Take a Child Outside Week, Sept. 24-30
Saturday September 27 is National Public Lands Day.
Ecosystem Facelift
Iowa’s landscape has changed through out the years, Iowa was originally all prairies. Now only a few native prairies remain however, the effort to restore prairies is full force. Check out your local county conservation board to find the native and restored prairies near you.
To explore this topic Project WILD offers the activity Ecosystem Facelift. This activity helps identify ways to restore your community’s ecosystem.
Modification: The students can go out side and use digital cameras to take picture of local plant and animals to use in the activity.
Book List
Grades PreK-2
Cherry, L. 2002. A River Ran Wild : An Environmental History. New York: Voyager Books/Libros Viajeros.
Gibbons, G. 1997. Nature's Green Umbrella : Tropical Rain Forests. New York: Harper Trophy.
Kalman, B. 1997. What Is a Biome? Boston: Crabtree Company.
Locker, T. 2001. Sky Tree : Seeing Science Through Art. New York: HarperCollins.
Grades 3-5
Cherry, L. 2002. A River Ran Wild : An Environmental History. New York: Voyager Books/Libros Viajeros.
Gibbons, G. 1997. Nature's Green Umbrella : Tropical Rain Forests. New York: Harper Trophy.
Kalman, B. 1997. What Is a Biome? Boston: Crabtree Company.
Locker, T. 2001. Sky Tree : Seeing Science Through Art. New York: HarperCollins.
Grades 6-8
Lane, B. 2005. Ecology. Grand Rapids: Dorling Kindersley, Incorporated.
Grades 9-12
Collard, S. B. 2005. The Prairie Builders : Reconstructing America's Lost
Grasslands. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company Trade & Reference Division.
Lane, B. 2005. Ecology. Grand Rapids: Dorling Kindersley, Incorporated.
Novacek, M. J. 2007. Terra : Our 100-Million-Year-Old Ecosystem--and the Threats That Now Put It at Risk. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux.
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. 2005. Ecosystems and Human Well-Being: Our Human Planet : Summary for Decision-Makers. New York: Island P.
Peterson, D. 2004. Exploration of the Tetons. New York: Farcountry P.
Reilly, K. M. 2008. Planet Earth : 25 Environmental Projects You Can Build Yourself. New York: Nomad P.
Shirley, S. 1994. Restoring the Tallgrass Prairie : An Illustrated Manual for Iowa and the Upper Midwest. New York: University of Iowa P.
Smith, J. R., and Smith, B. S. 1980. A Prairie Garden : Seventy Native Plants You Can Grow in Town or Country. New York: University of Wisconsin P.
Smith, R. B., and Siegel. L. J. 2000. Windows into the Earth : The Geologic Story of Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. New York: Oxford UP.
Stolzenburg, W. 2008. Where the Wild Things Were : Life, Death, and Ecological Wreckage in a Land of Vanishing Predators. Grand Rapids: Bloomsbury.
Walker, B., Salt,D., and Reid, W. 2006. Resilience Thinking : Sustaining Ecosystems and People in a Changing World. New York: Island P.
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
Break the Ice in the Classroom!
The first weeks of school can be challenging for some students, especially those who are new. Try this activity modified from Project Learning Tree’s Environmental Exchange Box to assist students in getting to know each other.
Create a list of questions (see sample questions below for ideas). Incorporate natural resource topics into your questions. If you are planning on taking your students on outside field trips this fall, this activity can be used as an indicator of the comfort level of your students to outside activities.
Cut the list of questions into individual slips of paper (1 question per slip). Place the slips into a box. Pass the box around. Each student pulls out a slip of paper, reads the question, and answers to the class.
As an extension, the students could record the answers and graph the results. They could share the results with other sections of their same grade level.
Sample Questions
Book List
Grades PreK-2
Arnosky, J. 1995. I See Animals Hiding. Scholastic.
Carle, E. 1999. Eric Carle’s Animals, Animals. Putnam Juvenile.
