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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Where Do We Come From? An Introduction to Primate Biology

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders explore skeletal biology. Through a discussion and video observation, 7th graders investigate how the anatomy is adapted to the environment. Students study primates and explore their characteristics and behaviors.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Apes To Man

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students study primates and their evolution history.  In this role play lesson students view a video on evolution then demonstrate how primates walked and other observations they noticed in the film. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ape Genius

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students watch a video and discuss the research on the intelligence of apes. In this primate instructional activity, students view a NOVA video about ape intelligence. They work in groups to take notes on the observations and conclusions...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Primate Evolution

For Students 9th - 12th
In this evolution learning exercise, students review 9 terms associated with the evolution of primates. Students place 6 terms into a crossword puzzle and 3 terms into fill in the blank statements.
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Lesson Plan
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College

Serc: The Opposable Thumb as a Human Adaptation: Thumb Taping Lab

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students conduct a short experiment to determine the importance of the opposable thumb by taping their thumb to render it useless while they proceed to do an everyday activity. In the end students will have the opportunity to reflect on...
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Website
Other

The American Society of Primatologists

For Students 9th - 10th
The American Society of Primatologists is an educational and scientific organization that aims to understand non-human primates and to facilitate the exchange of information about them.
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Lesson Plan
Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of Natural History: Zoo Labs

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Five inquiry-based investigations designed for the observation of primates in a zoo setting. The labs ask guiding questions and list notable primate behaviors.
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Handout
San Diego Zoo Global

San Diego Zoo: Chimpanzee

For Students 9th - 10th
This resource provides detailed information about the chimpanzee, as well as several pictures and audio clips.
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Handout
Globio

Glossopedia: Primates

For Students 3rd - 8th
Primates are a group of mammals that include apes, humans, monkeys, and prosimians. Primate characteristics and anatomy are explored, as well as life cycles, behavior and diet. Human impacts on other primate species have been...
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Website
University of Wisconsin

The Wisconsin Primate Research Center: Primate Info Net

For Students 9th - 10th
Information about primates, includes links to primate centers and organizations. Find out about the International Directory of Primatology. Click into "Resources on Primatology" and then "About the Primates" to get to primate-specific...
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Handout
Wikimedia

Wikipedia: Primate

For Students 9th - 10th
Wikipedia offers several paragraphs of information on the term, "Primate," including a species chart and hyperlinked terms.
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Unit Plan
TED Talks

Ted: Ted Ed: How Smart Are Orangutans?

For Students 9th - 10th
Along with humans, orangutans belong to the Hominidae family tree, which stretches back 14 million years. Lu Gao shares some amazing facts about these incredibly intelligent great apes from Asia. [4:33]
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Lesson Plan
National Health Museum

Access Excellence: Molecular Biology/primate Phylogeny

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This lesson plan involves comparison of amino acids to create a phylogenetic tree of primates. Students will also use other species information to draw conclusions about evolutionary relationships.
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Handout
Smithsonian Institution

Smithsonian National Zoo: Zoogoer Magazine: Easy as 1,2,3

For Students 9th - 10th
Rob Shumaker's article in Zoogoer Magazine focuses on a variety of primates, from orangutans to chimpanzees, and their responses to tests and procedures including the Boysens tests.
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Article
Smithsonian Institution

Smithsonian National Zoo: Zoogoer Magazine: The Question of Primate Language

For Students 9th - 10th
Alex Hawes's article deals with a variety of topics related to primates language and communication skills. Several of the topics covered in the article include Animal Linguists, When Monkey Talks People Listen, Ape Bilinguists, and more.
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Handout
Animal Fact Guide

Animal Fact Guide: Bonobo

For Students 3rd - 8th
Where in the world can you see a bonobo in the wild? This reference site features information not only on the habitat of the bonobo but also its physical characteristics, diet, breeding patterns, unique traits and behavior, conservation...
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Handout
A-Z Animals

A Z Animals: Animal Facts: Orang Utan (Pongo Pygmaeus

For Students 9th - 10th
Provides photographs and a fact card about the orangutan. Discusses where they are found, the two species types, physical characteristics and anatomy, distribution and habitat, behavior and lifestyle, life cycle, diet, predators,...
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Handout
Lincoln Park Zoo

Lincoln Park Zoo: Western Lowland Gorilla

For Students 9th - 10th
Use this site for information on the Western Lowland Gorilla. The information consists of special adaptations the gorilla has had to make, what it looks like, where it is found in the wild, what it likes to eats, and what its...
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Lesson Plan
National Health Museum

Nhm: Restriction Maps to Cladograms Lesson

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This lesson plan requires students to analyze DNA restriction maps to determine the differences in the sequence for several primates and humans. They then use the information to create a cladogram.
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Handout
World Wildlife Fund for Nature

World Wildlife Fund: Chimpanzee

For Students 9th - 10th
See what you can learn about Chimpanzees with this World Wildlife Fund information page.
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Interactive
American Museum of Natural History

American Museum of Natural History: Ruffed Lemur O Logy Card

For Students 3rd - 8th
OLogy cards are like virtual baseball cards about all kinds of science topics. This one is about the ruffed lemur and it contains information about the habitat, diet, and other ecological information. Make sure to read about the release...
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Website
Ducksters

Ducksters: Animals for Kids: Gorilla

For Students 1st - 8th
Kids learn about the Gorilla, strong and intelligent African primate that is endangered.
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Graphic
Curated OER

Wisconsin Prc Logo

For Students 9th - 10th
Information about primates, includes links to primate centers and organizations. Find out about the International Directory of Primatology. Click into "Resources on Primatology" and then "About the Primates" to get to primate-specific...