Make arrangements for student use of the school computer lab and/or media center for research.
Provide materials that may be helpful for the poster construction.
Explain that Salt Lake City will host the 2002 Olympic Winter Games. Every Olympics has
a mascot. (Explain and define the word mascot) The Salt Lake Organizing Committee for
the 2002 Olympic Winter Games selected three animals as mascots. They are the Snowshoe
Hare (Powder), the Coyote (Copper), and the American Black Bear (Coal).
Help students to research and find information about the three animals.
Ask students why they think that these animals were chosen? (Mascots are usually chosen
because they symbolize something about the culture or area where the Olympics are being held.
They are also cute!)
Explain that Olympic Mascots always have names. Ask students to think about the names,
Powder, Copper and Coal. Why were these names selected? (The names represent Utah resources.
Powder represents snow, Copper and Coal are mining resources.)
Ask students what other Utah animals might have been selected as a mascot. Draw the new
animal and give it a name. Draw a mascot for the school using a symbolic animal.
Activity 2: Animals Adapt to the Weather
Preparation
Same as Activity 1
Tools and Resources
Same as Activity 1
Instruction
Ask students to draw a picture of themselves wearing their winter outdoor clothes.
Discuss student drawings, pointing out what clothing is worn to keep them warm.
Explain that just as people wear different clothes during the winter than they do in the
summer, animals adapt to the changes in the weather as well.
Look at pictures of snowshoe rabbits, coyotes, and bears. Read about their behaviors
and adaptations. Help students identify the ways in which each animal adapts to the
winter. (Bears hibernate, rabbits change color to match the snow, etc.)
Discuss the ways in which other Utah animals adapt to changing weather.
Divide a piece of drawing paper into three sections. Assign students to draw a picture
of each mascot in it's own section of the paper. Under each picture write several
facts about the animal.
Assessment
Students will:
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List ways in which animals adapt to changes in weather
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Explain why the mascots were selected to represent Utah in 2002
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Extensions
Students are asked to determine what effects varying climates would have on the above animals.
Discuss the problems rabbits, coyotes and bears face as their habitat decreases and they must
share the environment with more humans.
