Studying Animals by Groups

All animals are classified in a scientific system. This is called taxonomy. Each species belongs to a genus, which belongs to a family, which belongs to an order, which belongs to a class, which belongs to a phylum (the largest grouping). Teachers often study animals in groups, most commonly by class (birds, mammals, reptiles, fish) or by family (cats, bears, ducks, snails, owls). It isn't necessary to know the Latin names for these groups, but it's fun to see how often they relate to words that we know and use, such as felidae (cats)> to feline. When you study a group of animals, you can learn about how they are the same and how they are different. What do all birds have in common? What is the smallest bird? The largest? Do all fish have scales? How is a house cat like a tiger? You and the children can generate many interesting questions to look into. Field guides are excellent resources for studying groups of animals, and there are several series for children in particular. There are also hundreds of websites. Here are a few resources to check out:

1. Peterson Field Guides, such as The Young Birders Guide to Birds of Eastern North America, 2008.

2. National Audubon Society First Field Guides, such as Insects. 1998

3. National Geographic Society kids site:

http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/Animals/

This site has video clips, stories, games, photographs, etc. about hundreds of animals.

Studying Individual Animal Species

Children often become very interested and engaged in the study of one particular animal, such as the horseshoe crab project pictured here. The study can be inspired by seeing the animal in the schoolyard, reading about it in a book, seeing a photograph that someone brings in, or a visit to a nature museum or zoo. There are literally thousands of resources available for teachers to implement a them or project about one specific type of animal. Here are a few examples:

1. Getting to Know Nature's Children series by Scholastic. This is a great set of 30 different volumes, each focusing on one animal. Most libraries have these in the children's non-fiction section.

2. Google Images. Search on an animal and click on images. You will be able to find hundreds of images for each animal.

3. Live webcams and YouTube videos. There are dozens of live webcams and hundreds of You Tube videos for many animals. Here are two examples:

http://www.georgiaaquarium.org/exploreTheAquarium/webcam-beluga.aspx

http://youtube.com/watch?v=SRAfjvws13E

Try these and then search for more that go along with the animal you are studying.

Approaches to Teaching Nature Science to Young Children

There are many, many approaches to teaching nature science to young children, from micro to macro:

1. Individual species, such as gray squirrels, polar bears, monarch butterflies, or emperor penguins.

2. Groups by classification, such as insects, birds, or bears.

3. Groups by habitats, such as pond, woodland, meadow, or marine coast.

In my next few Blogs, I will focus on each one of these approaches, including strategies, resources, and photographs, as well as ideas for invitations to learning for each topic. Whether you use the thematic or the project approach, you can introduce children to nature science using approaches that will engage them, and engage you as well.

There are literally hundreds of books and web site resources for teachers and children. Here is one to consider.

Sharing Nature with Children, 20th Anniversary Edition, by Joseph Bharat Cornell, Dawn Publications, 1998.

State Nature Symbols

Did you know that every state has an official state bird and flower? Most states also have several other state animals and plants: insects, trees, reptiles, mammals, etc. These symbols often represent a beautiful and common example of the state's wildlife, and it's fun to find out what your state symbols are. Here is a photograph of me feeding my state bird, the Black-capped Chickadee.

There are many online sources for information about state plants and animals. Wikipedia has photographs of all state birds and flowers. For a complete list of all state animals and plants, go to http://www.statesymbolsusa.org/ Have you seen your state bird in the school yard? Is the state tree or flower growing anywhere nearby? I live in Massachusetts. Here are my state animals and plants:

Bird: Black-capped Chickadee

Flower: Mayflower

Tree: American Elm

Insect: Ladybug

Fish: Cod

Marine Mammal: Atlantic Right Whale

Mammal: White-Tailed Deer

Reptile: Garter Snake

Lady Bug, Lady Bug!

Here I am outside with the children letting our Lady Bugs go. Get them at your local garden center.

Lady Bugs are another fascinating insect to study. Here are some Lady Bug facts:

• Lady Bugs are actually beetles, and, like all insects, have six legs
• There are almost 5,000 different kinds of Lady Bugs around the world; 400 species live in North America
• Lady Bugs taste so terrible that birds will not eat them
• Lady Bugs favorite food is aphids
• You can tell Lady Bugs apart by their color and number of spots
• Lady Bugs are the state insect in Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Ohio, and Tennessee (my next blog will be about state animals: birds, insects, etc)

Lady Bug Resources:

1. http://www.insectlore.com/ Insect Lore sells a variety of Lady Bug materials.
2. http://www.google.com/ Search on Lady Bugs, then click Images.
3. www.geocities.com/sseagraves/ladybugteachersguide.htm For Lady Bug information and activity ideas.

Beautiful Stuff

This book, Beautiful Stuff, Learning with found Materials, by Cathy Weisman Topol and Lella Gandini (Davis, 1999), is an excellent resource for implementing a recycling materials project in an early childhood classroom. Colorful, inviting photographs document the collecting, sorting, and using of a variety of intriguing and readily available recycled materials. More than just toilet tissue rolls, recycled materials add a wealth of variety and creativity as materials for children's art. Each face, each fish, each representation is unique, because the materials are unique, and an so they are an important language for children. I have implemented a similar project in my preschool, and I do a 'Beautiful Stuff' workshop in my curriculum planning course in my community college early childhood education program. I was recently delighted to meet Cathy when we both presented at a materials conference for teachers, then again at another conference where we both were in attendance. At each conference I heard teacher after teacher express their appreciation for to her for this book.
What a great way for us to model recycling and help save the planet!

More Resources for Nature Education- Web Sites

Just in time to prepare for Earth Day next month!

1. This link, from Beyond the Journal (NAEYC) connects you to several helpful articles and resource lists, including a book list. The articles are in pdf format, and are available at no cost.

January 2008: Teaching and Learning about the Natural World. This issue offers research-based ideas and practical strategies to give children many opportunities to explore, appreciate, and value the natural world. For more ideas about children and nature, see the two articles published exclusively online. You’ll also find four articles from the January 2008 issue of Young Children as well as additional resources and columns.

2. This link connects you to a page on the National Wildlife Federation web site, Outside in Nature. This page includes several free articles, including Connecting Today's Kids to Nature Action Guide, as well as several activity guides for teachers.

http://www.nwf.org/outside/
National Wildlife Federation

3. This link is a nature resource bibliography.
http://ectc.nde.ne.gov/media/bibs/nature.pdf
Nature Resource Bibliography

4. This article describes what is called the Schoolyard Habitat Movement; how to create natural schoolyard habitats in your outdoor space.
http://eelink.net/eetap/info23.pdf
Schoolyard Habitat Article

Teachers all over the country are creating intentional and engaging nature education exeriences for young children. Take advantage of the multitude of resources for teachers.