6 Audubon Adventures Classroom Resource Manual

You will need:��Living organisms (NOT captured

in the wild) for students to carefor and study—fish, snails,worms, ants, plants. (See page 9for care guidelines.)��Natural materials—bones, shells,

and other items from animalsobtained from a science-supplycatalogue; leaves, seeds, stones,soil. (See page 8 for collectingguidelines.)��Field guides, other nonfiction

and fiction books dealing withnature, nature magazines suchas Audubon, newspaper andmagazine articles, pamphlets.��Posters and other graphic

materials.��Science equipment and tools—

microscope, hand lenses,binoculars, glass jars, slides,tweezers, a scale, rulers, graphpaper.��Space for hands-on activities,

experiments, and observing andrecording.��Local information—maps, news

about nature and environmentalissues in your community,descriptive material andannouncements from localnature centers, parks, etc.

[WHAT TO DO]�� Before you begin each Audubon

Adventures unit, ask your schoollibrarian or media specialist tohelp you locate additional booksrelated to the subject, and placethese in the Nature DiscoveryCenter. (See the Resourcessection of this manual forsuggestions, pages 44-45.)Check with your local Audubonchapter, which may be willing toprovide field guides, books, andmagazines; or contact anAudubon Center to plan afield trip.�� Create theme-based natural

history exhibits and displays toexplore conservation, habitats,endangered species, andclassification, and to model theprocess of scientific inquiry.�� Let groups of students be

responsible for creating a newdisplay for the NatureDiscovery Center each month.�� Set aside class time for students

to use the equipment and otherresources in the NatureDiscovery Center for their owninvestigations as well as forassigned activities and projects.�� Set up centers for activities and

short-term investigations thatstudents can do on their own.�� Incorporate keeping a

Naturalist’s Journal into theactivities and displays in theNature Discovery Center.

Create a ClassroomNature Discovery CenterA Nature Discovery Center is a place in your classroom wherestudents can explore nature through research and observation andwhere they can practice what they are learning.

Keeping a Naturalist’s Journal A journal is an essential tool forscientists and researchers in thefield.They use it for recordingdata and observations,drawings, maps, and other typesof information. It is also anexcellent way for children toimprove their writing andreading skills.

Make keeping a Naturalist’sJournal part of every aspect ofyour students’ study of thenatural world, both in theclassroom and outdoors.Included with your AudubonAdventures classroom packageyou will find a booklet calledNature Journaling for Everyone. Itgives you very helpfulinformation, advice, andtechniques for guiding yourstudents (and yourself!) throughthe process of starting andkeeping a Naturalist’s Journal.

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