Each Junior Wildlife Scientist nature notebook has an accompanying Teacher's Guide with full lesson plans for each activity. Each lesson plan includes:
Activity Goal – the purpose of the activity- Activity Tips – what time of year is best for conducting the activity, which learning station(s) in the outdoor classroom you should use to conduct the activity, and what materials you need for the students to complete the activity
- Learning Objectives – specific tasks and concepts students should understand after completing the activity
- AL CoS Standards & Correlations – specific Alabama Department of Education Course of Study Standards for math, science, social studies, and English language arts that the activity helps to teach
- Background Information – important educational information about the topic(s) covered in the activity and how it all relates to zoology and being a zoologist
- Optional Educational Resources – additional resources that can be used in conjunction with the activity including trade books, topical videos, educational sing-a-longs, and topic-specific webpages on the Alabama Wildlife Federation website called Student Exploration Links (See page 5 for more details)
- Procedural Instructions – step-by-step instructions for conducting the activity
- Activity Page Answers – answers for the questions asked on each activity page
- Expansion Options – additional activities and AWF Student Exploration Links relevant to the topic of the activity that can be used to expand the lesson into a full unit of activities
“These lessons are laid out in such a way that a new teacher could feel confident teaching this with little background knowledge. There’s enough info packed into the lessons.” – JWS Pilot Program School Teacher
