ExploraGear kits contain equipment and consumables for student explorations. Scroll down to view the entire ExploraGear list.

Each module also lists easy-to-find Classroom Supplies used in the lessons. Scroll down or click the link on the right to see the Classroom Supplies list for this module.

ExploraGear

QUANTITY	ITEM
5	Wooden Clothespins
1	Plastic Cups, 10oz, pk/50
4	Plastic Droppers
1	Flexible Tank w/ Cover, 1.5 G
1	Small Gloves, box/100
14	Dual Magnifier Hand Lenses
5	Nails, 4 1/2 in
3	Metal Nutcrackers
1	Owl Pellet Custom Study Kit
20	Plates, Styrofoam, 6 in
1	Wood Skewers, pk/14
4	Strainers
3	Stainless Steel Tongs
1	Storage Chest w/ Lid, 11X18X15”

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Classroom Supplies

QUANTITY	ITEM	LESSONS
1 per child	Binders or folders	Family Link Notebooks
1 roll	Brown butcher paper (optional)	2
1 class set	Colored crayons, pens, or pencils	2, 10, 12, 14, SBA 1
1 ream	Construction paper, brown	2, 4, 5
1 ream	Construction paper, gray (optional)	2
1 ream	Construction paper, green	2
1 sheet per child	Drawing paper	2, 14
20	Grocery bags, brown paper (optional)	2
1 set	Tape, glue, or pins	2, 4
1	Aquarium, dish tub, or large bowl	3
2	Cootie catchers	3
1 jar	Dry herbs or tea leaves, loose	3
1 bottle	Food coloring, red or yellow (optional)	3
1 or 2 per child	Gummy worms	3
14	Index cards, large	3, 4
2 per child	Marshmallows, large	3
5 per child	Marshmallows, mini	3
1 per child	Nuts, whole, in shell	3
4 cups per pot	Oatmeal or rice, uncooked	3
1	Pot or bowl	3
6 per child	Raisins, large and plump	3
1	Stapler	3
1	Timer or clock (optional)	3
2 or more	Trays (optional)	3
1	Vase	3
6 sheets per group	Card stock	4
1 large sheet per group	Construction paper (optional)	4
3 per group	Envelopes, invitation size	4
1 per group	Envelope, large	4
1	Tape	4
1 sheet per child	Construction paper	5
1 or more	Binoculars (optional)	6
1	Recordings of bird calls (optional)	6
1	Camera and film or digital camera (optional)	6, 9
1	Field guide on birds (optional)	6
1 per group	Grocery bag with handles	6, 9
1 per child	Pencils	6, 9, SBA 2
1 pad	Self-sticking notes (optional)	7
1-3	Cactus plants in pots (aloe vera can also be used)	8
1 pair	Gardening gloves (optional)	8
1	Knife, sharp (optional)	8
2 rolls	Paper towels	8
1 per group	Plates, non-breakable (optional)	8
1 per group	Trays	8
12 per group	Twist ties	8
3	Water in basins	8
1 roll	Wax paper	8
1	Field guide on plants (optional)	9
1 set	Colored markers, water soluble (optional)	10, 16
1 set per child	Colored pencils	10
1 per child	Nonfiction books about Earth’s major biomes (optional)	10, 11
1 piece	Chart paper	12
1	Overhead projector	13, 16
1 sheet	Poster paper	13
1	Banana	16
1	Lunch bag or lunch box	16
1 serving	Orange juice	16
1	Tuna sandwich	16
2	Dolls	SBA 1
Several pieces	Fabric, variety	SBA 1
1 piece per child	Modeling clay	SBA 1
1 package	Pipe cleaners	SBA 1
2	Stuffed animals	SBA 1
1 package	Twist ties	SBA 1
2	Toy cars	SBA 1
Several balls	Yarn, various colors	SBA 1
1 set	Field guides, assorted	SBA 2
1 per child or group	Organism or object (or a representation of one)	SBA 2

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Our writers recommended these independent websites as background information and content supplements for Habitats lessons.

