Owl Moon
Owl Moon
Among the greatest charms of children is their ability to view a simple activity as a magical adventure. Such as a walk in the woods late at night. Jane Yolen captures this wonderment in a book whose charm rises from its simplicity. "It was late one winter night, long past my bedtime, when Pa and I went owling." The two walked through the woods with nothing but hope and each other in a journey that will fascinate many a child. John Schoenherr's illustrations help bring richness to the countryside adventure. The book won the 1988 Caldecott Medal. (amazon.com review)
Why are we featuring this book?
Owl Moon is a book featured in Five in a Row, a literature-based unit study curriculum. Many families use FIAR for all but the Grammar / Reading and Math, and others use it in conjunction with other resources. Below you will find information about the author and illustrator, story summaries, and links to lesson plans and websites that are great go-alongs for Owl Moon. Please note that these resources are meant to complement, not replace, the Five in a Row units. The Five in a Row volumes are inexpensive and well worth the investment. Digital downloads of the FIAR volumes and supplementary resources like Fold & Learn™ (paper manipulatives similar to lapbooks) are available to enhance your units.
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Author page
Illustrator Page
The author is also the illustrator.
Go-Alongs:
Online Units and Resources for Owl Moon
Owl Moon
From TeacherViews. (Grades 1-3) (Y)
Owl Moon Lapbook
(Y)
Walking in the Woods with Owl Moon
(Grade 4) (Y)
Guided reading using OWLS
Uses Four Blocks - Guided Reading, Self-Selected Reading, Writing, and Working with Words approach to learning (Y)
Owl Lesson Plan
From School@Home.com (Y)
Go-alongs about Birds
All About Birds - From Enchanted Learning: Zoom Birds. Everything you wanted to know about birds including jokes! (Y)
Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park - The crown jewel of Rio Grande Valley parks, Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park well deserves its status as headquarters of the World Birding Center. Birders across the nation know “Bentsen” as a treasure trove of “Valley specialties” – those birds found nowhere else in the United States but deepest South Texas – and “Mexican vagrants” – rare visitors from across the Rio Grande. The 760-acre Bentsen-RGV State Park, together with over 1,700 acres of adjoining federal refuge land, promises year-round nature adventures in the richest birding area north of the Mexican border. (Y, M, O, T)
Bird Unit Study - From EasyFunSchool.com (Y, M, O, T)
Birdathon - From the Audubon Society, this project not only teaches birding techniques, it raises money for environmental conservation, education, and advocacy. (Y, M, O, T)
Birding / Wild Birds - Backyard birding; Identification From About.com (Y, M, O, T)
Birding / Wild Birds Clipart - From About.com (Y, M, O, T)
Birds of prey - lesson integrating the Internet into a study of predators. Grades 6-8 (Y,M)
BirdSource - From Cornell University, this site is centered on "birding with a purpose". (Y, M, O, T)
Cardinal Coloring Page - From Kidzone - Free fun facts for kids. Free printable activity worksheets. (Y)
Cornell Lab of Ornithology - If you like birds, you will love this site. Cornell has been a leader in the study of birds ever since Arthur A. Allen was appointed one of the nation's first professors of ornithology at the University in 1917. The Lab of Ornithology is a nonacademic unit of Cornell and has an excellent collection of resources used for outreach to the community. (Y, M, O, T)
Dinner, It's for the Birds! - From the National Bird-Feeding Society, activities on making bird feeders. (Y,M)
Duck Glossary - (Y)
Endangered and Threatened Species of Alaska Curriculum - Center for Alaska Coastal Studies. Materials focus on selected Alaskan species that are threatened, endangered, or at risk. Learn about wildlife population dynamics, the factors that may place species at risk, and efforts by people to help wildlife species recover.
