RESOURCES GRADE 2 - 3 ( denotes a Canadian source) Amazing worlds. Toronto, ON: Stoddart. Excellent photographs and simple labels accompany text for intermediate readers and make this series of books usable for all elementary school children. Titles in the series include Amazing Snakes, Birds, Mammals, Spiders, Lizards, Wolves, and Beetles. Bath, John B. and Sally C. Mayberry. Habitats. (Step-by-step science). Greensboro, NC: Carson-Dellosa, 1994. A number of simple but effective activities for primary grades fill the pages of this useful teacher resource. The scientific method is followed in these experiments which provide hands-on discoveries for young children. The exploration in Lesson 1 was adapted from this book. Birds of Prey. Part 2: An Exhibition of the owls of Canada. Victoria, BC: Royal BC Museum, 1995. ["Primary Activity Sheets, "Guide to Activity Sheets" and "Teacher Notes" for the Travelling Exhibition] " Teacher Notes" give background information regarding objectives of the Birds of Prey exhibit, owls in the exhibit, habitat, and adaptations. It also includes notes from the exhibit copy panels plus line drawings and map locations for eight of the owls. The burrowing owl is not included. "Primary Activity Sheets" include a word bank, riddles and a report form. ("Intermediate Activity Sheets" are also available.) Order these information packages from the Coordinator, Travelling Exhibits, Royal BC Museum, 675 Belleville Street, Victoria, BC, V8V 1X4. Telephone: (604) 387-2163; FAX: (604) 387-5360). British Columbia Provincial Museum handbooks. Victoria, BC: British Columbia Provincial Museum. These handbooks provide valuable information for teachers and fine line drawings that can be used with the children. v. 1-11 The Birds of British Columbia: v. 1-2 Woodpeckers, crows and their allies, v. 4 Upland game birds, v. 7 Owls, v. 11 Sparrows and finches. v. 24 The Dragonflies of British Columbia, v. 45 The Amphibians of British Columbia. Clearing. Environmental education in the Pacific Northwest. A Collection of ideas, activities, and resources for teaching about our environment. Although an American publication this journal contains a great deal of content for teachers in the Pacific Northwest. Dr. Milt McLaren of Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, BC is a member of the Content Advisory Group. Issue no. 90 (September/October 1995), contains a valuable 1995-96 Environmental Education Resource Directory. A section entitled "The Ecological Classroom: environmental education activities K-12" is included in every issue. This journal is available from CLEARING, PO Box 5176, Oregon City, OR 97045 Cornell, Joseph Barat. Sharing nature with children. A Parents' and teachers' nature-awareness guidebook. np: Ananda Publications, 1979. A book of nature-awareness games that will delight every parent and teacher! Individual activities are generally presented on a double-page spread, with a photograph, and an extremely useful code. The code indicates the mood of the game (ie. reflective, observational, playful), the concepts, attitudes and qualities it teaches, when and where to play, number of required players, optimum age range, and any special materials required. The small paperback format of the book makes it ideal for tucking in your pocket. Cows, cars & chainsaws". The Bookmark. Vol. 32, no. 2 (December 1990). This issue of the British Columbia Teacher-Librarians' journal The Bookmark, contains a wealth of information about endangered species and endangered spaces. Included are bibliographies for all grade levels, as well as lesson plans. Emberley, Ed. Ed Emberley's great thumbprint drawing book. Toronto, ON: Little, Brown, 1977. Check out the Art ideas in this book for great fun creating your own endangered species. Endangered species: Wild and rare. (Ranger Rick's NatureScope). Washington, DC: National Wildlife Federation, 1987. The wildlife and nature activities in this collection relate to articles in the Ranger Rick magazine aimed at children aged 6 to 12. Gaffney, Michael. Secret forests. A Collection of hidden creepy crawly bugs and insects. Racine, Wis.: Western, 1994. An excellent introduction to observations in the forest, as well as to the concept of camouflage, this book features a series of bugs and insects, followed by pages of the habitats in which they are found. Chapters include tropical forest and the tropical forest floor; oak leaves and leaf litter creatures; pine forest bark and the pine forest floor; and a creature index. The endangered robber fly is one of the insects. Godkin, Celia. Ladybug garden. Markham, ON: Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 1995. This story introduces youngsters to the concept of the balance of nature in a garden setting. Through simple text and beautiful, detailed illustrations the author shows how plants and insects are linked together and depend on one another to survive. She demonstrates the harm done by the application of pesticides. Celia Godkin, a scientific illustrator, has prepared an excellent picture book which will be valuable at the elementary level. Godkin, Celia. Wolf island. Markham, ON: Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 1989. This story illustrates the fragile balance of an ecosystem. Based on a true story, it details what happens when the highest link