Welcome to the Giant Panda Challenge

What’s it all about?

The Giant Panda Challenge is all about developing your thinking, problem solving, ICT and teamwork skills!

Effective communication is essential if you are to find solutions and make it to the end of the Challenge!

You should try and complete this challenge with your team although your teacher will be there to guide you along the way. Make your decisions

carefully, work together and most importantly, have fun!

What do you need to do?

The Giant Panda Challenge has 5 sets of tasks. You won’t have enough time to work on every task as a whole team.

You need to sensibly share out the tasks – take responsibility for a specific task/question and work hard to find the answers!

Remember to communicate with your teammates - share your findings.

Record what you have found out in a learning portfolio.

Are you ready to let your imagination run wild?

A Global Institution

The G7 group meets annually.

What does the group’s name mean? Where did they meet in 2014?

Name an important decision that this group has made.

Stop Press!The leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United

Kingdom, the United States, (G7 leaders), the President of the European Council and the President of the European Commission meet

each year to discuss important global issues.

You have been invited to present to the G7 leaders at the next summit. They are keen to find out about the negative impacts of climate change which is a major threat to the Giant Panda population in

certain parts of the world!

They have decided to send a number of task force teams around the world to bring back essential information. The teams will travel in eco-

friendly hot-air balloons.

The ChallengeYou and your fellow teammates have been chosen to form Task Force Teams.

Your job is to solve your group’s tasks and report back on what you have found out.This will help inform the Summit about climate change, its impact on the giant panda

population around the world and other threats to this species.

You and your team must decide on the most effective way of reporting back to the Summit. Your feedback should include:

*Background information on Giant Pandas*The main issues affecting conservation

*Your recommendations for the future of the Giant Panda

First Reactions?Use the Compass Points thinking routine to explore what the team feels about the task

Making a presentation to the Summit about global warming and the future

of the giant panda.

Need to know – what additional information or skills would help you with this challenge?

Excited – what excites you about this challenge?

Stance – what is your stance or feeling about the challenge ahead/what do

you have to do to succeed?

Worrisome – what are your worries or concerns?

Teamwork is Crucial!Design a LOGO and create a MOTTO or SLOGAN for your team that demonstrates what you

are all about.

In your team, decide on the most important jobs that will need to be done.

Agree who will take on each job and what his or her title will be.

Create a set of rules for effective team working.

Be a DetectiveFINDING THE EVIDENCE

In your team, brainstorm the different sources you could use to find out information in this challenge.

(remember, the internet is not the only source of information)

RECORDING THE EVIDENCE

As you complete each task, keep a record of your findings in your team portfolio.

What did you find out/solve?How did you go about the task?

(remember to keep evidence such as replies to e-mails, video and taped discussions)

What do we already know?What do you know about giant pandas and global warming already? Use sticky notes

to show your prior knowledge and what you want to find out. It may be useful to keep this grid on display in Task Force HQ.

Giant Pandas/Global Warming

KWhat do we know already?

WWhat do we want to know?

LWhat have we learned?

The Tasks1

2

3

4

5Finding the Giant Panda

Habitat Exploration

Things are Heating Up!

Will We Miss Giant Pandas?

What Can We Do?

If at any point you get lost, click on the panda symbol at the bottom left of each page to return to this page!

Finding the Giant Panda1

Most wild giant pandas are found in the Sichuan region of China, an area of mountainous forest that covers over 9000 square kilometres.

Your team decides to travel here.

•Is the Sichuan region in the northern or southern hemisphere?

•Using a map, illustrate your hot air balloon journey from Scotland to this part of the world. Remember to include distances!

•Will this be a long journey for a hot air balloon? Why?

Habitat Exploration2

Around 450 species of vertebrate live in the Sichuan region including the red panda, takin, golden snub-nosed monkey, snow leopard, clouded leopard, Asiatic

black bear, white-eared pheasant, Tibetan snow cock, snow partridge, Temminck’s tragopan, common buzzard, golden eagle, Alpine chough

and spectacled parrotbill.

•What can you find out about these and other species in the region?

