The creators of KidsPlanet.org are very passionate about educating teachers and students about wildlife and how teachers and students can help to protect wildlife. This is evident when you visit their website. Their website is laid out in an easy to use format. Website Features On the homepage there are seven choices:
1. Teacher’s Table: This section offers curriculum guides for teachers. There are three units. One is the Florida Black Bear, another the Sea Otter, and the final unit features the Wolf. The design of each curriculum unit opens like a notebook which makes it easy to read. There are pages to incorporate the wolf into Math, Science, History, Reading, Writing, and even, Technology. As a homeschooling Mom I found this to be an easy way to guide my daughter through a special unit of study.
2. Get the Facts: This section gives you specific facts for over fifty species of animals. You can’t possibly fit them all into your class lesson, but you can refer the students to spend more time on the facts at home. You can search by animal or continent.
3. Wild Games: There are seven games to choose from, mostly geared toward younger grades. A favorite of my daughter’s is the animal voice matching game. You hear twenty different animals make noise and then you must identify which one it is, without seeing a picture of the animal. Older kids can use the animal quiz to test how much they know about wildlife.
4. Web of Life: The Web of Life is a story told by a spider about wildlife, animals, and habitats. This story talks about plants as well and how animals and plants need each other. The story is over 20 pages long, but has engaging pictures and each page is only one paragraph long.
5. World Wide Wolves: This section is dedicated just to the wolf. There is an interactive map that you can use to learn information about wolves all over the world.
6. Cool Stuff: This page gives you wildlife printables and links to sites that allow children to further learn about wildlife. One link will take you to a site that will allow the student to upload a picture of themselves and turn it in to an animal.
7. Defend It: After teachers and students have finished learning about the wildlife, they can click on “Defend It” to find out what they can do to protect the wildlife. There is a pledge teachers can print out that students can sign, a section to guide students to write about their concerns to their Senators, a few suggestions on how to plant trees or have a butterfly garden, and a section on how your class can raise money to defend the animals.
Reviewer’s Notes: I give this website two thumbs up. I can’t find a single negative thing to include in the review. It provides plenty of real wildlife pictures, animation, and all the information you could possibly need on wildlife. It provides curriculum materials for teachers and games for students. This website can be used in science class or computer class.
