Bringing the Heart of Africa to your classroom
Our Heart of Africa area at the zoo has an incredible 57 African savannah species to see and lots of amazing conservation stories. This curriculum-linked resource collection is designed for Key Stage 2 educators to support learning in school by bringing African wildlife and conservation into your classroom, inspiring students to be more sustainable and protect biodiversity for the future.
How can you use it?
✅ As stand-alone classroom lessons.
✅ As an introduction or follow-up for self-led school trips to Chester Zoo.
✅ As an interactive, virtual way to experience Heart of Africa without visiting in person.
What's included in this resource collection?
Curriculum-linked lessons covering Science, Geography, Maths, English, Art & Design, and P.E.
Introductory videos of Heart of Africa, exploring different zones, species and conservation themes and curriculum areas.
Interactive activities like data collection, food chains, map skills, descriptive writing, and art projects.
Video fact files of species such as Eastern black rhinos, Northern giraffes, Greater flamingos, African wild dogs and more.
Chester Zoo conservation stories showcasing real-world efforts to protect African wildlife.
Download lessons
In this lesson, locate Africa on a map and name some African habitats and write your very own African savannah weather report. Also, learn about the climate of the savannah in Heart of Africa and how it affects the animals that live there.
Use data to create graphs and charts, look at the data to identify trends in population numbers and discuss why we need to look at the numbers of animals if we are going to protect the species.
Look at the inspiration behind the murals created in our Heart of Africa zone at the zoo and use images of African animals to identify different patterns and textures and sketch them. Create a mural with a message using the African landscape as an inspiration.
Learn about food chains and how energy gets passed along the chain as food. Use words such as producer, consumer, predator and prey confidently, and order savannah species into their correct position on the food chain.
Learn about Maasai culture and wildlife conservation efforts. Develop your jumping, throwing and endurance skills through Maasai-inspired sports and learn how sports can support conservation and cultural preservation.
Learn about life of a ranger in the heart of Africa. Look at some examples of descriptive language to describe the African savannah and write a descriptive account of the African savannah to inspire people.
Learn about how the climate of the African Savannah is affected by climate change. Identify key feature of a persuasive letter and then write a persuasive letter to your MP asking them to take action to prevent climate change.
Curriculum links: Science, Geography and Maths
Science
Living things and their habitats
Classification, adaptations and food chains.
Evolution and inheritance
How species have adapted to survive in different environments.
Climate and environmental change
Impact of habitat destruction, climate change and conservation efforts.
Geography
Locational knowledge
Understanding African biomes and their characteristics.
Physical geography
Ecosystems, weather patterns, and how environments change over time.
Human geography
Impact of human activities on wildlife and conservation efforts.
Maths
Data handling and statistics
Analysing real-world animal population data and conservation trends.
Curriculum links: English, Art and Design and Physical Education
English
Persuasive writing
Create non-fiction based text to persuade in the form of writing to an MP.
Descriptive writing
Create fictional stories based on real-world examples.
Reading Comprehension
Engaging with conservations and wildlife stories.
Speaking and listening
Discuss conservation topics, storytelling
Art and Design
Observational drawing and sketching
Looking at patterns and colours found in the animal kingdom.
Murals with meaning
Designing murals from recycled materials to increase conservation awareness.
Physical Education
Movement coordination
Games and activities inspired by African Maasai Olympics.
