Iowa Public Television

Join educators from the Blank Park Zoo for this 'egg-cellent' learning experience! Students have an 'egg-citing' time learning about nature's perfect package the egg. An 'egg-traordinary' egg hunt and 'egg-amples' of various animals 'egg-cite' student imaginations. Live animals, from the Blank Park Zoo (past egg residents), are on-hand for the session. Students will learn that every type of animal has special features or structures that help it do things that other organisms cannot do. The program also allows time for student questions, so come prepared.

Registering teachers agree to provide the following materials for use in the ICN room:

• 1 plastic (Easter) egg per student in class
• 1 animal cut-out per egg - Download and print from the "Chickens Aren't the Only Ones" section of the Classroom Resources area of the K-12 Connections Web site.

Following the ICN session, registrants receive the complimentary books, Penguins! and the Perfect Nest or alternate titles by mail.

Blank Park Zoo ICN events include:
Stellaluna
Wild and Rare
Marvelous Mammals
Zoo Detectives
Exotic Habitats
Chickens Aren't the Only Ones
Creepy Crawlies

Session Related Web sites:

• Blank Park Zoo - Iowa's Wildest Adventures.
• IT'S A BIG BIG WORLD - Kids can explore the World Tree, plays games, listen to music, watch videos and more. Parents and teachers will enjoy the activities for kids as well.
• EnchantedLearning.com - Learn everything about birds including how to make a bird house, what to look for when birdwatching, and more.
• WildBirds.com - Lesson plans, web links, bird identification tips and much more for teaching kids about birds.

PBS LearningMedia, a dynamic platform offering the best of public media content and produced specifically for PreK-16 teachers. With free access to over 14,000 high-quality resources tied to national standards, teachers can download, save and share exactly what they need for an inspired classroom experience. Sign up is free and easy! Learn more about PBS LearningMedia.

PBS Teachers - PBS Teachers offers free lesson plans, professional development and more for preK-12 educators.

Applicable standards from McREL:

Life Sciences

Level I [Grade: K-2]
1. Knows the basic needs of plants and animals (e.g., air, water, nutrients, light or food, shelter)
2. Knows that plants and animals have features that help them live in different environments

Standard 7: Understands biological evolution and the diversity of life

Level I [Grade: K-2]
2. Knows that there are similarities and differences in the appearance and behavior of plants and animals

Level II [Grade: 3-5]
2. Knows different ways in which living things can be grouped (e.g., plants/animals, bones/no bones, insects/spiders, live on land/live in water) and purposes of different groupings

Classroom Resources:

The following related programs are available on IPTV's broadcast or from the AEAs: (Check the K-12 Classroom Television (www.iptv.org/k12catalog) Web site for broadcast dates and times.)

• WILD CHRONICLES (Grade Level: 5-12)
• BACKYARD SAFARI: (Grade Level: PK-2)
• DRAGONFLY TV (Grade Level: 2-5)

Check out the Classroom Resources for additional materials prepared and compiled by IPTV K-12 Connections staff.

Only twelve interactive sites are scheduled for each session.

Sessions are provided at no cost by Iowa Public Television in collaboration with the Iowa Communications Network to PK-12 students and the adults working with or on behalf of PK-12 students in Iowa.

Sign up for the K-12 Connections eNewsletter to receive timely information regarding ICN sessions like this one.