob the polar bear, and Emmy the elephant. You and your team have been chosen by FONZ (Friends of the National Zoo) to help design habitats for these new additions. To assist you in this task, your team will explore several sources to gather information to construct the best habitat possible. When your team is finished, you will present your findings to FONZ in the form of a Power Point presentation and diorama.

Go to: Step 1 | Step 2 | Step 3 | Step 4 | Step 5

Learning Activities: In this project, you will learn about the habitats of giraffes, polar bears, and elephants by:

  • Reading an article about the habitats of giraffes, polar bears, and elephants.
  • Researching web sites to investigate the habitats of these animals.

You will also learn about area and perimeter by:

  • Completing math activities to calculate area and perimeter.

Objectives: Working in your group on an assigned animal and habitat, you will show what you learned by doing the following:

  • Produce a detailed report about the habitat of your assigned animal.
  • Create a Power Point presentation to share your findings with the class and FONZ.
  • Constructing a diorama of your animal's habitat.
  • Submitting completed math activities.

STEP 1: Planning to Organize Information

Since you are creating a detailed report and constructing a diorama, you'll need to organize your information. To help you with this, be sure you look for answers to the following questions about the animal's habitat for which you've been assigned:

  • Physical description of your animal's habitat (Be sure to include pictures and/or drawings).
  • Where in the world is your animal normally found?
  • What does it feed on?
  • What impact have humans had on your animal's survival?
  • How will captivity affect your animal?
  • Will there be any difficulties recreating your animal's habitat here in the Washington DC area?
  • Why is it important to protect these species?

STEP 2: Researching Your Animal's Habitat

Before you begin your search, you should have an understanding of the following words "habitat, area, perimeter, endangered and extinct".

The following web sites will give you some of the information you will need. You may also use other resources such as World Book multimedia encyclopedia and your school library.
Animal research links:

Zoo Links:

Record all of your findings using the provided Microsoft Word document. This will make it easier to transfer your information into your Power Point.

STEP 3: Create Your Power Point Presentation

Design a presentation that highlights your findings. Be sure you include the following:

  • Background information about your team's animal
  • The major components of your animal's habitat focusing on food and shelter.
  • Any special needs that your animal will have living in the DC area.

STEP 4: Create Your Diorama

Design a diorama that best depicts your animal's habitat. Be sure you include the following:

  • A representation of the kinds of things your assigned animal eats.
  • A representation of the kind of shelter your animal would need.
  • Labels on all parts of your diorama.

Use a shoe box along with various arts and crafts materials to recreate your animal's habitat. Other materials can be retrieved from your teacher.

STEP 5: Complete the Performance Task

After completing steps 1-4, your team should request a copy of the "Planning a Zoo" performance task. Your team members can work on the task together. The task should be turned in the day you are scheduled to give your presentation. It can be downloaded here.

This lesson is designed for students to solve authentic problems. It is loosely based on the web quest found here: Zelda's Zany Zoo