Next week at our Teacher’s Workshop, Renee O’Neill will be presenting a new set of activities about owls, owl pellets, ecosystems, and food webs for use in at the elementary level. We are very excited about these activities, as they are hands-on, interactive, and fun! Check out the different lessons and components at the links below. We look forward to seeing you at our Workshop!
If you are interested in ordering owl pellets from researcher Rebecca Terry for dissection in your SMILE clubs, please contact Renee O’Neill at renee.oneill@oregonstate.edu.
Lesson 1
All About Owls: click here
All About Owls Powerpoint: click here
Habitat Activity: click here
Whooo Am I Brochures: click here
Lesson 2
Owl Pellet Dissection (Part 1): click here
Bone Identification Sheet: click here
Lesson 3
Owl Pellet Dissection (Part 2): click here
Mice and Munchies: click here
Lesson 4
Specialists vs. Generalists: click here
Lesson 5
I’m in Danger: click here
Other activities:
Survivor: click here
Last teacher workshop we previewed awesome middle school and high school bioenergy textbooks from Facing the Future. These books are filled with activities including Sustainable Flight in the Pacific Northwest, which is a great real life example. In this activity students will research different biofuels and decide which one is best suited to be mixed with jet fuel. They will then trace the production process and explore stakeholder’s positions with their classmates. Collectively classmates must come up with a new jet fuel policy that satisfies all of their stakeholders. This activity encourages healthy debate and will allow students to act as policy makers. We will be handing out the Facing the Future textbooks during the teacher workshop and we encourage you to check out their other amazing activities.
We did not forget about our middle school students. We wanted them to have a fun game as well and we made one with help from PBS SciGirls. This game was modified so that students could test their bioenergy knowledge. As the name suggests students will be quizzed on bioenergy based science, technology, engineering, and math questions. The questions are meant to get kids moving and using their creativity skills. Check it out!
Teachers, we have been dormant for a while so we could create amazing activities for you and your students. The teacher workshop is just a few weeks away and we wanted to give you a preview of one of the great activities you can use in your classroom. To start, we found this Bioenergy Farm Game from Great Lakes that would be perfect for a high school classroom. Students will take the perspective of a bioenergy farmer to learn the benefits and drawbacks of crops, like corn and switchgrass, that can be turned into fuel. This game allows students to see where and how money is made and the effects of their actions on the environment. Check back for more activities that will be presented at the teacher workshop. See you there!
The SMILE club at Forest Grove High School was nice enough to share with us their pictures of them planting their poplar samplings. We encourage you to start planting soon and we look forward to exchanging data in the future. Remember earlier in the term we shared with you a lesson plan as well as a video to help your students learn about bioenergy. Happy planting!
During the 2014 Winter Teacher’s Workshop, participants learned about StreamWebs, an online database that provides teachers, students, and community partners with a multimedia showcase for watershed stewardship projects. StreamWebs provides a variety of resources that support student monitoring efforts including: sampling equipment, field support, and curriculum. To learn more about StreamWebs click HERE.
Using K’NEX, solar panels, and potatoes to harness energy, Emily Nicholson, with Pre-College Programs at Oregon State University, shared creative ways to Harness Energy in the Classroom during the 2014 Winter Teacher’s Workshop. You can find the activities that she shared along with many others by clicking HERE.
