The animal kingdom is a big and interesting world! In this semester-long class, students will become immersed in a basic exploration of zoology and ecology. The course will be 10 weeks long and meet 2 times a week in order to cover a vast range of material. The course will be broken down into four units:

Unit One – Invertebrates (Classes 1-6)
In this unit, students will learn about the different phyla within the animal kingdom that lack backbones. The wide range of animals in this unit are, generally, creatures that aren’t the most popular or well-known. Having said that, upon further investigation, they may end up being a new favourite! Each lesson will be accompanied with a worksheet, and there will be optional quizzes, investigations, and tasks that students can choose to do to supplement the class and build on what they’ve learned.

Class One – Introduction, Classification, Taxonomy
Class Two – Porifera and Cnidarians
Class Three – Platyhelminthes, Nematoda, and Annelida
Class Four – Molluscs
Class Five – Arthropods
Class Six – Echinoderms

Unit Two – Vertebrates (Classes 7-13)
In this unit, we will explore different classes within the vertebrate world including amphibians, fish and birds. These animals will be from the phylum Chordata and are most likely the ones that students will be most familiar with.  Each lesson will be accompanied with a worksheet, and there will be optional quizzes, investigations, and tasks that students can choose to do to supplement the class and build on what they’ve learned. Note: There are many mammal orders and we will not cover each in depth. Eight orders have been selected to take more of a spotlight over the span of two classes.

Class Seven – Fish 
Class Eight – Amphibians 
Class Nine – Reptiles: Part One (Lizards, Snakes and Tuataras) 
Class Ten – Reptiles: Part Two (Turtles/Tortoises and Crocodilians)
Class Eleven – Birds
Class Twelve – Mammals: Part One (Carnivora, Cetacea,, Artiodactyla/Perissodactyla)
Class Thirteen – Mammals: Part Two (Primates, Chiroptera, Marsupialia, Monotremata)

Unit Three – Adaptations and Symbiosis (Classes 14-15)
In Unit 3, students will investigate different kinds of adaptations that animals have as well as symbiotic relationships in their environment. Each lesson will be accompanied with a worksheet, and there will be optional quizzes, investigations, and tasks that students can choose to do to supplement the class and build on what they’ve learned. 

Class Fourteen – Natural Selection and Adaptations (Behavioural, Physiological, and Physical)
Class Fifteen – Symbiotic Relationships (Mutualism, Commensalism, Parasitism, and Competition)

Unit Four – Ecology (Classes 16-20)
In the last unit of the course, students will learn about different aspects of ecology. How do the groups of animals that we’ve learned about up to now interact within their ecosystems? What would happen if a certain animal disappeared? What is the difference between a food web and a food chain? What is biodiversity? All will be investigated in this unit.  Each lesson will be accompanied with a worksheet, and there will be optional quizzes, investigations, and tasks that students can choose to do to supplement the class and build on what they’ve learned. 

Class Sixteen – Ecosystems and Biodiversity
Class Seventeen – Food Chains, Food Webs, Energy Flow
Class Eighteen – Invasive Species and Keystone Species
Class Nineteen – Levels of Concern (Vulnerable, Endangered, Extinct etc.)
Class Twenty – Conservation

The lessons will be more of a lecture style (yet interactive) class with a PowerPoint, photos, videos, and fascinating facts. We will have conversations about the topics and students are encouraged to ask questions and discuss (although are also welcome to just absorb the information if they prefer). As stated in each of the unit descriptions, optional handouts, tasks, and quizzes will be available to promote retention and practice learning throughout the course. 



Class Photo by Lucas Alexander from Unsplash