Welcome to the Elephanatics Middle & High School Education Hub!
This hub offers free, downloadable Elephant Conservation Intermediate Lessons and toolkits for teachers and educators, designed to bring science and global issues to life for middle and high school students. Our goal is to give you everything you need to spark curiosity and civic action in your classroom, with resources that are aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards NGSS and Canadian provincial curricula. They are designed to promote critical thinking, civic literacy, and scientific inquiry for students grades 6-12. Please read our –Special Letter to Principals and Educators.
Quick Start Opportunities
- Virtual Classroom Visit: Request a live virtual presentation from a ranger or researcher in Kenya, Africa! MaraElephantProject in collaboration with Elephanatics offers a wide range of elephant educational opportunities for students and teachers? Make any day impactful, or celebrate a special day like #WorldElephantDay, #WorldWildlifeDay, or #EarthDay!
- Empower Your Classroom with Knowledge: We’re thrilled to offer educators an enriching opportunity to bring conservation topics to life right in your classroom. Our teacher is prepared to deliver engaging Elephant Conservation Intermediate Lessons, each lasting 1 hour, from one of our many lesson plans. Topics include:
- Poaching & Habitat Loss: The dire consequences for African elephants and actionable solutions for their protection.
Climate Change & Elephants: Understanding the pivotal role elephants play in mitigating global warming.
Biodiversity: The importance of elephants as a keystone species in maintaining healthy ecosystems.
Fostering Empathy: Cultivating compassion for animals to inspire the next generation of conservationists.
- Poaching & Habitat Loss: The dire consequences for African elephants and actionable solutions for their protection.
Join our Elephanatics’ Teacher Community! Take a moment to share your experiences and insights using our resources. Your feedback is invaluable in shaping future materials. Participate in our survey and get a chance to win exclusive Elephanatics swag in our monthly draw! Click here to access our user-friendly feedback form and make your valuable contribution.
Comprehensive Elephant Education Lesson Plan Toolkits
Access our full range of downloadable intermediate and secondary lesson plans below, categorized by thematic focus.
Toolkit 1: Science, Ecology, and Technology
Focuses on keystone species, ecosystem services, and advanced conservation research.
Giants and Guardians: A Global Conservation Comparison
Compare elephant conservation challenges in Africa with parallel issues facing iconic wildlife in Canada and the United States.
Biodiversity
Elephants are a keystone species responsible for maintaining forest and savanna ecosystems for other species and are integrally tied to rich biodiversity.
Rewilding
Explore the transformative concept of rewilding, aimed at revitalizing ecosystems by reintroducing native flora and fauna and restoring natural processes.
One Mouthful At A Time: How Forest Elephants Fight Climate Change
Inspire students to champion forest elephant conservation, highlighting their crucial role in combating climate change through activities that explore the carbon cycle.
Enhance your lesson with these supplementary resources:
Exploring Geospatial Analysis and Conservation Strategies
In this lesson, students will explore advanced technologies in wildlife conservation, focusing on elephants in the Mara ecosystem, in Kenya, Africa, and learn about geospatial analysis’s crucial role in monitoring and protecting wildlife. The lesson will also illustrate how these efforts affect local communities and broader ecosystems, enhancing students’ understanding of the interconnectedness of technology, conservation, and community welfare.
Toolkit 2: Advocacy, Ethics, and Human-Animal Relationships
Focuses on civic action, cross-cultural understanding, and the complexities of human-elephant interaction.
🐘 Persuasive Letter Writing: The Tusk to Treaty Challenge (UNTOC Protocol)
Empowers students to become active citizens by demanding that the Canadian government champion the UNTOC Protocol—a global legal solution to disrupt organized wildlife crime. This is a time-sensitive, high-impact civic action campaign.
Letters for Life
Empower students to become active conservationists by teaching them to craft compelling letters advocating for elephant conservation, emphasizing the power of civic action.
Traditional Ecological Knowledge for Conservation: Exploring Canadian Indigenous Peoples’ and the Maasai Peoples of Eastern Africa Connection to Nature
Understanding how Canadian Indigenous peoples’ and the Maasai Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) informs their relationship with nature and wildlife. Students will learn how TEK contributes to sustainable resource management in Canada and eastern Africa and appreciate the explore the cultural significance of nature to Indigenous communities.
Trunks of Hope: T-Shirt Design Mission for Elephant Conservation
This lesson engages students in creative strategies for raising awareness about elephant conservation through designing t-shirts, incorporating structured discussions, research, and collaborative design activities.
Drawing A Line
This lesson guides students through an eye-opening journey into the challenges facing Asian Elephants, including unethical practices in the tourism industry and the impact of habitat loss and fragmentation caused by human expansion.
