Well I have decided to try something new for our 9th grade year! For our science this year we are doing a unit study on animals, as many as we can get to in the years time. But what makes this a great thing for us is I am including animal biology, behavior,locations of their habitats in the world, finding the different species and ones that are extinct. We are also including with these some literature, spelling,vocabulary and writing assignments along with some fun field trips to the local zoo and raptor center.So I wanted to share with you exactly what I am doing for this owl unit study along with the books I am using either through the library, amazon or whatever other means that you can find
Also some owl sites and experiments that we are doing!! Some of the resources are a bit on the young side for him but I wanted to give him an idea of the types of things that I want him to get out of these unit studies. After the first couple of units he will be required to find online resources himself. Our daily log will be him going to the owl cams online 3 times a day morning/afternoon and before he goes to bed, this way he can let me know what they are doing at different at different times of the day. As you can see below the book list is a crazy long list, I am thinking that down the road I will not have as many for each animal or make do with whatever the library has on its shelves. I did purchased about half of them from Amazon for this first studyHere is the Lesson Plan for 10 days of our Owl Study~
We are going to an additional week which will include trips to the zoo and raptor center, and a report of how owls are similar and different from other birds.
http://www.carolinaraptorcenter.org/home
(basic template was from the Owl Study guide)
| Spelling words~ give the whole list day 1 then go over each day's words and write in a sentence |
Research and Activites |
Art Activities |
Other |
|
| Day 1 | Tufts Depth perception Talons skeleton |
Owl Anatomy (how are they compare and contrast from other bird species) Find Owl Anatomy diagrams online and label *http://www.owlpages.com/articles.php?section=Owl+Physiology *http://www.google.com/search?q=owl+body+parts&hl=en&rlz=1B3GGGL_enUS333US333&prmd=ivns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=1a_bTcajB8KBtgfijuiwDw&ved=0CE8QsAQ&biw=1394&bih=846 *http://www.google.com/search?q=owl+body+parts+diagram&hl=en&rlz=1B3GGGL_enUS333US333&prmd=ivns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=mrDbTaXzJISCtgeH3u3GDw&ved=0CBsQsAQ&biw=1394&bih=846 *http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/birds/printouts/Owlcoloring.shtml *http://www.owlpages.com/articles.php?section=Owl+Physiology&title=Skeleton |
Draw a picture of an owl's skeleton |
*Read~Owls In the Family By Farley Mowat *Daily Log of owl cams |
| Day 2 | Asymmetrical Nocturnal |
How are Owl Classified Nocturnal Animals(list other animals/birds that are nocturnal) |
Draw two other nocturnal animals/birds |
*continue w/ Owls in the Family do CC lessons for each chapter *Daily Log of owl cams |
| Day 3 | Species | Types of Owls(number of different owls) *http://www.highlightskids.com/Science/Stories/SS0106_barnOwls.asp *http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Eastern_Screech-Owl/id *http://www.owlpages.com/owls.php?location=North+America |
Draw your favorite owl |
*Cont. OITF and lessons *Daily Log *collage of owls(pics from internet/lesson plans/magazines) |
| Day 4 | Habitat | Owl Lifecycle (Life spans of wild and captive owls) Owl Lifecycle (Causes of death) |
Trip to raptor center - draw owls that they have there (detailed of talons and heads) |
*Finish OITF *Daily Log *summary of his findings for today |
| Day 5 | Incubation Adaptable owlet imprinting |
Owl Egg (incubation/description) Habitat and Range(world map of different species of owls and where they live) *http://www.lil-fingers.com/games/zoo/forest_04.php |
Draw an owl's habitat |
Son’s choice of next literature book(after the first book he will just keep going through the list of books we have for literature) *Daily Log |