Carlson, N. 1990. I Like Me! Puffin.
DK Publishing. 2007. Backyard Bugs. DK Publishing, Inc.
Giogas, V. 2007. In My Backyard. Sylvan Dell Publishing.
Hallinan, P.K. 2001. My First Day of School. Ideals Publications.
Penn, A. 2006. Kissing Hand. Tanglewood Press IN.
Selsam, M.E. and J. Hunt. 1991. Keep Looking! Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing.
Grades 3-5
Amato, C.A. 2002. Backyard Pets: Activities for Exploring Wildlife Close to Home. Wiley, John & Sons, Incorporated.
Arnosky, J. 1983. Secrets of a Wildlife Watcher. HarperCollins Publishers.
Arnosky, J. 1997. Crinkleroot’s Guide to Knowing Animal Habitats (Crinkleroot Series). Aladin.
Bishop, N. 2002. Backyard Detective: Critters Up Close. Scholastic, Inc.
Green, J. 2002. In a Backyard. Crabtree Publishing Company.
Morrison, G. 2004. Nature in the Neighborhood. Houghton Mifflin Company.
Norsgaard, E.J. 1990. Nature's Great Balancing Act: In Our Own Backyard. Penguin Young Readers Group.
Sterry, P. 2005. Nature Explorer. Running Press Book Publishers.
The first weeks of school can be challenging for some students, especially those who are new. Try this activity modified from Project Learning Tree’s Environmental Exchange Box to assist students in getting to know each other.
Create a list of questions (see sample questions below for ideas). Incorporate natural resource topics into your questions. If you are planning on taking your students on outside field trips this fall, this activity can be used as an indicator of the comfort level of your students to outside activities.
Cut the list of questions into individual slips of paper (1 question per slip). Place the slips into a box. Pass the box around. Each student pulls out a slip of paper, reads the question, and answers to the class.
As an extension, the students could record the answers and graph the results. They could share the results with other sections of their same grade level.
Sample Questions
- What is your favorite thing to do outside?
- What is your favorite food?
- If you could be any animal what would you be and why?
- What is your favorite color?
- Do you prefer to view sunrise or sunset?
- What is your favorite song?
- What is your best outdoor memory?
- What is your favorite flower?
- What is your favorite tree?
- What is your favorite movie?
- What is your favorite sound heard outside?
- What is your favorite smell?
Book List
Grades PreK-2
Arnosky, J. 1995. I See Animals Hiding. Scholastic.
Carle, E. 1999. Eric Carle’s Animals, Animals. Putnam Juvenile.
Carlson, N. 1990. I Like Me! Puffin.
DK Publishing. 2007. Backyard Bugs. DK Publishing, Inc.
Giogas, V. 2007. In My Backyard. Sylvan Dell Publishing.
Hallinan, P.K. 2001. My First Day of School. Ideals Publications.
Penn, A. 2006. Kissing Hand. Tanglewood Press IN.
Selsam, M.E. and J. Hunt. 1991. Keep Looking! Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing.
Grades 3-5
Amato, C.A. 2002. Backyard Pets: Activities for Exploring Wildlife Close to Home. Wiley, John & Sons, Incorporated.
Arnosky, J. 1983. Secrets of a Wildlife Watcher. HarperCollins Publishers.
Arnosky, J. 1997. Crinkleroot’s Guide to Knowing Animal Habitats (Crinkleroot Series). Aladin.
Bishop, N. 2002. Backyard Detective: Critters Up Close. Scholastic, Inc.
Green, J. 2002. In a Backyard. Crabtree Publishing Company.
Morrison, G. 2004. Nature in the Neighborhood. Houghton Mifflin Company.
Norsgaard, E.J. 1990. Nature's Great Balancing Act: In Our Own Backyard. Penguin Young Readers Group.
Sterry, P. 2005. Nature Explorer. Running Press Book Publishers.
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