Martha Who?

A Guided Web Activity




Gone, but not forgotten. Martha was the last passenger pigeon on earth. Martha died on September 1, 1914 in the Cincinnati Zoological Gardens. Passenger pigeons are now extinct. Extinct means gone from the planet Earth forever. Do you know how many animals and plants become extinct each year? It's at the alarming rate of up to 100 a day or 36,500 a year. And the rate of extinction is increasing each year. Find out about other vertebrates who have become extinct in the United States and Canada since 1492. What fraction of all species known to exist today could become extinct by 2025? Go to the World Wildlife Fund to find out. Photographs and information about 60 endangered species can be found on the Environmental Education website.

Visit The World Conservation Union to find out more about threatened species. Key in Australia or any other region you want and click query for a list of endangered and threatened species. Are the number of endangered species greater in Austalia, Brazil, China, Unisted States or Russia?

Have you ever seen people wearing parts of dead animals? Like alligator boots, bird feathers, and fur coats? Using wild animals for clothing or accessories over the years is one reason why some animals are in danger of becoming extinct. Many living things are in trouble because of destruction of their habitats, pollution, hunting or poaching, over specialization, replacement by other species or low reproductive rate. Visit the Poachers, Poisons, and Other Problems section of the National Wildlife Federation site to find out more. This site also has Copycat Pages and activities you can do in and out of the classroom to learn more about endangered species.

A new danger threatens. Global warming may be causing changes in climate that are threatening species in Australia. Visit the Environmental Resource Information Network (ERIN) to find out more about global warming and species in Australia. Find out more about 4 endangered species, the bilby, orange bellied parrot, mountain pygmy possum and spotted tree frog in Australia at another ERIN website.

What endangered species are found in your region or state? Visit Endangeredspecie.com and Environmental Education to find out. What can you do to prevent these species from becoming extinct? Visit National Wildlife Federation and Endangered Species for tips on what you and your neighbors can do. Choose a local species to find out more about. Some suggestions include the El Segundo Blue Butterfly, California Condor, or the California Gray Whale.



California Science Content Standards Addressed:

Grade 3-LS 3c, d, e

3. Adaptations in physical structure or behavior may improve an organism's chance for survival. As a basis for understanding this concept:

c. Students know living things cause changes in the environment in which they live: some of these changes are detrimental to the organism or other organisms, and some are beneficial.

d. Students know when the environment changes, some plants and animals survive and reproduce; others die or move to new locations.

e. Students know that some kinds of organisms that once lived on Earth have com-pletely disappeared and that some of those resembled others that are alive today.

Grade 4-LS 3b

3. Living organisms depend on one another and on their environment for survival. As a basis for understanding this concept:

b. Students know that in any particular environment, some kinds of plants and animals survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive at all.

National Education Technology Standards for Students Addressed:

4. Technology communications tools

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    		•  Students use telecommunications to collaborate, publish, and interact with peers, experts, and other audiences.

    5. Technology research tools

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    		•  Students evaluate and select new information resources and technological innovations based on the appropriateness to specific tasks.


    The Integrating Technology into Science Instruction webpages project is partially funded by grants from The Boeing Company and The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation. Integrating Technology into Instruction is a project of Target Science (target@laep.org) and is displayed on the Los Angeles Educational Partnership Learning Exchange. Target Science is an initiative of the Los Angeles Educational Partnership.
    Updated July 2000