Animals

InfoNatura
www.natureserve.org/infonatura/
Information on the birds, mammals and amphibians of Latin America

Wild about Mammals
dnr.state.il.us/lands/education/mammals/index.htm
Mammals of Illinois.

Mammals in the Woods
www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/caer/ce/eek/critter/mammal/index.htm
Profiles of mammals found in the woods of Wisconsin.

The Electronic Zoo
netvet.wustl.edu/ssi.htm
A huge database of animal resources.

NatureServe Explorer
www.natureserve.org/explorer/
Information on 50,000 plants and animals of the United States and Canada.

National Image Library
images.fws.gov/
Thousands of wildlife images available from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service

Follow the Tracks
www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/caer/ce/eek/nature/track.htm
Learn to identify different types of tracks.

The Wildlife Watchers Code of Ethics
www.fs.fed.us/outdoors/naturewatch/ethics_wildlife_watchers.htm
Learn how to safely observe wildlife.

Natural Resources, the Environment and Ecosystems
www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/ecosystems/
Activities for teachers to help their students become more aware of how plants, animals and humans interact with ecosystems.

Animals Past and Present
www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/animals/
Lessons for elementary students about what happened to dinosaurs 65 million years ago, 10 million years ago and today.

Snug in the Snow
www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/caer/ce/eek/nature/snugsnow.htm
Explanation of hibernation.

Wild about Snakes
dnr.state.il.us/lands/education/snakes/toc.htm
Information about 39 Illinois snakes.

Wild about Turtles
dnr.state.il.us/lands/education/turtle/toc.htm
Facts about Illinois Turtles.

Creatures of the Night
dnr.state.il.us/lands/education/Creatures/creature3.htm
Learn about nocturnal creatures that are active at night.

Birds

Audubon Bird Links
www.audubon.org/bird/bird_resources.html
Great links to bird information from the National Audubon Society.

Watch the Birdie!
www.educationworld.com/a_tsl/archives/00-1/lesson0012.shtml
Students develop such skills as reading, writing, listening and thinking while learning about birds of North America.

National Bird-feeding Society
www.birdfeeding.org/
Learn how to attract and feed birds in your backyard.

Bird Nests in Winter
dnr.state.il.us/lands/education/wild/birdnest.htm
Informative article about bird nests from the Illinois Steward.

All about Birds
www.birds.cornell.edu/programs/AllAboutBirds/
Wonderful site from Cornell University with an online Bird Guide, a video gallery of birds and information on attracting and feeding birds.

Bird Facts
www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/caer/ce/eek/critter/bird/index.htm
Profiles of the birds of Wisconsin.

More Bird Information
www.educationworld.com/search/
search.jhtml?pageNum=1&queryText=BIRDS&queryMode=0
Lots of great bird links.

Birding in Illinois
dnr.state.il.us/lands/education/Birding_In_Illinois/
Places to watch birds.

Illinois Birds
www.inhs.uiuc.edu/chf/pub/ifwis/birds/index.html
A listing of Illinois birds with images and life history.

The Virtual Bird Curriculum
www.dnr.state.il.us/lands/education/virtualbird/educational.htm
Learn the bird basics.

Making a Nest Like the Magpies
www.lessonplanspage.com/ScienceLABirds-TheMagpiesNest-Building13.htm
Learn how birds make nests.

Featherquest
www.nmnh.si.edu/BIRDNET/FeatherQuest/FeatherQuest.html
Learn how to identify birds from their feathers.

Birds, Fractions and Percentages
www.educationworld.com/a_tsl/archives/00-2/lesson0005.shtml
Students learn fractions and percentages using real-life applications

Wild about Birds
dnr.state.il.us/lands/education/virtualbird/index.htm
A guide to Illinois birding.

Insects and Bugs

What's Bugging You?
www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson013.shtml
Introduce kids to some of the 10 million species of insects with activities like Spider Math, Bug Bingo and Insect Senses.

Lets Talk About Insects
www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/insects/
Learn about the benefits of insects, their anatomy and what makes an insect an insect.

Nature Center Lessons
sciencespot.net/Pages/nclessons.html
Nature lessons to introduce kids to the great outdoors.

Adopt an Insect Lessons
sciencespot.net/Pages/adinsless.html
Hands on lessons to familiarize students with insects. Lessons include the Insect Scavenger Hunt, Insect Mania, Insect Puzzle and Mega-beast.

Insect Introduction
www.lessonplanspage.com/ScienceCIInsectResearchPosterProject5.htm
Students will make an informational bug poster.

Bug Me! Classroom Activities for Teaching about Bugs
www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson192.shtml
Ten activities for teaching and learning about bugs.

Bugs and Insects
www.educationworld.com/a_sites/sites031.shtml
Great sites for teaching about insects.

Spiders Spin a Web
www.lessonplanspage.com/ScienceSpiderWebsK5.htm
Students will learn how spiders spin webs.

Insects: Observing a Cricket
www.lessonplanspage.com/ScienceLAInsects-ObservingACricketK3.htm
Students will observe a cricket and learn its body parts.

Trees and Flowers

Shapes in Nature
www.lessonplanspage.com/
CIScienceDigitalCamera-ShapesInNatureIdea48.htm
Learn about the many different shapes in nature using a digital camera to take pictures of trees and shrubs.

Trees Are Terrific!
www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/trees1/
Learn all about how trees are important to us.

Exploring the Secret Lives of Trees
www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/trees2/
Learn about the parts of a tree and why trees are important to us.

Trees Sprout Classroom Lessons Throughout the Year
www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson309.shtml
Lessons on measuring a tree, reading a color key map and creating a tree silhouette.

Kids for Trees
www.inhs.uiuc.edu/chf/pub/tree_kit/
Student's and Teacher's Guide to trees.

Illinois Trees
dnr.state.il.us/lands/education/CLASSRM/TreeSeedsLeaves/index.htm
Pictures of Illinois tree leaves and seeds.

My Life as a Tree
www.lessonplanspage.com/
ScienceSSMyLifeAsATree-RingsBarkCambiumHeartwoodK4.htm
Learn the parts of a tree and their function.

Selecting Trees for your Home
www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/treeselector/
A database of trees.

If Trees Could Talk
www.lib.duke.edu/forest/curriculum/
The history of forestry and trees.

Seed Walk
www.lessonplanspage.com/ScienceSeeds2.htm
Students will collect seeds and sort according to similarities and differences.

The Wildflower Center
www.wildflower.org/
Wildflower plant information and images.

Spring Wildflowers of Illinois
dnr.state.il.us/lands/education/habitatposter/spring.htm
A Spring wildflower poster.

Celebrating Wildflowers
www.fs.fed.us/r6/uma/urban/flowers.htm
Select from more than 300 line drawings of wildflowers.

Celebrating Wildflowers Coloring Books
www.nps.gov/plants/color/
Color wildflowers and display on the web.

Tree ID Key
www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/caer/ce/eek/veg/treekey/index.htm
Identify trees in the woods or your backyard.

UI Plants
woodyplants.nres.uiuc.edu/
A database on woody plant identification, culture and usage for the Midwest.