Instructify

BY BILL FERRIS

Summertime means fishing, camping trips, taking Junior to the zoo, and hitting the beach. All of those activities put you into contact with the wonders (or if you’re unlucky, the terrors) of the animal kingdom. July’s random roundup brings you the best Instructify posts that feature critters other than humans.

Tune in to The Great Turtle Race
The Great Turtle Race raises public awareness of leatherback turtle migration, plus threats to the creature’s survival, through the magic of sports. The site has lots of nifty race stats, such as how many hour-long dives each turtle makes. You can cheer on your favorite turtle, and elect to receive daily updates on how it’s doing in the field.

Fit a 100-foot blue whale on your monitor
With one giant visual that you can navigate by a smaller inset image, this is a rather creative way to demonstrate the actual dimensions as they compare to your computer screen size. Even the coolest monitor seems a bit dwarfed. Without sounding too 1997 cheesy, the internet is a window for looking out at the world — no, wait, that is too cheesy.

Create the next great wildlife documentary with National Geographic’s Wildlife Filmmaker
The Wildlife Filmmaker allows you to create custom nature films with animal clips, sounds, and more.  No account is required to begin creating movies, so it’s a perfect resource to introduce elementary students to the worlds of nature and movie making.

Learn about hibernation
On a blustery, icy winter day, we might all feel a bit like curling up, going to sleep, and not coming out again until the warmer days of spring.  Students and teachers don’t have that option, however appealing it may be, but a lot of North Carolina animals do spend the winter tucked away in hibernation and their stories can provide fascinating opportunities for our students to learn about animals, ecosystems in winter, and even medical research.

Owl pellet dissection made easy
I can vaguely remember dissecting owl pellets in the 5th grade. My 10 year-old self was ecstatic to find all those tiny bones and assemble them into the mouse they once were. But to be completely honest, if I were learning about owl pellets today, I would probably opt for a less hands-on approach.

Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom
Whether you’re a fan of the original series, begun in 1963, or you just like to see how lions, sharks and cobras survive in the wild, you’ll want to check it out. Thanks to the internet, you can access lots of clips for free via Hulu.com.

Wired Magazine’s Top 10 Amazing Animal Videos
This collection of videos from around the web will let your students get an up-close look at hippos, lions, sharks, polar bears, and…well, a hamster.

Fun facts about animals at Natural History Notebooks
Is it true that birds evolved from dinosaurs? Can octopi really communicate by changing color? What’s the difference between an ermine and a weasel? Students will find the answers to all these questions and more in the Natural History Notebooks, created by the Canadian Museum of Nature.

Live every week like it’s Shark Week
Cartilaginous skeleton, a couple rows of teeth, and cold, black eyes that are ever in search of prey: how can you not love sharks?! Here’s something that might chum the waters of your interest.

Build a virtual butterfly habitat at Explore Butterflies!
Put away your shovels and gloves and allow your students the opportunity to create a butterfly garden without getting dirty or ever leaving the classroom. Create a virtual habitat in your classroom that will attract different butterfly species such as Monarch, Red Admiral, Eastern Trailed Blue, Black Swallowtail, and Cabbage White with the website Explore Butterflies.

Photo credit: marfis75 on Flickr.