Talk to the animals

Animals are all around us. People are animals too. So let’s find out more about our living neighbors. You will find that we can help each other.

Connect:

• Let’s make tracks! BioKids (http://www.biokids.umich.edu/) enables you track animals in their natural evnironments. What kinds of conclusions can you make from the evidence? How do tracks reflect aimal adaptations, such as webbed weet or long claws?
• Animals live in different parts of the world. You can locate the the homes of more than 26,000 species worldwide at http://www.worldwildlife.org/wildfinder/
• Animals interact with their environment or biome. Life on Earth (http://edugreen.teri.res.in/explore/life/life.htm) enables you to look for biodiversity of animals by species, ecosystem, biome, and even wildlife trade.
• Have you heard about the animal kingdom? It’s classified, much like families. Animal worlds (http://www.animalsworlds.com/classification-of-animals.html) has a clickable classification chart linked to lots of information about animals worldwide.
• What impact has humankind had on animals – and vice versa? Here are some ways that animals help people: http://www.animalhumanwellbeing.com/content.php?PageId=117&PHPSESSID=063e63f7f68b107a229438e733fa5233

Create:

• Do you like to take photos of your pets or other animals? You can deepen that experience by looking at animals with new eyes, such as human-animal interaction or ecological aspects. You can upload them on photo-sharing websites such as Picasa (http://picasa.google.com/), and determine with whom you want to show those images.
• Share your story about your favorite animal; digital storytelling is a fun way to do that. Try http://www.animoto.com or  PhotoStory3 (http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/photostory.html).   http://inhabitat.com/digital-storytelling-101-how-kids-can-use-technology-to-tell-their-story-online/ is a good website for adults about digital storytelling for children. http://www.teachingvillage.org/2010/03/09/moving-your-kindergarten-into-web-2-0-with-5-different-tools-by-ozge-karaoglu/ focuses on young children’s use of digital storytelling, particularly with respect to animals.
• Lots of animals live in the sea and on the seashore. Enchanted Learning (http://www.enchantedlearning.com/themes/beach.shtml) offers many crafts, pictures, to print, and information about these animals.
• Want to raise butterflies? This website helps you get started:  http://www.butterflyfarm.co.cr/

Care:

• What impact has humankind had on animals? Find out at http://www.e-pioneer.com/Animals/Impacts/index.html
• How might you help preserve endangered species? This website suggests several ways for adults and children to help: http://www.endangeredspecie.com/Ways_To_Help.htm
• It’s never too early to think about Mother Earth. The National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis collaborates with youth to collect and analyze data for ecology issues. You can join in the effort, and learng more about biomes and consevatio proejcts at their webite: http://nceas.ucsb.edu/nceasweb/kids/.
• What rights do animals have? Do different animals have different rights? What impact do animal rights have on people? Do they differ by locale? People are the ones who can protect animal rights. Check out some of those animal rights organizations from  this list: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_animal_rights_groups. Your family might consider volunteering for a local agency.
• Want some tips about caring for pets? Explore http://www.avma.org/careforanimals/kidscorner/. What would you do if you and your pets were affected by a disaster? FEMA has some important guidelines: http://www.ready.gov/animals

Careers:

• You can read one person’s perspective on animal-related careers at http://www.anapsid.org/resources/jobs.html. Universities such as Cornell provide good sources about animal careers: http://animalcareers.cornell.edu/
• Animal rights organizations also provide guidance on related careers: http://www.aspca.org/about-us/faq/animal-careers.aspx