Alphabet Soup Activities - New England Primate Conservancy

SELECT A PRIMATE SPECIES AND GET CREATIVE!

GETTING STARTED:

Go to Primates-At-a-Glance, in the menu above, to select the primate that will be the subject of your project. They’re listed by region and biological order—apes, monkeys, and prosimians. (Visit Primate Facts to learn the differences in the biological order of primates)

Select a species that interests you OTHER THAN those featured in the Alphabet Soup of Conservation video. Choose one that you’d like to learn more about, or one that you’d like other people to know is at risk or could soon be at risk. You’ll know the difference because now you know what the Conservation Status categories mean. If you’ve forgotten, go back and watch the video again.

After you’ve viewed the Primates-At-a-Glance graphics and selected your primate, click on that graphic to go to its Primate Species Profile. There, you’ll learn all about the species.

Now the fun begins!

HERE ARE SOME GREAT PROJECT IDEAS. CLICK ON THE ONE OR ONES THAT YOU LIKE FROM THE PROJECT DESCRIPTIONS

Write an essay, story, blog, poem, song, spoken word, or other written or verbal art form
Create a drawing, painting, collage, or other visual art form
Create a meme, infographic, poster, or other graphic art form
Create a video, slideshow presentation, podcast, or other media art form
Share on Social Media
Share with your friends, family, and classmates
Helpful resources

WRITE AN ESSAY, STORY, BLOG, POEM, SONG, SPOKEN WORD, OR OTHER WRITTEN OR VERBAL ART FORM…

Here are some ideas:

- Describe the ape, monkey, or prosimian species, including where it lives, how it lives, the Conservation Status, and the threats that the species is facing.
- Create a written narrative, essay, or blog about the primate species that you selected and why it is endangered.
- Or write a poem or a haiku that includes the same information.
- Or, using the same information, create a song or Spoken Word to share with your class or friends.
- And please share it with us too at [email protected]! We might just post it on our social media networks.

CREATE A DRAWING, PAINTING, COLLAGE OR OTHER VISUAL ART FORM…

Create your own drawing using pencil, charcoals, color pencils, or paints.

Include the name of the species, its conservation status, and the reason for that status.

If you like, use one of the photos from Primates At-a-Glance or from Primate Species Profiles as a “model.” (There are usually 3 photos per profile, which will give you a pretty good idea of what the primate looks like and how the species lives.)

Make yours all about the species’ conservation status and why it has the status that it has.

CREATE A MEME, INFOGRAPHIC, POSTER, OR OTHER GRAPHIC ART FORM…

Using a photo or photos of a threatened primate species, create a meme or infographic that shows its conservation status and why the species is at risk.

Go to Primates-At-A-Glance, from the menu above, to find species other than the ones featured in the Alphabet Soup of Conservation video. Create a different type of meme or infographic than the ones in the series. Make sure yours is all about the species’ conservation status and why it has the status that it has.

You can create your meme or infographic on a posterboard by downloading and printing photos, doing your own lettering with markers, and creating your own overall design. Be creative!

Or you can create beautiful digital memes and infographics that you can easily share on social media with Canva’s free app at www.canva.com. We created some samples (below) to give you an idea of what they might look like. But use your own creativity!

Memes and infographics look great on social media and they help you to spread the good word about what everyone can do to help your chosen species.

Here are a few sample memes and a poster that we created using Canva’s templates.

Select your own templates, use your own photos, and add your own text.

CREATE A VIDEO, SLIDESHOW PRESENTATION, PODCAST, OR OTHER MEDIA ART FORM…

Create a short video using your phone, camera, your computer’s video creation software (many computers come with video creation software installed or downloadable for free), or use an online video app, like we do. We use WeVideo, www.wevideo.com. They offer free video creation software that includes access to some photos, video clips, music, and sound effects or you can import your own too. Check out our YouTube channel to get ideas from our videos. But be sure to create your video in your own style. It could be a video of you talking about the species, photos with your voice-over, or videos and photos with text and music.

Or create a slideshow presentation with your own pictures, words, music, and maybe even a voice-over. You might already have presentation programs, like Microsoft PowerPoint for PC or KeyNote for Mac, on your computer. Or you can use a free app like Prezi at www.Prezi.com. We created a Prezi for our Life in the World’s Tropical Rainforests lesson and activities. You can view it here. It’s a different topic, and it’s much longer and more detailed than yours needs to be, but it gives you an idea of how your Prezi look.

USE SOCIAL MEDIA TO CONNECT YOUR PEOPLE TO YOUR PROJECT

Now that you know what you know, what are you going to do?
Sharing what you’ve learned makes a compelling story and project.

Post your project on social media. Let your friends and followers know what you’ve learned through your essay, presentation, blog, video, meme, song, spoken word, podcast, painting, drawing, collage, poster, or infographic. Tell them what they can to to save primates and their habitats.

You may inspire someone to take action on behalf of your chosen primate species. Even small actions make a big difference. Millions of people adjusting their daily habits in small ways creates BIG changes in the world.

TALK TO YOUR FRIENDS, CLASSMATES, TEACHERS, AND FAMILY MEMBERS ABOUT WHAT YOU’VE LEARNED

Everyone needs to know what’s at stake. 70% of primate species are threatened by extinction. All threats are due to human activities that result in habitat loss. That means that every species in your chosen primates’ habitats is also at risk. Let your people know what is lost when we lose species and their habitats. And let them know that everyone can make a difference to either help or to make things worse.

You may inspire someone to take action on behalf of your chosen primate species. Even small actions make a big difference. Millions of people adjusting their daily habits in small ways creates BIG changes in the world.

Your actions make a difference!

ALPHABET SOUP!

HELPFUL RESOURCES

Copyright © New England Primate Conservancy 2016-2022. You may freely view and use this lesson and videos for educational purposes.
For questions or comments about NEPC Lesson and Activities, e-mail us at [email protected].