Discover Colombian Animals
Lesson plans to teach and learn about Colombian endangered species.
About the project
Team: Andrea Peralta, Federico Pardo, Ángela Maldonado
From 2023 to 2024, I was part of Salvando Primates, an incredible project led by biologist Federico Pardo and funded by the National Geographic Society.
During this project, I worked on designing exhibition materials for an immersive experience that sensorially and emotionally connects viewers with Colombia’s rich biodiversity.
The project also included an educational component, which I led by conducting user research with primary school teachers. Based on this research, I designed engaging materials to teach students about Colombian primates, their ecological roles, the threats they face, and solutions to biodiversity loss.
Following the completion of the primate lesson plans, we were approached by Entropika, an NGO operating in the Amazon, to design educational resources about Amazonian animals for teachers and students in indigenous communities.
Imperatives from user research with rural teachers who have worked in conservation projects
3 Lesson plans to develop:
Colombian national education standard
Identify and describe the flora, fauna, water and soil of my surroundings.
Guiding question
Who are colombian primates and how do they look?
Learning objective
Identify the 4 most endangered colombian primates.
Colombian national education standard
Recognize the importance of animals, plants, water, and soil in my environment and propose strategies to care for them.
Guiding question
Why are primates important for the forests they live in?
Learning objective
Understand the importance of primates in forest regeneration through seed dispersal and the benefits this brings to the ecosystem.
Colombian national education standard
Propose alternatives to care for my environment and prevent the dangers that threaten it.
Guiding question
How can we help to preserve forests and primates?
Learning objective
Identify the main threats to biodiversity loss in Colombia and propose strategies to tackle them.
Lesson plan example
The lesson plans and their structure were designed based on insights gathered during user research. A review of other teaching materials also helped identify best practices for creating lesson plans that are user-friendly for teachers.
Lesson plan 1
This lesson plan includes masks of the four most endangered primate species in Colombia, comic strips, coloring pages, and teacher instructions on how to use the materials. Students work in groups to read about one species, then mingle with other groups to share what they’ve learned about the species they studied.
LEsson plan 2
The second lesson plan teaches the seed dispersal process through an interactive class game. The materials include diagrams to guide the organization of the classroom and students for the game.
Lesson plan 3
For the third lesson, we designed a card deck game in which students organize cards representing threats to biodiversity. They then repeat the process with cards representing solutions. After the game, students participate in a writing activity where they invite a friend to make simple choices that contribute to biodiversity conservation.
Scalability
After seeing the potential of the material, I was contacted by Ángela Maldonado, director of Entropika, an NGO working in the Amazon. Together, we developed educational resources for eight Amazonian species, applying the same strategies used in the previous lesson plans.
Education material
Considering the teaching conditions in the Amazon region, we decided to design a binder that would allow teachers to progressively distribute the material to students. The Entropika team then conducted training sessions with teachers from various communities within the Amazon River basin. Teachers expressed great interest and gratitude for finally having access to materials about native biodiversity.
Open access
All of the materials are now available for free on Salvando Primate’s website, making it easier than ever to explore and learn about these incredible animals. We’ve also uploaded individual files for each species, so you can enjoy the content at home. To spread the word, I created social media posts to help promote these valuable resources.
