Move Over Rover

Polar bears and the Artic. Monkeys and the jungle. Whales and the ocean. These are all characteristic animals found in different ecosystems. Animals are adapted to the conditions within the ecosystems that they live. Polar bears are supremely adapted to live in the Artic but would not do so well living in the desert. Likewise, an armadillo is at home in the arid regions of the Southwest but could not survive in the cold of the Northern plains. While many animals reside in their ecosystem during all seasons of the year, other animals may move between ecosystems to find the conditions that best suit them. Use Project WILD’s “Move Over Rover” to identify characteristic animals found in several ecosystems and to match those animals to the environment in which they live.

Enrichment Activity:
Have students explore a local ecosystem and the animals that live there.

Book List

Grades PreK-2
Amos, W.H. 1981. Life in Ponds and Streams. National Geographic Society.
Brenner, B. and T. Leonard. 2004. One Small Place in a Tree. HarperCollins Childrens Books.
Cefrey, H. 2003. Grasslands. Rosen Publishing Group, Incorporated.
Cherry, L. 2002. A River Ran Wild: An Environmental History. Harcourt Children’s Books.
Costian, M. 2001. Life in a Tree: Focus, Habitat. Tandem Library.
Fleming, D. and D. Powers. 1996. Where Once There Was a Wood. Henry Holt and Company, Inc.
Fowler, A. 1999. Our Living Forests. Scholastic Library Publishing.
Fowler, A. 1996. Life in a Pond. Scholastic Library Publishing.
Gibbons, G. 1997. Nature’s Green Umbrella. Harpercollins Childrens Books.
Guiberson, R.Z. and M. Lloyd. Cactus Hotel. Henry Holt and Co.
Hansen, A.S. and W. Fraccaro. Wild Animals. Publications International, Limited.
Kalman, B. 1997. What Is a Biome? Boston: Crabtree Company.
Pascoe, E. and D. Kuhn. 2003. The Ecosystem of a Fallen Tree. Rosen Publishing Group.
Pascoe, E. and D. Kuhn. 2003. The Ecosystem of an Apple Tree. Rosen Publishing Group, Inc.
Pascoe, E. and D. Kuhn. 2003. The Ecosystem of a Grassy Field. Rosen Publishing Group, Inc.
Pascoe, E. and D. Kuhn. 2003. The Ecosystem of a Stream. Rosen Publishing Group, Inc.
Pfeffer, W. and R. Brickman. 1997. A Log's Life. Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing.
Pledger, M. and N. Palin. 2007. All About…Wild Animals. Silver Dolphin Books.
Ring, S. 2003. Ocean. Coughlan Publishing.
Zicot, E. and C. Harvard. 2005. Untamed: Animals in the Wild. Harry N Abrams, Inc.

Grades 3-5
Brenner, B. and T. Leonard. 2004. One Small Place in a Tree. HarperCollins Childrens Books.
Cherry, L. 2002. A River Ran Wild: An Environmental History. Harcourt Children’s Books.
Chinery, M. 2003. How Animals Work (Wild Animal Planet Series). Anness Publishing, Ltd.
Farndon, J. 2008. 1000 Things You Should Know About Wild Animals. Miles Kelly Publishing.
Green, J. 1999. A Dead Log. Crabtree Publishing Company.
Johansson, P. 2004. Wide Open Grasslands: A Web of Life. Enslow Publishers, Incorporated.
Johansson, P. 2004. Temperate Forest: A Web of Life. Enslow Publishers, Incorporated.
Johnson, R.L. and P.V. Saroff. 2004. Journey into the Ocean. Lerner Publishing Group.
Johnson, R.L. and P.V. Saroff. 2004. Journey into a River. Lerner Publishing Group.
Johnson, R.L. and P.V. Saroff. 2004. Journey into a Wetland. Lerner Publishing Group.
Johnson, R.L. and P.V. Saroff. 2004. Journey into an Estuary. Lerner Publishing Group.
Johnson, R.L. and P.V. Saroff. 2004. Journey into a Lake. Lerner Publishing Group.
Johnson, R.L., P.V. Saroff and G. Braasch. 2000. A Walk in the Prairie. Lerner Publishing Group.
Kalman, B. 1997. What Is a Biome? Boston: Crabtree Company.
Morris, N. 1998. Forests. Crabtree Publishing Company.
Mostue, T. 1999. Wild about Animals. Duetsch, Andre.
Nadeau, I. 2001. Food Chains in a Forest Habitat. Rosen Publishing Group, Incorporated.
Pascoe, E. and D. Kuhn. Ecosystem of a Milkweed Patch. Rosen Publishing Group, Inc.
Penny, M. 2003. Life in a Rotten Log. Raintree.
Pfeffer, W. 1997. A Log’s Life. Simon & Schuster.
Simon. S. 1973. A Tree on Your Street. Holiday House Inc.
Tagliaferro, L. 2006. Explore the Deciduous Forest. Coughlan Publishing.

Grades 6-8
Brenner, B. and T. Leonard. 2004. One Small Place in a Tree. HarperCollins Childrens Books.
Cherry, L. 2002. A River Ran Wild: An Environmental History. Harcourt Children’s Books.
Daniel, C. 2002. Ecosystems. Steck-Vaughn Green, J. 1999. A Dead Log. Crabtree Publishing Company.
Johansson, P. 2004. Wide Open Grasslands: A Web of Life. Enslow Publishers, Incorporated.
Johansson, P. 2004. Temperate Forest: A Web of Life. Enslow Publishers, Incorporated.
Johnson, R.L. and P.V. Saroff. 2004. Journey into the Ocean. Lerner Publishing Group.
Johnson, R.L. and P.V. Saroff. 2004. Journey into a River. Lerner Publishing Group.
Johnson, R.L. and P.V. Saroff. 2004. Journey into a Wetland. Lerner Publishing Group.
Johnson, R.L. and P.V. Saroff. 2004. Journey into an Estuary. Lerner Publishing Group.
Johnson, R.L. and P.V. Saroff. 2004. Journey into a Lake. Lerner Publishing Group.
Johnson, R.L., P.V. Saroff and G. Braasch. 2000. A Walk in the Prairie. Lerner Publishing Group.
Kalman, B. 1997. What Is a Biome? Boston: Crabtree Company.
Lane, B. and L. Buller. 2005. Ecology. DK Publishing, Inc.
Morris, N. 1998. Forests. Crabtree Publishing Company.
Nadeau, I. 2001. Food Chains in a Forest Habitat. Rosen Publishing Group, Incorporated.
Pascoe, E. and D. Kuhn. Ecosystem of a Milkweed Patch. Rosen Publishing Group, Inc.
Penny, M. 2003. Life in a Rotten Log. Raintree.
Pfeffer, W. 1997. A Log’s Life. Simon & Schuster.
Simon. S. 1973. A Tree on Your Street. Holiday House Inc.
Tagliaferro, L. 2006. Explore the Deciduous Forest. Coughlan Publishing.

Grades 9-12
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.
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.