TIPS FOR TEACHERS AND LIBRARIANS:

Desert Discoveries / Tundra Discoveries

• Use the desert book to introduce a California/Southwest habitat. Visit the Mojave National Reserve website at www.nps.gov/moja/ for more ideas.
• Use the tundra book to introduce the arctic tundra habitat.  Visit the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge website at http://www.r7.fws.gov/nwr/arctic/arctic.html for more information.

• Have students create their own desert or tundra diorama or mural, adding hidden animals.

• Make cacti out of green, stuffed construction paper. Add toothpicks as thorns and then "plant" in coffee cans filled with sand.

• Perfect as an introduction to certain unique animals such as the roadrunner or snowy owl in anticipation of doing animal reports.

• Use during Earth Week. Talk about two endangered species in California, the desert tortoise and the desert bighorn sheep. Discuss why there are so few musk oxen in the tundra. Why is it important to protect species that are threatened or endangered?

• Compare temperatures in your town to the temperatures in the desert or tundra.

• Using the Internet, have students learn more about an individual animal and then do an expanded report with illustrations.

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