Fall is a great time for field trips, to observe the manner in which living things are preparing for survival through the coming winter months.
You do not have to travel far; the school grounds in rural, suburban, and even urban settings will likely provide many examples you can show your students.
One of the more obvious survival strategies is to simply move to a warmer climate. Migratory bird flights are in evidence this time of year. Fewer songbirds can be found, and the noisy migratory flocks of geese increase in number. Even so, many species of birds will remain in northern areas, some migrating from areas further north. And in the south, increased species diversity can be seen in bird populations as migratory species appear, some to “hang around” for the winter, others just passing through on their way to the tropics.
Birds that remain in northern areas have great insulation in their winter plumage. But food may be scarce, so bird feeders on you school grounds will attract many resident species.
Squirrels and chipmunks are two small mammals that are usually abundant. Students can watch their food-gathering activities as they store nuts and seeds. They also gather grasses and other materials to line and insulate their nests, as do mice. Mice also make their presence known in the home or school as cooler weather causes them to seek shelter in warm buildings.
Larger mammals like raccoons, skunks, and opossums also prepare for winter by storing fat and lining their nests. These animals do not truly hibernate and may venture out during warm spells. Deer also store up fat through the summer, but face food shortages if winter is severe. They can be very destructive in orchards and even in your yards in their quest for winter forage.
Invertebrates also take “time out.” Most insect species spend the winter in egg, larval, or pupal stages – though many also overwinter as adults. The “wooly bear” caterpillars can be seen crossing roads in their wanderings to find a suitable spot to pupate. Some species overwinter below ground, insulated from severe cold. Others weave tough, insulated cocoons for protection, and in many species body fluids have “anti-freeze” for survival in freezing temperatures.
How do microscopic aquatic organisms survive when ponds and streams are frozen? You can run some classroom experiments with purchased cultures. Gradual lowering of temperatures coupled with reduced daylight will cause interesting physiological changes that your students can observe to answer the question.
Online Resources
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Bird Migration
- About.com – Bird Migration
- Winter Adaptations of Animals
- Winter Ecology Resources
- Winter Wildlife Adaptations
WARD’S also has a variety of activities and supplies available to help teach these fascinating and relevant topics. Below are just a few of our featured products:
Season Cycler Lab Activity
Following a step-by-step procedure, students mark, label, and rotate the Earth to illustrate and answer questions on solar intensity, rotation and revolution, and angles of radiation, plus the resulting effects caused by the Earth’s tilting. Write-on, wipe-off materials allow students to reuse the activity repeatedly.
WARD’S Animal Behavior Lab Activity
By altering conditions that the included specimens are exposed to, such as moisture, habitat, light and more, students can observe changes in behavior and habitat selection. This activity utilizes WARD’S own two- and five-chamber behavior trays, which allow students to test several factors simultaneously.
Seasonal Demonstration Globe
Observe the Earth, tilted on its axis, as it rests on a disk divided into months and days of the month. The globe is half in, half out of a black plexiglas box, representing day and night. To see what part of the planet is tilted toward the sun, indicating which areas are experiencing warmer summer months, simply rotate the globe and disk to line up the day you choose with the stationary plastic indicator on the base, or you can rotate the globe by itself to demonstrate day/night.
GEMS Teacher’s Guide: The Real Reasons for Seasons
This unit has been carefully developed to help students overcome persistent misconceptions about the cause of the seasons. Sponsored by NASA, the unit features a sequence of eight hands-on modeling activities to convey astronomical knowledge that relates to the changing seasons. The unit also features a supplementary CD-ROM with a wide selection of photographs, files, websites, simulations, and software. Softcover, 140 pages.
Four Season Ecosystem Poster Series
High-resolution, full-color photographs of museum dioramas will captivate your students for hours. This set of posters illustrates four different ecosystems as they appear in each of the four seasons. An accompanying booklet identifies each animal and plant and contains suggested activities. Developed in conjunction with the Buffalo Museum of Science. Size: 38″ x 27″ each.
Bushnell Binoculars, 10X50
With light-grabbing 50 mm (2″) lenses and powerful 10X magnification, these binoculars offer a good balance of image resolution and field of view, 341′ at 1,000 yards. A case and 32 3/4″ neckstrap are included. Exit pupil 5 mm ( 3/16″). Size: 6″L x 7″W x 2″H; Weight: 25 oz.
Waterproof Field Notebooks
Unique all-weather paper lets you take and keep legible notes regardless of the conditions, and the bright yellow cover is easy to spot if accidentally dropped. The field version has one page for data values and on the facing page it has a grid for drawing.
