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Goals:

Content Standards
  • The student will learn the attributes of the bison, including physical size, habitat and herd size of the past vs. the present.
  • Students will identify where buffalo originated from and describe their habitat of today.
  • Students will understand why buffalo almost came to be extinct.

Supplies needed:

Pictorial Buffalo Outline sheet -  Download Bisonv.gif
Large wall map that has Canada, United States and Mexico on it.
Map of south Dakota - Download SDCountyMap.jpg
Colored Pencils/Markers
Bison Fact Sheet - Download: PDF | WORD
Where did the buffalo roam? - Download: PDF | WORD
Pictures of bison that instructor has collected
Website: http://doe.sd.gov/octa/ddn4learning/themeunits/buffaloroundup

Activity l

The students will read and discuss the Overview, Bison, bison: The Basics.

During this discussion please refer to bison images that the instructor has collected and posted around the room.

* Refer to the Bison Fact Sheet. Download: PDF | WORD
Cut apart each Bison Fact. Have individual students select a fact and read their fact to the class.
* Have students fill in the Pictorial Bison Outline sheet with facts learned. Download Bisonv.gif
* Bison Fact Sheet discussion. This outline can be used as a graphic organizer, following a web pattern, or as a note-taking worksheet. Use the completed outline as a resource for future discussions.

Activity 2

* Using the website examine maps of where buffalo originated as well as where buffalo are located at today across the United States as well as South Dakota.
* Use the Where Did the Buffalo Roam? activity sheet. Download: PDF | WORD
With this sheet, They should answer the following questions:

1. List the states and provinces that were originally part of the bison range.
2. What parts of today’s United States and Canada were home to the bison by 1870?
3. How many bison were estimated to exist by January 1, 1889?
4. Refer to a modern map and describe the types of geographical areas, which formed the original bison habitat on the North American continent. Possible Assessments:

  1. Draw the animal, including a typical habitat, as they understand it.
    Sample rubric located at http://rubistar.4teachers.org/view_rubric.php3?id=83433 or create your own at http://rubistar.4teachers.org
  2. Create a diorama regarding buffalo and their habitat.
    Sample rubric located at http://rubistar.4teachers.org/view_rubric.php3?id=83433 or create your own at http://rubistar.4teachers.org
  3. Write a short story on buffalo and where they originated and how they came to be in the United States from a buffalo's perspective.
    Sample rubric located at http://rubistar.4teachers.org/view_rubric.php3?id=83447 or create your own at http://ribistar.4teachers.org