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Development and Biodiversity

Artist's depiction of a fight with a Grizzly bear
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Students will watch the Lost L.A. episode about the grizzly bear and learn about the following: Where did it live? What did it eat? How did it interact with local populations? What factors led to its eradication from Los Angeles? Students will discuss the reasons why people moved to Los Angeles. Students will investigate the origins of the state flag of California. Students will read firsthand accounts of grizzly sightings and hunts. Students will look at and discuss primary source illustrations and writing. Students will compare the plight of local mountain lions, in particular P22. How can we learn from the grizzly bear to ensure that the same fate does not happen to them?

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The premiere episode, "Wild L.A.," unwraps the complicated relationship between the city and its natural environment. The program explores the origin of the Santa Ana winds, that infamous weather phenomenon that trigger allergies and frays nerves.
Wild L.A.

Lesson: What impact has urban development had on biodiversity in the Los Angeles area?

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Content Standards

3.3: Students draw from historical and community resources to organize the sequence of local historical events and describe how each period of settlement left its mark on the land.

CCSS Standards

CCSS.ELA- LITERACY-RL.3.1: Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.2: Determine the main idea of a text; recount the key details and explain how they support the main idea.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.3: Describe the relationship between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text, using language that pertains to time, sequence, and cause/effect.

CCSS.ELA- LITERACY.RI.3.7: Use information gained from illustrations (e.g., maps, photographs) and the words in a text to demonstrate understanding of the text (e.g., where, when, why, and how key events occur.)

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W3.3.1.B: Provide reasons that support the opinion.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.2: Write informative explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.3.1: Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.



UCLA History Geography Project USC Libraries Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West PBS SoCal

The Lost LA Curriculum project is a collaboration among PBS SoCal, USC Libraries, the UCLA History-Geography Project and the Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West.

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