Desert Discoveries
Desert Tortoise: Fact or Fiction?
Here is a good game that will determine which team knows the most about the Sonoran Desert tortoise. There are 16 questions posed, and the answers are printed in bold for the benefit of the teacher. Question # 16 reads, "Desert tortoise...
Curated OER
Desert Tortoise Tale
Students listen to a reading of the "Desert Tortoise Tale" and complete a maze that highlights the different threats the baby tortoise faces along the way. They discuss the reasons the Desert Tortoise is becoming endangered.
Curated OER
Where Are the Bugs?
Students trap, collect and identify arthropods in a newly created desert tortoise preserve area over a period of one school year. They determine the rate at which various arthropods take up residence in the newly landscaped area. Data is...
Curated OER
Desert Tortoise Adaptations
Students observe the Desert Tortoise in its natural surroundings. In this adaptations lesson, students study and take pictures of an animal in its habitat, then design a PowerPoint which addresses adaptations, biodiversity, and threats...
Curated OER
Sonoran Desert
In this Sonoran Desert worksheet, students read and analyze a letter that Jeremy wrote to his grandmother and then complete the picture that follows using information about the desert they learned from the letter.
Curated OER
Personification
Fifth graders read opening pargraphs in their books and discuss with their peers the meaning of personification. They then identify three instances in the poem "Desert Tortoise" of similarities between humans and animals citing...
Curated OER
Turtle Adaptations
Students identify structural adaptations of different types of turtles, and compare and contrast adaptations of painted turtles, sea turtles, and desert tortoises using a chart.
Desert Discoveries
What's In A Habitat?
The concept of a habitat being a home for animals is the main thrust of this life sciences resource. Learners complete a cut-and-paste activity using a fine worksheet that's embedded in the plan. They must place four very different...
Desert Discoveries
Conservation Cartoons
Learners read and create cartoons that are based on endangered and threatened species. The lesson is packed with terrific student handouts, including some very good cartoons that are based on conservation and animal issues. The...
Desert Discoveries
Conservation Cartoons
Third graders read and create cartoons about endangered and threatened species of plants. Pupils are split up into groups. They each consider a conservation cartoon and attempt to decipher its meaning. They must decide if they agree or...
California Academy of Science
Poetic Reflections
Poetry is a wonderful way to explore language, express topical understanding, and incite creative thinking. After a trip to the local natural history museum (or zoo), learners write an acrostic or a cinquain poem describing one of their...