Quick Collections!

 Welcome this month's guest blogger, Heather L. Montgomery*!

Round rocks, red leaves, rhinoceros beetles—we all know that kid who would cram them in a pocket then clutter up the closet. . . That kid might be a scientist. George Washington Carver, Jane Goodall, Charles Darwin—all were incessant collectors as kids! 

My recent picture book, What’s In Your Pocket? Collecting Nature’s Treasures, features nine historic and modern scientists who grew their skills by packing their pockets, then sifting and sorting through nature stuff. Collecting artifacts develops skills—observation, description, sorting, evaluation—with broad application. 

Kids can build permanent collections, seeking out just the right thing to fit a category and taking care to find the perfect specimen, but there’s lots of fun to be had in quick collections, too.  On your next outing, why not put your pocket-packing skills to the test? 

Alphabet Mess: Quickly collect 30 or more random items into a pile. Then turn the mess into a tidy alphabetical line. Can you make a complete alphabet?

Categories: Call out a category (nut, something orange, something ancient, once living thing, something fuzzy, something smelly, etc.) and see what everyone finds. Bring the artifacts together to compare/contrast. For easy display of small items, use a white ice cube tray. In addition to the stated category, what else do those items have in common?

Picture Perfect: Develop a list of sensitive items (butterfly, bird, living flower, moss on a rock) and collect pictures instead of samples. Not enough cameras? Work in pairs. One person (the photographer) must line up the blindfolded person (the camera) so that when the camera flips open the shutter (blindfold) the item is directly in view.

Collection Connections (left): Make a grid on a piece of paper (adjust size according to your needs). Place one artifact in the center square. Any collected item can be added to an adjacent square if you can name one way in which the items connect. For example, they could both be animal parts, one (a plant) could use another (soil), they could both provide shelter, they could be the same color, texture, shape,… For an extra challenge, add an item and let others guess the connection.

*Heather L. Montgomery writes for kids who are wild about animals. An award-winning author and educator, Heather uses yuck appeal to engage young minds. Her books include: Something Rotten: A Fresh Look at Roadkill, Bugs Don’t Hug: Six-legged Parents and Their Kids, and What’s in Your Pocket? Collecting Nature’s Treasures. Learn more at www.HeatherLMontgomery.com

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.

 

Solace in Nature

by Brandon Marie Miller

My usual blog posts discuss American history. Today, I feel more than ever the ache that we desperately need to learn our history, confront it, and do better. We face hard times. We are in the midst of a Pandemic. Millions of Americans have lost their jobs. We are also in a fight for justice and equality in our streets that has been going on for centuries. Why can't we listen? This has happened over and over again in our history. People are hurting.

This month I'm going to write about the tiniest thing we can do to find a moment of clarity. Get out in nature. That's all. Feel the sun, smell the rain. Engage all your senses. I know I'm lucky. I have a front porch, flower beds, herbs and vegetables I grow. I watch rabbits, squirrels, birds, lizards, and chipmunks in my yard. Sometimes a deer strolls through, or a raccoon, or opossum. A few minutes outdoors works wonders for our brains and bodies. It's how we humans are wired. This is important for all of us, but especially for children.

I'm sharing an activity from the book WILDLIFE RANGER, a colorful and fun outdoor guide for kids. Mary Kay Carson wrote the book and her husband Tom Uhlman took the photos. The book is a wonderful escape into nature with activities to help protect the wildlife in a child's own backyard, their own block, or the park they visit.

Enjoy and stay safe.

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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!