Teacher's Resources
Dear teachers, parents, grandparents, scout leaders and all others who work with young people. I hope you and your young people enjoy the resources on this page
If you would like a program at the Kankakee River Valley Forest Preserve, please give us a call and we can custom design a program for your class that fits your curriculum. Our outdoor programs are hands-on observation activities where students become familiar with the scientific method and use some of the field techniques practiced by restoration, wildlife and environmental biologists. For studying natural history during those times of the year when the weather is inclement, there are also many science based activities and materials at the Shannon Bayou Environmental Education Center in Aroma Park.
There is no charge for programs at the Kankakee River Valley Forest Preserve.
GENERAL:
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service education page - great resources for families, children, youth and educators
United States Geological Survey educational page -Biology, Geography, Geology, Water, and much more...
http://www.epa.gov/epahome/educational.htm
Environmental Protection Agency educational resources
(National Parks Service education page)
North American Association for Environmental Education
http://www.epa.state.il.us/kids/teachers/materials-resources/index.html
(Illinois Environmental Protection Agency educational materials & resources)
(website of the Fermilab Science Education Office)
Project WILD is a wildlife-focused conservation education program for K-12 educators and their students.
https://www.fieldmuseum.org/educators
http://www.fieldmuseum.org/exhibits/online_interactive.htm
Field Museum online interactives
http://tolweb.org/tree/phylogeny.html
The Tree of Life Web Project (ToL) is a collaborative effort of biologists and nature enthusiasts from around the world. On more than 10,000 World Wide Web pages, the project provides information about biodiversity, the characteristics of different groups of organisms, and their evolutionary history
http://www.epa.state.il.us/kids/teachers/materials-resources/index.html
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
http://dnr.state.il.us/lands/education/
Illinois Department of Natural Resources
http://dnr.state.il.us/lands/education/CLASSRM/aquatic/index.htm
Illinois Department of Natural Resources
http://www.mammalsociety.org/aboutmammals/index.html
http://community.discoveryeducation.com/resources/science
Illinois Natural History Survey
http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/index.html
University of Illinois Extension
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/help/taxaform.html
A list of the major groups of life - Eukaryotes, Bacteria, Archaea, Viruses
https://www.nps.gov/teachers/index.htm
National Park Service educational resources
http://sciencespot.net/Pages/nclsslnks.html
Environmental education resources
A project in natural living and transformation
(society for amateur scientists with a section on youth education, science projects &
more
ANIMAL TRACKING:
ASTRONOMY & EARTH SCIENCE:
https://www.nasa.gov/stem/foreducators
(NASA STEM resource center for educators and students offers a variety of free educational material to enhance the instruction of mathematics, science and technology)
http://www.spacescience.org/education/instructional_materials.html
Space Science Institute
http://www.astrosociety.org/education/activities/astroacts08.html#19
The Astronomical Society of the Pacific provides a great many links to online resources as well as lesson plans and activities that can be downloaded
http://near.jhuapl.edu/ed/index.html
http://161.58.115.79/education/astro/astropubs/universe.html
To order Universe at Your Fingertips, providing a multitude of classroom lessons and activities
BATS
http://habitat.ms11.net//bat/bathome.htm
Bat house page; plans approved by Bat Conservation International
Bat Conservational International website
BIODIVERSITY
Encyclopedia of Life (EOL) is a free, online collaborative encyclopedia
http://www.nature.org/initiatives/climatechange
CLIMATE CHANGE on The Nature Conservancy website
CULTURAL
http://catlinclassroom.si.edu/index.html
BIRDS:
http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/Birds/ForKids/default.cfm
https://illinoisaudubon.org/illinois-birding-calendar/
http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu/cbd/main/geninfo/ornith.html
REPTILES AND AMPHIBIANS:
http://www.chicagoherp.org/herps/species.htm
ILLINOIS NATURAL HISTORY SURVEY: EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS
http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu/chf/pub/educational_mat.php
I
INSECTS & ARTHROPODS:
http://iitc.tamu.edu/lesson_plans.html#7-8
http://tolweb.org/accessory/Jumping_Spider_Vision?acc_id=1946
http://www.ub.ntnu.no/scorpion-files/
(North American Butterfly Association)
ENVIRONMENT & POLLUTION:
http://www.epa.state.il.us/kids/teachers/environmental-pathways/
PLANTS:
http://school.discoveryeducation.com/lessonplans/programs/plantpollination/
PRAIRIE:
http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu/~kenr/tallgrass.html
http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu/~kenr/prairielinks.html
(links to prairie web sites)
http://ed.fnal.gov/help/prairie/Prairie_Res/index.html
http://ed.fnal.gov/help/prairie/4prairie/
(FermiLab prairie projects; lesson plans grades 4-5
http://ed.fnal.gov/data/prairie_resources.shtml
(FermiLab web links to online prairie resources)
http://ed.fnal.gov/data/life_sci/prairie/
(FermiLab prairie advocates project and quadrat study project)
SEEDS FOR EDUCATION - GRANTS FOR SCHOOL GARDENS:
http://www.wildones.org/seeds-for-education/
WATER:
http://www.americanrivers.org/
WETLANDS:
https://wisconsinwetlands.org/
http://www.cotf.edu/ete/modules/everglades/FEwetlands3.html
WOLF:
http://www.wolf.org/wolves/learn/justkids/wolfquest.asp
Learn about wolf ecology by living the life of a wild wolf in Yellowstone National Park through WolfQuest. WolfQuest is a web-based video game that simulates the wolf's quest for prey that it must hunt to survive.)