GLOSSARY
BIOLOGY – the science of plants and animals, the study of living things and the way they live and grow
ECOLOGY – is the science that deals with the relations between all living things and the conditions that surround them.
ECOSYSTEM – is the science of all the animals, plants and bacteria that make up a particular community living in a certain environment.
FLOWER – the part of the plant that bears the seed and usually has brightly colored petals, blossom or bloom
VEGETATION – things growing from the ground, plant life
VEGETABLE – a plant or part of a plant that is eaten
See below for all the topics.
Insects, Bugs and Other Creepy Crawlies
Animals (land, sea and pond)
| All about Frogs for kids | Frog facts, lots of illustrations, coloring, cliparts, songs |
| All about Farm Animals for kids | farm animal facts, lots of illustrations, coloring, cliparts, songs |
| Animals of the Artic – 5/5 | For K – 12 with activities and resources |
| Year 5 : Australian Animals – 5/5 | For elementary kids. Lots of pictures and information. |
| Living with Elephants | explores the relationship between the African Elephant and people, with an emphasis on research and educational programs aimed at reducing conflict between the two species. |
| Malaysian Elephant Satellite Tracking Project | Following the Movements of Trans-Located Elephants in Peninsular Malaysia, and Re-introduced Work Elephants in Northern Thailand |
| Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants (MIKE) | By Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species. News and information on the international agreement. |
| US Fish & Wildlife : Especially For Kids! | Good site with lots of activities coverning endangered species. |
| Elephant Trade Information System (ETIS) | By Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species. Printable. |
| Elephanteria | Lots of fun activities, graphics about elephants for kids. |
| Australian Animals by Anderson Creek Primary School- 5/5 | For elementary kids. Another informative site |
| Tiger Information Center- 5/5 | For Grade 1-8 kids and teachers. Learn about tigers. Online activities and teacher resources |
| Geoguide by National Geographics – 5/5 | For Grade K-12 kids and teachers/family. Learn about tigers/nenets/dams/wolves. Online activities and teacher resources & lesson plans |
| The Dragonfly Pond – 5/5 | For Grade K-12. Learn about science and animals here. |
| How do animals spend their winter ? | by Science made Simple. Good site with illustrations and clear explantion. |
| How do whales and dolphins sleep without drowning? | Bruce Hecker, director of husbandry at the South Carolina Aquarium in Charleston, S.C., provides an answer that gives new meaning to the expression “half asleep.” |
| Why do some fish normally live in freshwater and others in saltwater? How can some fish adapt to both? | Aldo Palmisano is a research chemist at the Western Fisheries Research Center of the U.S. Geological Survey Biological Resources Division and is affiliated with the University of Washington in Seattle. Here is his answer. |
| How do bats echolocate and how are they adapted to this activity? | Alain Van Ryckegham, a professor at the School of Natural Resources at Sir Sandford Fleming College in Lindsay, Ontario, Canada, offers this explanation: Image: Bioinfo Animal Pictures Archive NIGHT HUNTER. This leaf-nosed bat uses sound waves and echoes–a technique called echolocation–to capture prey, such as crickets. |
| The Belize Zoo – 4/5 | For elementary kids. Video and sound clips. Lots of pictures of animals found in the zoo |
| Nova Online : Night creatures of the Kalahari – 4/5 | Elementary – High School. Resources, lesson plans for teachers. |
| Nature Wildlife Factsheets – 4/5 | K – Elementary level. Learn about all kinds of animals, reptiles etc here. Coloring activities |
| Whales, A thematic web unit – 4/5 | For K-8 and teachers. Lesson Plans for teachers according to age. Project ideas. Links to other whale resources |
| Polar Bear & the Walrus – 4/5 | For K – elementary level. Songs & related activities : Make a puppet |
| Aquatic Creatures – 3/5 | Elementary level. Learn about Lakes, Ponds, Streams & Rivers & Wetland creatures |
| Marine Life Learning Center – 3/5 | K-4….look at the different shapes of fish and how they live and what they eat |
| Fish FAQ – 5/5 | K-elementary. All that you want to know about fish is here ! |
| The Marine Food Web – 5/5 | Elementary kids. Learn about the food chain |
| Zoom Dinosaurs – 5/5 | All you want to know about dinosaurs. Has coloring activities and some dinosaur craft related activities. Good site |
| The Electronic Zoo – 5/5 | Good links to all animal related sites. Learn about animals |
| Birmingham Zoo-Animal Omnibus – 5/5 | Links to other animal sites by animal name. Great site if kids want to read about animals. |
| Lincoln Park Zoo | Good reference site for animals. |
| National Geographics for kids – 4/5 | K – Elementary. Learn about animals, activities and have a penpal from here |
| 4th & 5th Grade Student Resources – 5/5 | Covers all Life Science Resources – a very good resource |
| The Amazing World of Birds – 5/5 | Good resource for information on birds. |
| The Gator Hole | Facts about the American Alligator. Good site. |
| Texas Wildlife : Rainbow Trout | Short facts, color picture and question and answer activity. |
| Texas Wildlife : KEMP’S RIDLEY SEA TURTLE | Short facts, color picture and question and answer activity. |
| Texas Wildlife : WHITE-TAILED DEER | Short facts, color picture and question and answer activity. |
