PreK-9th Vocabulary Outdoor Discovery Program Mountain Preserves ​ Eco-Explorers -Pre-K, Kinder, and First Grade ​ 1. Habitat - The place or type of place where a plant or animal naturally or ​ normally lives or grows. 2. Adaptation - A change or the process of change by which an organism or ​ species becomes better suited to its environment. 3. Polar - The icy wastes of the continental ice caps and the frozen pack ice of ​ the ocean. 4. Grassland - A grassy plain in tropical and subtropical regions, with few ​ ​ trees. 5. Senses - A faculty by which the body perceives an external stimulus; one of ​ ​ the faculties of sight, smell, hearing, taste, and touch. 6. Sight/ vision - The faculty or state of being able to see. ​ ​ 7. Touch - The faculty of perception through physical contact, especially with ​ ​ the fingers. 8. Hear - Perceive with the ear the sound made by (someone or something). ​ ​ 9. Taste - The sensation of flavor perceived in the mouth and throat on contact ​ ​ with a substance. 10.Smell - The faculty or power of perceiving odors or scents by means of the ​ ​ organs in the nose. 11.Life Cycle - The series of changes in the life of an organism, including ​ ​ reproduction. 12.Metamorphosis - The series of developmental stages some insects and ​ amphibians go through to complete their life cycle. 13.Cocoon - A silky case spun by the larvae of many insects for protection in ​ ​ the pupal stage. 14.Tadpole - The tailed aquatic larva of an amphibian (frog, toad, newt, or ​ ​ salamander), breathing through gills and lacking legs until its later stages of development. 15.Insect - Any animal of the class Insecta, comprising small, air-breathing ​ arthropods having the body divided into three parts (head, thorax, and abdomen), and having three pairs of legs and usually two pairs of wings. 16.Arthropods - Any invertebrate of the phylum Arthropoda, having a ​ segmented body, jointed limbs, and usually a chitinous shell that undergoes moltings, including the insects, spiders and other arachnids, crustaceans,and myriapods. 17.Compound Eyes - An arthropod eye subdivided into many individual, ​ light-receptive elements, each including a lens, a transmitting apparatus, and retinal cells. 18.Antenna - One of the jointed, movable, sensory appendages occurring in ​ ​ pairs on the heads of insects and most other arthropods. 19.Thorax - The middle section of the body of an insect, between the head and ​ ​ the abdomen, bearing the legs and wings. 20.Larva - The active immature form of an insect, especially one that differs ​ ​ greatly from the adult and forms the stage between egg and pupa, e.g., a caterpillar or grub. New Nature Encounters- First and Second Grade ​ 1. Talons – A claw, especially one belonging to a bird of prey. ​ 2. Feathers – One of the soft and light parts of a bird that grows from the skin ​ and covers the body. It also provides insulation and allows them to fly. 3. Fur – The soft thick hair that covers the bodies of certain animals ​ (mammals) such as the bear, cat or fox. 4. Scales – One of the many small, hard, thin plates that cover fish, reptiles, ​ and other animals. 5. Camouflage – The coloration or shape of animals that makes them hard to ​ see against the background. 6. Wings – Limbs of a bird, bat, or insect used for flight. ​ 7. Habitat - the natural environment of an organism; place that is natural for ​ ​ the life and growth of an organism. 8. Nest - a structure or place made or chosen by a bird for laying eggs and ​ ​ sheltering its young. 9. Wildlife - wild animals collectively; the native fauna (and sometimes flora) of ​ ​ a region. 10.Wild - (of an animal or plant) living or growing in the natural environment; ​ ​ ​ not domesticated or cultivated. 11.Domesticated - (of an animal) tame and kept as a pet or on a farm. ​ ​ 12.Insect - a small arthropod animal that has six legs and generally one or two ​ ​ pairs of wings. 13.Arthropods - an invertebrate animal that has a hard exoskeleton, such as ​ an insect, spider, or crustacean. 14.Compound Eyes - an eye consisting of an array of numerous small visual ​ ​ units, as found in insects and crustaceans. 15.Antennae - paired appendages used for sensing in arthropods. ​ ​ 16.Thorax - the middle section of the body of an insect, between the head and ​ ​ the abdomen, bearing the legs and wings. 17.Larva - the active immature form of an insect, especially one that differs ​ greatly from the adult and forms the stage between egg and pupa, e.g. a caterpillar or grub. 18.Pollination - the transfer of pollen to a stigma, ovule, flower, or plant to ​ ​ allow fertilization. 19.Pollinator - something, such as an insect, that carries pollen from one plant ​ ​ or part of a plant to another. 