Teachers can use these activities however best fit their students and classroom. Many activities can be completed by individual students, small groups, the whole class, or as part of learning centers. In order to address all of the standards listed on the activity overview, all of these supplemental activities need to be completed. Some of the content statements and elaborations are only addressed through the supplements and are not included in the versions written in the Growing Up WILD (GUW) guide.

Note: All supplemental materials are protected by copyright and are owned by Ohio Environmental Education Fund and Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. They may be used, with attribution, for educational purposes but are not to be used commercially. Please include Curious KIDSS  and www.curiouskidss.org  when citing the supplemental materials.  All references to Growing Up WILD must include a reference to the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, which holds the copyright to Growing Up WILD. Guides can be obtained through a workshop from the ODNR Division of Wildlife. 

When implemented as written, supplemental resources for the Growing Up WILD activity Oh Deer address the following content statements in the 2017-2018 Ohio Learning Standards for the following disciplines:

Science

• 1.ESS.1: The sun is the principal source of energy.
• 1.ESS.2: Water on Earth is present in many forms.
• 1.LS.1: Living things have basic needs, which are met by obtaining materials from the physical environment.
• 1.LS.2: Living things survive only in environments that meet their needs.

Social Studies

• 1.SS.1. Time can be divided into categories (e.g., months of the year, past, present and future).
• 1.SS.2  Photographs, letters, artifacts and books can be used to learn about the past.
• 1.SS.3  The ways basic human needs are met have changed over time.
• 1.SS.4  Maps can be used to locate and identify places.
• 1.SS.5 Places are distinctive because of their physical characteristics (land forms and bodies of water) and human characteristics (structures built by people).
• 1.SS.11 Wants are unlimited and resources are limited. Individuals make choices because they cannot have everything they want.

Math

• 1.MD.4 Organize, represent, and interpret data with up to three categories; ask and answer questions about the total number of data points, how many in each category, and how many more or less are in one category than in another.
• 2.MD.10 Organize, represent, and interpret data with up to four categories; complete picture graphs when single-unit scales are provided; complete bar graphs when single-unit scales are provided; solve simple put-together, take-apart, and compare problems in a graph.

     Mathematical Practices
​     1. Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
     3. Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.
     4. Model with mathematics.
     6. Attend to precision.

     Reinforcement of Standards:

• K.CC.3 Write numerals from 0 to 20. Represent a number of objects with a written numeral 0-20 (with 0 representing a count of no objects).
• K.CC.5 Count to answer “how many?” questions about as many as 20 things arranged in a line, a rectangular array, or a circle, or as many as 10 things in a scattered configuration; given a number from 1-20, count out that many objects.
• K.CC.6 Orally identify (without using inequality symbols) whether the number of objects in one group is greater/more than, less/fewer than, or the same as the number of objects in another group, not to exceed 10 objects in each group.
• K.MD.3 Classify objects into given categories; count the numbers of objects in each category and sort the categories by count. The number of objects in each category should be less than or equal to ten. Counting and sorting coins should be limited to pennies.

English Language Arts

• RL.1.4 Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses.
• RI.1.7 Use the illustrations and details in a text to describe its key ideas.
• RI.1.8 Identify the reasons an author gives to support points in a text.
• RI.1.9 Identify basic similarities in and differences between two texts on the same topic (e.g., in illustrations, descriptions, or procedures).
• RI.1.10 With prompting and support, read informational texts appropriately complex for grade 1.
• RF.1.3 Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.
• RF.1.4 Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.
• W.1.2 Write informative/explanatory texts that name a topic, supply some facts about the topic, and provide some sense of closure.
• W.1.3 Write narratives to recount two or more appropriately sequenced events, include some details regarding what happened, use temporal words to signal event order, and provide some sense of closure.
• W.1.7 Participate in shared research and writing projects (e.g., explore a number of “how-to” books on a given topic and use them to write a sequence of instructions).
• W.1.8 With guidance and support from adults, recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.
• SL.1.1 Participate in collaborative conversations about grade 1 topics and texts with diverse partners in small and larger groups.
• SL.1.2 Ask and answer questions about key details in a text read aloud or information presented in various media and other formats (e.g., orally).
• SL.1.3 Ask and answer questions about what a speaker says in order to gather additional information or clarify something that is not understood.
• SL.1.4 Describe people, places, things, and events with relevant details, expressing ideas and feelings clearly.
• SL.1.5 Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions when appropriate to clarify ideas, thoughts, and feelings.
• SL.1.6 Produce complete sentences when appropriate to task and situation. 