•How many different ways can you find to group or pair these different species? (e.g. by anatomy, behaviour…)

2 Habitat ExplorationEmergency! Emergency!

Your team’s official guide and photographer has fallen ill. It is now down to your team to photograph some animals in their natural habitat.

Be careful however, many animals are naturally cautious so you will have to take great care!

Try and photograph up to 10 different animals in their natural habitat.

Habitat Exploration2

Whilst exploring the giant panda’s habitat in the Sichuan region, you decide to make a postcard showing some of the

team exploring.

Remember to write a message on the back and show where the card is from!

Task Force HeadquartersGenève

Switzerland1209

address

Things are Heating Up!

Have you heard about how the world's getting hotter? Some people say it is. Some say it isn't. Who's right? And does it matter? How will it affect you and your

friends? How will it affect giant pandas? What can we do about it? These are some of the things your team

must investigate!

Move on to the next page….

3

Things are Heating Up!

What links each of these pictures?

3

Things are Heating Up!Connect to the BBC Weather Forecast here.

Record and compare the annual rainfall for Scotland and China.

Record the average summer and winter temperatures for Scotland and compare with China.

What are the main differences?

At what time of year would you choose to visit China? Why?

3

It’s a sad thought isn’t it!

Move on to the next

page to find out more…

4 What would the world be like without giant pandas?

How could we tell our children that the beautiful black and white animal in their story books no longer exist in the wild?

Will we miss giant pandas?Giant pandas are an endangered species, with only an estimated 1,600 left in

the wild.

Without significant conservation efforts, the giant panda will become extinct.

•Give at least 3 more reasons for the decline in the giant panda population throughout the world.

•Take one of your reasons above and outline to the Summit why that factor is negatively affecting giant pandas.

•Will we miss giant pandas if they become extinct? Why?

4

Will We Miss Giant Pandas?The G7 leaders are keen to work with partner agencies to address the

problems giant pandas face.

•Can you recommend one organisation that is helping to conserve the giant panda population throughout the world?

•Provide the Summit with an overview of what this organisation is doing to try and protect giant pandas.

4

What Can We Do?5

Part of your presentation to the Summit should focus on what members of the public throughout the world can do to prevent the

giant panda population becoming extinct!“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens

can change the world; indeed it's the only thing that ever has.”— Margaret Mead

With your team, create an action plan for the steps you would take to encourage people throughout the world to

conserve the Giant Panda population.

Back on Home Soil!

Well done!

You have made it home in one piece and are now ready to stand in front of the Summit to present your findings.

Make them pay attention to what you have to say – this is your chance to make a difference!

Final Reactions?Use the Compass Points thinking routine to explore how the team feels now that you have completed the task

Making a presentation to the Summit about global warming and the future

of the giant panda.

Need to know – what additional information or skills do you need to work on in this way again?

Excited – what excited you about this challenge?

Stance – what is your stance or feeling about working in this way?

Worrisome – what were the difficulties or

concerns?

Thanks for helping to save me!

Image credits:

Slide 1 - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AGiant_Panda_eating_Bamboo.JPGSlide 2 - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vraagteken.svgSlide 5 - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mongolfi%C3%A8re.jpgSlide 6 - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3APanda_closeup.jpgSlide 7 - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ACompass_icon_matte.svgSlide 8 - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AWorking_Together_Teamwork_Puzzle_Concept.jpgSlide 12 - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AP_question.pngSlide 14 - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AGiant_Panda_eating_Bamboo.JPGSlide 15 - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ASichuan_in_China_(%2Ball_claims_hatched).svgSlide 16 - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ARakiura_386.jpgSlide 18 - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AEarth_On_Stove.pngSlide 19 - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AGiant_Panda_in_Beijing_Zoo_1.JPG

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AEarth_On_Stove.pnghttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ABamboo_(3708256).jpg

Slide 20 - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rain_on_grass2.jpgSlide 21 - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3APanda_Cub_(4274178216).jpgSlide 23 - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AAiluropoda_melanoleuca_Schoenbrunn_07-2008.jpgSlide 26 - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ACompass_icon_matte.svgSlide 27 - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3APanda_Cub_from_Wolong%2C_Sichuan%2C_China.JPG