The Americas - Mesomerica - The Olmec and the Zapotec

The Tree That Rains: The Flood Myth of the Huichol Indians of Mexico by Emery & Durga Bernhard

Discussion:
Compare the world flood stories discussed this year
Climate and geography of Mesoamerica
Food staples (corn, beans, squash) and early farming practices
Animals: jaguar, quetzal, snake, eagle

Activity:
Map Study: where did the Olmec and Zapotec live?

Picture Study: Warrior Head

...Reptilia - Synapsida - Mammalia - Theria - Eutheria - Lagomorpha, Macroscelidea, Scandentia, Dermoptera

Amazing animals - Pikas
BBC One Life - Elephant Shrew and Monitor Lizard
It's a Bird! It's a Plane! It's a Colugo?

Rabbits and Hares by Emilie U. Lepthien
Mammals by DK - Smithosonian Handbooks
The Simon & Schuster Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs & Prehistoric Creatures
World of Animals: Mammals: Marsupials by Pat Morris and Amy-Jane Beer

Vocabulary Added:
lagomorpha: hare-form
macroscelidea: large-legs
scandentia: climbing
dermoptera: skin-wing

Activity:
Draw an animal from each order
Add a rabbit, elephant shrew, tree shrew, and colugo to the animal tree

The Americas - North America - Review

How did people arrive in the Americas?

What are some principal religious beliefs held by most major Native North American nations?

Style recognition: look at pictures of objects, explain who made them and why.

Cut/paste: match nation names to their location, main foods, and shelter types.

...Reptilia - Synapsida - Mammalia - Theria - Eutheria - Rodentia

How Beavers Build a Lodge - BBC Animals
Prairie Dog Snake Alarm
Attenborough: Is it a Bird?  Is it a plane? Is it a flying squirrel?  BBC Earth
HD: Leopard vs. Porcupine - Nature's Great Events - The Great Flood - BBC One

Capybara by Anita Ganeri
Rats! The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly by Richard Conniff
The Wonder of Beavers by Amy Bauman and Patricia Corrigan, and John F. McGee
Wild Animals of the Woods: Porcupines by Lynn M. Stone
World of Animals: Mammals: Rodents 2 and Lagomorphs by Pat Morris and Amy-Jane Beer
Mammals by DK - Smithosonian Handbooks
The Simon & Schuster Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs & Prehistoric Creatures
World of Animals: Mammals: Marsupials by Pat Morris and Amy-Jane Beer

Vocabulary Added:
rodentia: gnawing

Activity:
Draw and label five rodents
Add a rat and a beaver to the animal tree

...Reptilia - Mammalia - Theria - Eutheria - Edentata and Pholidota

(Prehistoric Daireaux start at :50)
Mutant Planet - Giant Anteater
Attenborough: Saying boo to a Sloth! BBC Earth
What in the world is a pangolin?

Anteaters by Renee C. Rebman
Armadillos by Judith Jango-Cohen
Sloths by Melissa Stewart
The Simon & Schuster Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Creatures
Mammals by DK - Smithsonian Handbooks

Vocabulary Added:
eutheria: good-beast
edentata: without-teeth
pholidota: scaled

Activity:
Draw three edentates and a pangolin
Add an armadillo and a pangolin to the Animal Kingdom tree

The Americas - North America - the Hopi/Zuni and Dine

The Navajo by Kevin Cunningham and Peter Benoit
Pueblo by R. Kent Drasmussen and Kimberly L. Dawson Kurnizki
"Why Moon Has One Eye" and "The Hero Twins" from The Girl Who Helped Thunder and Other Native American Folktales by James and Joseph Bruchat and Stefano Vitale
Coyote Steals the Blanket by Janet Stevens

Discussion:
Climate of the American southwest (food, shelter)
Ceremonies and rituals

Activity:
Field trip to the National Museum of the American Indian

...Reptilia - Synapsida - Mammalia - Theria - Marsupialia

Virginia Oppossum - HD MiniDocumentary
Going Underground with a Wombat - extreme animals - BBC Wildlife
Bite of the Tasmanian Devil
Kangaroo Birth

About Marsupials by Cathryn and John Sill
Tasmanian Devil by Lynne M. Stone
Wild, Wild World: Koalas by Tanya Lee Stone
The Wonder of Kangaroos by Patricia Lantier, Judith Logan Lehne and John F. McGee