The teaching packet is designed to help you introduce the concepts of "biodiversity" and "endangered" to your students in a hands-on interactive way. (Y, M, O, T)
Estero Llano Grande State Park - At the geographic center of the World Birding Center network, Estero Llano Grande State Park in Weslaco attracts a spectacular array of South Texas wildlife with its varied landscape of shallow lake, woodlands and thorn forest. Even beginning birders and nature lovers will enjoy exploring this 176-acre refuge, which is convenient to all the Rio Grande Valley has to offer. (Y, M, O, T)
NestWatch - "NestWatch is a nest-monitoring project developed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in collaboration with the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, and funded by the National Science Foundation... We invite people of all ages who are interested in the natural world to help monitor the success of nesting birds and better understand the threats they face. Your valuable nest observations will be permanently stored as legacy data along with hundreds of thousands of other nesting records. When combined, these data will provide a wealth of information about breeding birds and the factors that influence their success across different landscapes." (Y, M, O, T)
Operation Ruby-Throat - The Hummingbird Project from the Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History; comprehensive hummingbird site with lots of info for educators (Y, M, O, T)
Peregrine Falcons - Free lapbook, notebook & unit resources for homeschoolers from Dynamic 2 Moms. (Y, M, O, T)
Peterson Online - Excellent resource with basics of birdwatching, identification, and calendar (Y, M, O, T)
Project Feeder Watch - Homeschool students across North America can learn about science and have fun while they count birds and record information that scientists need to understand the movements and abundance of feeder birds. Project FeederWatch, a citizen-science project from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Bird Studies Canada, is a perfect fit for the homeschool curriculum. The Homeschooler's Guide to Project FeederWatch is now available online. (Y, M, O, T)
Raising chicks - Everything you need to know to raise those chicks that you so careful tended as eggs! (Y M O)
Resaca de la Palma State Park - Brownsville’s Resaca de la Palma State Park boasts the largest tract of native habitat in the World Birding Center network. Etched by ancient curves of the Rio Grande, its 1700 semi- tropical acres provide a quiet retreat from the hustle and bustle of an international urban center only a few miles away. Through the cooperation of local, state and federal land management agencies, a wilderness preserved from days gone by is open to nature adventurers for the first time. (Y, M, O, T)
Southeastern Arizona Bird Observatory - (SABO) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation of the birds of southeastern Arizona, their habitats and the diversity of species that share those habitats through research, monitoring and public education. (Y, M, O, T)
Spring Units - Strawberries and the North American Robin - Free lapbook resources from Dynamic 2 Moms. Turdus Migratorius - commonly known as the North American Robin and Strawberries. (Y, M, O, T)
State facts - State birds, Animals and Flowers (Y)
To Feed or Not To Feed - From About.com - Should you feed wild birds (Y, M, O, T)
Tucson Audubon Society - Tucson Audubon sponsors environmental education programs for all ages that promote understanding of environmental concepts, appreciation of the natural world, and commitment to sustainable resource use. We foster grassroots efforts to improve the environmental quality of our neighborhoods and communities through education, advocacy, and activism. (Y, M, O, T)
What Bird? - This is a great website for summer fun. I have two birdfeeders just outside my living room window and I love to watch the birds use them. This site lets you identify birds of North America with a few clicks of your mouse. You can even build you own bird feeder. (Y)
Wildlife Myths: How Well Do You Know Your Neighbors? - From The Humane Society of the United States. Includes articles on "A Closer Look at Wildlife", "Issues Facing Wildlife", "Feeding Birds in Winter", "Found an Injured or Orphaned Animal?", "Help Migratory Birds in Your Own Backyard", "Owls in Our Midst ", and Solving Problems with Your Wild Neighbors", and "The Mysteries of Migration". (Y, M, O, T)
Wisconsin bird watching - (Y)
Zoom Birds - Educational site geared towards kids with printouts, birdwatching, and bird activities. Contains evolution. (Y, M)
Go-alongs about Predators (Owls)
Aquatic food webs - Students will explore aquatic food webs and create a web using Inspiration. 3rd Grade (y)
Birds of prey - lesson integrating the Internet into a study of predators. Grades 6-8 (Y,M)
Freshwater Food Webs - Organisms in a food web; role of organisms and a food pyramid. (Y)
Predator-prey simulation - Students will simulate predator prey interactions, the numbers of predator and prey in their “ecosystem” will be recorded and graphed. (Y,M)
Snow Leopard Trust - With programs on the ground in five snow leopard range countries and connections with researchers and conservation organizations all over the globe, the Snow Leopard Trust is a leader in the effort to secure the snow leopard's future. (Y,M)
Water on the web - The Food Web - (Y)
Wolves - Wolf Web Gallery; come visit our wolves... (Y, M, O, T)
Go-alongs about Tracks
Bear Tracker - A great tracking site for tracking more than just bears...Open to all trackers, anywhere, for the discussion of anything related to tracking. Animal tracks, human tracks, or even bicycle tracks. (Y, M, O, T)
Making TRACKS - The Making TRACKS project is developing a permanent collection of hiking trails throughout the United States with a comprehensive list of common species found on each. (Y, M, O, T)
Go-alongs about Planets and Moons
Apollo 11 Story - On July 20, 1969, the human race accomplished its single greatest technological achievement of all time when a human first set foot on another celestial body. Get the Apollo 11 story from launch to splashdown. (Y,M)
Orrery - "So named in honor of Charles Boyle, Earl of Orrery… An apparatus which illustrates, by the revolution of balls moved by wheelwork, the relative size, periodic motions, positions, orbits, etc., of bodies in the solar system." (Y, M, O, T)
