Wildlife in Winter
Welcome to the National Museum of Wildlife Art's Wildlife in Winter lesson.
This lesson features paintings from the NMWA's permanent collection that depict various animals in a winter landscape. The artwork serves as the focus for discussions of wildlife winter survival strategies. Adapted from an exhibition of the same title, the accompanying in-house educational program brings the National Museum of Wildlife Art into your classroom. It was written for upper elementary school students. Lessons may be modified for other student levels.
Lesson: Class Discussion
Using wildlife art to represent winter ecology, students will look at the survival strategies of animals in a winter environment. Through a class discussion, students will examine the three main survival strategies and discover which animals employ which strategies.
Activity 1: Questions to Consider
Students will view images from the on-line exhibition Wildlife in Winter. They will select one painting from the exhibition and answer specific questions on a reproducible worksheet that encourage careful examination of the artwork.
Activity 2: Animal Survival Strategies
Students will examine images from the on-line exhibition, Wildlife in Winter, then select artworks and identify the winter survival strategy(ies) of the animals depicted. Answering questions on a reproducible worksheet, students will explain how they made their determinations.
Activity 3: Animal Adaptations
Students will create their own animal that is adapted for winter. Each student will discuss their animal's adaptation and how these adaptations allow the animal to survive in its winter environment.
Information for the Teacher
A complete list of additional information for use with Wildlife in Winter.