The Incredible Pangolin Rescue

Essential Questions: What causes a species to become threatened with extinction? Why does it matter if a species disappears? How can humans help species that are in danger of extinction?

Essential Questions: What causes a species to become threatened with extinction? Why does it matter if a species disappears? How can humans help species that are in danger of extinction?

Preview Vocabulary (10 minutes)

• Project the Google Slides version of Vocabulary Definitions and Practice on your whiteboard. Review the definitions and complete the activity as a class. Highlighted words: critically endangered, delicacy, dispatching, rehabilitated, trafficked. Audio pronunciations of the words and a read-aloud of the definitions are embedded on the slides. Optionally, print the PDF version or share the slideshow link directly to your LMS and have students preview the words and complete the activity independently before class.

Preview Vocabulary (10 minutes)

• Project the Google Slides version of Vocabulary Definitions and Practice on your whiteboard. Review the definitions and complete the activity as a class. Highlighted words: critically endangered, delicacy, dispatching, rehabilitated, trafficked. Audio pronunciations of the words and a read-aloud of the definitions are embedded on the slides. Optionally, print the PDF version or share the slideshow link directly to your LMS and have students preview the words and complete the activity independently before class.

“The Incredible Pangolin Rescue” 

• Invite a volunteer to read the As You Read box on page 20 or at the top of the digital story page.

• Read the article once as a class. (Differentiation: Share the lower-Lexile version of the article.) Optionally, have students listen to the article read-aloud while they follow along. The read-aloud is located in the Resources tab in Teacher View and at the top of the story page in Student View.

• Divide students into groups to read the article again and respond to the following Close-Reading and Critical-Thinking Questions, also located in the Resources tab.

Close-Reading Questions (25 minutes)

• Who was Lucy and why was she in danger? (key ideas and details) Lucy was a Sunda pangolin living in Southeast Asia. Lucy got caught in a snare set by poachers, people who illegally capture or kill wild animals. The snare left Lucy gravely injured. Lucy was taken to a market where the poachers planned to sell her meat and scales. 

• For what reasons are pangolins being poached? (text evidence) Pangolins are being poached for various uses. For example, in the Americas, people use pangolin skin to create fashion accessories. In China and Vietnam, pangolin meat is considered a special food. In much of Asia, people use pangolin scales in traditional medicines. No matter what the pangolins are used for, though, the bottom line is that poachers capture pangolins to make money.

• Why are pangolins especially vulnerable to poachers? (text evidence) According to the article, “Pangolins are small and gentle. When they sense danger, they curl up into a tiny ball, using their tough scales to form a wall of armor around their body.” Taking on this shape protects pangolins from predators but makes it easy for poachers to snatch them. 

• What steps did the Wildlife Alliance take to rescue Lucy? (problem and solution) The Wildlife Alliance has an organized network of informants in Cambodia. One of these informants discovered that a trafficker was holding a pangolin—Lucy—captive in the Battambang Market. Nick Marx, the leader of the rescue efforts, immediately dispatched the Wildlife Rapid Rescue Team, which quietly surrounded the shop where Lucy was being held and then presented a search warrant. The trafficker took off running, but an officer was able to catch him. Meanwhile, the rest of the team located Lucy and began to care for her. 

• Compare and contrast Lucy at the beginning and end of the article, focusing on the introduction and the section “Hope for the Future.” (compare and contrast) At the beginning of the article, Lucy is on the brink of death. A trafficker has locked her in a cage, and she is gravely injured. Most alarmingly, she is about to be sold at the Battambang market for her meat and scales. In contrast, at the end of the article, she has mostly recovered from her injuries. After spending two months at the Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Center, she is ready to live in a special enclosure within a rainforest. Her caretakers take her to the Tatai Wildlife Sanctuary, where she spends the rest of her life in comfort and freedom.

“The Amazing Pangolin” 

• Give students a few minutes to study the infographic.

• As a class, discuss the following Close-Reading and Critical-Thinking Questions, which apply to the article and the infographic.

Close-Reading Questions (5 minutes)

• In a single sentence, summarize what makes pangolins special creatures, according to the infographic. (summarizing) Not only are pangolins unique creatures that have been around since prehistoric times, they play a critical role in their ecosystem. 

• Based on the infographic, what can you infer would be a consequence of pangolins becoming extinct? (inference) According to the infographic, pangolins have huge appetites: A single pangolin eats 70,000,000 insects a year. One type of insect they eat is the termite, a pest that eats wood. By eating termites, a single pangolin can save thousands of acres of forest from termite destruction. You can conclude that if pangolins were to become extinct, large areas of forest could be destroyed by termites because there would be no pangolins to control the termite population. This would have a ripple effect, threatening species who live in and otherwise depend on those trees for survival.

Critical-Thinking Questions (5 minutes)

• Why do you think the Wildlife Alliance and the Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Center worked so hard to save a single pangolin? Pangolins have a significant effect on the ecosystem. They keep forests healthy and thriving by eating termites, pests that could otherwise destroy this habitat. These organizations may also work to save pangolins because all creatures are intrinsically valuable, and it’s a human responsibility to treat them with respect and care—even more so when those creatures are in danger as a result of human activity.

• Why should people care about pangolins? About endangered species in general? Answers will vary. Some students may point out that pangolins are important because they keep insect populations under control. Other students may offer that pangolins are special creatures with remarkable qualities, such as their scales. Still others may argue for the intrinsic value of all creatures—in other words, all beings are important, regardless of whether they benefit humans directly. Learning about endangered species in general is important because we can’t fix problems humans have created if we are not educated about them. Additionally, the death of one endangered species has a ripple effect, with the potential to affect the entire ecosystem and all of the creatures in it—including humans.

