Activity 47: Are Vacant Lots Vacant?
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Look closely and you will see that a vacant lot is not so vacant! Plants of all kinds thrive in vacant lots, along with a host of animals such as insects, birds, and mammals. In this activity, a nearby vacant lot, overgrown strip, or a landscaped area will provide a rich laboratory for students to examine elements of an ecosystem.
This is one of 96 activities that can be found in PLT’s PreK-8 Environmental Education Activity Guide. To get the activity, attend a training either in person or online and receive PLT’s PreK-8 Guide.
The PreK-8 Environmental Education Activity Guide is a supplementary curriculum that is multi-disciplinary, with an emphasis on science, reading, writing, mathematics, and social studies.
Each activity displays explicit connections to practices and concepts expected by the following national academic standards so teachers can easily see where the materials will fit into their lesson plans:
- Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
- Common Core Toolkit, includes
- English Language Arts (CCSS.ELA)
- Mathematics (CCSS.MATH)
- College, Career, and Civic Life Framework for Social Studies (C3)
Our professional development further demonstrates these connections, as well as to state and local standards, contact your state coordinator.
The Walking Fish
The Walking Fish Grades 6-8 ISBN-13: 978-0990782933 Tumblehome Learning, Inc., 2015 Recommended Reading Imagine you are in 7th Grade and plan to spend the summer with your parents at a cabin on the lake. Imagine you pack all your new fishing gear, a gift from Grandpa, only to find out the lake water is... Read more »
Wild Ones, Observing City Critters
Wild Ones, Observing City Critters Grades K to Grade 5 ISBN-13: 978-1584695547 Dawn Publications, 2016 Recommended Reading A new children’s picture book called Wild Ones, Observing City Critters offers readers a tour of wildlife that can thrive in urban areas. The main character is Scooter, a dog who wanders away from home. Readers are invited... Read more »
The Gardener
The Gardener Published: 1997 Author: Sarah Stewart Illustrator: David Small Genres: Picture book, Children’s literature Recommended Reading Set in the 1930’s Depression, young Lydia Grace Finch spends her days in the country gardening with her grandmother. When her Papa loses his job and no one buys her Mama’s dresses any longer, Lydia Grace is... Read more »
Hey, Little Ant
Hey, Little Ant Ages 3 to 8. ISBN: 1883672546 Published by Tricycle Press, 1998 Authored by Phillip and Hannah Hoose Illustrated by Debbie Tilley Recommended Reading What would you do if the ant you were about to step on looked up and started talking? Would you stop and listen? What if your friends saw... Read more »
EE Resources
Find the Birds
Find the Birds is a free educational mobile game about birds and conservation. Players explore real habitats and find real birds with images, video, and birdsong from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Macaulay Library. Featuring realistic habitats, birds and conservation quests, Find the Birds is a way to introduce generations, young and old, to the... Read more »
Detroit Parks Coloring Pages
Learn what makes a city park great, such as local wildlife, spaces for public enjoyment, and community activities, with this Detroit Parks Coloring Book. Use these coloring pages (available for download, print, and color) for students to explore the parks around the city of Detroit, Michigan. Then, discuss with students ways your community might conserve... Read more »
A City in the Forest
How is a forest like a city? This 4-minute video, A City in a Forest from PBS Plum Landing, explores a child’s perspective of a forest and what they see living and growing on trees—from the top of the canopy to their roots in the ground, to dead trees lying on the forest floor. Aligned... Read more »
Foldable Paper Microscopes
Foldscope is a foldable microscope made mostly of paper that achieves the goal of being less than one U.S. dollar in parts to produce. These origami microscopes weigh less than 10 grams and provide the magnification power of your standard classroom microscope. Produced by Foldscope Instruments, the company’s mission is to produce low-cost scientific tools that... Read more »
Agents of Discovery
Agents of Discovery gets students moving with an augmented reality, geo-triggered app. Students play the role of a top-secret Agent to help solve mysteries of science, culture, technology, and nature. Download the app and mission with WiFi or data and then use the app offline outdoors. Agents of Discovery includes missions all across North America. Find... Read more »
NestWatch Citizen Science Project
NestWatch is a nest-monitoring project developed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in collaboration with the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center and funded by the National Science Foundation. Sign up with your classroom to become a certified NestWatcher and help track the status and trends in the reproductive biology of birds including nesting, eggs laid, eggs hatched, and hatching... Read more »
Encounters: Wild Explorer
The public radio program Encounters: Radio Experiences in the North explores the natural history of Alaska and the Far North. An accompanying website offers K-12 teachers links to the episodes as well as resources, such as slideshows, videos, and sound clips, introducing the animals and habitats of the regions: beavers, bears, caribou, humpback whales, boreal... Read more »
WildLab Bird
A free app that can be downloaded onto any Apple device (try iBird Lite for Android). Use WildLab Bird to learn the basics of bird identification. This application uses audio, photographs, maps, and the process of elimination to help identify over 200 bird species. Sightings can also be entered into a national bird watching database for... Read more »
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