| Sea World/Busch Gardens Animal Bytes | Designed to help you quickly find information about some of the unique creatures found in the animal kingdom. Most files include the scientific classification, fun facts, and biological value. |
| Texas Wildlife : TEXAS KANGAROO RAT | Short facts, color picture and question and answer activity. |
| Texas Wildlife : BLACK-CAPPED VIREO | Short facts, color picture and question and answer activity. |
| Texas Wildlife : RINGTAIL | Short facts, color picture and question and answer activity. |
| Science for Kids | Covers many different topics. Interesting site. |
| How do jellyfish reproduce? What effect does their sting have on humans? What’s the difference between red and translucent jellyfish? | Ian Hiler, Assistant Director of the Husbandry Department and Animal Exhibit Designer at the Aquarium of the Americas in New Orleans, has tackled this series of questions. |
| Kids for Positive Change : River Otter | River Otter Action showcasing Author & Illustrator of the book “Little Otter Learns to Swim” |
| eNature : Complete Guide to North America’s plants and animals | Lots of pictures accompany information. |
| E-Quarium | Learn about sea animals. Play games and other fun activities. Good site. |
Learn about my Body, Senses and how it works
| MY BODY AND HOW IT WORKS | |
| Yucky Gross and cool body – 4/5 | For elementary kids. Learn about how the human body works |
| Neuroscience for kids : The Senses – 4/5 | K – Elementary. Learn about our 5 senses. Requires Macromedia to view how it works. Experiments and activities, coloring, worksheets, games and more. |
| Explore the brain and spinal cord – 4/5 | Older kids. Informative and interesting resource about the 5 senses. |
| Seeing, Hearing and Smelling the World – 4/5 | For Older kids. Detailed resource for learning how our senses work |
| An Eye on Color – 3/5 | Elementary kids. See how the eye works |
| The Atlas of the Human Body | Lots of good information. Good reference site. |
| American Eye Association for kids- 5/5 | See how the eye works. |
| Human Anatomy | Interactive. Click on the parts of the body and read the facts. Animations of human anatomy. Good and interesting site. |
| How does caffeine affect the body? | Biologist Neal J. Smatresk–Dean of the College of Science at the University of Texas at Arlington–offers this explanation |
| Human Anatomy for Grade 4-12 | Learn about the human body. Lots of illustrations. |
| The Human Body Riddle Book | Listen to the riddle and learn about the human body. |
| ECOLOGY | |
| All About Rainforest for kids and teachers | Learn about the Rainforest. Lots of activities for kids, teacher’s resources and more. |
| Ecology for Kids – 5/5 | Activities, facts and more. |
| Prairie Ecology – 5/5 | Excellent site to learn about the prairie ecology. Learn about the animals and plants as you build your own prairie. Interactive. |
| Ocean Life for kids. | For Lower Elementary. Simple basic facts and activity. Good site for a start. |
| Woodland Explorer | Click on parts of the tree to explore what kind of animals or insects lives there. Short facts about each animal or insect with illustration. Good basic knowledge. |
| Grassland Explorer | Click and see what kind of creatures live on the grassland. Short facts about mini-beasts with illustration. |
| Treasures@Sea | Exploring the Ocean through literature. |
| Texas Parks & Wildlife : Backwater Buffet | Learn about the Wetlands in Texas – ecology, animals which lives there. Good site. |
| Texas Parks & Wildlife : What’s in a Wetland | Facts and illustrations. |
| Information on Wetlands | Good site to learn about wetlands. |
| Why are wetlands important? | Simple easy to understand facts. |
| EPA : Our vital link between land and water | This site will give you a better understanding of the rich variety of wetlands, their importance, how they are threatened, and what can be done to conserve them for future generations. Available in adobe pdf format. |
| Sierra Club : Wetlands and Clean Water | Know the importance of wetlands and learn how to participate to protect them. |
| BIOLOGY | |
| Biology for Kids – 5/5 | Activities, quizzes, facts and more. |
| Biosurf – The Basis of Life Unit | A study unit. Good site. |
| How do white blood cells recognize invaders? | Philippa Marrack is an immunologist supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in the Department of Medicine at the National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver, Colo. In 1994, Marrack and her husband, John W. Kappler, won the prestigious Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize awarded by Columbia University. Here is her reply |
| What is homeostasis? | Emeritus Professor Kelvin Rodolfo of the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences provides this answer |
| The Human Body Adventure | Complete tour of the human body and its function. Good site. Interesting and easy to understand. |
| How are traits passed on through DNA? | Stuart E. Ravnik, assistant professor of cell biology and biochemistry at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, summarizes the answer to this seemingly simple question |
| Why are we getting taller as a species? | This answer comes from Michael J. Dougherty, assistant director and senior staff biologist at Biological Sciences Curriculum Study in Colorado Springs, Col. |
| Monarch Butterfly USA.com | This is a very good site. Watch movie clips of the life cycle. Lovely, clear pictures. |
