DOCUMENT RESUME ED'247 121 SE-044.717 AUTHOR Stone, Sally F. TITLE Illinois Natural Heritage Conservation/Education Kit III. Special Theme: Prairie and Open Habitats Ecology and Management. INSTITUTION' Illinois State Board of Education, Springfield.; Illinois State Dept. of Conservation; Springfield. PUB DATE May 83 NOTE 63p.; For other titles in this series, see SE 044 715-718. AVAILABLE FROMDepartment of Conservation, Forest Resources and National Heritage, 605 Stratton Office Building, Springfield, IL 62706. PUB TYPE Guides - Classroom Use - Guides (For Teachers) (052) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC03 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Animals; Biology; Conservation (Environment); *Conservation Education; *Ecology; Elementary Secondary Education; Endangered Species; *Learning Activities; Plant Identification; Science Education; *Wildlife; *Wildlife Management __IDENTIFIERS *Illinois;_*Prairies ABSTRACT This instructional guide contains 15 activities and exercises designed to help teachers familiarize their students with' prairie and open habitat resources of Illinois. Each activity or exercise is ready to be copied and given to students. Activities include: (1) making a marsh hawk model; (2) building a prairie ecosystem; (3) investigating food chain links; (4) visiting aprairie (or an old field, pasture, grassy roadside, another open area if a prairie is not available); (4) working as a soil conservation specialist, wildlife manager, and conservation police officer; and (5) examining a fictional account taken from the journal of a young girl living and writing in modern day Illinois..The latter-is ,recommended for all students because it provides a broad overview of Illinois' prairie heritage. Although the materials are probably best suited for students in grades 4 -8, most of the activities can easily be adjusted to match the skill level of nearly every primary and secondary grade. A recommended list of appropriate exercises and portions of exercises/activitiep for grades K-12 and instructional strategies are included. (JN) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS Are the best that can be made * from the original document. *********************************************************************** s. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) This document has been reproduced as CELT COPY received (rove the person or organization originating it. itMinor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. Illinois State Board of Education om! Illinois Department ofConservation Points of view or opinions stated in this docu- Springfield, Illinois 62706 ment do not necessarily represent official NIE r. 524 South Second Street, position or policy. r4r\J LLI MR4 r4 run 07j A\rif;hte':tyi' C4) rrn CONSEIWATION/EDUCATIONKIT I "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY AQI.A4Sid 1St& TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES 2 INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)." Illinois Natural Heritage Conserv_ationiEducation_KitAII_ ABOUT THIS EDUCATIONAL KIT: "STEP INTO THE WILD" Prairie and Open/Habitats Ecology and Manage- A special "STEP INTO THE WILD" achievement ment is the special theme of this Kit. The fifteen exer- coupon appeaes at theWiif 15 exercises in the in- cises and activities included in this instructional structional guide. Students who complete thoseexer- guide are designed to help teachers familiarize their cises are asked to cut- out the coupons- and paste students with the prairie and open habitat resources them on the Prairie Challenge Page (3). Students who of Illinois. Although t ie materials are probably best send in at least one coupon on their Prairie Challenge suited for students in grades 4-8, most of the exer- Pages to the Illinois Department of Conservationat cises can easily be adjusted to match the skill level of the address shown below will receive a conservation nearly every primary and secondary grade. button entitled "STEP INTO THE WILD" and featuring the Franklin's ground squirrel. To speed mailing, NATURAL HERITAGE MONTH: teachers are asked to gather Challenge Pages and As NaturalHeritage MonthinIllinois,April send them in together as classroom sets. presents itself as a good time for teachers to use the contents of .this Kit. Natural Heritage Month includes LET US HEAR FROM YOU the observances of Earth Day (usually the third Tues- Teachers and resource interpreters who use this day), Arbor and Bird Day (the last-Friday) and Bird Ap- Kit are asked to please complete the Teacher Ques- preciation Week (the last week). Though the activities tionnaire included in this Kit. Since this Kit is only the and exercises in this Kit can certainly be used in rela- third in a five part series of