Mammals by DK - Smithosonian Handbooks
The Simon & Schuster Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs & Prehistoric Creatures
World of Animals: Mammals: Marsupials by Pat Morris and Amy-Jane Beer

Vocabulary Added:
theria: wild beast
marsupialia: pouch

Activity:
Draw three favorite marsupials
Add the kangaroo to the animal tree

The Americas - North America - The Haudenosaunee and Muskogee

The Iroquois  by Emily J. Dolbear and Peter Benoit
The Creek and Their History by Natalie M. Rosinsky
"Big Duck and the Ducks" and "Why the Oppossum's Tail is Bald" from When Jaguars Ate the Moon and Other Stories About Animals and Plants of the Americas by Maria Cristina Brusca and Tona Wilson
"The Girl Who Helped Thunder" and "The Ball Game Between the Birds & Animals" from The Girl Who Helped Thunder and Other Native American Folktales by James and Joseph Bruchat and Stefano Vitale

Discussion:
Life in the north vs. the south (food, shelter)
The Five Nations, wampum

Activity:
Picture study in The Iroquois and The Creek and Their History
Narration of a favorite story

...Reptilia - Synapsida - Mammalia - Monotremata

Platypus Parts
Episode Three Echidna

The Simon & Schuster Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs & Prehistoric Creatures
Mammals by Melissa Stewart
Mammals by DK - Smithosonian Handbooks
World of Animals: Mammals: Marsupials by Pat Morris and Amy-Jane Beer
A Platypus, Probably by Sneed B. Collard III and Andrew Plant

Vocabulary Added:
synapsida: together-arch
mammalia: breast(-fed)
monotremata: one-perforation

Activity:
Draw and label a platypus and echidna
Add the platypus to the animal tree

...Reptilia - Sauropsida - Neodiapsida - Lepidosauria - Squamata (II)

One Weird Reptile, Amphisbaena alba
Anaconda Babies
Snakes - watch this python autopsy - Ultimate Killers - BBC Wildlife
Cobra vs. Mongoose

Venomous Snakes of the World by Mark O'Shea
Tree Vipers by Sherie Barger and Linda Johnson
Cobras by Sherie Barger and Linda Johnson
Snakes by Gail Gibbons

Vocabulary Added:
serpentes: serpents
amphisbaenia: both-ways-going

Activity:
Draw several kinds of snakes and an amphisbaenia 

The Americas - North America - The Dakota

The Sioux by Kevin Cunningham and Peter Benoit
Native American Religions by Paula R. Hertz
Crow Chief by Paul Goble
The Legend of the Blue Bonnet by Tomie de Paola
"How the Buffalo Came to Be" from The Girl Who Helped Thunder and Other Native American Folktales by James and Joseph Bruchat, and Stefano Vitale

Discussion:
The Great Plains - geography, climate
Food (buffalo)
Shelter (tipi)
Art

Activity:
Learn how tipis are constructed; make a model tipi
Story Narration

...Reptilia - Sauropsida - Neodiapsida - Lepidosauria - Sphenodontida and Squamata (I)

Ancient Tuatara Fathers Young
komodo dragons hunt buffalo
Meet the Ninja Gecko
Blood Squirting Lizard
Freaky Lizard

A Komodo Dragon Hatchling Grows Up by Katie Marsico

Green Iguanas by Sally Velthaus

Lizards by Nic Bishop

Lizards: A Natural History of Some Uncommon Creatures - Extraordinary Chameleons, Iguanas, Geckos, & More by David Badger and John Netherton

Vocabulary Added:
lepidosauria: scale-lizard
sphenodontida: wedge-tooth
squamata: scaly

Activity:
Draw a tuatara, and several different kinds of lizards and a mosasaur
Add squamata and lepidosauria to Animal Kingdom Tree

...Reptilia - Saurapsida - Diapsida - Neodiapsida - Ichthyosauria, Placodontia, Nothosauria, Plesiosauria

Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure
Expedition Week: Death of a Sea Monster

