LibGuides: Educator Guide: Weapons of the Wild: Weapons of the Wild

Weapons of the Wild

Tips to Come Prepared

Before you visit the Genovesi Environmental Study Center (GESC) with your class, review the Educator's Guide to prepare for your students.

Read the Essential Questions (p. 1) and Connections to Standards (p. 2) to decide how you want to link your curriculum with your field trip
Complete the Pre-Visit Lesson with your class activating student interest and engagement
Come to GESC ready to engage and learn with our experiential, hands-on field trip program, Weapons of the Wild

Library Finds

How and Why Do Animals Adapt? by Bobbie Kalman Animals adapt, or change, to stay alive. Adaptation can happen in an animal's body or in the way it behaves. Some adaptations have taken place over many years, and others are caused by changing habitats due to the actions of people. This informative book shows animal adaptations due to changing climates, habitat changes, and opportunistic behaviors that help animals survive, such as the creation of new species. The coywolf, for example, is a new species. It is part coyote and part wolf, and has a much greater chance of survival than either of the animals that created it.
Animals That Make Me Say Ouch! by Dawn Cusick; National Wildlife Federation Staff For more than forty-five years, the National Wildlife Federation has been dazzling families with amazing images and stories. Get ready for some supersonic fun that will make you say OUCH! Discover talon strength in birds of prey, sharp claws in lions and pumas, chewing mouthparts in insects, venom in snakes, and toxins in frogs. More? You want more? How about skunks that eat bees, stinging cells in jellyfish, meerkats that eat scorpions, caterpillars with spines, badgers and bears that bite, and zebras that kick! This book celebrates amazing animal surprises from all over the world with one-of-a-kind photographs from the NWF archives.
Animal Defenses by Etta Kaner; Pat Stephens (Illustrator) Kaner and Stephens explain the unique ways in which animals protect themselves. Easy-to-do experiments and activities reveal the tricks animals use to survive.
Mimicry and Relationships by Kimberley Jane Pryor Discusses how animals use mimicry and relationships to protect themselves from predators or to catch prey.
Claws, Coats, and Camouflage by Susan E. Goodman; Michael J. Doolittle (Photographer)

Wacky Weapons of the Wild Facts

We all know that opossums play dead, but did you know that this is involuntary and they do this when consumed with fear? While they are unconscious they release an unpleasant odor that will scare away predators.
Some bats migrate south for the winter, while others hibernate through the cold winter months. During hibernation, bats can survive in freezing temperatures, even after being encased in ice.
Bears are not the only animals that hibernate! In late winter or early spring, you might find a wood frog that appears to be dead, but which is actually hibernating. Although their hearts stop beating and their blood freezes, once the weather warms up their blood unfreezes and their heartbeat resumes.
The Gila monster is one of only two venomous lizards in the world and can be found in parts of the Southwestern United States.

Essential Questions

What are adaptations?
What are some physical adaptations that living things use to survive?
What are some chemical adaptations that living things use to survive?
How do adaptations develop?

Our Educator Guide

Weapons of the Wild Educator Guide

Sora eBooks

Access these free ebooks by signing in to the Sora app with your NYC DOE credentials

