Birds of a Feather

• Wild Birds Unlimited! This is an enormous site all about birds. The WBU mission is "We Bring People and Nature Together" by informing and educating our customers and communities about the wonders of birding and nature. Links on the site include a Junior Naturalist Program, creating habitat for birds and other wildlife, a bird identifier, bird rehab, frequently asked questions, and free email news.
• The National Audubon Society website has links to Conservation & Action, Birds & Science, Kids & Education, State Chapters, and Current News among others.
• Birdnet provides information about ornithology, the scientific study of birds. The site is a service of the Ornithological Council, a public information organization involving ten North American professional ornithological societies. The site includes links to each of the 10 organizations, as well as, to information on "What is ornithology," Ornithological issues, Birds and Birding information.

• Using Live Insects in Elementary Classrooms for Early Lessons in Life, funded by the National Institutes of Health Science Education Partnership Award, is a program dedicated to introducing health topics to children in kindergarten through third grade. The result is a printable collection of twenty integrated lessons with science and math activities that use live insects.
• Teaching with Bugs! A host of activities for the classroom include building an ant farm, mapping insect behavior, determining whether cockroaches can learn, building model bugs, studying metamorphosis, learning classification, mounting specimens, and studying insect habitats.
• The Bug Club for Young Entomologists is a club devoted to young people and the young at heart who find insects and other creepy crawlies interesting and even fascinating. The site has Care sheets for pet bugs, a section to help identify an insect, a forum to ask the experts your questions, and a sample newsletter.
• Entomology for Beginners! Entomology is the study of insects. This page provides some basic information on insects. First a quick look at the anatomy of adult insects, and then a short story about the metamorphosis of insects.
• Journey North! Over 6,000 schools, representing more than 300,000 students, participated in the Spring 2001 Journey North Program. The journeys of a dozen migratory species are tracked each spring. Students share their own field observations with classrooms across the Hemisphere. Visit this site if you're interested in participating in the 2002 journey!
• Caterpillars & Mystery Bugs! From the University of Kentucky, this site is designed for teachers, students, and anyone else who wants to pursue an interest in Entomology. Several articles give resources and basic information about insects and their relatives, while others outline activities with different insect themes.

• Welcome to Recycle City! An interactive website maintained by the US EPA. Visitors can "SEE how the people of Dumptown turned their backward town around, FIND out how Recycle City reduces waste and saves money, LEARN more about recycling than you ever dared, and GET A CLUE where all that garbage goes!"
• Planetpals Earthzone Celebrate the Earth! This colorful website has lots of information on recycling and environmentally smart things to do. There are crafts, games, stickers, a coloring page, America Recycles Day page, Earth Day page, Planetpals and more.
• Recycle Ohio! Division of Recycling and Litter Prevention, Ohio Department of Natural Resources: Tons of resources including information on curriculum, where to recycle in Ohio, and fact sheets on different recycled materials.
• America Recycles Day! This is the official website with information on events, contests, frequently asked questions, press releases and more!

• The Water Cycle! Presented by Crafts for Kids, this page explains the four stages of the water cycle: evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and collection. Five Water Cycle activity pages can be printed out and used as posters or coloring pages. Sheets 2 thru 4 have some suggested activities students can do at home or in the classroom to demonstrate the Water Cycle.
• The Food Chain! This page is from the PlanetPals website and offers a basic description of what the food chain is, including a description of producers, consumers, and decomposers.
• Plants and Our Environment Students made this website to explain that (1) roots, stems and leaves help plants live and grow; (2) flowers form seeds that can produce new plants; and (3) germination, growth, and formation of new seeds are stages in the life cycle of a plant. The students describe pollination and explain how plants with flowers form seeds. Visitors will learn about photosynthesis, monocots and zygotes, how seeds travel and how a seed germinates to produce a new plant.

• Explor-A-Pond lets you explore a pond, participate in the project, adopt a pond, and link to other classes through discussion and debate. Use the Pond Action link for lesson plans for grades K-6th.
• Wetlands! From the US EPA Office of Water, this website has answers to questions like "What are wetlands?", "Why protect wetlands?", "How are wetlands protected?", and "What you can do to protect our vital resource!"
• What's Up With Our Nation's Waters? is another site from the US EPA's Office of Water. Available online and as a download printable version, the website is a status report on the quality of the country's water and what individuals can do to make a difference. Information is available on many topics including what scientists measure in the water, three big pollutants and where they come from, and science projects.
• Wet & Wild: The Hydrology and Biodiversity of Wetlands defines what a wetland is and describes a variety of different types of wetlands; bogs, marshes, swamps, and riparians. Included are water characteristics in the different types of wetlands, as well as the unique and diverse plant and animal life that may be found there. The roles and functions of wetlands are also discussed. Included in this site is an interactive game identifying animal footprints and a variety of activities that others could do in wetland areas near their homes or schools.

• Pennsylvania Amphibian and Reptiles: A Curriculum Guide Here is a ‘taste’ of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission’s newest curriculum available to Pennsylvania educators. Included in this pdf file are samples of four lessons and other important resource information. PDF File size: 1.22MB
• Clemson Extension Wildlife Project: Learning About Amphibians The Southern Regional 4-H Wildlife Literature Committee prepared the information found in this site. This is another pdf file that includes excellent background information on amphibians such as characteristics, habitat, importance to humans, and classifications. PDF File size: 249K
• Kennesaw State University: Reptiles and Amphibians This is a fantastic site created by Jerrie S. Cheek from the KSU Educational Technology Center. From this web page you will find links to other research and informational sites as well as offline lesson plans that provide useful information about this class of animals.
• Yahoo Animals! At this site you will finds games, pictures, videos, and tons of information dealing with the wonders of reptiles and amphibians. This site is designed specifically for children. It is fun and very easy to use, but don’t worry, it is just as educational as it is entertaining!