Born To Be Wild: The Current Situation and Possible Future of Wildlife in the United States

Article Middle School 1 Classroom Period

Animals play an important role in maintaining the health of our natural environment. It is important to know the status of different kinds of animal populations, both now and into the future. One of the questions the scientist in this study wanted to answer was: What are the trends in different wildlife populations?

English

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Facts to the Future - Vol. 5 No. 1

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Glossary

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cavity
(ka vǝ tē): An unfilled space within a mass, especially a hollowed-out space.
conservation
(kän(t) sər vā shən): A careful preservation and protection of something, especially planned management of a natural resource to prevent exploitation, destruction, or neglect.
defecate
(de fi cāt): To expel feces from the bowels.
ecosystem
(ē kō sis tǝm): A system made up of an ecological community of living things interacting with their environment especially under natural conditions.
germinate
(jər mə nāt): To cause to sprout or develop.
grassland
(gras land): Land covered with herbs (like grasses and clover) rather than shrubs and trees.
habitat
(ha bә tat): The place or environment where a plant or animal naturally or normally lives and grows.
migrate
(mī grāt): To pass, usually periodically, from one region or climate to another for feeding or breeding.
molecular
(mǝ le kyǝ lǝr): Of, relating to, consisting of, or produced by molecules, which are the smallest particles of a substance that have all the characteristics of the substance.
pollinate
(pä lǝ nāt): To place pollen on the stigma of a flower, which fertilizes the flower and causes seeds to develop.
population
(pä pyǝ lā shǝn): The total of individuals occupying an area.
scale
(skāl): (1) Something graduated especially when used as a measure or rule: such as a series of marks or points at known intervals used to measure distances or a range of responses to a statement that vary from strongly agree to strongly disagree; (2) A distinctive relative size, extent, or degree.
species
(spē sēz or spē shēz): A category of living things that ranks below a genus, is made up of related individuals able to produce fertile offspring, and is identified by a two-part scientific name.
status
(stat ǝs or stāt ǝs): A particular state or condition.
sustain
(sǝ stān): (1) To give support or relief to; (2) to keep up.
trend
(trend): The general movement over time of a statistically detectable change.
wildlife
(wī(e)l(d) līf): Living things and especially mammals, birds, and fishes that are neither human nor domesticated.

Note To Educators

The Forest Service's Mission

The Forest Service’s mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the Nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations. For more than 100 years, our motto has been “caring for the land and serving people.” The Forest Service, an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), recognizes its responsibility to be engaged in efforts to connect youth to nature and to promote the development of science-based conservation education programs and materials nationwide.

What Is the Natural Inquirer?

Natural Inquirer is a science education resource journal to be used by students in grade 6 and up. Natural Inquirer contains articles describing environmental and natural resource research conducted by Forest Service scientists and their cooperators. These scientific journal articles have been reformatted to meet the needs of middle school students. The articles are easy to understand, are aesthetically pleasing to the eye, contain glossaries, and include hands-on activities. The goal of Natural Inquirer is to stimulate critical reading and thinking about scientific inquiry and investigation while teaching about ecology, the natural environment, and natural resources.

Natural Inquirer bee sitting at a desk with paper and pencil

Meet the Scientists

Introduces students to the scientists who did the research. This section may be used in a discussion about careers in science.
What Kinds of Scientist Did This Research?

Introduces students to the scientific disciplines of the scientists who conducted the research.
Thinking About Science

Introduces something new about the scientific process, such as a scientific habit of mind or procedures used in scientific studies.
Thinking About the Environment

Introduces the environmental topic being addressed in the research.
Introduction

Introduces the problem or question that the research addresses.
Method

Describes the method the scientists used to collect and analyze their data.
Findings & Discussion

Describes the results of the analysis. Addresses the findings and places them into the context of the original problem or question.
Reflection Section

Presents questions aimed at stimulating critical thinking about what has been read or predicting what might be presented in the next section. These questions are placed at the end of each of the main article sections.
Number Crunches

Presents an easy math problem related to the research.
Glossary

Defines potentially new scientific or other terms to students. The first occurrence of a glossary word is bold in the text.
Citation

Gives the original article citation with an internet link to the original article.
FACTivity

Presents a hands-on activity that emphasizes something presented in the article.

Science Education Standards

You will find a listing of education standards which are addressed by each article at the back of each publication and on our website.

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Forest Service
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FACTivity – Born to Be Wild