Research the panda through Animal Planet's Endangered Species guide and non-fiction books featuring pandas. Turn on a live web-cam from the Atlanta Zoo to see pandas' mannerisms. Have students compile facts and write reports in small groups. Make panda bear masks from paper plates and black construction paper. Each group presents its factual reports on the panda bear as if the students are pandas telling their story. Set up a camera to make it appear they are on a live web-cam.
Look up the features of a panda's habitat, and then use that information to create a diorama of a panda's home. Habitat loss is one of the key factors for this animal's endangered status. Have students prepare the inside of a shoebox with cut paper, drawings and clay objects to represent the bamboo forests and mountainous region of China where the pandas live. Print of a map of the world, highlighting China, to place on the outside back of the box.
Instead of a shoebox diorama, students can make a mobile with different aspects of a panda's habitat, or they can make a detailed collage.
Fold origami pandas following the printable instructions in the resource section. Explain basic origami concepts such as valley folds and mountain folds before beginning. A valley-fold is created when you fold the paper toward you, so that you form a valley, or a V-shape. This is indicated by a double dash line. You make a mountain-fold, shown with the dash-dot-dot line, by taking the
paper closest to you and folding it away, to make a mountain or upside-down V-shape. Each child will need one sheet of black origami paper, or a white piece of paper and a black crayon. The folds are not difficult, but there are a lot of them so each child would benefit from having a printout of the instructions.
Since pandas originate from China, spend some time showing students what Chinese characters look like. Practice drawing the phrase, "Save the Panda," with a black marker. Follow the Pandas International link to see how this looks. Teach the class to say, "Da Xiong Mao" or "giant bear cat," as the panda bear is known in China.
Make a panda bear art project with a piece of card-stock, black and white tissue paper, and glue. Cut a panda bear shape from the card-stock--either the head or the entire body. Use a black crayon to color in the black markings on the panda. Tear tissue paper into small pieces and then crumble each one into a small ball. Fill in the panda image by dipping each ball in glue before placing. Instruct children to place the black tissue paper first and then fill it in with white.