Students research animals they would like to display at their zoo. Of course, all of these animals have special needs, and the zoo has limited resources. The students are faced with the decision of what animals they can include and which they must give up. In this integrated unit, students in grades 4 through 6 use economics to develop analytical and critical thinking kills while incorporating science, math graphing skills, and language arts. This unit is contained in a three-ring binder and includes a map for zoo design and a videotape of the St. Louis zoo.
Students learn about business first-hand as they become zoo managers and make business decisions.
They learn what the zoo's goals are and how a rain forest exhibit would help the zoo achieve these goals. Students study the rain forest, its makeup, its animals, and its fragile balance. They seek to reproduce a rain forest in their zoo, but to do so, they must examine the costs incurred by the zoo and on different concessions they might produce in order to boost revenue. One particularly profitable concession is the rain forest game. Students, working in groups, construct and they play the game, which reinforces the economic, business, and scientific concepts they've encountered during the unit.