How to explain too close for comfort.

This webquest is to help teachers focus on how exactly to explain the activity "Too close for comfort" on page 300 of the project wild book. Too close for comfort is an exciting activity that will describe possible negative consequences for people and wildlife under conditions of crowding, and identifying ways people can behave in order to reduce negative consequences of crowding for wildlife. 

The task of the activity is challenging, the students will experiment with physical distance and levels of comfort in humans, estimate appropriate distances between humans and wildlife under certain conditions, hypothesize about indicators of animal discomfort, and summarize reasons to avoid animal discomfort through crowding. 

The process of explaining the assignment isnt simple, you must broaden their knowledge of the content suited for the assignment. But first you must explain it in a way that they can understand. First you need to start with a bubble with "students" inside of it. Then ask all of the students the different ways other people can invade your space, afterwards write the answers in bubbles connected to the original bubble. Then explain to the students that this is what the activity is about, except it is more focused on how people invade animals space.

After the kids have gotten this idea, you must explain the different ways that we invade the space of animals. Certain examples of this are: 

1. bright flashes up close from photographers.

2. Stepping on the nesting sites

3. blaring loud music around animals

4. destroying the environment of the animals

5. chemical dumping

5. littering

After this you will need to explain that some animals have times where they are more sensative to intrusion.

Certan examples of this could be;

1. during mating season

2.When the animals are hibernating

3. when the animal have laid eggs, or is having a baby

4. When the animals are eating food

Next you want to discuss the certain ways that the communities can help minimize these types of disturbances. Examples of this could be;

1. Putting up warning signs at nesting sites on hiking trails and creating an alternate route.

2. Making the laws more strict towards loud music.

3. Making laws to aide animals during mating season and during severe climatic conditions.

Next you want to discuss with the students how as individuals we can help minimize disturbances. Examples of this could be;

1. Stopping our loved ones from blaring loud music and explaining to them the hazard it is towards animals.

2. helping keep humans away from nesting sites, and directing them in an alternate route.

After this you will summarize reasons why it is important for people to minimize disturbances.

Examples of this could be;

1. Hiking near a nesting site could result in the person harming the animal by stepping on them.

2. The loud blaring music from a friends car could result in hearing loss of a baby animal which could harm the baby growing up.

After this you must explain to the students that this information is critical to the assignment and in order to calculate the specific data they will need, they must know and take into consideration this information! After you have explained the material, you must make sure that the students fully understand the material. A couple of activities to do this are;

1. having a class discussion on the material and different ways the students feel that we disturb certain ecosystems, and ways they feel we can help stop the disturbances.

2. have the class do group research in the computer lab over the material and present them to everyone at the end of class. 

After it is clear that the students understand the material, you will go on to the elaborate section of the activity. This overall should help the students understand exactly what the assignment is about and help promote success. It would be helpful to maybe reward the students at the end of class who participated in the class discussion with anything of your chosing.

Project WILD: Activity guide. (2nd ed.). "Too close for comfort". (1992). United States: Western Regional Environmental Educational Council 

Hello fellow teachers!

This is a fun activity I think you and the students will enjoy, I definitely think that this activity will help kids get more passionate about saving the animals and passionate about wildlife.

Some tips of this lesson, make sure that the students pay attention, the information is very critical to the evaluate section.

And also get into this activity! If you dont care about wildlife then students wont care about wildlife!