We’ve selected some of our favorite resources from our elementary school classroom programs. Use these links to “dig a little deeper”!
Monarch butterflies
- Monarch migration video (9:12) (PBS)
- Slideshows, articles, and images from Journey North
- Sara Dykman cycled over 10,000 miles following the monarch migration! Learn more about her journey on her “ButterBike.”
Virginia opossum
- Opossums Untamed video (26:46) (Wildlife Center of Virginia)
Bats
- Bats Untamed video (26:46) (Wildlife Center of Virginia)
- Project EduBat — bat activities and lessons
- Meet the Virginia state bat!
- Celebrate Bat Week (Oct 24-31)
Owls
- Owls Untamed video (26:46) (Wildlife Center of Virginia)
- Check out this video of a barn owl regurgitating a pellet!
- Learn a few owl calls.
Wild turkeys
- Know your turkey sounds!
- See how turkey hunters use box and slate calls to lure in toms.
Black bears
- Black Bears Untamed video (26:46) (Wildlife Center of Virginia)
- Black bear “critter cam” from the Wildlife Center of Virginia
- Learn how to be Bear Aware!
- More black bear facts and myths from BearWise.
- How Does Hibernation Work? video from TED Ed
- Even though the focus is on grizzly bears (also called brown bears), Fat Bear Week is a fun celebration of all things “bear-y.” It’s always fun to watch grizzly bears “fishing” for salmon at Brooks Falls in Alaska.
Turtles and the lunar calendar
- Turtles Untamed video (26:46) (Wildlife Center of Virginia)
- Tips for helping wild turtles
- Makinak: The Turtle told by Wilfred Buck (3:29)
- 13 Moons of the Ojibwe
White-tailed deer
- White-tailed Deer in Virginia video (3:36) Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources
- A Guide to Age Determination in White-tailed Deer from Texas Parks and Wildlife
Salamanders and Amphibians
- All the Salamanders video (4:11) Science With Tom
- The Last Dragons: Protecting Appalachia’s Hellbenders video (9:45) Freshwater Illustrated
- Frogs and Toads of Virginia by the Virginia Herpetological Society
- Salamanders of Virginia by the Virginia Herpetological Society
Vultures
- Vultures: Heroes of the Ecosystem video (5:06) TED Ed
Bird Songs
- Play Bird Song Hero — a visual way to learn bird sounds from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Soil, Weathering, Erosion, Caves
- Soils have names and every state has a state soil, including VA
- “Earth as Apple” animation shows just how little of Earth’s surface is suitable for growing
- Soils 4 Teachers — lesson plans & activities
- “Dig It! The Secrets of Soil” page from the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History — great interactive activities
- Check out theses resources that accompany the PBS Dust Bowl film.
- Great weathering & erosion resources (including video) from Generation Genius.
- Lots of cool resources on caves (including video from Luray Caverns) from CavesLIVE.
- Here’s a link to the National Geographic short film, “Explore the Hidden and Fragile World Inside Caves”
- Underground Classroom virtual tour
Geology of Virginia
- A searchable map of rock types in Virginia