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Berkshire Mammals

Special Education

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Program Description and Frameworks
Program Outline
Key Terms and Concepts
Classroom Activities
Print and Web Resources
Go to Berkshire Backyard Gallery Page

Click here for printable version of all resources listed above

Explore the characteristics of mammals through tracks, scat, furs, and skulls. Where do they live? What do they eat? How do they raise their young? These questions, and more, are discussed through an interactive, hands-on learning experience.

Location: Berkshire Backyard
Length: 45 minutes for each session; 3 sessions in the series
Grades: Special Education

Massachusetts Frameworks
Science and Technology/Engineering Strand 2; Standard 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8

New York Standards
Standard 4 Science The Living Environment 1, 2, 5, 6

Session I

Introduction to Reptiles
An educator guides students through the gallery, as students observe and identify specimens of mammals found in the Berkshires. Then the group begins a discussion of the characteristics of mammals.

Importance of Fur
Students are introduced to one characteristic distinct to mammals: fur. Through hands-on discovery, students will learn how fur is important for protection, camouflage, and warmth. Students will also observe variations in animal furs and discuss their different advantages

Staying Warm
Students will learn that mammals are endothermic (warm-blooded) and control body temperature internally. Mammals are different from ectothermic (cold-blooded) animals like reptiles and amphibians, which use the environment to control body temperature.

Winter Survival
Students will learn how mammals can survive cold temperatures in winter by being active, hibernating, or sleeping periodically (torpor). They will also learn how a mammal's physiological responses, like shivering and goosebumps, help to keep them warm.

Session II

Review of Reptile Characteristics
Students will review the characteristics of reptiles and the five different reptilian groups: turtles, snakes, lizards, crocodilians, and tuataras.

Characteristics of Lizards
Through hands on discussion students will learn how lizards are unique.

Live Lizard Demonstrations
Students will observe three or more live lizards, representing different lizard species. Animals may include a leopard gecko, blue-tongued skink, a chameleon, or a pre-hensile tailed skink. Students will have the opportunity to touch these animals if the students are comfortable doing so.

Session III

Review
Time will be spent reviewing concepts from the previous visit.

Tracking
Using sample tracks, scat and other visual aids, students will discover what clues animals leave behind, even when they are no longer in sight.

Track Activity
Animal tracks and mammal pictures are used for a fun matching game.

Live Animal
Students either meet a live mammal, depending on availability, or participate in a hands-on activity.

Session III

Review
Time will be spent reviewing concepts from the previous visit.

Live Birth
Students will learn that mammals give birth to live babies and how this is different from other animals such as reptiles. We will also discuss why baby mammals stay with their parents before going out on their own.

Glands
Students will learn about the different glands that mammals have, including mammary, tear and sweat glands.

Teeth
An introduction to the different types of teeth that mammals can have and the three categories of eaters: carnivores (meat eaters), herbivores (plant eaters) and omnivores (plant and meat eaters).

Live Animal
Students either meet a live mammal, depending on availability, or participate in a hands-on activity.

Conclusion
We will conclude with a review of all the mammal characteristics discussed during the three sessions.

Note: Concepts covered will vary to meet the needs of each group. To ensure that your educator is aware of your group's specific needs, please fill out a pre-visit questionnaire before your visit.

• A mammal's fur provides warmth, protection, and, in many instances, camouflage.
• Mammals can be meat eaters, plant eaters, or both. Different mammals have different types of teeth that are adapted to eat certain types of food.
• We can study animals and their behaviors through direct observation and by studying clues like tracks, trails and scat that tell stories about an animal's activities.
• Mammals survive through the winter by hibernating, sleeping periodically, or being active.
• Mammals are endotherms. Mammals give birth to live babies, which stay with their parents before they can live on their own.
• Mammals can be separated into three categories based on the foods they eat: carnivores (meat eaters), herbivores (plant eaters), and omnivores (plant and meat eaters).

Key Terms Used During the Program
You may want to familiarize your students with the following terms before your visit to the museum.

Note: Key terms will vary to meet the needs of each group. To ensure that your educator is aware of your groups specific needs please fill out a pre-visit questionnaire before your visit.

