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1. Prairie Primer
If you teach about prairie ecology in grades four through eight,
the Prairie Primer from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources'
(IDNR) Division of Education may be of interest to you. This
32-page activity booklet is a revision of a Conservation Education
Kit that was produced in the 1980s by the Illinois Department
of Conservation. A poster accompanies the activity book. Currently,
the Prairie Primer is only available in PDF format for download.
You may access it through the IDNR Publications page at http://dnr.state.il.us/teachkids.
Click on the "Activity Books" tab to find it.
2. New Resources Trunks Available for Loan!
Illinois Prairies and Illinois’ State Symbols join the
list of topics available to educators through the resources
trunks loan program of the IDNR Division of Education. Illinois
Prairies provides supplemental materials and lessons about the
ecological aspects of prairies as well as how pioneers adapted
to and affected prairies. Illinois’ State Symbols is the
perfect resource for those of you who teach about Illinois.
Images, replicas and actual samples of our state symbols are
included, as well as information about them and facts about
Illinois. Go to http://dnr.state.il.us/education/CLASSRM/teach.htm
to access the complete list of lending locations and their contact
information. Make your reservation today!
3. Illinois Aquatic Macroinvertebrates
The new Illinois Aquatic Macroinvertebrates poster from the
IDNR Division of Education can be used to enhance hands-on learning
about aquatic habitats in the state. Twenty-two common aquatic
macroinvertebrate species are depicted. A description of each
species and additional resource information is provided on the
back of the 24" x 36" poster. Order your copy through
the Publications page at http://dnr.state.il.us/teachkids. This
poster was made possible in part by a grant from the Illinois
Wildlife Preservation Fund.
4. Illinois' Natural Resources Trading Cards Set #4
Students can sample the variety of resources found in our state
by using the Illinois' Natural Resources Trading Cards Set #4
from the IDNR Division of Education. Each set contains 65 cards
representing animals, plants, fungi, protists, rocks, minerals
and fossils. The accompanying poster provides suggestions on
how to use the cards to help meet Illinois Learning Standards
and Illinois Early Learning Standards. Teachers in Illinois
schools may obtain these items by mailing a request on school
letterhead to the DNR Division of Education, One Natural Resources
Way, Springfield, IL 62702. Don't have Sets 1, 2, or 3? You
can request them, too. Please indicate the set number(s) you
are requesting. Limited to one pack of each set per teacher.
5. Wildlife in the Classroom
Has a student ever brought an animal to your classroom and asked
you to keep it? Have you ever seen a feather or a bird's nest
and wanted to use it to supplement your lessons? Has anyone
donated an empty hornets' nest to your school? Do you know the
Illinois and federal laws that apply to these situations? Teachers
often come into contact with wildlife or wildlife remains, willingly
or not. It is important for you to know what to do before you
are placed in these situations. The IDNR Division of Education
has developed a document that, while not all-encompassing, will
provide you with some general guidelines. You can access the
Wildlife in the Classroom file at the following Web address.
http://www.dnr.state.il.us/education/CLASSRM/wildlifeintheclassrm041409.pdf
6. Register Now for Fall ENTICE Workshops!
Visit https://www.enticeworkshops.com for descriptions of upcoming
ENTICE (Environment and Nature Training Institute for Conservation
Education) workshops from the IDNR Division of Education and
to register for them, too! If you haven't checked the workshop
schedule lately, why not do it today? We've got a variety of
workshops planned, and you can receive Continuing Professional
Development Units (CPDUs) at all of them. ENTICE workshops provide
you with background information presented by resources professionals,
educational activities that can be used to supplement your curriculum
and many resources related to the topic. Don't want to travel
to a workshop? We offer online workshops, too!
Upcoming Workshops:
Identifying Trees and Making Leaf Collections, Moraine View State Recreation
Area, Leroy, September 12, 2009
Online Illinois’ Butterflies, Online, September 14-27,
2009
Bees and Their Ecological Importance, Heller Nature Center,
Highland Park,
September 18, 2009
Illinois’ Aquatic Ecology, Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum,
Chicago, September 19, 2009
Native Americans and Nature in Illinois, The Field Museum,
Chicago, September 25, 2009
Identifying Trees and Making Leaf Collections, The Morton
Arboretum, Lisle, September 26, 2009
Prairie Plants: Identification, Anatomy, Landscaping, Midewin
National Tallgrass Prairie, Wilmington, September 30, 2009
Illinois Spiders, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory,
Batavia, October 10, 2009
Introduction to Global Positioning Systems, Sugar Grove Nature
Center, McLean, November 5, 2009
Online Native Americans and Nature in Illinois, Online, November
9-22, 2009
7. Online Courses for Graduate or CPDU Credit
The IDNR Division of Education and the University of Illinois
at Springfield (UIS) are offering online courses for graduate
credit (4 hours) or Continuing Professional Development Units
(60 CPDUs) through the UIS Master of Teacher Leadership program.
The following courses are being offered for Fall Semester 2009.
EDL 560 Introduction to Illinois' Natural Resources for Teachers
will include the examination, research and practical application
of Illinois natural resources information with the goals of
understanding location, composition, utilization, conservation
and issues.
EDL 587 Introduction to Illinois' Woodland Resources for Teachers
will include the examination, research and practical application
of Illinois woodland resources information with the goals of
understanding location, composition, utilization, conservation
and issues.
To be eligible to register, students must first contact UIS
admissions at 1-888-977-4847. Once students have been admitted
to UIS, they may contact Rae Lynne Kynion at 1-217-206-7516
or rkyni1@uis.edu to receive permission to register for the
classes.
8. For Illinois High School Biology Teachers: Prying into
Prions: Investigating Chronic Wasting Disease DVD
This supplemental unit for high school students explores prion
diseases, including chronic wasting disease. In six lessons,
students learn about transmissible spongiform encephalopathies
by examining the role of proteins in organisms, the chemistry
and properties of proteins, the genetic processes that create
proteins, and how proteins can become pathogenic. Students also
study how chronic wasting disease is affecting Illinois' white-tailed
deer herd and what control measures are being taken. Adapted
by the IDNR Division of Education with permission from the Colorado
Division of Wildlife's original unit, the lessons are designed
to be taught in sequence. A video is included. All lessons are
correlated to the Illinois Learning Standards. This unit is
produced in DVD format. It is only available to high school
teachers in Illinois. Request should be made in writing on school
letterhead and mailed to the IDNR Division of Education, One
Natural Resources Way, Springfield, IL 62702.
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