Implement this lesson:
This lesson is best to be taught with other sea turtle lessons. It is focused on math cross curricular concepts but also focuses on conservation success.
Lesson Objective:
- Students will learn about turtle nesting habits and the significance of conservation efforts.
- Students will practice basic multiplication and comparison skills, aligned with Texas 3rd grade TEKS.
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS)
Math TEKS
3.4(D) – use strategies and algorithms, including the standard algorithm, to multiply a two-digit number by a one-digit number.
Science TEKS
3.1(A): Ask questions about organisms, objects, and events in the environment.
3.10(A): Collect information from observations using simple equipment.
3.9(A): Explore how adaptations enable organisms to survive in their environment.
3.15(A): Organize information to create a visual display or map.
3.7(B): Communicate and justify a solution.
3.11(B): Identify and discuss how different forms of energy can be used.
3.14(A): Identify the importance of conservation.
3.8(A): Collect and record data.
4.11(A) Identify and explain advantages and disadvantages of using Earth’s renewable and nonrenewable natural resources such as wind, water, sunlight, plants, animals, coal, oil, and natural gas
4.11(B) explain the critical role of energy resources to modern life and how conservation, disposal, and recycling of natural resources impact the environment
4.11(C) determine the physical properties of rocks that allow Earth’s natural resources to be stored there
4.12(A) investigate and explain how most producers can make their own food using sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide through the cycling of matter
4.12(B)* describe the cycling of matter and flow of energy through food webs, including the roles of the Sun, producers, consumers, and decomposers
4.12(C) identify and describe past environments based on fossil evidence, including common Texas fossils
4.13(A) explore and explain how structures and functions of plants such as waxy leaves and deep roots enable them to survive in their environment
4.13(B) differentiate between inherited and acquired physical traits of organisms
5.10(A) explain how the Sun and the ocean interact in the water cycle and affect weather
5.10(B) model and describe the processes that led to the formation of sedimentary rocks and fossil fuels
5.10(C) model and identify how changes to Earth’s surface by wind, water, or ice result in the formation of landforms, including deltas, canyons, and sand dunes
5.11(A) design and explain solutions such as conservation, recycling, or proper disposal to minimize environmental impact of the use of natural resources
5.12(A) observe and describe how a variety of organisms survive by interacting with biotic and abiotic factors in a healthy ecosystem
5.12(B) predict how changes in the ecosystem affect the cycling of matter and flow of energy in a food web
5.12(C) describe a healthy ecosystem and how human activities can be beneficial or harmful to an ecosystem
5.13(A) analyze the structures and functions of different species to identify how organisms survive in the same environment
5.13(B) explain how instinctual behavioral traits such as turtle hatchlings returning to the sea and learned behavioral traits such as orcas hunting in packs increase chances of survival
Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle (Lepidochelys kempii)
The Kemp’s ridley sea turtle is a conversation success story. It only nests in two places: Padre Island and Rancho Nuevo, Mexico. The species almost went extinct but thanks to multi country cooperation its numbers have rebounded.
Appearance and Behavior
- Adult size: 60–70 cm (2–2.5 feet) long
- Weight: 35–45 kg (77–100 lbs)
- Has a round, gray-green shell (carapace) and a pale yellowish belly
- Flippers are paddle-shaped for swimming
- Strong swimmers but spend most of their lives at sea
Diet and Feeding
- Eats mostly crabs, especially blue crabs, as well as shrimp, clams, jellyfish, and small fish
- Uses its strong beak-like mouth to crush hard-shelled prey
- Forages in shallow coastal waters, estuaries, and seagrass beds
Life Cycle and Reproduction
- Females nest mostly on beaches in Tamaulipas, Mexico, especially at Rancho Nuevo
- Famous for “arribadas”—mass nesting events where hundreds of females come ashore at once
- Nesting season: April to July
- Females lay about 100 eggs per nest and may nest 2–3 times per season
- Eggs incubate for about 50–60 days
- Hatchlings are about 4–5 cm (1.5–2 inches) long and head straight to the ocean
- Sexual maturity is reached at around 10–15 years of age
Habitat and Range
- Lives mostly in the Gulf of Mexico and along the U.S. Atlantic coast, from Florida to New England
- Spends most of its life in shallow, warm waters
- Nests almost exclusively on a few beaches in Mexico, with a smaller number in Texas, USA
Conservation Status
- Listed as Critically Endangered
- Threats include:
- Egg poaching
- Fishing gear entanglement (bycatch)
- Habitat loss due to coastal development
- Pollution and marine debris (like plastic)
- Protected by:
- International treaties and conservation laws
- Nesting site protection and turtle excluder devices (TEDs) in fishing nets
- Conservation programs in Mexico and the United States
Interesting Facts
- Named after Richard M. Kemp, the fisherman who first documented the species
- One of only two species in the genus Lepidochelys (the other is the olive ridley turtle)
- Known for synchronized nesting behavior, which is rare among sea turtles
- Conservation efforts have helped increase numbers, but it’s still at high risk of extinction
Possible Books:
- Tammy Turtle: A Tale of Saving Sea Turtles by Suzanne Tate
- I’ll Follow the Moon by Stephanie Tara
- One Tiny Turtle by Nicola Davies
- Into the Sea by Philippe Cousteau
- Sea Turtles by Gail Gibbons
Materials:
- Whiteboard or chalkboard
- Markers or chalk
- Worksheets with multiplication problems
- Visual aids (pictures of turtles, nests, etc.)
Lesson Plan
Engage:
- Engage students by asking what they know about turtles and their habitats. Encourage discussion about where turtles lay their eggs and why protecting their nests is important.
Explore/Explain/Elaborate:
- Present historical data about turtle nesting in 1947: “In 1947, approximately 40,000 nesting turtles were seen in one day during the laying season.”
- Explain the multiplication process aligned with TEKS: “If each nest had 100 eggs, how many eggs were laid in total?”
- Guide students through the multiplication: 40,000 nests x 100 eggs/nest = 4,000,000 eggs laid in one day.
- Present the total eggs for the laying season: “If there are 4,800,000 nests in total, how many eggs were laid for the entire season?”
- Guide students through the multiplication: 4,800,000 nests x 100 eggs/nest = 480,000,000 eggs for the season.
- Discuss the significance of these numbers in understanding turtle populations and the impact of human activities on their habitats.
Explain/Elaborate:
- Present the current data: “By the time researchers investigated, there were only 740 nests in an entire season.”
- Engage students in a discussion about the significant decrease in turtle nesting.
- Have students compare the numbers from 1947 to the current situation, discussing possible reasons for the decline in turtle nesting and ways to help protect turtles and their habitats.
Evaluate:
- Assess students’ understanding through participation in class discussions and completion of multiplication problems aligned with TEKS Math 3.4(D).
- Ask students to write or draw about one thing they learned about turtles and their nesting habits during the lesson, tying it back to the TEKS objectives.