Teaching Ideas
Explore jumping-off points that deepen discussions, inspire reading interest, and support connections to books and authors. Easily share and include in your instructional plans, newsletters, and social media.
International Biodiversity Day
- Embark on an exploration of endangered species after watching this complete video reading of If Elephants Disappeared. Discuss what endangered means, what animals have recently gone extinct, and learn about what humans are doing to help conserve our ecosystem. To dive deeper, use this Nonfiction Read and Respond Multi-Leveled Lesson.
Consider food chains, embark on a scavenger hunt, classify creatures, and more in this learning resource for Tree of Life: The Incredible Biodiversity of Life on Earth. Enjoy the video book trailer first for context.
Find books about the biodiversity around us on these lists:
Hear author Isabel Thomas talk about categorizing creatures in Full of Life by genetic similarity in this Meet-the-Author Recording. Then have students research a creature to find out what it is genetically similar to.
Learn about the quality of water and air in your community, create posters, or study patterns in nature with these activity guides for Thank You, Earth and enjoy this complete video reading together.
After listening to the Meet-the-Author Recording for Parrots Over Puerto Rico together, try ideas from this teacher's guide such as researching the causes of deforestation or selecting an endangered or threatened bird species in the region to learn more about.
Get students excited about sea creatures with this video book trailer for Dive In: Swim with Sea Creatures at Their Actual Size, then share some printable coloring and activity sheets.
Send students home with the printable grocery store biodiversity activity in this classroom guide for Biodiversity: Explore the Diversity of Life on Earth with Environmental Science Activities for Kids so they can observe and document produce biodiversity at the grocery store.
Explore titles and resources in the Scientists in the Field Series, and watch the Meet-the-Author Movie to hear more about the process studying animals. Ask students to think of an animal or creature they would like to research, or encourage students to look for animals in their environment and journal their observations about the animal’s appearance and behavior.
Plant seeds in a classroom garden, or research seed banks after being inspired by the video book trailer for The Story of Seeds: From Mendel's Garden to Your Plate, and How There's More of Less to Eat Around the World.
Identify and research a tree at school or home after watching the complete video reading of Stretch to the Sun. Encourage students to use their senses to interact with the tree and then journal about their learnings. Try these and other ideas with these reading activities.
Play an eco-bingo game from this discussion and activity guide for Stretch to the Sun together.
Write brief essays after watching the video book trailer for Butterfly for a King: Saving Hawaiʻi's Kamehameha Butterflies, drawing from the questions in this teacher's guide such as “do you think it is important for communities and governments to save threatened or endangered species?”
Ask students questions from the “Think About It” section of this discussion guide for World Without Fish. Ponder together how our choices affect communities and the world, and how people can make a difference.