     

After completing the main Oh Deer activity in the GUW guide, students will use an Idea Circle approach to find additional information about the animal or plant they chose.  Each student will select a book about a specific animal or plant.  These
non-fiction books can be in the teacher’s classroom library, the school library, borrowed from public libraries or online libraries. 
​See “Resources for eBooks and Digital Media” for suggestions on finding content online.
 
Epic!’s “Living Things” or “Science and Nature” collections contain many books about animals.  Books can also be browsed by topic and filtered by grade level or reading level. “Magic Readers” are a series of books on the same animal written at different reading levels.  Some books are also available as “Read-to-Me” versions that read the text aloud to students. These features allow teachers to differentiate for reading level, delivery method and student interest. Titles include Deer, Bears, and Snakes.
 
INFOhio provides free access to BookFlix. Their “Animals and Nature” category contains many books about animals that would be appropriate for this activity. There is often a fiction and a non-fiction book paired together with each topic.

Students begin by selecting a book about an animal:

1. As they read, students fill out a graphic organizer about the needs of their animal for food, water, shelter and space. If needed, this activity could be completed as a small group working collaboratively to complete one graphic organizer.  While Oh Deer introduces the categories of habitat, the activity itself does not provide examples of animal needs. 
2. Students will share the results of their research on their animal with their small group.
3. Another option could be for students to add their animal’s needs to a class chart as they complete their individual research or shared group research.

This research can be completed during time allocated for science instruction, as a center activity, or during time allocated for reading.

After individual students or student groups have read their books about their chosen wild animal, they will share the information with the larger group.  Students should write down the student or group name that is sharing and the animal they chose.  Then the large group of students write down the information shared.

Depending on the age and readiness of the class, teachers could scribe as the groups share out, or individuals/small groups could add their research findings to a class chart as part of a rotation through centers.

Download the book Discoveries at Willow Creek from GLOBE Elementary The book is available in several languages and can be viewed online or downloaded and printed.
 
Before reading the book, ask students to predict why the hummingbirds left and where they might have gone and their responses on the graphic organizer. Read pages 1-16.
 
After reading page 16, prompt the students to complete the next part of the graphic organizer asking where students think the hummingbirds went and why they think they left. Read pages 16-24.
 
On pages 23-24 read the information the class wrote on their chart papers.  When reading about the needs of the hummingbirds, emphasize how each of those examples fulfill food, water, and shelter. Begin discussing the temperature during the seasons.  Hummingbirds, as well as other animals and plants, can only survive within a specific range of temperatures. During the winter season in Pennsylvania, ask students to determine if Pennsylvania is meeting the needs of the hummingbirds.  Contrast the needs met, or not met, in Pennsylvania to the needs able to be met in Costa Rica.
 
Read the remainder of the story aloud to the students. After finishing the book, ask the students to complete their graphic organizer by answering why the hummingbirds left and why they were able to return in the spring. Student responses should emphasize that the birds were able to meet their needs for food, water, and shelter in Pennsylvania during the spring and summer but they had to fly to Costa Rica to meet their needs during Pennsylvania’s winter and fall.

A great technical follow-up would be to show the actual migration and abundance maps of the ruby-throated hummingbird.  You can find animated maps of this and other species on e-bird. 

Food, Water and Shelter in Spring vs Fall shown in Discoveries at Willow Creek

Download the book Discoveries at Willow Creek from GLOBE Elementary  The book is available in several languages and can be viewed online or downloaded and printed.
 