Sea Monsters: Prehistoric Creatures of the Deep by Mike Everhart

Vocabulary Added:
diapsida: double-arch
neodiapsida: new-double-arch
ichthyosaur: fish-lizard
placodont: tablet-tooth
nothosaur: false-lizard
elasmosaur: thin-plate-lizard
plesiosaur: near-lizard

Activity:
Draw and label favorite extinct reptiles (ichthyosaur, elasmosaur, dimetrodon)
Add Ichthyosauria, Placodontia, Nothosauria, Plesiosauria to Animal Kingdom Tree

The Americas - North America - The Arctic and Northwest

Lifeways: The Inuit by Raymond Bial
The Boy Who Lived with the Seals by Rafe Martin and David Shannon
"The Boy and the Loon" from Echoes of the Elders: The Stories and Paintings of Chief Lelooska, edited by Christine Normandin
"Grizzly Bear Gets Left Behind" and "The Raven and the Loon" from When Jaguars Ate the Moon and Other Stories About Animals and Plants of the Americas by Maria Cristina Brusca and Tona Wilson

Native American Religions by Paula R. Hartz

Discussion:
Climate affects way of life
Basic Native North American religious beliefs
Storytelling

Activity:
Locate the Arctic on a map
Locate the Northwest coast on a map
Picture Study from Lifeways: The Inuit and Echoes of the Elders

...Reptilia - Anapsida - Testudines

River Monsters: Turtle Strikes Like a Snake
Galapagos Tortoises and Volcanoes
Sea Turtle Attacks Man-o-War

About Reptiles  by Cathryn Sill and John Sill
All About Turtles by Jim Arnosky
Sea Turtles by Martha E.H. Rustad

Vocabulary Added:
anapsida: no-arch
testudines: shell(ed)

Activity:
Draw and label 2 kinds of turtles (one pleurodiran and one cryptodiran)
Add Testudines to Animal Kingdom Tree

The Americas - Geography and Settlement

Who Came First? New Clues to Prehistoric Americans by Patricia Lauber

Discussion:
How did people get to the Americas?
When did they arrive?

Activity:
Locate the Americas on a world map
Examine a map of the Americas.  Trace the various possible migratory routes of the first human settlers.
Add in rivers, mountains, oceans

Australia - Technology

Aborignes hunting kagaroo with spear
Hunting bats with a boomerang (in Spanish)
Fire Hunting in Australia

Australia and Oceania by Mel Friedman
Australia by Allan Fowler
Useful reference: New South Wales K-6 Curriculum on Aboriginal Technology

Activity:

Learn to throw a boomerang
Try tracking animals

...Aves - Neornithes - Neognathes - Psittaciformes, Cuculiformes, and Trogoniformes

Cuckoo hijacks warbler's nest - Natural World - BBC
Unbelievable amazing parrot

Macaws by Erika and Jim Deiters
Roadrunners by Lola M. Schaefer
National Geographic Encyclopedia of Animals by Karen McGhee and George McKay
National Geographic Reference Atlas to the Birds of North America compiled by Mel Baughman

Vocabulary Added:

psittaciformes: parrot-types
cuculformes: cuckoo-types
trogoniformes: gnawer-types

Activity:
Draw and label a parrot, cuckoo, and trogon
Add Psittaciformes, Cuculiformes, and Trogoniformes to Animal Kingdom Tree

Australia - Food

Australia and Oceania by Mel Friedman
Australia by Allan Fowler
Read Aloud: Bootoolgah the Crane and Goonur the Rat, the Fire Makers

Discussion:
What did native Australians eat?  What food plants grow in Australia?
Bush Food (Bush Tucker) and recipes from Outback Chef

Activity:
Make something to eat inspired by Australian food plants
Narration of the Fire Makers

..Aves - Neornithes - Neognathes - Series 7

Pied kingfisher catching fish in split second - BBC Wildlife
Woodpeckers vs. the World
Amazing! Bird sounds from the lyre bird - David Attenborough - BBC Wildlife
BBC Natural World's (Birds of Paradise)  (start at 2:30)

Crows! Strange and Wonderful by Laurence Pringle
Two Blue Jays by Anne Rockwell and Megan Halsey
National Geographic Encyclopedia of Animals by Karen McGhee and George McKay
National Geographic Reference Atlas to the Birds of North America compiled by Mel Baughman

