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April 19-27: National Wildlife Week
This spring, take the time to connect with nature and learn more about wildlife, especially endangered species!
- 2008 is the 70th anniversary of National Wildlife Week. Show appreciation for nature by watching out for wildlife and promoting conservation efforts!
- Have you heard about nature deficit disorder? The term was coined by author Richard Louv, who believes that children have lost their connection to nature due to a greater interest in electronic media and a fear of natural areas like forests. This week is the perfect opportunity to introduce the animal world into your classroom by reading books about wildlife, participating in art projects, or even organizing a fun nature walk. After all, young children love learning about animals!
Activities & Ideas!
Take advantage of National Wildlife Week to improve students' reading skills and expand vocabularies as they learn more about these fascinating animals. The Zoozoo Into the Wild series explores the lives of elephants, frogs, giraffes, hippos, lions, orangutans, tigers and zebras. Include some of these ideas into your class for a wildly fun time!
-Get your students wild about art! Decorate the room with colorful pictures, drawings, and posters of different wildlife. Ask children to draw their own versions of the animal, and hang their artwork on a bulletin board in the classroom or library. Use the visual aids to point out unique features of each animal (i.e. elephants have tusks and a trunk) as well as the features many of them share, like eyes or ears.
-Ask children to bring in their stuffed animals of tigers, elephants, or other wildlife and conduct sharing time. Set up an area of the class for dramatic play and use stuffed animals as props during story time.
-Take this opportunity to discuss how humans now threaten the habitats of many wild animals, and how we can help by promoting awareness and conservation efforts. Feeling ambitious? Organize a fieldtrip to the zoo or try transforming part of the school into a wildlife habitat! Gather parents, volunteers, and students to plant trees, flowers, and other plants. Research which animals live in your area and choose plants accordingly. Make sure there is a water source in your wildlife habitat, whether it's a birdbath or a simple dish filled with water. Visit the habitat with your students to observe which animals are now calling it home!
-Join the Wildlife Kids Club. The site provides plenty of resources for teachers and parents with games, jokes, contests and other activities.
-Use paper or plastic plates, markers, glitter, feathers, elastic straps and other craft supplies to make animal masks, which students can wear as you read the book, See a Tiger (from Zoozoo Into the Wild Fiction). Have students act out the scene on each page. Pressed for time? Print out a helpful tiger mask template and specific instructions here!
-Play Who Am I? Give clues about an animal and ask kids to guess its identity. Use visual aids, like posters and drawings, to help kids figure out which animal you might have in mind.
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