Stewardship Project

http://nature.org/joinanddonate/adoptanacre/

This web site outlines information about the Nature Conservancy’s Adopt an Acre program and gives background information on the two or three critical sights they focus on each year.

http://nature.org/joinanddonate/rescuereef/

Use this website to find information about the Nature Conservancy’s Rescue a Reef program. The site offers background information on the specific area they are targeting and how successful their preservations attempts have been.

http://www.earthfound.com/participate/index.html

This website provides information about a fundraising program to support the Nature Conservancy’s Adopt an Acre and Rescue a Reef programs. Instead of making a straight donation, children can sell environmental t-shirts and other products to support the environment. Every 10 items purchased will save one acre/meter in the schools name.

http://www.nacdnet.org/pubaff/backyard.htm

This website offered by the National Association of Conservation Districts provides information about how children can incorporate conservation in their schoolyards, community gardens, public places, or their own backyard.

http://www.savenature.org/

The Center for Ecosystem Survival website offers a list of projects children can participate in to help preserve their habitats. The nice thing about this site is that it includes a wide range of projects.

http://www.enature.com/

Use this website to gather information about how to create a backyard habitat and/or establish bird feeders and nesting boxes to attract local birds

http://www.arborday.org/join/index2.html

The National Arbor Day Foundation website provides information about how to join the Arbor Day Society and receive ten free trees to plant in your area.

http://www0.un.org/cyberschoolbus/planet/pages/index.asp

This website, developed by the United Nations Cyberschoolbus, provides an "Atlas of Student Action for the Planet" that lists what other schools around the nation are doing to protect their environment. It is a great place to search stewardship ideas.

http://www.nwf.org/backyardwildlifehabitat/habitatprojects.cfm

Developed by the National Wildlife Federation, this website lists a variety of habitat projects that children can do to help the environment.

http://www.nwf.org/backyardwildlifehabitat/habitatstewards.cfm

This National Wildlife Federation website offers information on how to enroll in the Habitat Steward program, one of the NWF’s national volunteer programs. Volunteers receive training that enables them to help others develop wildlife habitats in backyards and schoolyards.

http://www.uga.edu/botgarden/GEPSN.html

This website offers information about the Georgia Endangered Plant Stewardship Network which started a school site endangered plant propagation project 1996. The information gathered on this website can be used to generate class ideas of possible stewardship activities in other geographic locations.

http://www.epa.gov/adopt/network.html

Use this Environmental Protection Agency website to locate local watershed organizations. The links provide contact information for watershed organizations that conduct activities such as monitoring, cleanup and restoration projects.

Animals’ Characteristics

http://www.fonz.org/education/sciandtech/birds/birdsv3.htm

This web site offers a short "bird beak matching game," with which children use drop-down boxes to select the right food for each type of illustrated bird.

http://fen.com/studentactivities/CCCNet/sciencelab/Animals/AnimalAdapts.html

Called "Animal Adaptation E-Safaris," this web page on the Family Education Network links five "electronic safaris" to other websites suitable for children in grades 2-5. It provides an introduction, "think first" questions, and then "wrap up" questions for each e-safari.

http://www.uen.org/utahlink/activities/view_activity.cgi?activity_id=3803

Use this website, developed by the Utah Education Network, to learn about unique physical and behavioral characteristics that organisms have that help them to survive. Be certain to scroll down the page to see links to a wide variety of organisms.

Desert Characteristics

http://www.desertmuseum.org/index.html

This is the home page for the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, a zoo, natural history museum, and botanical garden. The web site includes information about desert animals and plants, including a "Kids Connection" section written especially for children.

