Threatened species game

Step 1:
In an open space spread large squares of newspaper on the ground. These
represent bushland. Each square can only support four native animals (students)
if intact. When the music plays students dance or move like native animals
around the newspaper. Liken this to night time with nocturnal animals. When the
music stops (sunrise) students need to find a newspaper to stand on.
Alternatively the students could be diurnal animals (awake during the day) and
find a safe place to hide in at night.

Step 2:
Start to remove newspaper sheets while providing a scenario for clearing native
vegetation such as We need to put a road through here, a housing development,
a new shopping centre, a school, etc.
Step 3:
As the newspapers are removed the students who are not standing on a
newspaper are also removed from the game. They represent native animals that
died because their homes have been destroyed and they couldnt find another.
Step 4:
As the game continues the sheets of newspaper become tatty and torn. These
represent bushland that is no longer big enough to support large native animals.
Remove the students and the paper from the game.
Questions and prompts: How long does it take the native animals to die off
without sufficient bush? What happens when the bush is cut up into small bits.

Extensions: Add another element to the game. As the number of students

decreases introduce other problem such as introduced plants and wildlife. After
the game ask the students to identify two reasons why the native animals were
at risk of becoming threatened, ie habitat destruction and feral animals. Can the
students think of ways in which we can prevent these problems?