Embark on a Zooper Safari in the Classroom

 Combine National Endangered Species Day and Zooper Safari to engage students in conservation through movement and positive behavior.

In today’s classrooms, educators continually seek innovative ways to combine physical activity, behavioral development, and environmental education. Fitness Finders Zooper Safari program offers a dynamic solution that intertwines these elements, creating an enriching student experience.

What is Zooper Safari?

Zooper Safari is a classroom behavior management program designed to improve student behavior while teaching positive attitudes and life skills in a fun and engaging manner. As students exhibit positive behaviors, they earn rewards and progress through a safari-themed journey, encountering various animal characters along the way. Each character represents different virtues and life skills, reinforcing the importance of good behavior and personal development. 

Integrating Conservation Education

While the primary focus of Zooper Safari is behavior management, its structure provides an excellent opportunity to introduce lessons about endangered animals and conservation:

• Animal Character Discussions: Use the animal characters as a springboard to discuss real-world counterparts, their habitats, and their conservation status.

• Research Projects: Encourage students to research the animals they encounter in the program, fostering a deeper understanding of biodiversity and environmental challenges.

• Create Expression: Incorporate art and storytelling by having students create posters or stories about the animals, emphasizing the importance of protecting wildlife.

Promoting Physical Activity

Zooper Safari naturally encourages movement as students participate in activities to earn rewards. This active engagement not only supports physical health but also reinforces the connection between effort and achievement, mirroring the perseverance needed in conservation efforts.

Building a Positive Classroom Environment

By recognizing and rewarding positive behaviors, Zooper Safari fosters a supportive and collaborative classroom atmosphere. This environment is conducive to open discussions about global issues, such as endangered species and environmental stewardship, allowing students to feel empowered to make a difference.

Zooper Safari

This program is more than a behavior management tool; it’s a platform that can be leveraged to instill values of responsibility, empathy, and global awareness in students. By integrating conservation topics into the program, educators can inspire young minds to care for the planet and its inhabitants, all while promoting positive behavior and physical activity.

Zooper Safari: Manage Your Classroom While Meeting Common Core Standards

With Fitness Finders’® new curriculum, Zooper Safari™, your students will embark on an exciting trek around the world, learning about positive classroom behaviors while meeting CCSS and NGSS standards. 

By appealing to students’ natural curiosity and love of animals, Zooper Safari™ introduces unique Featured Creatures that display Zooper Behaviors students will be excited to investigate, and then emulate in their personal choices. By including CCSS and NGSS standards, Fitness Finders® is combining academic learning with classroom management to help teachers create a positive and successful learning environment.

Zooper Safari™ is all-inclusive!

The innovative Zooper Safari™ curriculum includes:

*9 Lesson Plans: Introductory Lesson, 1 Lesson covering each Zooper Behavior, and Review Lesson. Teachers who have a SMART Board or electronic whiteboard will love our online, interactive lesson plans, with links to videos of Featured Creatures displaying the Zooper Behaviors in their habitats. 

Prefer teaching from paper? You’ll appreciate our economically printable black-and-white lesson plans. They include the video links, as well, so you can prepare ahead of time to share the information from the videos with your students, as desired.

*Hands-on Reinforcement Activities: Includes large group games for reviewing, a multitude of activities for Learning Centers, cute crafts you’ll love to display, yummy snacks that incorporate counting and shape recognition, large group brainstorming exercises that include individual writing prompts, and more.

*Student Materials: Includes grade-appropriate student journals or coloring pages, activity templates, and review games. All of the student materials (except the Zooper Safari™ Adventure Game Board) are designed to be printed in color OR black and white. 

YOU choose which materials to use, as well as the style and the amount to print!

*Zooper Safari™ Map: Students love seeing this colorful, 12-page map come together piece-by-piece as they complete their Zooper adventure.