Plant Walk, Plant Talk

http://www.reeusda.gov/1700/statepartners/usa.htm

Use this web site to find volunteer Master Gardeners who serve as educators in their communities. The site lists the state partners of the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service through which Master Gardeners are trained.

http://www.acorn-online.com/hedge/h-socs.htm

This web page provides updated contact information for state Native Plant Societies.

http://www.acorn-online.com/hedge/h-socs.htm

This website is a compilation of the Native Plant Societies in Northern America. Listings provide contact information for states and provinces in both the United States and Canada.

http://www.audubon.org/states/

Use this website to find contact information on chapters of the Audubon Society both inside and outside of the USA

http://www.aabga.org/mgSearch.htm

This website, developed by the American Association of Botanical Gardens and Arboreta, can be used to locate Botanical Gardens, Arboreta, Nature centers, Zoos and youth programs in the United States and abroad.

http://www.gardenclub.org/

The National Garden Clubs Inc. website includes a variety of links including one link geared specifically towards youths and how they can be involved in gardening and learning about horticulture.

Researching a Biome

http://mbgnet.mobot.org/sets/index.htm

This website, developed by Missouri Botanical Gardens, is a grade appropriate site children can use to research the major terrestrial and aquatic biomes of the world. The drop down menus on the left hand side of the screen lead children to more in depth answers regarding certain topics about a particular biome.

http://www.cotf.edu/ete/modules/msese/earthsysflr/biomes.html

Children can use this kid friendly website to find information about Earth’s major terrestrial biomes. The site is set up like a natural museum for the children to explore. The prompts on the right hand side of the screed lead the children to specific biomes and topics.

http://ths.sps.lane.edu/biomes/index1.html

Use this website to find links to information on the major terrestrial and aquatic biomes on the Earth. All links are geared towards elementary aged children and provide good research information. There are generally three different links for each biome.

http://www.earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Laboratory/Biome/

This fun website not only has information about the major terrestrial biomes, but once the children have investigated each of the biomes, they can test their knowledge by playing some educational games based on the biomes.

http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/world_biomes.htm

This website can be used for higher level readers to research the major terrestrial biomes on Earth. This website also provides an excellent map depicting where all of Earth’s major biomes are located.

http://worldbiomes.com

Use this website to research both the terrestrial and aquatic biomes on Earth. The reading level may be advanced, but there are pieces the children should be able to extract from the text.

The following is a list of recommended books, videos, and audio recordings that provide a wide range of reading and research resources for this unit. Collect as many as you can for your classroom science library, or provide the list to your school or local librarian.

 

The Human Habitat

The books listed below concern how humans around the world interact within their habitat. Some offer ideas and examples of environmental stewardship.

Acting for Nature: What Young People Around the World Have Done to Protect the Environment

By Sneed B. Collard and Action for Nature. (2000, Heyday Books)
Fifteen true and inspiring stories of what young people from all around the world have done to protect their natural environment.

Come Back, Salmon

By Molly Cone; photographs by Sidnee Wheelwright. (1992, Little, Sierra Club Books for Children)
This book can serve as inspiration for the class stewardship project. Documented by recorded conversations and photographs, this true story is about the adoption of a polluted stream by an elementary school and middle school in Everett, Washington. The children clean up the stream, educate their community to help keep it clean, and restock the stream with salmon they have hatched in school. After two years of suspense about whether the released salmon will return to the stream to spawn, the children are rewarded when salmon return from the sea for the first time in more that 20 years.

Material World: A Global Family Portrait

By Peter Menzel; (1994, Sierra Club Books)

This book focuses on statistically average families from 30 countries all around the globe. Each family is photographed in front of their home surrounded by all their possessions. Although the reading level is geared toward higher grades, the photographs themselves provide an excellent opportunity for the children to examine the wants and needs of people from different cultures.

Plants and Animals in Their Habitats

This list includes books about the characteristics of specific animals and plants, and how they live within their habitats.

All About Owls

By Jim Arnoski.(1995, Scholastic Inc.)

This excellent, age-appropriate book is clearly written and gives readers a glimpse of the owls’ night world. The book examines the special features an owl has that help it fit in its environment, as well as highlighting 12 common owls seen in North America.

Backyard Birds (Peterson Field Guides for Young Naturalists)

By Jonathan P. Latimer and Karen Stray Nolting; illustrated by Roger Tory Peterson. (1999, Houghton Mifflin Co.)