“The Incredible Pangolin Rescue” 

• Invite a volunteer to read the As You Read box on page 20 or at the top of the digital story page.

• Read the article once as a class. (Differentiation: Share the lower-Lexile version of the article.) Optionally, have students listen to the article read-aloud while they follow along. The read-aloud is located in the Resources tab in Teacher View and at the top of the story page in Student View.

• Divide students into groups to read the article again and respond to the following Close-Reading and Critical-Thinking Questions, also located in the Resources tab.

Close-Reading Questions (25 minutes)

• Who was Lucy and why was she in danger? (key ideas and details) Lucy was a Sunda pangolin living in Southeast Asia. Lucy got caught in a snare set by poachers, people who illegally capture or kill wild animals. The snare left Lucy gravely injured. Lucy was taken to a market where the poachers planned to sell her meat and scales. 

• For what reasons are pangolins being poached? (text evidence) Pangolins are being poached for various uses. For example, in the Americas, people use pangolin skin to create fashion accessories. In China and Vietnam, pangolin meat is considered a special food. In much of Asia, people use pangolin scales in traditional medicines. No matter what the pangolins are used for, though, the bottom line is that poachers capture pangolins to make money.

• Why are pangolins especially vulnerable to poachers? (text evidence) According to the article, “Pangolins are small and gentle. When they sense danger, they curl up into a tiny ball, using their tough scales to form a wall of armor around their body.” Taking on this shape protects pangolins from predators but makes it easy for poachers to snatch them. 

• What steps did the Wildlife Alliance take to rescue Lucy? (problem and solution) The Wildlife Alliance has an organized network of informants in Cambodia. One of these informants discovered that a trafficker was holding a pangolin—Lucy—captive in the Battambang Market. Nick Marx, the leader of the rescue efforts, immediately dispatched the Wildlife Rapid Rescue Team, which quietly surrounded the shop where Lucy was being held and then presented a search warrant. The trafficker took off running, but an officer was able to catch him. Meanwhile, the rest of the team located Lucy and began to care for her. 

• Compare and contrast Lucy at the beginning and end of the article, focusing on the introduction and the section “Hope for the Future.” (compare and contrast) At the beginning of the article, Lucy is on the brink of death. A trafficker has locked her in a cage, and she is gravely injured. Most alarmingly, she is about to be sold at the Battambang market for her meat and scales. In contrast, at the end of the article, she has mostly recovered from her injuries. After spending two months at the Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Center, she is ready to live in a special enclosure within a rainforest. Her caretakers take her to the Tatai Wildlife Sanctuary, where she spends the rest of her life in comfort and freedom.

“The Amazing Pangolin” 

• Give students a few minutes to study the infographic.

• As a class, discuss the following Close-Reading and Critical-Thinking Questions, which apply to the article and the infographic.

Close-Reading Questions (5 minutes)

• In a single sentence, summarize what makes pangolins special creatures, according to the infographic. (summarizing) Not only are pangolins unique creatures that have been around since prehistoric times, they play a critical role in their ecosystem. 

• Based on the infographic, what can you infer would be a consequence of pangolins becoming extinct? (inference) According to the infographic, pangolins have huge appetites: A single pangolin eats 70,000,000 insects a year. One type of insect they eat is the termite, a pest that eats wood. By eating termites, a single pangolin can save thousands of acres of forest from termite destruction. You can conclude that if pangolins were to become extinct, large areas of forest could be destroyed by termites because there would be no pangolins to control the termite population. This would have a ripple effect, threatening species who live in and otherwise depend on those trees for survival.

Critical-Thinking Questions (5 minutes)

• Why do you think the Wildlife Alliance and the Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Center worked so hard to save a single pangolin? Pangolins have a significant effect on the ecosystem. They keep forests healthy and thriving by eating termites, pests that could otherwise destroy this habitat. These organizations may also work to save pangolins because all creatures are intrinsically valuable, and it’s a human responsibility to treat them with respect and care—even more so when those creatures are in danger as a result of human activity.

• Why should people care about pangolins? About endangered species in general? Answers will vary. Some students may point out that pangolins are important because they keep insect populations under control. Other students may offer that pangolins are special creatures with remarkable qualities, such as their scales. Still others may argue for the intrinsic value of all creatures—in other words, all beings are important, regardless of whether they benefit humans directly. Learning about endangered species in general is important because we can’t fix problems humans have created if we are not educated about them. Additionally, the death of one endangered species has a ripple effect, with the potential to affect the entire ecosystem and all of the creatures in it—including humans.

• Have students complete the Featured Skill Activity: Synthesis. This activity prepares them to respond to the writing prompt on page 23 in the printed magazine and at the bottom of the digital story page:

Drawing on information from the article and the infographic, create a poster, video, or slideshow about saving pangolins from extinction.

• Alternatively, have students choose a task from the Choice Board, a menu of culminating tasks. (Our Choice Board options include the writing prompt from the magazine, differentiated versions of the writing prompt, and additional creative ways for students to demonstrate their understanding of a story or article.)

• An entry form for the writing contest is available here to download.

• Have students complete the Featured Skill Activity: Synthesis. This activity prepares them to respond to the writing prompt on page 23 in the printed magazine and at the bottom of the digital story page:

Drawing on information from the article and the infographic, create a poster, video, or slideshow about saving pangolins from extinction.

• Alternatively, have students choose a task from the Choice Board, a menu of culminating tasks. (Our Choice Board options include the writing prompt from the magazine, differentiated versions of the writing prompt, and additional creative ways for students to demonstrate their understanding of a story or article.)

• An entry form for the writing contest is available here to download.