Mammoths

Teacher Resources

Mammoth Essentials for Teachers

Learn the basics about mammoths and their relatives at the University of California Museum of Paleontology.

From the Smithsonian, learn about the discovery of the first mammoth fossils and the development of scientific thought on extinct megafauna.

How did animals adapted to warm tropical climates evolve into Ice Age woolly mammoths? Learn more about mammoth evolution over time.

How did mammoths contribute to a healthy ecosystem? Learn about their role in wildfire control, seed dispersal, and more.

Why did the mammoths become extinct? Learn more about the end of the mammoths with scientists from Britain’s Natural History Museum. NOVA provides a summary of the most likely theories, but some scientists are exploring other possibilities. The debate is an interesting one for educators and students to explore.

The Elephant Encyclopedia has a large section devoted to characteristics of mammoths, their evolution and taxonomy, and excavation sites. The Mammuthus site provides an overview of mammoth life, extinction, and possible re-introduction.

Could mammoths be brought back to roam the earth once more? Find out how genetic engineering could make this possible and about the exciting possibilities for the future. Some scientists believe that re-introducing mammoths could even help combat modern climate change. However, there are ethical concerns about de-extinction of Ice Age mammoths. You might have students research these arguments for and against bringing back mammoths and defend their position in writing or oral debate.

Lesson Plans and Activities

From PBS LearningMedia, A Mammoth Surprise brings students to an active paleontologists’ dig where mammoths’ bodies have been preserved for 25,000 years.

Reawakening Extinct Species, also from PBS LearningMedia, explores the efforts to bring species back from extinction and the ethical pros and cons of this quest.

Mammals of the Ice Age is a classroom activity from NOVA that investigates the possible reasons why mammoths went extinct. Students are asked to consider the challenges they might face in a new environment and adaptations that might be necessary for survival.

The Idaho Historical Society offers an engaging, hands-on lesson plan (pages 7-15) that puts students in the role of paleontologists and encourages them to “think like a scientist.” As students identify, measure, and study mammoth bones at an archeological site, they use fossil clues to make hypotheses about how many mammoths lived there and what may have happened to them.

National Geographic Kids UK offers a primary resource on wooly mammoths and corresponding activities and teachers’ guide.

Possible reasons that mammoths went extinct include disease, climate change, and overhunting by humans. You may want to show your students how new theories emphasize the need for scientists to continually engage in the process of asking questions and gathering evidence.

Check out these printables and coloring pages for classroom study of mammoths. You may want to use resources that include mammoth facts, a worksheet for labeling, quiz questions, and a graphic organizer. A more comprehensive research worksheet is offered by the San Diego Natural History Museum.

This Woolly Mammoth Close Reading lesson is designed for 3rd-4th grades and focuses on using evidence from the text to support an opinion.

These three mammoth lessons, designed for grades 3-6, discuss adaptions for Ice Age survival, extinction theories, and comparisons with modern elephants.

Ice Ages is an elementary lesson plan that explores the effects of ice age periods on Earth’s animal and human life.

In this complete Mammoth Extinction lesson plan for middle school and up, students generate models to represent the causes of extinction and defend a claim as to whether or not we should use technology to bring mammoths back. Student materials include helpful performance task organizers.

Lesson Planet offers a variety of teacher resources on many topics relating to mammoths. In The Rise and Fall of the Mammoths, middle-school students examine the fossil record to explain natural selection.

Mammoth Resources for the Classroom

The following are kid-friendly sites for further student learning:  

Share with your students the story of Lyuba, a baby mammoth found perfectly preserved in the Siberian permafrost. Video clips of scientists at work will fascinate future paleontologists.

Check out these Woolly Mammoth teaching resources, then take a look at Mammoth Hunt, an interactive game that can be used by individual students or with your interactive whiteboard for a whole-class activity.

You may want to share these videos with your students:

Why are mammoths extinct? You may want to have your students listen to an engaging podcast interview with mammoth experts, directed at elementary students.

Many universities and natural history museums have mammoth exhibits, skeletons, and replicas. If you live near one, consider a field trip. Many of these museums offer virtual tours, distance learning programs, loaner kits, and teaching materials that can be used in connection with a visit or on their own.