Apr. 2, 2008: Frogs Are Facing Extinction

The Mini Page is a syndicated, four-page tabloid written for young children found each Wednesday in the Rocky Mountain News. This issue of The Mini Page is available through the eEdition Archive to registered eEdition subscribers. Click here to learn about subscribing to the eEdition at no cost to you (for Colorado teachers).

Activities:

1. On a large piece of paper, draw a picture of a frog near a pond. Cut out newspaper words and pictures that tell about the frog's habitat and paste them on your picture.

2. Draw a large circle on a piece of paper. Divide your circle into three equal parts. Label the sections: things that jump, things that are green, things that like water. Paste newspaper words or pictures that match each of the three categories in the correct part of the circle.

3. Go on an environmental scavenger hunt in the newspaper with a friend. You should have different-colored markers. Look through the newspaper page by page. Circle pictures or words of items that are good for the environment. Be creative; for example, a bike doesn't use gasoline, and window blinds conserve energy.

4. How are frogs affected by (a) climate change, (b) water pollution, (c) human development, and (4) the fungus chytrid?

5. Use resource books and the Internet to learn more about the kinds of frogs that live in your area. Use these questions to guide your research: What are the names of some of the frogs that can be found in your part of the country? Is the frog population stable, increasing or declining? What environmental elements are important to the lives of frogs in your area? What do the frogs eat? What animals eat the frogs? Write a paragraph discussing your findings.

This week's standards:

• Students understand the characteristics and life cycles of organisms. (Science: Life Science)
• Students understand the interactions of animals and their environments. (Science: Life Science)
  
  

(standards by Dr. Sherrye D. Garrett, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi)