Mammal Mania! Make A Dichotomous Key...

We welcome Lisa Amstutz, whose Mammal Mania! will be released on April 20. Happy Book Birthday!

My newest book, Mammal Mania (Chicago Review Press, 2021), explores what makes mammals unique, as well as their anatomy, behavior, and conservation needs. Like the others in the Young Naturalists series, it features three hands-on activities in each chapter. I designed these activities to introduce late-elementary and middle grade kids to the basics of zoology.

The activity I’ve shared below helps students learn how to use a dichotomous key. Scientists use keys like this to categorize and identify all sorts of things, from mammals to trees to insects. The word “dichotomous” means “cut into two parts”. Accordingly, each branch on the key gives the user two options to choose from. Like a choose-your-own-adventure book, each leads down a different path. The options start off very broad and general, and get more detailed and specific as you go.

Educators can use this activity to help teach taxonomy, the science of classifying living things. As students learn the taxonomic ranks, show them how each group branches off from the next in a key. For younger students, this can be adapted as a fun sorting activity—help them think through ways to group objects based on similarities and differences. Have fun with this!

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Using a Dichotomous Key

A dichotomous key is a tool that scientists use to identify living things. It works by sorting organisms into smaller and smaller groups based on things they have in common. At each step, two choices are given. The user chooses which one fits best and then follows that path. Try making your own key, then test it out on a friend.

MATERIALS

·       Magazines with plant and animal pictures

·       Scissors

·       Paper

·       Pen

1. Cut out 20 different plant and animal pictures from your magazines.

2. Sort the pictures into groups. How are they similar or different?

3. On your piece of paper, draw a dichotomous key to fit your categories.

4. Mix up your pictures. Then see if a friend can follow your key and sort them into the same categories you chose.

Lisa Amstutz is the author of ~150 science and history books for kids. Her background includes a B.A. in Biology and an M.S. in Environmental Science. A former outdoor educator, Lisa specializes in topics related to science, nature, and agriculture. She lives on a small farm with her family. Visit her online at www.LisaAmstutz.com.

 

Is It Tornado Season Where You Live?

by Mary Kay Carson

Spring is here! It's time to leave the mittens and heavy coats behind, enjoy the budding trees and blooming flowers, and also be aware of severe weather. That's right, springtime is tornado season across much of the United States. But it depends where you live. That's one of the many things I learned while researching my newest book, The Tornado Scientist: Seeing Inside Severe Storms.

Tornadoes are storms of violently spinning air spawned from powerful thunderstorms. The storms that produce severe weather, including tornadoes, are powered by warm moist air rising up into the atmosphere. That's why winter twisters are rare in cold places like Minnesota but happen in the warmer South. This terrific UStornadoes.com map shows where tornadoes have occurred by season. What is the prime season for twisters where you live?

More importantly, are you and your students prepared for a tornado? Remember, a TORNADO WATCH means a tornado is possible ("watch" TV or other media for updates) while a TORNADO WARNING means a tornado is likely happening ("warning": take shelter now).

Here are some tornado safety tips from FEMA:
   BEFORE: Have a school and/or family plan. Everyone should know where to go and what to do. Make sure an emergency kit is stocked and easy to get to.
  DURING: Put on shoes, get the emergency kit, and go to basement, cellar, or a closet or hallway in the lowest level of building. Stay away from outside walls, windows, and doors. Protect your head. (Got a bike helmet?)
  AFTER: Watch out for broken glass and nails (shoes! not flip-flops) and never go near loose power lines. Text, don't talk to communicate to leave phone lines open for emergency workers.

Use this simple quiz to start a conversation with students about staying safe during severe weather. It's part of a downloadable Tornado Fact Sheet for kids from FEMA. Be safe and happy spring!

FOLLOW THE TRACKS

Activity: Try Your Hand At This Ancient Skill

by Brandon Marie Miller

Humans have tracked and hunted animals for thousands of years. Prehistoric cave paintings show hunters at work finding food for their families. Most of us no longer hunt for our food. But if you want to discover the birds and animals in your own neighborhood-- get outside, open your eyes, and start tracking. You might be surprised at what you find!

A Prehistoric cave painting of hunters using bows and arrows

You are looking for "spoor." This means any tracks, signs, marks, or disturbances left by a passing animal. A track is an outline or imprint left in dirt, mud, or sand. This can be a footprint, or maybe the print of a tail dragging in the mud. Every animal has a different footprint.

A underside of a racoon foot

Look closely. Are there nibbled plants? Broken bits of nut shell? An animal has eaten a meal! Are there feathers on the ground? A piece of fur stuck of a twig? Has a tree trunk been marked by a deer rubbing its antlers or maybe there are claw marks in the wood? An animal has passed this way.

If you are in a park check for worn down paths that might be an animal trail. Are there nests, burrows and tunnels into the ground, are there dens or caves? These are animal homes.

You might even see "scat" or animal poop. Watch where you step! Did you know different animals have poop of various shapes and sizes, from little rabbit pellets to large flat patties?

You can find books at your local library and charts online that show different animal tracks. But you can get started with the activity below. Happy tracking!