Anthrozoology
This lesson offers a deep dive into anthrozoology, encouraging students to explore the diverse and complex relationships between humans and animals.
Toolkit 3: The Poaching and Ivory Crisis
Focuses on the global ramifications of the illegal wildlife trade and solutions.
Effects of Elephant Poaching
Unpack the global ramifications of elephant poaching, guiding students to understand its impact and explore ways to prevent this crisis.
Elephants and Ivory
Students will engage in creating insightful concept maps to understand the complexities of the ivory trade, fostering critical thinking by examining various perspectives on this controversial issue.
Increase of Online Ivory Sales During Covid-19
Wildlife trafficking has quickly become a multi-billion-dollar transnational criminal activity that is not only a critical conservation issue but also a security threat. During Covid-19 there was a substantial increase in online ivory sales.
Enhance your lesson with our supplementary resources, including detailed timelines of ivory trade restrictions, insights into elephant communication, and steps to become an Elephant Ambassador.
Supplemental Resources Library
1.) Free Downloadable Education Guides & Templates
- Top Resource: Persuasive Essay Structure Guide (PDF) This is the full, downloadable guide on structuring persuasive and argumentative essays. It provides a foundational template that can be used for the “Letters for Life” lesson or any other conservation advocacy project.
- Download the Complete Persuasive Essay Structure Guide (PDF)
2.) Educator’s Multimedia Guide
This collection of videos is curated for deeper study, research projects, and classroom discussion.
- AI, Misinformation and How to Know What’s Real and Fake online – Exploring by the Seat of Your Pants. See above.
- Stopping Poachers before they kill wildlife: Saving the world one algorithm at a time reveals how technology is revolutionizing wildlife protection (47 minutes).
- How to Help Solve the Human-Elephant Conflict – Application of a Human-elephant Conflict Toolbox for Developing Coexistence in Rural Kenya offers insights into coexistence strategies from rural Kenya (50 minutes).
- The Fight Against the Ivory Trade explore the complexities of poaching with Dr. Caroline Cox (7 minutes).
- How To Stop The Ivory Trade by The Economist discusses strategies and challenges in the fight against the ivory trade, offering a concise analysis for classroom discussion (7 minutes).
- What caused the COVID-19 outbreak? A bat? A pangolin? is a concise investigation into COVID-19’s zoonotic origins, crucial for understanding environmental health (7 minutes).
- Why Elephants Never Forget by TEDEd, a perfect introduction to animal cognition for students (5 minutes).
- The Elephant and Rhino Poaching Crisis provides an opportunity to listen to Dr. Jake Wall discuss the ongoing elephant and rhino poaching crisis, shedding light on conservation challenges (5 minutes).
- This infographic video by WildAid vividly illustrates the devastating impact of elephant poaching, suitable for engaging students visually (3.5 minutes).
- Ivory Victims: The Orphans Second Chance at DSWT highlights the critical work in elephant rescue and rehabilitation, showcasing the positive impact of conservation efforts (12.5 minutes).
- The Great Elephant Census: Counting Africa’s Elephants offers an in-depth look at the efforts to count and conserve Africa’s elephants, providing a basis for discussions on conservation research (8.5 minutes).
Enhance your lesson with our supplementary resources, including detailed timelines of ivory trade restrictions, insights into elephant communication, and steps to become an Elephant Ambassador.
3.) Research & Action
Celebrating Global Biodiversity with Schools Around the World
Join our global initiative with BackyardBio, connecting schools across continents to celebrate biodiversity. Participate in activities like observing local wildlife and sharing discoveries, culminating in the International Day of Biodiversity. BackyardBio is a project run by Exploring By The Seat of Your Pants, encouraging the public, especially school classrooms, to get out in nature and observe and document the amazing wildlife near them!
Project Ideas for Science Class or After School Clubs
Creating science projects centered around elephants and conservation is a great way to engage students with environmental science, biology, and conservation efforts. Here are several project ideas that span different aspects of these topics. They can be adjusted in complexity for different age groups and can be designed to encourage individual research, teamwork, and creative thinking. They offer a hands-on approach to learning about conservation, the challenges elephants face, and how everyone can contribute to their preservation.
Empower Your Class with Elephant Fundraising
Teachers, inspire your students to make a difference with the Elephanatics Elephant Education Fundraising Kit. This resource is a foundation for creativity and activism in your classroom. Encourage your students to infuse their own innovative ideas, crafting a fundraiser that resonates with your class’s unique spirit. Don’t miss the Introductory Letter for additional guidance on personalizing your fundraising kit. Together, let’s turn your classroom into a vibrant hub for elephant conservation!
