Get Outside!

Snowshoe Hare

Class Description:

After comparing Minnesota hares and rabbits, students explore outside areas to find signs of snowshoe hares. They will study the adaptations, predator/prey relationships and population fluctuations of snowshoe hares.

Outcomes

Upon completion of the Snowshoe Hare class students will be able to:

  • List the three rabbits found in Minnesota and compare their adaptations.
  • Identify snowshoe hare eat marks, scat, tracks, forms and runways.
  • Outline normal population fluctuations and possible influences on populations.
  • Describe an ecological community including the idea of niche and predator/prey relationships.

Minnesota Graduation Standards

Wolf Ridge has aligned the Center's entire curriculum to Minnesota Department of Education Academic Standards. As the primary student audience at Wolf Ridge is from 4th-12th grade, the matrices address these grade levels. Teachers may request that their students focus upon a specific benchmark while attending Wolf Ridge. The Wolf Ridge Curriculum Standards Matrix addresses benchmarks in

  • Science
  • Math
  • History and Social Science
  • Language Arts
  • Arts

Wolf Ridge Curriculum Concepts

  • Adaptations: All living things have physical and behavioral adaptations which allow them to be successful in their environment.
  • Ecosystems: Predator/prey relationships are an example of coexistence in a balanced ecosystem.
  • Populations: Populations are limited to a density the environment can support by shortages of basic needs and may be further reduced by other mortality factors.
  • Populations: Normal populations fluctuate.
  • See entire Wolf Ridge Curriculum Framework

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Time
3 hours total
2 hours outdoors

Audience
4th grade - adult

Activity level
moderate

Travel
1 mile

Total uphill travel
200 feet