Packs by Hannah Salyer ★ "Part natural science, part deep ecology, wholly captivating."--Kirkus, STARRED review ★ "A must-purchase for every collection." --School Library Journal, STARRED review  An exquisitely illustrated celebration of animals who live in packs, herds, pods, and more--including humans. Vivid art and exuberant vocabulary are perfect for emerging readers and parents looking for nonfiction picture books for home learning. Packs shows how togetherness and teamwork are the keys to survival of any species, and the many ways we rely on one another. "Showing how different animals benefit from living and working in groups, Salyer's debut is a great example of the inventiveness possible in a nonfiction picture book."--New York Times Book Review Groups, packs, herds of millions, and more--our world teems with animals on land, air, and sea. Packs is an inspiring celebration of how togetherness helps many creatures thrive, in both nonhuman and human communities. Hannah Salyer's stunning selection reminds us that teamwork is universal, there is brilliance in biodiversity, and there is strength in numbers. Includes an author's note encouraging community engagement and activism, as well as a fun visual index of the animals featured.
Wait, Rest, Pause by Marcie Flinchum Atkins If you were dormant / waiting out the cold, the dry, the heat / you would pause. Captivating photos of animals accompany simple, engaging text to explain dormancy in nature. This highly curricular book teaches young readers about different kinds of dormancy and which animals do what. Featuring creatures like ladybugs, chickadees, squirrels, and even alligators, this book won't put curious kids to sleep! "A refreshingly original exploration of a physical process both common and important in the natural world."--starred, Kirkus Reviews
What Is Animal Behavior? by Monique Vescia; Nicholas Croce (Editor) This accessible, easy-to-follow book introduces readers to how and why animals behave in the mysterious ways they do. The straightforward text explains behaviors such as mating rituals and raising young, methods of hunting, which animals hibernate, which are nocturnal, and the social patterns of different species, among other things. The images are clear and perfectly illustrate the text, showing that animals and humans are not all that different. For the reader with a curiosity about nature, this book will be a welcome addition.
We Can't All Be Rattlesnakes by Patrick Jennings I am a snake. No, not a rattlesnake. I just look like one. I'm a gopher snake. One day an oily, filthy, fleshy human child crossed my path. As luck would have it, he knew the difference between a gopher snake and a rattlesnake. He has imprisoned me in a terrarium. His name is Gunnar. He calls me Crusher. He thinks I'm male. I'm not. He dropped in a dead mouse and hoped I'd eat it. I buried it. He then dropped in a live one, which he called "Breakfast." I didn't lay a coil on it. Gunnar thinks I'll be his adoring pet. He's wrong. In fact, I am planning my escape. I may take Breakfast with me. Crusher will charm readers in this entertaining, clever novel about a snake in captivity and how she turns the tables on her human captor.
When Lunch Fights Back by Rebecca L. Johnson The octopus spies a nice, tasty mantis shrimp. It swims over for a closer look at the small creature. Then--WHAM!--the mantis shrimp strikes a nasty blow with its hammer-like forelimb. The octopus shrinks back, defeated. That wasn't such an easy meal after all . . . In nature, good defenses can mean the difference between surviving a predator's attack and becoming its lunch. Some animals rely on sharp teeth and claws or camouflage. But that's only the beginning. Meet creatures with some of the strangest defenses known to science. How strange? Hagfish that can instantaneously produce oodles of gooey, slippery slime; frogs that poke their own toe bones through their skin to create claws; young birds that shoot streams of stinking poop; and more.
Creature Features by Steve Jenkins; Robin Page Dear axolotl: Why do you have feathers growing out of your head? Axolotl: They aren't feathers--they're gills! They let me breathe underwater. Let's face it. Even as babies, we humans pay close attention to faces. Observing another person's features and expressions tells us whether they are happy, angry, excited, or sad. And when we look at an animal, it's hard not to imagine that its face is communicating human feelings. This isn't true, of course. Squinty eyes, an upturned mouth, or another odd expression is probably there because, in some way, it helps that animal survive.      Packed with many cool facts and visuals on where certain animals live and what they eat, this book captures twenty-five humorous--and very true--explanations of why animals look the way they do in order to exist in this world.
What Do You Do with a Tail Like This? by Steve Jenkins; Robin Page A nose for digging? Ears for seeing? Eyes that squirt blood? Explore the many amazing things animals can do with their ears, eyes, mouths, noses, feet, and tails in this interactive guessing book, beautifully illustrated in cut-paper collage, which was awarded a Caldecott Honor. This title has been selected as a Common Core Text Exemplar (Grades K-1, Read Aloud Informational Text).

Weapons of the Wild

Materials for Pre-Visit Lesson

Pre Activity Materials

Materials for Post-Visit Lesson

Habitat Checklist

Other eBooks

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Meat-Eating Plants by Margee Gould Explains why meat-eating plants need nutrients from prey in order to survive as well as the different methods these plants use to trap their food.
Poisonous Plants by Margee Gould Explains why specific plants cause rashes and offers helpful tips on how to identify and avoid these plants.
What Is Animal Behavior? by Monique Vescia; Nicholas Croce (Editor) This accessible, easy-to-follow book introduces readers to how and why animals behave in the mysterious ways they do. The straightforward text explains behaviors such as mating rituals and raising young, methods of hunting, which animals hibernate, which are nocturnal, and the social patterns of different species, among other things. The images are clear and perfectly illustrate the text, showing that animals and humans are not all that different. For the reader with a curiosity about nature, this book will be a welcome addition.
Amazing Predators by John Townsend In Amazing Predators readers learn about some animals' super hunting skills! Simple, leveled text accompanies vivid images and engaging design to make these books a popular choice.
Sea Otters by Zelda King Curious and playful sea otters float on their backs on the waves while eating their food, using their furry bellies as a table. Students will be thrilled to learn that otters are not just cute and cuddlythey are also problem-solvers that have some fascinating adaptations, which help them survive their life at sea. This engaging resource contains fascinating facts supported by enchanting full-color photographs.