*Unique Awards: Fitness Finders® has decades of research and experience motivating kids to set goals, adopt positive behaviors, and achieve. We’ve included LaceLink™ Lanyards, cool tokens, and charming stickers to help you create excitement and desire in your students to learn the information, transfer the behaviors, and become Zooper Explorers!

Zooper Safari™ is written BY teachers FOR teachers!

The Zooper Safari™ curriculum was written by teachers with decades of experience. The components of each lesson are consistent so that prep time may be simple and minimal. Each lesson is comprised of the following:

*Review: Information from the previous lesson is reviewed.

*Anticipatory Set and Lesson: Includes information about the Featured Creature, continent, and Zooper Behavior.

*Turn and Talk: Students reflect and share with one another something they’ve learned.

*Transfer and Reflect: Includes a read-aloud book recommendation with talking points to discuss the Zooper Behavior, as well as instructions on completing a grade-level-appropriate student journal or coloring page, designed to enhance learning and sharpen writing skills.

*Summary: A quick restatement of the Zooper Behavior.

*Assessment & Award: Easily evaluate student learning; then encourage student participation by awarding our integral, fun rewards.

*Hands-On Reinforcement Activities: A variety of creative activities that continue the fun and learning.

At the end of each section and activity, you will find CCSS and NGSS standards that are met by that segment of the lesson. You simply enter the date in the box provided to record when each standard has been covered, making inclusion and documentation of these standards quick and easy. (There’s also space for you to write in any standards we may have missed!)

Fitness Finders® has been working with, and advocating for, teachers since 1974. We have teachers on our staff, teachers as our family and friends, and teachers in our community with whom we consult and support. We’ve seen a lot of trends, policy mandates, and political debates about education come and go. 

But one thing remains consistent – the passionate dedication to students that teachers bring to the classroom. Our goal for Zooper Safari™ is to meet a need we’ve heard expressed by teachers to address behavioral issues and academic standards, at the same time incorporating technology and appealing to students. 

Zooper Safari: Fitness Finders Classroom Management Program to Teach Students Positive Classroom Behaviors

Have you heard about Zooper Safari™? It’s Fitness Finders®new classroom management program that uses 7 cute Featured Creatures to teach students positive classroom behaviors. Zooper Safari™ emphasizes foundational behavioral skills, (Zooper Behaviors) that benefit children now and as they grow into teenagers and adults. 

These Zooper Behaviors include:

1. Have a Positive Attitude
2. Stay on Track
3. Listen and Follow Instructions
4. Take Initiative
5. Put Things in Order
6. Think of Others
7. Work with Others

Lifelong Learners

If you look at the Zooper Behaviors out of context, you might conclude that they are for a job description. That is exactly the point! These skills are directly applicable to students now and as they mature and enter adulthood. The same Zooper Behaviors that create a positive classroom atmosphere are directly transferable to work, family, and leisure activities. And Zooper Safari™ makes it fun to learn these skills!

By emphasizing these Zooper Behaviors early in children’s schooling, you can put students on a fast track to successful, satisfied lives. Plus, by improving the classroom environment in the present, students have the greatest opportunity to learn academically.

Why Zooper Safari™ Works for Children

We have specifically designed Zooper Safari™ to appeal to the minds of elementary school students. The lessons are engaging, participation is encouraged, and fun visuals are included – like video clips of the Featured Creature showcasing their Zooper Behavior in their natural habitat.

“Zooper Safari™ takes something that most kids already love – cute animals – and associates positive classroom behaviors with those animals,” said Lissa Strodtbeck, Curriculum Editor. “This helps the kids remember the Zooper Behavior, and encourages them to adopt/emulate the positive behavior themselves.”

Ready to improve your classroom learning environment while priming students with lifelong skills? Zooper Safari™ is available for purchase this Fall 2017, so start planning your safari now!

To learn more about Zooper Safari™ and read customer testimonials, check out our blog, Discover How Fitness Finders Can Help Tame Your Classroom!