Coyotes

Objectives:

• Students will be able to describe the physical characteristics of coyotes.

• Students will be able to identify the behavioral characteristics of coyotes.

• Students will be able to explain how coyotes are organized into groups and how they communicate with each other.

Suggested Grades:

3rd Grade - 4th Grade - 5th Grade

Lesson Procedure:

Print the reading comprehension worksheet passage and questions (see below).

Students should read the passage silently, then answer the questions. Teachers may also use the text as part of a classroom lesson plan.

Lesson Excerpt:

The word coyote means "barking dog." Coyotes are mammals that are closely related to wolves and to the dogs that people keep as pets. Coyotes live throughout the desert and mountains of North America. In the American southwest, coyotes are well known. These medium-sized dogs weigh between 15 and 45 pounds and are usually about four feet long. Coyotes are more like pet dogs than they are like wolves. They can run up to 43 miles per hour and jump as high as 12-14 feet. They are grayish brown to grayish yellow in color and usually have a white or light throat and belly. Coyotes are well known for their howl, especially when they "howl at the moon" at night. Howling is one thing coyotes have in common with wolves. Both wolves and coyotes howl to communicate with each other.

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