This simple guidebook includes a photograph of each bird as well as scientific illustrations to help identify it. The behavior, habitat, voice, and food of each bird are easy to find and read.

Beaks!

By Sneed B. Collard. (2002, Charlesbridge Publishing)

This book describes and illustrates the special features of more than 20 birds’ bills, as they probe, crush, tear, tap, skim, scoop, stab, pry, and dig. An easy-to-read sentence about each bill, set in large type, is supplemented by more lengthy, factual information for confident readers.

Beaver At Long Pond

By William T. George and Lindsey Barrett George; illustrated by Lindsey Barrett George. (1988, Greenwillow Books)

Easy-to-read text is combined with beautiful illustrations to give children a detailed look at how a beaver interacts in its pond environment.

Box Turtle at Long Pond

By William T. George; illustrated by Lindsay Barrett George. (1989, Greenwillow Books)

This beautifully illustrated book follows a box turtle through a day of foraging, basking, and finding shelter. The turtle and the plants and animals that share its habitat are all painted in loving detail.

Cactus Hotel

By Brenda Z. Guiberson; illustrated by Megan Lloyd. (1991, Henry Holt and Company)

This “biography” tells the story of a giant saguaro cactus that grows to a height of fifty feet and a weight of eight tons. Over its lifetime of 200 years, it houses a rotating population of insects, mammals, reptiles, and birds. Even after it falls, it shelters a new set of living things. The book’s simple text and vivid pictures portray a desert full of colorful and active life.

Claws, Coats, and Camouflage: The Ways Animals Fit into Their Worlds

By Susan E. Goodman; photographs by Michael J. Doolittle. (2001, Millbrook Press)

This excellent book about animals is a companion to Seeds, Stems, and Stamens about plants. It discusses how animals fit into their environments, stay safe, get food, and make a new generation. Each right-hand page gives a brief statement, a color photo, and the question “What’s this animal’s adaptation?” The following page answers the question with careful descriptions and more photos.

Desert Giant

By Barbara Bash. (1989, Little, Brown and Company in conjunction with Sierra Club Books)

This account of the life cycle of a saguaro cactus teaches children about the animals that are sheltered and fed by the cactus, and tells how humans use the cactus.

Fly Traps: Plants that Bite Back

By Martin Jenkins; illustrated by David Parkins. (1996, Candlewick Press)

This is an easy to read book that introduces children to carnivorous plants. It talks specifically about bladderworts, sundews, Venus fly traps, cobra lilies, and pitcher plants.

Microhabitats Series: Life in a Tide Pool; Life in a Pond; Life in a Flowerbed; Life in a Cave; Life in a Tree

By Clare Oliver. (2002, Raintree Publishers)

A series of books with full-color photographs and large type, written at an upper-elementary reading level. A brief introduction to the “microhabitat” of each title is followed by a description of its physical conditions, its inhabitants, and its ecological importance.

My Favorite Tree: Terrific Trees of North America

By Diane Iverson. (1997, Harcourt Brace & Company)

This is a terrific, age appropriate reference book that not only describes 26 native trees of North America, but also identifies organisms that depend on each tree for survival. Listed next to each beautiful illustrated tree is a description of its traits, such as habitat, height, bark, leaves, flowers and seeds, as well as interesting facts about historical uses of the tree. Although this book is no longer in print, you might look for it at your local library.

Prairie Dogs

By Emery Bernhard; illustrated by Durga Bernhard. (1997, Harcourt Brace & Company)

This is an engaging, age-appropriate book that examines the life of prairie dogs, their burrowing system, and their place in the landscape. This is a great book for learning about habitats within the American Prairie.

Seeds, Stems, and Stamens: The Ways Plants Fit into Their World

By Susan E. Goodman; photographs b Michael J. Dolittle. (2001, Millbrook Press)

This excellent book about plants is a companion to Claws, Coats, and Camouflage about animals. It discusses how plants fit into their environments, get sun, get water and nutrients, stay safe, make new plants, and “get revenge.” Each right-hand page gives a brief statement (such as “All living things need water to survive. In some regions, however, water is very scarce”), a color photo (such as a cactus), and the question “What’s this plant’s adaptation?” The following page answers the question with careful descriptions and more photos.

