For more information, contact:
mmiller@peoriaparks.org
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The K-5 Prairie School curriculum is centered around the tallgrass prairie habitat native to Central Illinois. Six modules cover the steps for planting a prairie, common prairie animals and plants, interactions among prairie inhabitants, physical factors that influence prairie interactions and local prairie history. The modules are described in detail in the Prairie School Project manual and supplemented by a set of Resource CDs.
The major sections of the manual are
- Laying the Groudwork, an introduction to the curriculum.
- Prairie Background, essays on the history and ecological concepts (biodiversity, interdependence and sustainability) underlying the Prairie School Project.
- Prairie Planting Activities, covering schoolyard prairie planting and related prairie management and conservation issues.
- Prairie Animals, introducing the amphibians and reptiles, birds, insects and mammals of the prairie. Includes a series of butterfly activities.
- Prairie Plants, providing basic lessons in prairie plant botany.
- Food Webs/Interactions, examining food chains, microhabitats, biodiversity in the prairie and more.
- Physical Factors, investigating how weather, soil types and the water cycle influence the prairie.
- Prairie History, looking at how Illinois has changed since the early 1800s.
- Prairie Planting and Maintenance Guide, covering all aspects of establishing a prairie.
- Additional Resources, listing seed collection times, recommended field guides and more.
- Glossary of prairie-related terminology.
- Activity Indexes, cross referencing Prairie School activities by learning standard, topic, season and more.
The Prairie School Resource CDs include
- Teacher Activity Masters and an electronic version of the Prairie School Project manual.
- Resources on prairie amphibians and reptiles, birds, insects and mammals, including profiles, image galleries (with images in JPEG format), field guide listings, Web links and more.
- Resources on prairie plants with seed, seedling, flower and grass image galleries, field guide listings, Web links and more.
- Digitized plat maps from the Public Land Survey in the early 1800s for Peoria, Tazewell and Woodford counties. In one of the prairie history activities, students use the maps to determine what type of habitat existed on their school property two centuries ago.
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