What Do They Do In The Winter?

WHAT WE DO IN WINTER (2 HOURS)
This program provides the opportunity to explore different ways animals prepare for and cope with winter in Ontario. Through a variety of interesting activities, children are led to discover how insects, amphibians, birds, and mammals survive the winter months.

EXPECTATIONS-
Expectations from the strand, "Growth and Changes in Animals", are addressed. These include-
>identify and describe behavioural characteristics that enable animals to survive (e.g., migration, dormancy, hibernation)
· describe ways in which animals respond and adapt to their environment….
· Identify and compare the effects of the seasons on animals….

INTRODUCTION- (30 minutes)
A puppet play, "Where Have All the Insects Gone?" introduces the children to Wooly Bear Caterpillar, Ceci the Cecropia Moth, Tent Caterpillar, and Lady Bird Beetle and the different ways each insect survives the winter – in the caterpillar stage, in a cocoon, as eggs, or as the adult. This is followed by a discussion of how some other insects spend the winter and an examination of some cocoons and a paper wasp nest.

ACTIVITIES-
1. Picture Game- Each student is given a picture of an animal- amphibian, bird or mammal. They are asked to sort themselves into 4 groups, hibernators, migrators, winter sleepers, winter active. The choices for each animal are discussed. (15 minutes)

2. Squirrel Game- In this simulation game, children take the role of a red squirrel or a black squirrel. They are given peanuts to hide to simulate the way in which the two different kinds of squirrels store food for winter. The children then try to find the hidden food over three timed intervals to represent how the animals must depend on stored food over the winter. The activity helps children understand animal habits and leads to comparison of the relative effectiveness of the red squirrels’ habit of hiding all the nuts in one place, and the black squirrels’ habit of hiding nuts in several places. Introducing bluejays who steal nuts and letting squirrels find nuts hidden by other squirrels helps show how living things are inter-dependent. (45 minutes)

3. Hike- On a short hike of about 30 minutes, the children see chipmunk dens as an example of a winter sleeper, groundhog dens as an example of a hibernator, the flocks of Canada geese as examples of a migrating species, muskrat dens as food storers, signs of rabbit and porcupine activity as winter active animals, and end at the bird feeders to observe some birds that spend the winter in Ontario.

PREVISIT PREPARATION-
Children should be familiar with the concepts of migration, hibernation, food storing, and winter sleepers. Some knowledge of what animals fit in each category above and what animals remain active in winter would be helpful.

CLASSROOM IDEAS-
1. Create a mural with a forest background on which children can place various animals according to how they prepare for winter, e.g.- geese in sky migrating, groundhog under ground in den, rabbit active in forest.

2. Collect pictures of a variety of amphibians, mammals, and birds and play the match game by having children sort them according to how they prepare for and spend the winter.