Lesson Plan - Adopt an Axolotl

Watch a Video
Watch the video “Amazing Amphibians” and have students identify one interesting fact they learned about amphibians and one question they still have.

Preview Words to Know
Project the online vocabulary slideshow and introduce the Words to Know.

• regenerate 
• refuges

Set a Purpose for Reading
As students read, have them think about why axolotls need help.

1. Why have axolotls become popular pet choices in recent years?
Axolotls have become popular as pets in recent years partly because they are cute. The article notes that they have “frilly gills, shimmering tails, and smiley faces.” They also have appeared in many TikTok videos and in video games like Minecraft.
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2. What does the article describe as an axolotl “superpower”?
The article describes an axolotl’s ability to regenerate limbs, organs, and parts of their brains as a “superpower.” Scientists are studying this ability in the hope that it could someday help people.
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3. How does the virtual adoption program help axolotls?
The virtual adoption program helps axolotls because the money people pay to adopt axolotls goes toward the creation of axolotl refuges in chinampas. Researchers are installing mesh cages that keep predators and pollution out of these floating farms.
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Featured Skill: Reading a Diagram
Use the skill builder “An Axolotl’s Life” to study the life cycle of an axolotl. Have students do online research to compare it with the life cycles of other amphibians, like frogs and salamanders. Point out that axolotls do not lose their gills or develop lungs the way most amphibians do—and discuss why (they do not leave the water, even as adults). 
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