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Like other species that are no longer part of our planet, woolly mammoths became extinct about 10,000 years ago.
"Professor Alexey Tikhonov of the St. Petersburg Institute of Zoology announced the discovery at the end of September of a mammoth about 16 years old in the Siberian permafrost near the tip from Sopochnaya Karga, 3,500 kilometers northeast of Moscow. The carcass is 2 m high and weighs 500 kg.
The mammoth was named Jenya, after the first name of the 11-year-old Russian boy who spotted one of the mammoth's bones protruding from the frozen earth. "
Source: Radio-Canada
Goals
At the end of the activities, the student will be able to:
- familiarize yourself with the news by reading articles on the Internet;
- locate the place of discovery as well as the places where other mammoths were discovered in the past;
- get to know the mammoths better.
Suggested Activities
ACTIVITY 1: Familiarize yourself with the news
The first activity is to make sure that the students are all aware of the news. Here are some sources to consult:
Mammoth possibly killed by humans discovered in Siberia
Russia: a boy discovers "the mammoth of the century"
Including a video report (1 minute 12 seconds).
Suggestions: group viewing, reading aloud, personal or small group reading, etc.
Then ask the students to verbally summarize what they saw or read.
ACTIVITY 2: Situate the new
In the news, we talk about different places. Let's start first by locating these places on the world map.
Project the site Google maps to the blackboard.
Take the time to locate the following places (ask in passing what is the link between each place and the news):
- Russia
- Siberia (region)
- Yenisei river
- Taimyr peninsula
- Saint PETERSBOURG
ACTIVITY 3: About mammoths
To learn more about mammoths, here are a few things:
– mammoths, page on Wikipedia
– woolly mammoths, page on Wikipedia
Then ask the students to create an information pack on mammoths. Each team can be assigned a theme, such as when mammoths lived, their physical characteristics, habits, contemporary findings of skeletons, etc.
Finally, if possible, then post it on the class website.
For further
- How do you say "mammoth" in English?
- Scientists are thinking of cloning Jenya the mammoth. What do you think?