in the food chain is removed. Going...Going...Gone? A Guide to teaching about species at risk and habitat conservation. Canmore, AB: Kananaskis Country Environmental Literacy Program, 1996. A teaching resource for Grades 3-7 focusing on Alberta's habitats, this book relates the concepts of habitat loss and species at risk. The guide is carefully written and includes program objectives for concepts, skills and attitudes. It includes outdoor field studies and emphasizes the importance of taking action. A complementary document entitled Natural Region Report #1: A Framework for Alberta's special places accompanies this book. Available from Kananaskis Country Environmental Literacy Program, Box 280, Canmore, AB, T0L 0M0. Telephone: (403) 678-5508. Grant, Janet E. The Kids' green plan. How to write your own plan to save the environment. Markham, ON: Pembroke, 1990. This booklet gives students some starting points for action. Special environment days in Canada are listed. The Green teacher. Toronto, ON. A great Canadian resource with environmental information and activities for teachers to use in the classroom. Available from The Green teacher, 95 Robert Street, Toronto, ON M5S 2K5. Hickman, Pamela. Habitats. Federation of Ontario Naturalists. Toronto, ON: Kids Can Press, 1993. Hickman, Pamela. The Kids' Canadian bird book. Federation of Ontario Naturalists. Toronto, ON: Kids Can Press, 1995. The burrowing owl is one of the birds featured in this clear and attractively illustrated book. Investigators of the last frontier Victoria, BC: White Bears Productions, 1995. A series of video cassettes produced for the Living Landscapes project. These videos feature wildlife of the Thompson-Okanagan region. Episode subjects include herons, owls, marmots, firefighting, Adams River, raptors, snakes and bats. Beginning on February 22, 1996 the series will be aired on Knowledge Network on Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., and starting in April 1996 they will be aired on the Discovery Channel. After televising, these videos will be available through Knowledge Network or the BC Learning Connection. Currently, information can be attained through Susan Wilkey, Supervising Producer, White Bears Productions, 1441 Store Street, Victoria, BC V8W 3J3 Telephone (604) 480-1263, FAX # (604) 480-1023. Katz, Marjorie P. Fingerprint owls and other fantasies. New York, NY: M. Evans, 1972. This book is not as good as Ed Emberley's or Wildlife alert, but it does give some samples of fingerprint art. Lake, Jo-Anne. Imagine: a literature-based approach to science. Markham, ON: Pembroke, 1993. This excellent teacher resource book explores links between science and literature. Using literature as a stimulus, teachers are invited to provide investigative opportunities for children with hands-on materials. Especially helpful are the skills charts which list titles in a large variety of literary genre, and identify the scientific skills which can be developed through the use of these selections. Extensive bibliographies of Professional Resources and Children's Literature will help classroom teachers explore science through literature. Love, Ann and Jane Drake. Take action. World Wildlife Fund. Toronto, ON: Kids Can Press, 1992. Discusses the problems of the disappearance of wild animals and wild places around the world. WWF entreats children and adults to take action to protect the endangered. This book identifies the problems and suggests how kids can help; an excellent resource for students aged 8 to 13. McCracken, Marlene & Robert. Animals. (Themes). Winnipeg, MN: Peguis, 1988. A book no elementary teacher should be without! The McCrackens make every lesson a Language Arts lesson without extra resources or materials. McGlathery, Glenn and Norma J. Livo. Who's endangered on Noah's Ark? Literary and scientific activities for teachers and parents. Englewood, Colorado: Teacher Idea Press, 1992. This resource discusses ten endangered species which have been success stories in conservation: wolves, bears, elephants, tigers, leopards, California condors, northern spotted owls, bald eagles, whopping cranes, and alligators. Each section includes a folktale and folklore, a discussion about the animal which includes reasons for endangerment and attempts to help; followed by activities, notes and a resource bibliography. McGrath, Susan. Saving our animal friends. (Books for young explorers) Washington, DC: National Geographic Society, 1986. Saving our Animal Friends is a book for early elementary school children. It describes, with text and photographs, ways in which people can help wildlife in need of protection. It deals specifically with keeping environments safe. Additional information is provided for teachers in the section "More About." Plentiful photographs are excellent. McKeever, Katherine. A Family for Minerva. (An OWL true adventure book). Toronto, ON: Greey de Pencier, 1980. The story of an injured snowy owl which was brought to an "owl hospital". An abundance of information about owls accompanies the colour photographs. McKeever, Katherine. A Place for owls. True animal stories. Toronto, ON: Greey de Pencier, 1987. This delightful and informative group of stories relates how owls are cared for by two Canadians who are outraged by human interference in the environment. They decided to help one kind of predator "survive in a world of people" (p. 9) and the stories in this book chronicle their experiences. Discussed are the barn, barred, boreal, burrowing, great grey, great horned, long-eared, saw-whet, screech and the snowy owls. Although this book is more for intermediate students, parts of the chapters can be profitably read to primary children. This book was previously published as Granny's Gang. Martin, James. Hiding out: camouflage in the wild. New York, NY: Crown, 1993. The author looks at animals who depend on their ability to hide in their environment to help them survive, describing techniques that include shape, pattern, colour and mimicry. Excellent colour photography. Operation Burrowing Owl. (World of Nature). 