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Life Along a
Prairie River

Exploring the ecology of the wide and sandy rivers of the Great Plains

4th poster of the Biodiversity of Oklahoma series

Canadian River

Educator's Guide

activities and lesson plans to accompany the poster
developed for middle school level students

Dear Educators,

We hope you will enjoy bringing activities about prairie river ecosystems into your classrooms! The Educator's Guide is designed so that you can utilize the entire book or you can pick individual activities. We have covered a wide range of ecological topics and have emphasized prairie river ecosystems. We expect these activities will help you to explore ecological topics close to your “backyard.”

For ease of incorporating these activities into the classroom, we have included a “Copy Me” graphic at the bottom of pages to indicate which pages could be handed out to students to complete the activities. We have included a glossary of keywords, which you will find underlined throughout the booklet. For your reference, Appendix A lists the national and Oklahoma education standards addressed in each activity.

The activities culminate in a BioBlitz, tying together lessons in the booklet as well as many other science topics and skills. A schoolyard BioBlitz is a great opportunity for students to take their new knowledge out into nature! You can contact our office for support and more information about planning your BioBlitz.

Feel free to send us any comments regarding the poster and this supplemental booklet. Your input will help us in the development of future posters and associated educational materials. Again, we hope you enjoy bringing prairie river ecosystems into your classrooms and talking to your students about the biodiversity all around them!

Thanks for you interest in promoting the natural diversity of prairie rivers!
Priscilla & Sarah


The Biodiversity of Oklahoma poster series is a project of the Oklahoma Biological Survey and the University of Oklahoma.
For more information contact the Priscilla Crawford, at prill@ou.edu or 405-325-7658.