Image from http://www.learner.org/jnorth/
Journey North has to be the one of the (if not the) VERY best science websites for teachers and kids out there. I've used this site repeatedly as a resource for my school's Operation Ruby Throat project each year, and last year our school's feeder project was highlighted on this great resource. Students use the site to upload our first hummingbird siting of the spring season, and we check the real time siting data for updates on migration status. Teachers and students can also use this website to do all kinds of great things with their hummingbird data including keeping a migration journal and predicting spring routes, or they can use the site to learn how to build school yard feeders, to know more about torpor, or to discover hummingbird adaptations. The site also has daily updates on migration sitings, interactive migration maps, loads of videos, online kid friendly books, and GREAT photos. The creators of the Journey North site had education and students in mind when they created it. On student resources the creators have posted thought questions and activities that help guide students through the material. The questions are higher order and engaging. All student resources also have teacher companion guides. Teacher guides are well written and are easily adapted to any class. The best thing about this website is that hummingbirds are not the only topic it covers. All kinds of natural science topics can be explored with the same rigor and engagement. These topics include: Climate connections, gray whales, tulips gardens, Sunlight and Mystery Class, Symbolic migration, whooping crane, Phenology, signs of spring, maple sugar... The list is very extensive. So, take some time to explore this great resource. You can easily use these resources as your vehicle to teacher weather, animal adaptations, migration, and seasons!
Here's what the website says about themselves:
Journey North engages students in a global study of wildlife migration and seasonal change. K-12 students share their own field observations with classmates across North America. They track the coming of spring through the migration patterns of monarch butterflies, robins, hummingbirds, whooping cranes, gray whales, bald eagles— and other birds and mammals; the budding of plants; changing sunlight; and other natural events. Find migration maps, pictures, standards-based lesson plans, activities and information to help students make local observations and fit them into a global context. Widely considered a best-practices model for education, Journey North is the nation's premiere "citizen science" project for children. The general public is welcome to participate.
Click here to link to the Hummingbird Resources.
Click here to link to the Journey North Home Page.
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