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Why are Wildlife Crossings Crucial for Animals and Humans?

Provided by: The Kid Should See This |Published on: June 20, 2025

Articles/Websites

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Synopsis

Students will watch a video from the CO Dept. of Transportation and read an article describing various wildlife corridors and their success, including the results of a five-year study analyzing the effectiveness of the SH-9 corridor in Colorado.
Students will read about other corridors in the Netherlands, Canada, Flathead Indian Reservation, and Los Angeles.
The resource also links to a related lesson teachers may find useful for extending this topic.

Related Teaching Resources

Subjects: Biology, Engineering

Authors: Colorado Department of Transportation, The Kid Should See This

Region: Europe, North America, California, Colorado, Montana

Languages: English

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Teaching Materials

Positives

Students will love the footage of wildlife using the corridor.
The article is brief, providing additional information while remaining student-friendly

Prerequisites

It may benefit students to understand how human activities and infrastructure expansion impact animals and their habitats.

Differentiation & Implementation

Connect this resource to climate change topics by relating the importance of natural ecosystems and species within them as climate solutions to support vital ecosystem services that regulate carbon, water, and other nutrients.
The included video has a lot of text for viewers to read and no voiceover or speaking. The visuals can distract from the text, and students may miss bits of the information. Teachers can play the video twice, encouraging students to just take in the visuals the first time and then encouraging a close read the second time. Alternatively, teachers can slow the video playback speed or read the text out loud as students watch.
Teachers can follow this video with this activity where students can design their own wildlife corridor.
This video can follow a lesson about habitat fragmentation and how it impacts biodiversity. This lesson plan can help with this topic.
The article mentions several wildlife corridors and provides links where readers can find more information about them. Students can select one of these corridors and research the building process, the animals the corridor serves, and how successful it has been.

Scientist Notes

Teaching Tips

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Resource Type and Format

About the Partner Provider

The Kid Should See This

The Kid Should See This is a Webby award-winning collection of over 7,000 kid-friendly videos, curated for teachers and parents who want to share smarter, more meaningful media in the classroom and at home. Selections are grown-up-friendly, too. And thanks to TKSST members, it’s free and ad-free for everyone. Start conversations, spark questions, and inspire offline exploration for all ages.

Related Teaching Resources

All resources can be used for your educational purposes with proper attribution to the content provider.