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Educator’s Guide to Elephant Literacy
Use our specially curated Educator’s Guide to Elephant Literacy to effortlessly bring the world of elephants into your classroom. This collection features a diverse selection of books and apps that educate and inspire students of all ages, promoting a deeper understanding of conservation through literature and technology.
Educational Books for Adults
- A Place Like No Other by Anthony Sinclair and Rene Beyers: Journey into the heart of elephant territories and their breathtaking ecosystems.
- The Elephant Whisperer by Lawrence Anthony & Graham Spence: Discover the deep bond between a conservationist and a herd of wild African elephants.
- The Elephant Keeper by Christopher Nicholson: Delve into a story of friendship, care, and the profound connection between humans and elephants.
- Secrets of the Savanna by Mark Owens & Cordelia Owens: Experience the challenges and triumphs of saving elephants in the wild.
- Elephant Memories: 13 Years in the Life of an Elephant Family by Cynthia Moss: Witness the intricate social lives and memories of elephants in their natural habitat.
- Wildlife Wars: My Fight to Save Africa’s Natural Treasures by Richard Leakey: Understand the frontline battles in conserving Africa’s majestic wildlife, including elephants.
Apps for Older Kids And Adults
- WWF Together: Immerse yourself in the world of amazing animals, including elephants, through this beautifully designed app.
- The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust: Connect with the efforts to protect and conserve elephants in the wild, and learn how you can help.
Further Learning:
Expand your educational toolkit with additional videos covering diverse topics such as elephant family structures, the role of religion in poaching, and firsthand accounts from global conservation marches. These resources are designed to complement your lessons, stimulate critical thinking, and inspire your students to explore solutions for wildlife conservation.
- The Family Structure of Elephants – Caitlin O’Connell Rodwell at TedX
- Global March for Elephants and Rhinos in Vancouver Promo Video – 2014
- God’s Ivory: The Role of Religion in the Elephant Poaching Crisis
- Poaching in Vietnam – Paul Blackthorne, Actor, fights for Rhinos
- Elephant Facts
4.) Celebrating Our Impact: Schools and Online Engagements
Biodiversity Day at Fleetwood Park Secondary: Two grade 10 students delivered an insightful presentation on elephants’ role in biodiversity. We thank Rasudev and Clement for doing a great job at bringing awareness to the critical role elephants play in supporting their ecological habitats and their importance in biodiversity. Check out the equation they came up with to calculate the weight of an elephant: Weight= -1010+ 0.036 (LxG), where G is the chest girth and L is the body length.
Save The Elephants: Classroom Champions: Our heartfelt thanks go to the educators and students at Encanto Elementary School in San Diego for sharing information about the importance of keeping them from extinction with other classrooms in their school.
Killarney Secondary School in Vancouver has students who have become conservation warriors through their exceptional efforts in awareness and fundraising campaigns for elephant conservation. A big shout out and thank you to teacher Tess Elia and her students for doing an outstanding job on their “Save the Elephants” campaign! Together, they worked on poster designs, global orders of organic and ethically-sourced coffee, social media, a PowerPoint presentation, and used our education lesson plans to educate and fundraise for elephants. They also gained recognition from the whole school with their informative elephant display in the front hall. We are extremely grateful for their incredible energy and determination.
A Glimpse into Our Classrooms: Explore our compilation of classroom presentations given across San Diego and Vancouver, showcasing the passionate discussions and innovative projects undertaken by students and teachers alike to protect elephants.
Why We Shouldn’t Ride Elephants: Leanne Fogarty, our Director of Education for Asian Elephants, presents a PowerPoint presentation on the abuse suffered by elephants forced to work relentless hours in the tourist industry.
Saving the Elephant: Our Director of Education, Fran, taught a PowerPoint presentation about poaching to a Grade 5 classroom.
Lesson Plans for Teachers: Our Director of Education, Fran, and the Chief Program Officer, Andrea, presented all of our lesson plans at a professional development day for K-12 teachers. They were eager to start using them!
A Heartfelt Appreciation to Our Educators: Your dedication to fostering a compassionate and knowledgeable environment inspires us daily. Please read our thank you to teachers.
Attention Teachers: Enhance Your Lessons with Elephant Snapshots!
We invite you to explore our collection of elephant photographs, perfect for enriching your classroom projects. Whether you’re planning a lesson, a presentation, or a creative activity, these images capture the beauty and grandeur of elephants, offering a fantastic visual aid for your students. These three featured photos, provided by Heather, are available for your educational use. Incorporate these striking images into your teaching materials to bring a touch of wildlife wonder to your classroom.
The captivating trio of elephant photos showcased below are credited to Jasper, captured in the stunning environment of Kruger National Park, South Africa. These images are available for use in classroom projects, thanks to Jasper’s kind permission. Explore and use these remarkable snapshots to enhance your educational creations!
