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Provided by: Illinois Department of Natural Resources |Published on: June 3, 2025
Articles/Websites
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Synopsis
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources provides this standards-based program that allows students to interact with real data collected from coyotes that have been fitted with tracking collars to learn more about them.
A variety of lesson plans and projects are provided to explore how and why the coyote population is affected in Illinois.
How-to videos are provided to help understand the use of the site as well as the visualization tool.
The Resources page provides quality research for students to extend their learning.
Prerequisites
Students should have background knowledge about the connection between climate change and species that are decreasing at an alarming pace.
Students will need their own devices to interact with the website and the coyote tracking tool.
It may be helpful to discuss habitats and what coyotes need to survive prior to using this resource. Helpful topics to include are changes in weather patterns, urbanization, seasonal temperatures, and how they may affect the coyote habitats in the area.
Differentiation & Implementation
This resource on endangered species of Illinois can be used as a quick teach or refresh of endangered species.
The how-to videos on the website can be used as a tool to demonstrate how to use the coyote tracker.
A great way to include student choice on this topic is to assign a standard to investigate and allow students to choose a project of interest to them from the Inquiries and Projects tab.
A science fair opportunity can be supported using this website due to the wide number of possible lesson plans and projects provided. Students can pick any project or lesson to tackle and then present it in a culminating presentation.
This podcast can be used as the anticipatory set for this resource by assigning it ahead of time and asking the students to answer the question presented in it, "Can animals evolve to deal with climate change?"
Scientist Notes
Teaching Tips
Standards
Resource Type and Format
Related Teaching Resources
All resources can be used for your educational purposes with proper attribution to the content provider.