• Camouflage
  an animal's ability to hide in their surroundings by blending in with the colors or patterns around them.
• Canines
  the pointed teeth (sometimes called fangs) used for holding prey, found next to the incisors of meat-eating animals.
• Carnivore
  an animal that eats meat.
• Countershading
  an animal's body coloring that camouflages them in different ways when viewed from above and below.
• Endotherm
  an animal that is able to regulate its body heat internally.
• Gland
  an organ of the body that secretes (produces and releases) a substance to be used in the body like tears or milk.
• Guard hair
  the long, topcoat of a mammal's pelt (fur).
• Herbivore
  an animal that eats plants.
• Hibernator
  an animal that hibernates through the winter; they enter a deep sleep, their breathing and heart rates slow down, and their body temperature decreases.
• Incisors
  the teeth in the front of the mouth used for cutting.
• Molars
  the flat teeth at the back of the mouth, used for grinding food.
• Omnivore
  an animal that eats plants and animals.
• Scat
  an animal's feces.
• Sleepers
  animals that sleep for periods of time during the winter (torpor), but wake to eat and defecate.
• Under hair
  the fuzzy coat found under the guard hair that helps to keep a mammal warm.
• Warning colors
  colors on an animal that signal to other animals that they are poisonous or that they have another dangerous defense mechanism.

Activities: Skill/Grade Level PreK - 2

What's Your Track?
As an introduction to animal tracks, students will make their own tracks by walking with painted feet. Examine them together as a class, and discuss the similarities and differences you observe. Click here for complete directions.

Camouflage!
Working in groups, ask the children to select two pieces of identical wallpaper. Have each child cut several shapes from one sheet and paste them onto the other sheet. These should be presented to the class when finished. From a distance, can the class identify how many shapes are pasted on? Which pattern group was most successful in hiding? Why? This will encourage students to look for patterns in nature that help animals to blend in with their surroundings.

For more on camouflage, see Living Landscapes: an Interdisciplinary Curriculum Guide. The Museum has limited copies that can be provided free of charge. E-mail us at education@berkshiremuseum.org.

Activities: Skill/Grade Level 3 - 5

To Be or Not To Be Eaten
Show students pictures of a predator and its prey. Some good examples of predator/prey relationships in Berkshire mammals include bobcat/snowshoe hare, fox/mouse, and coyote/rabbit. Discuss what adaptations help the predator to catch its prey, and what adaptations help the prey to survive. Ask students to redesign the prey so that it has a better chance of survival. Then redesign the predator. This pattern occurs in nature over time; if there is a change in one animal species, it affects that animal's predators and prey.This lesson was taken from Living Landscapes: an Interdisciplinary Curriculum Guide. If you are interested in Living Landscapes, the Museum has limited copies that can be provided free of charge. E-mail us at education@berkshiremuseum.org.

Viewing the Wild in Your Classroom
Students will enhance their observation skills as they watch a live animal over the web, seeing how it moves, eats, and interacts with its habitat. Click here for complete directions.

Activities: Skill/Grade Level 6 - 12

Mammal Habitat Observation
Take your students out on a nature walk to look for signs of mammal homes. Do you see those circular holes in the ground? Those aren't snake holes (snakes can't dig!) but most likely chipmunk homes. Look in natural grasses for rabbit runways - trampled down paths that rabbits repeatedly travel on. Look for sleeping areas - grasses that have been pressed down in a circular pattern - depending on the size they could be made by rabbits, foxes, bobcats, or deer. Winter is also a good time to look for mammal signs. Mammals that are active need to get out to find food. Look for nutshells and excavated dirt near the entrance to their dens. Even though many times mammals will hide when they hear us coming, we can still be alert to their presence through the signs they leave behind. Look up Stokes: Guide To Animal Tracking and Behaviorin the printed materials section as a reference for this activity.

Use the Berkshire Athenaeum's on-line catalogue to search for these print resources in Western/Central Massachusetts.

Print Materials for Students

Grades Pre K- 5 Cannon, Janell and Jewell Cannon. Stellaluna. Harcourt, 1993. Stellaluna is the story of a little brown bat who loses her mother, causing a nest of fledgling birds to accept her as one of the family. She tries to fit in, but her habit of hanging upside down and her desire to fly at night set her apart from the others. By chance, Stelluna is reunited with her mother and finally learns to be a proper bat.

Carle, Eric. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? Henry Holt & Company, Incorporated, 1996. Children can follow along in this simple picture book featuring a variety of animals of different colors.

Durk, Jim. Is a Camel a Mammal? New York: Random House, 1998. Follow the Cat in the Hat and his friends as they explore the world of mammals. Find out about mammal habitats, fur, movement, camouflage, hibernation, and eating habits.