conservation/education tion to these special days in April, the materials are Kits, the comments and suggestions we receive from always topical and can be used at any time of the the teacher questionnaires will be very helpfulas we, year. prepare the remaining two Kits. Please help us make these educational materials useful and interesting by GIANT PRAIRIE COLORING PAGE: completing the questionnaire and mailing it to the ad- A special feature of this Kit is the. inclusion of a dress below. Please use the flip sides of the teacher' prairie coloring sheet which features 63 native Illinois questionnaire to order more conservation /education plants and animals. The coloring page serves as an materials from the Department of Conservation. We important visual reference for students as they com- would like to call your attention to the fact that we plete exercises in the instructional guide. will send a classroom set of the GIANT PRAIRIE COL- ORING PAGE to any Illinois teacher or resource inter- preter. BUILDING A PRAIRIE ECOSYSTEM: . Students are given the opportunity in this Kit to build their own prairie ecosystem by cutting out and putting together the 76 different features of a prairie MIllinois ecosystem as presented on pages 13-34 of the in- Department of structional guide. Students begin by cutting out and Conservation placing elements of the prairie soil and continue by life and land facie"- ;-r doing the same with prairie grasses, forbs, insects, Communications Program amphibians andreptiles,birds and mammals. Division of Forest Resources and Natural Heritage Students can arrange the features of the ecosystem Lincoln Tower Plaza as they please or they can follow the arrangement 524 South Second Street shown in the GIANT PRAIRIE COLORING PAGE.- Springfield, Illinois 62706 Illinois Department of Conservation life and land together This Illinois Natural Heritage Conservation Education es, Illinois Department ofAgric,ulture. Coordination of Kit is jointly sponsored by the Illinois Department of school publicity and distribution wasprovided by Don Conservation and the Illinois State Board of Educa- Roderick,EducationalConsultant;IllinoisState; --tion-and-is-approved-by-the.Illinois_Advisory_Board of Board of Education. Special appreciationis extended Conservation Education. Funding and technical sup- to Victoria Little for typing -andproofreading the port for. this Kit was provided by the Divisionsof manuscript. Forest Resources and Natural Heritage, Fish and This kit is endorsed the Illinois Department of Wildlife, and Law Enforcement of the Illinois Depart- Agriculture "as a sou d conservation education Kit meht of Conservation. Materials in the Kit were that will increase awareness of the value and need for prepared by Sally F. Stone, Communications Coor- protection of Illinois' rich\prairie soil." dinator, Division of Forest Resources and Natural Heritage,Illinois Department of Conservation.Il- This Kit is endorsed by the EnvironmentalEducation lustrations were provided by Robert F. Eschenfeldt, Association of Illinois "as\ a valuable asset tothe Squires Ad Agency and Art Studio. Technical editors classroom teacher to build awareness and under- for the project included the following Illinois Depart- standing of one of Illinois'. most valuableand cher- ment of Gonservation staff persons, Carl N:Becker, ished natural heritages the trairie." Natural Heritage Section Manager; -Carol J. Mahan, of Mammal Ecologist; William E. McClain, Natural Heri- The Illinois Environmental Council, a coalition tage. Biologist; Vernon M. Kleen, AvianEcologist; organizations and individuals who are concerned David Klinedinst, Wildlife Management Biologist; about the environment. inIllinois, "welcomes this Melissa Murphy, COnservation Resource Manager; third Illinois Natural Heritage ConservationEduca- Glenda H. Burke, Safety Education Administrator; tion Kit as a commendable step toward.meetingthe Sergeant Tom Wakolbinger, ConservationPolice Of- critical need for the youth of Illinois to be educated ficer and John Schwegman, Staff Botanist.Technical about the value of our natural areas and the impor- assistance was also provided by Jim Hartwig,'Soil tanceofpreservingourstate'iagricultural conservation Specialist, Division of Natural Resourc- resources." Illinois State Environmental --Board of Education Education Association 100 First St., Springfield, IL 62777 / of Illinois Phone: (217) 782-2826 krs" Rt. 1 Chana, Illinois 61015 ILLINOIS department of Illinois I Council' 4071/2 East Adams St., Springfield, IL 62701 Illinois State.Fairgrounds, Springfield,Illinois 62706 Printed by the authority of the State of Illinois May, 1983, 5M No. 36271 TEACHER QUESTIONNAIRE A note to teachers and resource interprelNrs; This Natural Heritage Conserva-