Vocabulary Added:

coraciiformes: crow-types

piciformes: woodpecker-types 

passeriformes: sparrow-types

Activity:
Draw 4 birds from Series 7 (kingfisher, woodpecker, sparrow) 
Add Series 7 to Animal Kingdom Tree
Take a walk - look for birds

Australia - Shelter

Australia and Oceania by Mel Friedman
Australia by Allan Fowler
Read Aloud: Dinewan the Emu and Goomblegubbon the Bustard

Indigenous Cultures Map
Aboriginal Culture - Traditional Housing

Discussion:
What are the four things people need?  (food, shelter, fire, water)
Did everyone live the same way?
Different parts of Australia = different ways of making shelter, using fire

Activity:
Build a lean-to
Build a fire (don't light it)

Australia - Geography

Anthropologist: Scientist of the People
Australia by Allan Fowler
Australia and Oceania by Mel Friedman

Discussion:
What is anthropology?

Activity:
Identify Australia on a world map
Color and label parts of Australia

..Aves - Neornithes - Neognathes - Series 6

Amazing potoo bird tree camouflage - David Attenborough - BBC Wildlife
Life: Behind the Scenes - Marvelous Spatuletail Hummingbird

A Hummingbird's Life by John Himmelman
National Geographic Encyclopedia of Animals by Karen McGhee and George McKay
National Geographic Reference Atlas to the Birds of North America compiled by Mel Baughman

Vocabulary Added:

caprimulgiformes: goat-sucker-types
apodiformes: no-foot-types

Activity:
Draw and label 3 birds from Series 6 (huummingbird, frogmouth)
Add Series 6 to Animal Kingdom Tree

Ancient Japan - Final Review

Locate Japan on the world map.  Identify the four main islands (Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu).  Say something about the climate and geology.

Say something about each of the following:

• Ainu
• Jomon period
• Yayoi
• Uji rule
• Yamato

What did the ancient Japanese eat?  Wear?  Trade?  

What are some beliefs of the Shinto religion?  What does Sumo wrestling have to do with the Shinto religion?

..Aves - Neornithes - Neognathes - Series 5

Birds - peregrine falcon dives at 180 MPH - Ultimate Killers - BBC Wildlife
King Vultures
Snowy Owl

Vultures by Roland Smith and Lynn M. Stone
Hawks and Falcons by Maria Mudd Ruth
National Geographic Encyclopedia of Animals by Karen McGhee and George McKay
National Geographic Reference Atlas to the Birds of North America compiled by Mel Baughman

Haast's Eagle

Vocabulary Added:

falconiformes: falcon-types

Activity:
Draw and label any hawk, vulture, and owl

Ancient Japan - Culture

Sumo
Taiko 

Life in Ancient Japan by Hazel Richardson

Discussion:
Origami
Origins of Sumo wrestling
Taiko

Activity:
Make origami
Make onigiri snacks

...Aves - Neornithes - Neognathes - Series 4

Nile Ibis Birds Create Swimming Pools - BBC Earth
Flamingos of Bogoria
Shoebill Stork vs. Lungfish

National Geographic Encyclopedia of Animals by Karen McGhee and George McKay
National Geographic Reference Atlas to the Birds of North America compiled by Mel Baughman

Vocabulary Added:

ciconiiformes: stork-types

Activity:
Draw and label several different storks (flamingo, marabou stork)
Add ciconiiformes to Animal Kingdom Tree

Ancient Japan - Trade and Travel

Life in Ancient Japan by Hazel Richardson
Read-Aloud: Mysterious Tales of Japan by Rafe Martin and Tatsuro Kiuchi

Discussion:
Imports to Japan
Japanese Exports

Activity:
Picture Study of boats in port, objects
Look around the house for silk, rice, gold

...Aves - Neornithes - Neognathes - Series 3

The Coolest Stuff on the Planet: The Dancing Cranes of Hokkaido
Nesting Puffin
Passenger Pigeons
Galloping hippos & the egret's amazing hunting trick  (start at 5:10)

Gulls...Gulls...Gulls by Gail Gibbons
Puffins by Ann O. Squire
National Geographic Encyclopedia of Animals by Karen McGhee and George McKay
National Geographic Reference Atlas to the Birds of North America compiled by Mel Baughman

