National Wildlife Week (April 19 – 27, 2008) is great time to take your kids outside and discover Iowa’s abundant wildlife. Use the following Project WILD activities with your pre-school and early elementary students. Have fun exploring the world they share with wildlife of all sizes.
- Learning to Look, Looking to See – sharpen observation skills; familiarizes with outdoors
- What’s Wild? – distinguishes between wild and domestic animals; recognize wildlife occurs in variety of forms
- Animal Charades – continues exploration of wild and domestic animals; allows students to use imagination
- Beautiful Basics – students see similarities between humans and animals
- Wildlife is Everywhere! – animals live all around
Book List
Grades PreK-2
Arnosky, J. 1995. I See Animals Hiding. Scholastic.
Baker, K. 2001. Little Green. Harcourt Children’s Books.
Carle, E. 1999. Eric Carle’s Animals, Animals. Putnam Juvenile.
Cronin, D. 2003. Diary of a Worm. Joanna Cotler.
Fisher, A. 1986. When it Comes to Bugs. HarperCollins.
Fisher, A. 2001. You Don’t Look Like Your Mother. Economics Pr.
Florian, D. 2004. Mammalabilia. Voyager Books.
Hausman, G. 1995. How Chipmunk Got Tiny Feet: Native American Animal Origin Series. HarperCollins Publishers.
Horenstein, H. 1999. A is For…? A Photographer’s Alphabet of Animals. Gulliver Books.
Jenkins, S. 1996. Big and Little. Haughton Mifflin.
Jordan, S. 2002. Frog Hunt. Roaring Brook Press.
Lionni, L. 1974. Fish is Fish. Knopf Books for Young Readers.
Mazer, A. 1991. The Salamander Room. Dragonfly Books.
Posada, Mia. 2002. Ladybugs: Red, Fiery and Bright. Carolrhorda.
Prelutsky, J. 1997. The Beauty of the Beast: Poems from the Animal Kingdom. Knopf Books for Young Readers.
Prelutsky, J. 2002. Scranimals. Greenwillow.
Prelutsky, J. 2004. If Not for the Cat. Greenwillow.
Rockwell, A. 1992. Our Yard is Full of Birds. Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishers.
Ryder, J. 1989. Catching the Wind. Mulberry Books.
Schoenherr, J. 1968. The Barn. Little Brown and Company.
Sill, C. 1997. About Mammals: A Guide for Children. Peachtree Publishers.
Sill, C. 1997. About Birds: A Guide for Children. Peachtree Publishers.
Sill, C. 2003. About Arachnids: A Guide for Children. Peachtree Publishers.
Taylor, H. 1996. Brother Wolf: A Seneca Tale. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Wood, A. 2001. Birdsong. Harcourt Children’s Books.
Grades 3-5
Arnold, C. 2003. Birds: Magnificent Flying Machines. Charlesbridge Publishing.
Arnosky, J. 1993. Secrets of a Wildlife Watcher. Mulberry Books.
Arnosky, J. 1997. Crinkleroot’s Guide to Knowing Animal Habitats (Crinkleroot Series). Aladin.
Bial, R. 2000. A Handful of Dirt. Walker Books for Young Readers.
Bernard, R. 2001. Insects. National Geographic Society.
Hausman, G. 1995. How Chipmunk Got Tiny Feet: Native American Animal Origin Series. HarperCollins Publishers.
Miller, D. 2000. River of Life. Clarion Books.
Murawski, D. 2004. Spiders and Their Webs. National Geographic Society.
National Geographic Society. 1987. Animal Architects. National Geographic Society.
National Geographic Society. 1998. Book of Mammals. National Geographic Society.
Pine, J. 1993. Backyard Birds. Harper Collins.
Posada, Mia. 2002. Ladybugs: Red, Fiery and Bright. Carolhorda.
Prelutsky, J. 1997. The Beauty of the Beast: Poems from the Animal Kingdom. Knopf Books for Young Readers.
Prelutsky, J. 2002. Scranimals. Greenwillow.
Rockwell, A. 2001. Bugs are Insects. Harper Collins Children’s Books.
Tagholm, S. 2003. The Barn Owl. Kingfisher.
Grades 6-8
Froman, N. 2001. What’s That Bug. Madison Press Book.
Laubach, C & Laubach,R. 2002. Raptors: A Kid’s Guide to Birds of Prey. Storey Kids.
Patent, D. 2003. Slinky, Scaley, Slithering Snakes. Walker.
Prelutsky, J. 1997. The Beauty of the Beast: Poems from the Animal Kingdom. Knopf Books for Young Readers.
Pringle, L. 2004. Snakes! Strange and Wonderful. Boyds Mills Press.
Tagholm, S. 2003. The Barn Owl. Kingfisher.
Grades 9-12
Crump, M. 2002. Amphibians, Reptiles, and Their Conservation. Linnet Books.
Dinsmore, S. 1995. Iowa Wildlife Viewing Guide. Falcon.
Froman, N. 2001. What’s That Bug. Madison Press Book.
Laubach, C & Laubach,R. 2002. Raptors: A Kid’s Guide to Birds of Prey. Storey Kids.
Mattison, C. 2006. Snake. DK Publishing.