1992. Video. This 15 minute video is recommended by the BC Ministry of Education for grades 2 to 7. It illustrates how early settlers plowed the grasslands of the prairies for farms and so threatened the existence of many species. This video is probably in your District Resource Centre. If not, order from BC Learning Connection, #208 - 7475 Hedley Avenue, Burnaby, BC V5E 2R1 Telephone: (604) 431-1844; FAX: (604) 431-1844; Toll Free: 1-800-884-2366. $20.00, Order No: SC0152. OWL. The Discovery magazine for kids. Young Naturalist Foundation. The aim of this magazine is to interest children (8 years and over) in nature, science and the world. It is indexed in Children's Magazine Guide and the Canadian Periodical Index. Available from OWL magazine, 179 John Street, Suite 500, Toronto, ON M5T 3G5. Owls. ( Investigators of the last frontier). Victoria, BC: White Bears Productions, 1995. Episode 4 of the Investigators series features Canadian biologist Richard Cannings as he spends a day tagging owls for future research. He explores the habitat of the saw-whet and burrowing owls in the southern Okanagan. Nesting boxes for the saw-whet owls are featured. Unable to find a burrowing owl in the grasslands near Osoyoos, the scientists direct the viewers to the Kamloops Wildlife Park where burrowing owls are being raised. Although this 22 minute video is more suitable for intermediate grades, many portions of it are useful for primary students. The burrowing owl is featured from 518 to 720 on a video counter. See additional series information under: Investigators of the last frontier. Peterson, Roger Tory. A Field guide to western birds. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1990. This is an essential field guide for all school libraries. Project Learning Tree. A comprehensive education program designed for teachers and other educators working with students from preschool to grade 12. Project WILD A conservation and environmental program for educators of students in Kindergarten through secondary school. This program emphasizes wildlife and focuses on hands-on, activity-based education. Ranger Rick. National Wildlife Federation. Explore the wild with Ranger Rick. This magazine provides great photography and reading adventures for children 6 to 12. One of the benefits of subscribing is a membership in Ranger Rick's Nature Club. This magazine is indexed in Children's Magazine Guide. Available from the National Wildlife Federation, PO Box 777, Mt. Morris, IL 61054-0777 Reid, Barbara. Playing with plasticine. Toronto, ON: Kids Can Press, 1988. Reid gives clear instructions, both text and graphic, for turning plasticine or modelling clay into flat pictures and three dimensional objects. This valuable resource guides students to achieve optimum results with modelling materials. Use this resource to make models of endangered species. Savan, Beth. Earthcycles and ecosystems. Toronto, ON: Kids Can Press, 1991. The main threats to the environment and what can be done about them are examined in this very readable book for elementary students. Dr. Savan challenges children with information which includes habitats and food chains within them. This book is full of fascinating information and projects. Survival." The Bookmark. Vol. 34, no. 1 (September 1992). This issue of the British Columbia Teacher-Librarians' journal The Bookmark, contains information on environmental survival. Included are bibliographies as well as lesson plans. Suzuki, David. Looking at .... series. Toronto, ON: Stoddart. Looking at insects. Looking at plants. Looking at the environment. Canadian scientist David Suzuki leads his readers through the world of nature with interesting facts, simple diagrams, and excellent activities. He simplifies the ways in which children can interact with nature. Taylor, Dave. Endangered animals series. Niagara Fall, ON: Crabtree, 1992. Endangered forest animals. (Canadian -- gray wolf.) Endangered grassland animals. (Canadian -- bison, burrowing owl, prairie dog and sandhill crane.) Endangered mountain animals. (Canadian -- bighorn sheep, brown bear.) Endangered wetland animals. (Canadian -- eastern hognose snake, osprey.) Each book in this series begins with a section which defines the ecosystem (eg. grasslands), speaks generally about animals in distress, features ten animals which are endangered and then suggests ways in which the habitat can be preserved. Some Canadian animals of concern are featured. Image Credit: Short-horned Lizard sketch in Reptiles of British Columbia, Gregory and Campbell, 1984. this section sponsored by: Industry Canada