Pre-viewing Activities

1. Watch critter cam video via videostreaming so students may learn:

• what the Critter Cam is
• how Dr. Francis has used it to research
• how it is attached to various marine animals
• see footage taken by Critter Cam
• discover what scientists at National Geographic have learned through its use.

Another good source of information is the Crittercam Chronicles website

2. Assign students to spend time observing a wild animal or pet and recording their observations in a journal. How much time does the animal spend hunting for food? How successful is it? How much time does the animal spend eating? What else does it do? Students should describe the behavior of the animal and develop a "behavior budget" or pie graph of how the animal spends its time. Students should infer the reasons why an animal behaves and spends time in these ways. Students should also discuss in their journals how they believe a wild animal's behavior would be different if he were captive or a pet. If the animal is a pet or captive, students should discuss how it would spend time if it were a wild animal.

Post-viewing Activities
The teacher reads one or more of the stories from Spring Comes to the Ocean by Jean Craighead George. The teacher leads a discussion on the details of the way this story is told from the animal's point of view. Students go back to their journal and look at the behavior of the animal they observed and describe it from the animal's point of view. Students develop this into a finished piece of writing. Students could also choose to research one of the animals shown on the "critter cam" and describe an event from its point of view.