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The Science section of the New York Times is running an article
entitled, "Gone for Decades, Jaguars Steal Back to the Southwest".
The article states:

At least 10 organizations are working to protect the jaguar in one or
both countries. Conservationists are developing incentives to stop
bounty hunters in Mexico from killing the big cats. Cameras have been
set up near the border to monitor jaguar comings and goings and,
inadvertently, the movements of “mules,” or drug runners.
It's really incredible to stop and think about the things we can see in
nature when we allow ourselves to slow down and pay attention.

Lesson Ideas:

  • This article discusses the fact that ranchers and cowboys are
    being paid to take pictures of Jaguars, something from nature.
    Ask students to take pictures of at least six natural items and
    use the pictures to form a collage. (One of the wonderful
    features of a cell phone is that it allows picture taking.) Though
    you might ask students to make these collages on a posterboard
    there's no reason why they couldn't make them electronically
    and post the picture on a wiki.

  • According to the article, in July the United States Fish and
    Wildlife Service announced that it would not declare parts of
    New Mexico and Arizona critical habitats for jaguars. Many
    environmentalists concerned about jaguar safety thought this
    was a poor decision. Ask students to determine whether or not
    they think that the decision was good or bad and write a
    persuasive essay explaining their position. They might blog
    these essays. In order to effectively do this work, students
    might have to read the article and conduct some research. (On
    the other hand, the teacher might explain the article to students
    and facilitate a class discussion.)

  • The main focus of this article is the presence and protection of
    jaguars in the United States. (But, since I've never been good at
    these questions on standardized exams, I could be wrong.) Ask
    students to read the article and determine its main focus. Tell
    students to pretend that they are a preservationist. Ask them
    what one item they most want to hold onto forever. You might
    divide students into groups and have them interview one
    another about the item they would most like to hold onto and
    why. These interviews could be podcast or vodcast.

  • Jaguars are not the only ones stealing across the border
    between Mexico and the United States. As the article points out
    illegal Mexican immigrants are also doing this. Ask students if
    they believe that every person should have the right to live in
    the United States? Is it fair for the United States to keep some
    people out of the country. Encourage students to explain their
    positions.
Jaguars
October 10, 2006
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