Educator Resources

Fighting Extinction - Why we are here?
Educator Resource Booklets (Grades K-8)
Self-guided Tour Scripts (Grades 1-7)
Adopt-A-Pond Wetland Conservation Program (Grades 1-8)
Animal Enrichment
Animal Fact Sheets
Aqua-Links (Grade 7)
Conservation
Pictures, Social Media, and Videos
General Zoo Information
Great Lakes and Redside Dace (Grades 1, 2, 7, & 8)
Great Lakes Teaching & Learning Resource (Grade 8)
Turtle Island Conservation (Grades 1-6)

 

 

Educator Resource Booklets - Curriculum-linked

(Grades K-8)
Grades K-8 - What’s New at the Zoo Inquiry-based Resource Package Part 1
Grades K-8 - What’s New at the Zoo Inquiry-based Resource Package Part 2
Grade 1 - Needs & Characteristics of Living Things
Grade 2 - Growth & Changes in Animals
Grade 3 - Growth & Changes in Plants
Grade 4 - Habitats & Communities
Grade 5 - Human Organ Systems
Grade 6 - Biodiversity
Grade 7 - Interactions in the Environment
Grade 8 - Water Systems
Grades K-8 - Polar Bears and the Arctic Teacher Resource Package
Grades 1-8 - Black-footed Ferret Teacher Activity Guide

 

Self-guided Tour Scripts

(Grades 1-7)
Download a self-guided tour script to help you use the Zoo animals and exhibits to teach important curriculum concepts and to connect your students with nature.

Grade 1 - Characteristics & Needs of Living Things
Grade 2 - Growth & Change in Animals
Grade 3 - Plant & Animal Interactions
Grade 4 - Animal Habitats & Communities
Grade 5 - Animal Digestive Systems
Grade 6 - Biodiversity & Climate Change
Grade 7 - Interactions within Ecosystems
Grades 1-3 - Eurasia Wilds (Primary)
Grades 4-6 - Eurasia Wilds (Junior)
Toronto Zoo Scavenger Hunt

 

Adopt-A-Pond Wetland Conservation Program

(Grades 1-8)
Bats- A Conservation Guide; Bat Awareness App; How the Toronto Zoo is helping 
Rattlesnakes - Lessons and Activities 
Turtles - Lessons and Activities 
Wetlands - Lessons and Activities 
Species Guides
Games - Frogs, Turtles, and Toads

Additional resources (e.g. posters, species identification guides, brochures) can be ordered by contacting the Adopt-A-Pond Coordinator at 416-392-5999 or [email protected]

Animal Fact Sheets

Click here to find out more about our amazing animals.

 

Aqua-Links

(Grade 7)
Focusing on the water conservation and the aquatic ecosystems of the Great Lakes of North America and East Africa, these lesson plans have been developed with the intention of providing direct curriculum links to the Grade 7 Understanding Life Systems: Interactions within Ecosystems strand of The Ontario Science and Technology Curriculum.

Lesson 1 - The Great Lakes of the World
Lesson 2 - Ecosystems (part 1)
Lesson 3 - Ecosystems (part 2)
Lesson 4 - Alien Invaders
Lesson 5 - The Great Lakes of East Africa (part 1)
Lesson 6 - The Great Lakes of East Africa (part 2)
Lesson 7 - The Great Lakes of East Africa (part 3)
Glossary

 

Conservation

Species Spotlight

– Learn more about at-risk species the Toronto Zoo is helping to save and protect

Why We Need Zoos

– TEDx Toronto Talk delivered by Dr. Gabriela Mastromonaco (Toronto Zoo Curator - Reproductive Programs & Research)
Great Big Story – On the Brink video clips: 

Bald Eagle
Blanding’s Turtle
Massasauga Rattlesnake
Bat Research and Conservation

– Partners in Research Live Event. Why do bats matter? What should you do if you find a bat? Watch to learn the answers!

Are you and your students interested in helping to protect plants, animals, and their environment? Click here to find out more about conservation projects the Toronto Zoo supports and learn how you can get involved.

Pictures, Social Media, and Videos

Pictures & Social Media - @TheTorontoZoo

Facebook
Instagram
Pinterest
Twitter

Videos
YouTube - @TheTorontoZoo
Fighting Extinction – Why we are here

 

General Zoo Information

Check out these informative booklets that answer some of the most commonly asked Zoo questions.

Zoos and Conservation
Toronto Zoo - Facts and Figures
Zoo Careers
Feeding Time at the Toronto Zoo

 

Great Lakes and the Redside Dace

(Grades 1, 2, & 7)
The redside dace is a small fish that is classified as "threatened" in Southern Ontario. The Toronto Zoo and its partners are working hard to protect the redside dace and its aquatic habitat and raise awareness of its plight. The following lesson plans and activities were designed with the intention of providing direct curriculum links to the expectations outlined in the Ontario Science and Technology Curriculum.

Grade 1 & 2 - Redside Dace Lesson Plans
Grade 1 & 2 - Redside Dace Activity Booklet
Grade 7 - Redside Dace Lesson Plans

Additional Great Lakes resources are available in English, French, Mandarin, and Panjabi (Punjabi) and can be ordered by contacting 416-392-6022 or emailing [email protected].

Inquiry-based Great Lakes Teaching & Learning Resource (Grade 8)

Great Lakes Teaching & Learning Resource website
Student Workbook
Teacher’s Guide
Case Scenario 1 – Missing
Case Scenario 2 – The Green Machine

 

Turtle Island Conservation

(Grades 1-6)
Turtle Island Conservation is a conservation program that utilizes a First Nations cultural lens in the commitment to preserve water and the biodiversity of wetland creatures that inhabit these sacred spaces and places.

Click here

to download curriculum-linked Turtle Island Conservation Activity Guides.