Nail, Jim. Who's Tracks are These? Niwot, Colorado: Roberts Rinehart Publishers, 1994. Follow children through the woods as they investigate tracks and discover which mammals made them.

Grades 6 - 8

Evert, Laura and John F. McGee. Wolves. Minnetonka, MN: T&N Children's Publishing, 2000. Explore the world of the grey wolf. Learn what a pack is, how many cubs are born at once, when the alpha pair eats, why wolves howl, and much more.

Parker, Steve. Mammal (Dorling Kindersley Eyewitness Series). New York: DK Publishing, Inc., 2000. Explore the world of mammals through pictures and facts. A good resource for teachers as well.

Grades 9 - 12

Brewer, Duncan. 1000 Facts on Mammals. Barnes & Noble Books, 2003. Everything you ever wanted to know about mammals. Key subject areas are clearly highlighted, so finding information is easy.

National Audubon Society. National Audubon Society Guide to Marine Mammals of the World. Knopf Publishing Group, 2002. Written by a team of experts and filled with full-color illustrations, this book is a great source of information about marine mammals. Includes maps, life history data, range, habitat, social organization, foraging techniques, population estimates, rearing of young, and current and historic threats.

Stokes, Donald & Lillian. Stokes: Guide To Animal Tracking and Behavior. Boston: Little Brown and Company, 1986. A great resource for identifying animal tracks, trails, scats, and signs left behind by North American mammals.

Print Materials For Educators

Brewer, Duncan. 1000 Facts on Mammals. Barnes & Noble Books, 2003. Everything you ever wanted to know about mammals. Key subject areas are clearly highlighted, so finding information is easy.

National Audubon Society.National Audubon Society Guide to Marine Mammals of the World. Knopf Publishing Group, 2002. Written by a team of experts and filled with full-color illustrations, this book is a great source of information about marine mammals. Includes maps, life history data, range, habitat, social organization, foraging techniques, population estimates, rearing of young, and current and historic threats.

Stokes, Donald & Lillian. Stokes: Guide To Animal Tracking and Behavior. Boston: Little Brown and Company, 1986. A great resource for identifying animal tracks, trails, scats, and signs left behind by North American mammals.

Web Materials for Students

Amazing Animals of the World
This site includes profiles of different animals from around the world, links to sites, and animal quizzes. Visitors can submit answers to a weekly animal mystery. This is an easy site for students to use.

American Museum of Natural History
Activities for all ages that students can either do individually or together as a group. Also includes printable, informative articles. A good resource for educators as well.

Canadian Museum of Nature
Canadian Museum of Nature provides over 75 pictures and descriptions of mammals from around the world.

National Geographic
A great site for students who would like to learn more about specific animals. Includes fun facts, maps, video and audio clips.

The National Marine Mammal Laboratory's Educational Website
This site provides information about marine mammals and related careers.

National Wildlife Foundation's Kidzone
Categories for various age groups from ages 1 and up. Includes games, activities, book reviews, coloring pages, recipes, and lots more.

Web Materials for Educators

eNature.com
This site has many useful tools for studying the native wildlife in your area. Some features include lists of endangered species in each state, field guides with clear images and specific information about each species, and zip code guides that provide identifying images and information about the organisms that live in your neighborhood. Guides are available for reptiles and amphibians, as well as mammals, birds, plants, trees, butterflies, insects, sea shore life, fish, and more.

MassWildlife's State Mammal List
A list of the mammals that live in Massachusetts including species that are endangered, threatened, and are considered special concerns. Also includes a large mammal bibliography.

NASA Classroom of the Future
This site offers online references, links, activities, crafts and lesson plans. Provides a fun discussion about adaptation and how the environment affects animals over time.

National Geographic
A great website for educators to keep up-to-date on news stories, conservation, and information about animals from around the world. Also includes a U.S. Local Wildlife Guide, crittercam, and an area for related links.

National Wildlife Foundation
Site includes NWF resources and program plans, which include background knowledge for activities, and planning materials for integrating conservation lessons into science, math, language arts, and art classes. Also includes online activities and a store for educators.

National Museum of Natural History
A Smithsonian Institution website that allows you to search by categories such as maps, species name, family tree, and conservation status. The site also includes a concise glossary of terms.

The University of Michigan Museum of Zoology Animal Diversity Web
This site includes pictures of mammals, specimens, skulls, sounds, and information about the animals and their classification.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services, an independent Federal grant- making agency dedicated to creating and sustaining a nation of learners by helping libraries and museums serve their communities supports the Berkshire Museum.

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