| Day 6 | Migrate Raptor Tundra |
Find out how owls build their nest and where(most common areas) Find out Migration patterns of owls in general |
Draw a picture of an owl nest |
*Daily reading(literature book) *Daily Log * report on nesting/migration habits of at least two different owls |
| Day 7 | Predator Carrion Scavenger |
Birds of Prey (Good hunters and the methods they use) |
Draw another bird of prey |
*Daily reading(literature book) *Daily Log * list of other birds of prey |
| Day 8 | Pellet Gizzard |
Diet(list animals that they eat) Owl Pellets (and dissection of pellets/identifying skeletons within pellets purchased from amazon but any raptor center sells them as well) *http://www2.scholastic.com/content/collateral_resources/pdf/m/mentor0708MarissaOchoa/investigationsheets.pdf *http://www.lessonplanspage.com/ScienceOwlPelletsSkeletalSystem58.htm |
Draw the animal you found in owl pellets | *Daily reading(literature book) *Daily Log |
| Day 9 | Protection Endangered |
Food Chain(make a circle of life diagram~goes with Other Act.) Owl Protection(find ways that we can help owls) |
food chain diagram that he will draw and research | *Daily reading(literature book) *Daily Log |
| Day 10 | Observation | Owl Observations-taken from his web cam data/zoo and raptor center visits *http://www.owlpages.com/articles.php?section=Owl+Stories |
Trip to the zoo- draw and observe owls there |
*Daily reading(literature book) *Daily Log w/ summary of what he saw over the course of this study |
Spelling and Vocabulary list on this Owl Unit Study~
Resource Books~
Life Cycle of an Owl by Jill Bailey
The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birdsby John Bull,John Jr. FarrandSnowy Owls by Roman Patrick
If the Owl Calls Again by Myra Cohn Livingstone (not available on Amazon)
Birds of North Americaby Chandler S. Robbins, Bertel Bruun, Herbert S. Zim and Arthur Singer
First Look at Owls,Eagles and Other Hunters of the Sky by Millicent Ellis Selsam, Joyce Hunt and Harriett Springer
Animal Days/Animals from the Cold Lands By David Sharp
Nova Scotia Birds of Prey by Robie W. Tufts
Raptors of the Rockies: Biology of the Birds of Prey and Species Accounts of the Raptors of the Rockies by Kate Davis
Owl Babies: Candlewick Storybook Animations by Martin Waddell, Patrick Benso
Wild Birds of Prey - Owls by Deborah Kops
Welcome to the World of Owls (Welcome to the World Series) by Diane Swanson
The Encyclopedia of Myths and Legends by Stuart Gordon
The Enchanting Owl by Connie Toops
Principles of Animal Behaviorby Lee Alan Dugatkin (mine is the older version)
Beastly Behaviors by Janine Benyus
Getting to Know Nature... Nature’s Children (Owls) Scholastic
Literature books~
Adopted By An Owl (Hazel Ridge Farm Stories) by Robbyn Smith van Frankenhuyzen, Gijsbert van Frankenhuyzen
Owls In the Family By Farley Mowat
The Owl Keeper by Christine Brodien-Jones, Maggie Kneen
I Heard the Owl Call My Name by Margaret Craven(made for TV movie which we will watch after the book is read)
Skellig By David Almond (also a movie which we will watch after the book is read)
The Capture (Guardians of Ga'hoole, Book 1) by Kathryn Lasky (also a movie which we will watch after the book is read)
Resources from CurrClick
Owl study Notebooking Pages $2~ this is basically a notebook with Owls on every page, this is going to be for our Owl Cam research notes for this unit study.
Owls Lapbook Project pack $11(on sale)~This is the must buy if any at all. This is the one that goes over everything from the table above, and it is where the basic template I used to plan out the rest of our activities. I do plan on having my son to put together a presentation for us, using the lapbook idea
Owls in the Family -A Novel Study $16~ great literature addition
Owls $9.99~another great resource that we are using, it has research ideas, word activities, etc
Websites (not listed in table)~
http://www.owlpages.com/owls.php?genus=all
http://www.owlpages.com/owls.php?location=North+America
