Bagheera
Bagheera.com: Extinct in the Wild Caribbean Monk Seal
Though short, this article brings up some important points about extinct animals and how related species may go the same way. Be sure to read the "Questions for Thought" at the end.
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Cornell Lab of Ornithology: Modern Extinctions on Mainland North America
Since 1850 North America has lost three bird species--the Labrador Duck, Passenger Pigeon, and Carolina Parakeet--and the continued existence of another three is unlikely, namely the Eskimo Curlew, Ivory-billed Woodpecker, and Bachman's...
Ducksters
Ducksters: Endangered Animals for Kids: How They Become Extinct
How do endangered species and animals become extinct? Hunting, pollution, loss of habitat, and introduced species all play a part and are discussed on this site.
Read Works
Read Works: Saving Hawaiian Monk Seals
[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text about the decreasing population of the Hawaiian monk seals. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.
University of California
Ucmp: Life Has a History
This is a very good introduction to the role evolution plays in the development of biodiversity. These topics and extinction are explained with the use of colorful interactive pictures.
DOGO Media
Dogo News: Meet the Last Known Northern White Male Rhino
Article reports on the state of the white rhino species. Includes video.
American Geosciences Institute
American Geosciences Institute: How Do Species Change Over Geologic Time?
Find out about the ways that species change and evolve over time and generations.
American Institute of Biological Sciences
Action Bioscience: Mammoths: Resurrecting Extinct Megafauna
Explore arguments for and against cloning. Includes an introduction of how cloning can be done.
California State University
Cardboard Tree and Endangered Animals Lesson
Two short art lessons in one that introduce young learners to the idea of extinct animals and habitats. Each student will be creating and painting a habitat and assembling an owl. This could be adaptable to use the extinct animal of your...
BBC
Bbc: Gcse Bitesize: Evolution Aqa
Evolution is the change of inherited characteristics within a population over time through natural selection, which may result in the formation of a new species. Fossils provide a record of organisms that lived a long time ago. They also...
Museums Victoria
Museum Victoria: Wild: Thylacine (Thylacinus Cynocephalus)
Information about Thylacines, also known as Tasmanian Tigers. They became extinct after 100 years of Europeans settling in Tasmania.
BBC
Bbc News: 'Frozen Ark' to Save Animal Dna
This article describes a British project to store frozen samples of DNA from endangered species. The goal is to preserve genetic information, should a species go extinct.
Bagheera
Bagheera: Short Tailed Albatross
This site highlights the short-tailed albatross as a vanishing species. Content includes a focus on its habitat, history, causes of endangerment, and current conservation actions designed to help save it from extinction.
Read Works
Read Works: Back From the Brink
[Free Registration/Login Required] This nonfiction passage gives information about animals that are on the brink of extinction, including the following: bald eagle, grizzly bears, Hawaiian sea turtles, and Southern sea turtles. This...
Bagheera
Bagheera.com: Spotlight in the Wild
This web page is part of a larger site that focuses on endangered animals and conservation efforts. This page has several topics that are all relevant like the endangered species act, mass extinction, and the bald eagle.
University of Oxford (UK)
The Learning Zone: Animals
Learn all about the study of animals--zoology through this interactive website. You will learn about the processes that make animals alive, what makes them endangered or extinct, and the tree of life.
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: Disappearing Frogs
Kerry M. Kriger describes why frogs are on the verge of extinction and how you can help save them. [3:48]
Other
Koko: The Gorilla Foundation
The Gorilla Foundation promotes the protection, preservation and propagation of gorillas. Learn about gorillas, including basic gorilla life and the politics of extinction, as well as a "biography" of Koko, the signing gorilla.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Life Science
This unit covers the processes of photosynthesis, extinction, biomimicry and bioremediation. In the first lesson on photosynthesis, students learn how engineers use the natural process of photosynthesis as an exemplary model of a complex...
Read Works
Read Works: Saving the Rain Forests
[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text about protecting the rainforest and the animals that live there. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.
American Museum of Natural History
American Museum of Natural History: Ology: Endangered!
After making the gameboard, play this interactive learning game that teaches about "The Endangered Species Act", a law that protects animals and plants that are in danger of going extinct.
PBS
Pbs: Nature: Hawaii's Vulnerable Biodiversity
Because of Hawaii's isolation, endemic species evolved in their own unique way. With the arrival of foreigners and colonization, new species were introduced to the islands. The result being a crisis within the Hawaiian ecosystem,...
University of California
Ucmp: Island Biogeography and Evolution
This is a lesson designed by a biology teacher. In it, students use maps and evidence of island age, molecular genetics, morphology, and distance apart to determine how the islands came to be occupied by different species of lizards. It...
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: The Habitable Planet: Unit 9: Biodiversity Decline
This is an extensive learning module on biodiversity and its decline. It looks at ways biodiversity is threatened, the possibility of another mass extinction, the causes and consequences of habitat loss, factors that drive biodiversity...