Lesson: Animal ID

Select a photo or video of groups of animals in the wild, such as a herd of zebra, the fi ns of several whales surfacing, or a group of ring-tailed lemurs. Ask: Can you tell the individual animals apart? If so, how? Brainstorm some ways you could identify individual animals in the wild.

Watch “Wildbook” to see how scientists gather information using machine learning. After watching, ask: What challenges did scientists face? What type of data did they collect? How did they collect it? How did artificial intelligence and machine learning help their research? Discuss the importance of photographs in these scientific studies. (to identify features that may indicate a different species, to tell individuals apart, etc.)

Open the article in the online magazine view. Read the headline aloud. Ask students to predict what the article will be about. Share the “What’s the Big Idea?” skills sheet with students. Then read the article aloud. Let students choose one section of the article and complete that portion of the table. Then reconvene as a class and determine the article’s central idea.

Share the post-reading question: What are some of the drawbacks of using traditional methods of tagging to identify animals? Ask students to explain why they think it is important for wildlife scientists to minimize stress to animals. Discuss other ethical responsibilities they think scientists have while studying wildlife. Have students complete the article’s Check for Understanding to assess their reading comprehension.

Share the “Parental Patterns” skills sheet with students. Ask: Could a computer program identify giraffes successfully? Have them write and share a claim supported with text evidence. Take It Further: Go to scistarter.org and search for animal identification projects in your community so that your class can submit photographs and data. Support students in asking questions and conducting observational studies from the community data.

⇨ SEL: This article includes supports for responsible decision-making.

⇨ VIDEO EXTRA: Discover how scientists use machine learning to collect information about animals.