Vocabulary Added:
gruiformes: crane-types
charadriiformes: plover-types 
columbiformes: dove-types
ardeidae: herons

Activity:
Draw and label 4 birds from Series 3 (crane, plover, dove, heron)
Add Series 3 to Animal Kingdom Tree 

Ancient Japan - Religious Beliefs

Tanuki's Gift: A Japanese Tale by Tim Myers and R.G. Roth
Life in Ancient Japan by Hazel Richardson
Read-Aloud: Mysterious Tales of Japan by Rafe Martin and Tatsuro Kiuchi

Discussion:
Shinto religion
Burial practices
Buddhism and Confucianism

Activity:
Narration: any favorite story read thus far about Japan

...Aves - Neornithes - Neognathes - Series 2

Atlantic Albatross - Extreme animals - BBC wildlife
Nesting Frigate Birds and Turtle Babies - Planet Earth - BBC
Pelicans: Outback Nomads - Documentary Full Film (17:30-21:45)

National Geographic Encyclopedia of Animals by Karen McGhee and George McKay
National Geographic Reference Atlas to the Birds of North America compiled by Mel Baughman

Vocabulary Added:

pelecaniformes: ax-types

procellariformes: storm-types

Activity:
Draw and label a procellariform and pelecaniform.
Add Series 2 to Animal Kingdom Tree 

...Aves - Neornithes - Neognathes - Series 1

BBC Life: The Grebes
Through the Lens: Yellow-billed Loon
March of the Penguins (Netflix)

Penguins by Ann O. Squire
National Geographic Encyclopedia of Animals by Karen McGhee and George McKay
National Geographic Reference Atlas to the Birds of North America compiled by Mel Baughman

Vocabulary Added:
podicipediformes: anus-foot-types
gaviformes: loon-types
sphenisciformes: wedge-types

Activity:
Draw and label a grebe, loon, and penguin.
Add Series 1 to Animal Kingdom Tree

Ancient Japan - Ruling Clans

Kogi's Mysterious Journey by Elizabeth Partridge
Life in Ancient Japan by Hazel Richardson

Discussion:
The Yayoi
uji
The Yamato

Activity:
Build mini Jomon pit houses outside

....Aves - Neognathae - Galliformes and Anseriformes

From Dino to Turkey
Our own Quail family
BBC Planet Earth - Mandarin duck dive
Geese Fly Together

Colorful Peacocks by Deborah Underwood
National Geographic Encyclopedia of Animals by Karen McGhee and George McKay

Vocabulary Added:
neognathes: new-jaw
galliformes: rooster-forms
anseriformes: goose-forms

Activity:
Draw any 2 galliform and anseriform birds (rooster, goose)
Add galliformes to Animal Kingdom Tree

Ancient Japan - Geography

The Beckoning Cat by Koko Nishizuka and Rosanne Litzinger
Read-Aloud: Mysterious Tales of Japan by Rafe Martin and Tatsuro Kiuchi

Life in Ancient Japan by Hazel Richardson

Discussion:
Life on an island with volcanos and earthquakes
Climate of Japan
Who were the Ainu?
The Jomon

Activity:
Locate Japan on the world map.
Color and name the 4 main islands, plus Okinawa.

Ancient China - Final Review

Identify the following things on a map:
Yellow River
Yangtze River
Himalaya Mountains
Great Wall of China
Mongolia

Explain who the following people were:
Kon Fusi (Confucius)
Sun Tzu
Lao Tzu
The First Emperor

How did the first emperor unify China?

What were China's three main religions?  Explain a bit about each one.

How did Chinese writing develop?

Name the ancient rulers/dynasties in order and say something about each one (Xia, Shang, [Warring States], Qin, Han)

List some things the Chinese invented.

...Aves - Neornithes - Palaeognathes - Ratites

What is a Ratite?
BBC Natural World - Cassowaries  (1:45-5:00)
The Moa
The Elephant Bird

Encyclopedia of Animals by National Geographic (Karen McGhee and George McKay)

Vocabulary Added:
neornithes: new-bird
paleognathes: old-jaw
ratite: keel-boat-types

Activity:
Draw and label several ratites (ostrich, moa, kiwi)
Add ratites to Animal Kingdom Tree