Category:The Ecology of Ecosystems

Teaching Tools
These tools can be used with any topic, and may be done indoors or outdoors, each giving different results and utilizing different muscles to broaden the range of motor skills. For potentially messy activities, it may be best to do them outdoors, or have a drop cloth under the table in the activity area.

Paper and Other 2-Dimensional Mediums
 * Cartooning
 * Origami, paper folding, and making pop-up books
 * Papier-Mache
 * Drawing (regular pencil, charcoal, pastel, color)
 * Painting
 * Inking (Pens, Stamps, etc.)
 * Collage
 * Combining drawing, painting, collage, and other mediums
 * Making or coloring in coloring books
 * Blackboard with fluorescent markers
 * Dry-Erase Board
 * Graphing Board/Paper
 * Paint with water on a chalkboard
 * Make a pinhole picture related to the subject
 * Use stencils
 * Magnets
 * Puzzles
 * Cereal Box Covers (find interesting ones, or make your own)
 * Books (make and/or read books with colorful word pictures relating to the subject)
 * Felt Board
 * Dot-to-dot
 * Make a stamp of it with apples or potatoes that are not for consumption
 * Draw and/or look at charts and maps of the natural range, important places, etc. (can be put under glass table top)
 * Make and/or look at graphs related to the subject
 * Use and/or make place mats about the subject (may have dot-to-dot, crossword puzzle, drawing section, games, fun-facts, and pictures)
 * Make stained glass and sun catchers with sheet protectors, vinyl sheets, or clear photo sheets (CAUTION: do not leave sun catchers in a window where they could cause a fire [as a magnifying glass can do])
 * Lace-up cards
 * Jigsaw puzzles made with cereal boxes

3-Dimensional Mediums
 * Masks
 * Dioramas
 * Sculpture
 * Clay (modeling, sculpting, etc.)
 * Ceramics (painting, decorating, reusing)
 * Jewelry-Making, including making beads and doing beadwork
 * Cement work (includes making stepping stones and using plaster)
 * Rock Sculptures
 * Design a garden, situate rocks, and/or manicure trees in a pattern that relates to the subject
 * Make silly putty and use it to mold into a shape related to the subject of study

Finer Visual Arts
 * Photography
 * Photo editing
 * Pictures (name/label parts of birds, boats, flowers, buildings, etc.)
 * Put pictures in a bag, wall hanging, or quilt with slots for the pictures

Language Arts
 * Crossword puzzle
 * Word Search
 * Vocabulary
 * Finger Plays
 * Action poems

Needlework and Textiles
 * Needlepoint
 * Embroidery
 * Appliqué
 * Knitting
 * Crocheting
 * Cross stitch
 * Finger knitting
 * Macramé
 * Quilting
 * Using a knitting spool
 * Rug making
 * Clothing (look at, wear, and/or design clothing to fit the subject - possibly clothing that can be worn multiple ways)
 * Make a textile print related to the subject

Edible Arts
 * Alphabet Foods (foods that begin with a particular letter or are in alphabet shapes)
 * Cake Decorating
 * Chocolate and Candy Making
 * Recipes (can be from different countries and/or cultures)
 * Making bread
 * Make fruit leather or gelatin cutouts
 * Mold it with marzipan
 * Sculpt and/or paint with mashed potatoes
 * Painting on bread/tortillas
 * Make pizza, biscuits, and/or cookies in a shape related to the subject of study
 * Use cookie cutters to cut food and/or dough into the shape, or use as a stencil

Music
 * Singing fun songs and playing musical games
 * Play instruments, such as fiddles, flutes, rhythm instruments (drum, cymbal, tambourine, etc.), and bell choirs
 * Write and/or listen to songs about it

Miscellaneous
 * Metalwork (aluminum and copper rubbings, welding, wire-working, using metal snips for cutting, etc.)
 * Shadow puppets
 * Pressed flower book mark
 * Make kaleidoscope
 * Explore with chemistry, physics, astronomy (such as the Farmer's Almanac), geology, and biology
 * Marble or bead "pixel" pictures
 * Nature Walks
 * Geo-board
 * Finger Math
 * Candle Making
 * Soap Making
 * Using a microscope and/or magnifying glass
 * Woodworking (includes carving, using a wood press, making jigsaw puzzles, sanding, nailing, and using a scroll saw)
 * Field Trips
 * Puppets (made from bags, papier-mâché, fabric, or wood)
 * Sponges cut into various shapes
 * Displaying items related to the subject (such as on top of the shelves or in a table with a clear top so you can see what is in the drawers)
 * Look for it in the clouds
 * Napkin folding
 * Make a miniatures museum
 * Leather work
 * Use feathers as a pen, for painting, or for making pictures
 * Find the uses for the subject of study (its place in the ecosystem, how people use it, how animals use it, how plants use it)
 * Make ice, slush, snow, and/or frozen water sculptures
 * Make a board with holes in it and put a light behind it, using colorful transparent pegs to make a picture
 * Fun Facts
 * Points to Ponder
 * Mind Bogglers
 * History Hindsights