This story contains wonderful examples of students doing science observations and investigations.  In order to specifically address the Content Statements and Elaborations for 1st Grade Life Science, selected pages and paragraphs will be omitted from this particular activity. 
 
While the abbreviated story is being read, students should complete their Venn Diagram comparing and contrasting the types of food, water, and shelter available to plants and animals during the spring visit and the fall visit. Students should be prompted to look for changes in food, water, shelter (cover) and space from fall to spring. 

1. On page 2, skip the last paragraph.
2. Read all of page 4. 
3. Skip ahead and read pages 7 and 8.
4. On page 10, skip the last paragraph. 
5. Skip ahead to pages 21 and 22. Read the first two paragraphs, but not the last one.  End the story here.
6. Allow students time to complete their own Venn diagram, then discuss their results with a partner. If time allows, small groups can also discuss their results.
7. As a whole class, emphasize:

• Increased water in the spring could provide different space for aquatic animals and plants but may displace land plants and animals. 
• The warmer water temperatures in the fall could be too high for some aquatic life.  Additional information and examples can be found in the Teacher’s Notes section of the book on pages 27-29.
• Though winter is not shown in the book, students could discuss what changes they think would occur in food, water, shelter and space as winter approaches.

 
GLOBE offers a very detailed Teacher’s Guide with chapters containing data collection protocols, activities and information on the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, soil, and Earth as a System.  This guide can be used as a reference for teachers if additional information is needed.  

Eat Like a Bear by April Pulley Sayre, illustrated by Steve Jenkins

While the book is being read, students can fill in the graphic organizer showing how a bear’s diet changes over the seasons. 

1. On the page “Drink like a bear… “ ask students where the bear finds water.  Ask students if there are any trout shown. Emphasize that there are also no berries on the bushes. 
2. On the page “Search the melting snows...” ask students how snow can affect the amount of water the bear has available.  Students should also recognize that the snow could hide food from animals.
3. On the page “Can you prepare...” ask students to describe how the bear makes a den. Ask the students what the bear eats in November. Point out that the bear does not eat during the winter months.  During spring and summer the bear eats as much food as possible to build up fat.  The bear uses the fat to help them survive the winter.
4. After reading the book, look at the types of food the bear eats over the year. Students should notice that the bear eats plants and animals (meat).  While some students may recognize the terms carnivore, herbivore, and omnivore, the emphasis at this grade level is that living things have needs (food, water, shelter) and that those needs are met by using resources found in their environment.
5. The last page “Meet the Bears” has additional information about seasonal food availability, hibernation, and food types.

 
Teachers can ask students to predict how they think the food, water and shelter available to the bear might change over the year. As the book is read, students draw or write on the graphic organizer what the bear eats during the year.

Students can compare and contrast the eating habits of deer and bears using at least two texts.  Eat Like a Bear could serve as one of the texts addressing a bear’s diet. Books already in a teacher’s classroom or school library might be applicable. 
 
Use the search feature in Epic! to find books about deer.  Clicking on “Advanced Search” under the search box allows filtering the results by reader age, Lexile Measure or AR Level and if the book is fiction or non-fiction.  Filtering the results to only show non-fiction books is recommended for this activity. The books Bears Eat and Grow and Deer Eat and Grow in the “Magic Readers” series work well for this activity.  Deer and Bears in the Blastoff! Readers: Backyard Wildlife series are other options.

Draw and write about the habitat of a favorite animal.  Include what the animal eats, where it lives and where it finds water. Crinkleroot’s Guide to Animal Habitat can be used as an anchor text.

Outside Your Window: A First Book of Nature, written by Nicola Davies and illustrated by Mark Herald, contains many poems that support science instruction. As these or other poems are read, students can identify words and phrases that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses. They can also use the illustrations and details in the poem to describe the characters, setting and events of the poem.

• “Deer in the Dawn” (p. 96) aligns well to the life science content in Oh Deer.
• “Water” (p. 8) aligns well to the 1st grade Earth Science Content Statement “Water on Earth is present in many forms.”