20.Pollen - a fine powdery substance, typically yellow, consisting of microscopic ​ ​ grains discharged from the male part of a flower or from a male cone. 21.Nectar - a sugary fluid secreted by plants, especially within flowers to ​ ​ encourage pollination by insects and other animals. Animal Discoveries and Nature Cycles - Third Grade ​ Condensation – The changing of water from a vapor (gas or steam) into a 1. ​ liquid. This occurs when water vapor in the atmosphere rises, cools, contracts, and turns into small water droplets, forming clouds. Evaporation – The transformation of liquid water into a vapor (gas). 2. ​ Examples are when boiling water turns into steam, or when the sun heats up water in a lake or puddle causing it to evaporate. Infiltration/Percolation – When surface water (like a puddle) soaks down 3. ​ into the soil. Precipitation – When air becomes saturated, it will not be able to hold the 4. ​ water. Vapor, rain, hail, sleet, and snow result from the condensation of water in clouds. Transpiration – The passage of water vapor from the leaves of plants 5. ​ (through stomata) in the atmosphere (air). Water Cycle – The circulation of the earth’s water through all of its stages. 6. ​ The cycle of water goes from the atmosphere to the Earth and back again through the following steps: evaporation, transpiration, condensation, precipitation, percolation, runoff, and accumulation. Watershed – The land area that captures and directs rainwater and 7. ​ snowmelt to a river, lake or ocean. Wetland – An area of land with wet soil, which is rich in life. Marshes and 8. ​ estuaries are examples of wetland habitats. 9. Habitat – The natural environment of an organism; place that is natural for the life and growth of an organism. Camouflage – An adaptation that helps a plant or animal blend in with 10. ​ their surroundings. Echolocation – An adaptation that allows some animals to use sound to 11. ​ locate objects. This is used by both bats and dolphins. Olfactory Nerve – The sensory nerve for smell. 12. ​ Cochlear Nerve - The sensory nerve for hearing. 13. ​ 14.Glossopharyngeal Nerve - The sensory nerve responsible for taste. ​ 15.Optic Nerve - The sensory nerve for vision. ​ 16.Trigeminal Nerve - The sensory nerve for touch. ​ Herbivore – an animal that eats plants. They have flat teeth for grinding 17. ​ the plants. Carnivore – an animal that eats flesh. 18. ​ ​ Omnivore – eating both animal and plant foods. 19. ​ ​ Scavenger – an animal or other organism that feeds on dead organic matter. 20. ​ ​ Opportunistic Eater – eats whatever food is available, and is not very 21. ​ picky. Predator - any organism that exists by preying upon other organisms. 22. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Prey - an animal hunted or seized for food, especially by a carnivorous 23. ​ ​ animal. Diurnal – a creature that is active during the day. 24. ​ Nocturnal – a creature that is active during the night. 25. ​ Crepuscular – a creature that is active during twilight hours – dusk and 26. ​ dawn. 27. Habitat - The natural environment of an organism; a place that is natural ​ for the life and growth of an organism. 28. Adaptation – A change in behavior, structure, or habitat of a plant or ​ animal that helps it survive. 29. Metamorphosis – A change from an immature stage to an adult stage, ​ sometimes in one or more stages. Example: When a caterpillar becomes a butterfly. 30. Life Cycle – The series of changes an organism undergoes throughout its ​ lifetime. Native Ways and Ancient Evidence- Fourth and Sixth Grade ​ 1. Serrano Indians - a Native American tribe of Southern California. ​ 2. Yuhaviatam - the native language word the Serrano people used to describe ​ themselves, meaning, “People of the Pines.” 3. Wiich - acorn porridge: The Serrano Indians would grind acorns into flour ​ and cooked it into a type of porridge. 4. Kiich - dome-shaped shelter that was formed by plant debris, woven plant ​ strands, and mud. 5. Mano - (Spanish for hand) is a ground stone tool used with a metatae to ​ ​ ​ process or grind food by hand. 6. Metatae - A large stone with a depression or bowl, used for grinding. ​ 7. Rock Cycle - There are three main types of rocks; sedimentary, igneous, and ​ metamorphic. Each of these rocks are formed by physical changes--such as melting, cooling, eroding, compacting, or deforming. 8. Igneous - Rock formed from lava or magma cooling. Granite is an example. ​ 9. Metamorphic - Rock changed through heat and pressure. An example is ​ marble, which used to be limestone. 10.Sedimentary - A compressed rock formed from fragments of many other ​ rocks or material, initially deposited by water or air. Many of these rocks have visible layers; such as in the Grand Canyon. 11.Mineral - A solid formed by natural processes that has a crystalline ​ structure — a unique arrangement of atoms — and a definable chemical composition. 12. Erosion – The gradual degradation or destruction of something due to ​ natural causes such as wind or water, or human activities such as the removal of vegetation. 13. Weathering – The process of breaking down substances such as rock by such ​ forces as water, ice, chemicals, growing plants, and changing temperatures.