Small Worlds series: A Coral Reef, A Dead Log, A Freshwater Pond, A Rainforest Tree, A Saguaro Cactus, A Tidal Pool, In a Backyard, On the Tundra, Under a Stone.

By Jen Green, Adam Hibbert, or Philip Steele. (1999 or 2002, Crabtree Publishing)

This series of books provide facts and photographs about how plants and animals live together in a small environment and share their habitats. Some aspects of the books are appropriate for biomes research.

The Salamander Room

By Anne Mazer; illustrated by Steve Johnson & Lou Fancher. (1991, Dragonfly Books)

A boy brings a salamander home. As the boy answers his mother’s gentle questions (“Where will the salamander sleep?” “What will it eat?”), his bedroom is transformed into a forest habitat with no ceiling and plenty of room for birds to fly and trees to grow. Consider asking children to read this book to promote thinking about the differences between the mini-habitat in the Science Center and natural habitats.

Urban Roosts: Where Birds Nest in the City

By Barbara Bash. (1990, Little, Brown and Company, in conjunction with Sierra Club Books)

This book describes the sometime unexpected ways that birds—ranging from pigeon to peregrine, house finch to owl—have found habitats for themselves in human cities. The illustrations are detailed watercolors.

Biomes

The list below includes books and videos recommended for children to use when studying world biomes.

Biomes of the World series: Chaparral, Desert, Grassland, Ocean, Rainforest, Taiga, Temperate Forest, Tundra

By Elizabeth Kaplan and Edward R. Ricciuti. (1996, Benchmark Books)

Each title in this series describes the distinguishing geography, plants, and animals of a specific biome. The texts are clearly written, and full-color photographs and diagrams amplify definitions. A color-keyed map in each book clearly illustrates worldwide biome locations and distributions.

Exploring Earth’s Biomes series: Coral Reef, Desert, Grassland, Lake and Pond, Ocean, River and Stream, Seashore, Taiga, Temperate Deciduous Forest, Tundra, Wetland

By Elizabeth Pulley Sayre. (1997, 21 st Century Books)

Look for titles from this series in your school library. They are well-organized books written for upper elementary and middle school students. Each is divided into sections such as physical features, plants, and animals. Concluding chapters discuss how humans impact each environment, followed by a list of environmental organizations and resources.

The Living Planet series: Baking Deserts, Frozen Worlds, Jungle, New Worlds, Northern Forests, Oceans, Seas of Grass

Produced by BBC/Time Life; narrated by David Attenborough. (Released 1984)

This classic documentary series provides some of the most spectacular sights and sounds of nature ever captured on film. They offer a memorable way to learn about the world’s biomes. The entire series includes 12 videos, but those listed above are most relevant to the Habitats unit.

One Small Square series: African Savanna, Arctic Tundra, Backyard, Cactus Desert, Cave, Coral Reef, Pond, Seashore, Swamp, Tropical Rain Forest, Woods

By Donald M. Silver; illustrated by Patricia J. Wynne. (1993-1999, McGraw-Hill)

This series provides a wealth of information about what you would see if you staked out one “one small square” of each place, and observed it closely through the seasons. Each book documents dozens of organisms, by peeking through microscopic views, under the ground or under water, inside stems or egg cases, even examining unobtrusive lichen or tiny bacteria. It also teaches, in context, the composition of soil, rock, and other components of each environment. Experiments and other activities are described in the margins of these books. The books are packed with so much information that children will probably not read them from cover to cover; however, they can learn a great deal just by dipping into a few pages.

One Day in the… series: Alpine Tundra; Desert; Prairie; Tropical Rain Forest; Woods

By Jean Craighead George. (1983-1999, HarperTrophy and Scholastic Inc.)

These short chapter books combine lyrical, suspenseful storytelling and expert nature writing to describe the animals and plants living in each setting. They include all of the information children need for their biomes research, but it is not presented in reference book form.