Students learn about the diversity of life on Earth by looking at different pictures of plants and animals from around the world.
This is one of 96 activities that can be found in PLT’s PreK-8 Environmental Education Activity Guide. To get the activity, attend a training either in person or online and receive PLT’s PreK-8 Guide. Below are some supporting resources for this activity.
Engage students in real-world applications of STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) education.
Try these STEM Connections for this PLT activity:
Expand your students’ learning and imaginations. Help students meet their reading goals, while building upon concepts learned in this activity, with the following children’s book recommendations:
The following tools and resources may be used to enhance the activity.
Agents of Discovery gets students moving with an augmented reality, geo-triggered app. Students play the role of a top-secret Agent to help solve mysteries of science, culture, technology, and nature. Download the app and mission with WiFi or data and then use the app offline outdoors. Agents of Discovery includes missions all across North America. Find one near you to learn why bumblebees buzz, beavers build dams, and more about the natural world.
Based on the PBS animated digital series The Ruff Ruffman Show, this app helps students discover the “stuff ” their world is made of. The Photo Stuff with Ruff app can be used in the classroom as part of lessons exploring materials science. In this camera-based experience, students will learn about science by exploring their surroundings and taking pictures of different materials to complete silly scenes. Play it together and record and share your observations in fun, creative ways!
The Encyclopedia of Life is a biodiversity resource that collects and shares information about living things on earth from microorganisms, invertebrates, and trees. When you share observations on the iNaturalist app, scientists come together to properly identify the species. This live data becomes a part of the Encyclopedia of Life and is made into an EOL Biodiversity Card. You can collect or make your own by collecting data on species found in your community.
Where is A? Where is Z? Under a rock? In a tree? Go outside and see. Invite children to use this pictorial guide to discover the alphabet in nature.
Free educational materials are available to help you celebrate World Wetlands Day (or celebrate Wetlands any day), sponsored by Ramsar Convention.
Nature’s Sound Map is an interactive tool that allows you to listen to clips of nature all over the world. The sounds range from those of an individual animal to entire ecosystems.
Enjoy this one-minute video featuring our favorite feathered friends. Can you identify all of these spectacular birds? Visit www.conservationbirding.org for the full species list. The video was created to showcase the American Bird Conservancy’s web site that enables birders to find birding routes and lodges that support habitat protection. Go birding to celebrate Earth Day!
The public radio program Encounters: Radio Experiences in the North explores the natural history of Alaska and the Far North. An accompanying website offers K-12 teachers links to the episodes as well as resources, such as slideshows, videos, and sound clips, introducing the animals and habitats of the regions: beavers, bears, caribou, humpback whales, boreal forests, moose, and others.
A free app that can be downloaded onto any Apple device (try iBird Lite for Android). Use WildLab Bird to learn the basics of bird identification. This application uses audio, photographs, maps, and the process of elimination to help identify over 200 bird species. Sightings can also be entered into a national bird watching database for comparison.
A free app that can be downloaded onto Apple devices. This is a good tool for teachers and classrooms. Easily create bar, line and pie charts that you can customize, save and e-mail or upload. The charts you create can be saved using multiple color schemes and in multiple sizes. The app also works without an internet connection.
This free, interactive iPad app teaches children how to classify animals in a series of taps and swipes. Ferret marries science and design, allowing children to discover and learn about select species. The app allows students to “build” animals using a periodic table-like classification system, and in doing so, describe their distinct characteristics.
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