Walk in the Woods
http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/woods/
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Join this online walk through the woods with an audio guide featuring photographs and field notes about the animals and plants you may encounter! Nature Notes includes images and information about everything you may find in the woods, from acorns to ticks. Visit the Fun Place to read or write a Timber Talk Story or to write in the Woods Walker Journal and see what others have written.
Upper elementary students are the target audience for this virtual field trip, and the materials are designed for independent reading and navigation, building an understanding of the content and vocabulary while integrating writing and mathematics into activities that build skills in observation and awareness of conservation issues. Audio support throughout this site will help students who are not strong readers.
Learning goals for this activity include general scientific observation and inquiry skills as well as the traditional data collection for investigations using scientific process skills including observing, estimating and measuring. Science topics covered are life cycles of plants and animals, and relationships among various organisms in their environments.
The trip through the woods is linear and encourages students to see this as an example of an experience that will vary depending upon season and time of day. The Getting Ready section gives tips about proper dress and behavior for a walk in the real outdoors.
The Site Index is a page of thumbnail images and will make it easy for you to return to a specific plant, animal or concept if you want to reinforce specific relationships or highlight materials relevant to a current unit. Consult the Teacher’s Guide for suggested extension activities for the classroom like creating bulletin boards or a woods glossary, as well as ideas for extending the activities into the school grounds or nearby community.
