“What a thousand acres of Silphiums looked like when they tickled the bellies of the buffalo is a question never

again to be answered, and perhaps not even asked.”

–Aldo Leopold, “Prairie Birthday,” A Sand County Almanac

Habitat Discovery Series

Compass Plant (Aldo Leopold Foundation)

Prairies

The Leopold Education Project (LEP) Habitat Discovery Series was funded by an educational outreach grant from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service that was written by Pheasants Forever, Inc.

Table of ContentsTeaching Like Leopold............................................................1

Related LEP Lessons................................................................3

Prairies Overview....................................................................4

Lesson: Prairie Plants & Adaptations.......................................5

Lesson: Insects of the Prairie.....................................................7

Lesson: Prairie Wildlife Now & Then.......................................9

Lesson: A Prairie Full of Wonder...........................................11

Lessons were conceived by Marc C. Hirrel, LEP State Coordinator, ARWith input from LEP State Coordinators:

Suzanne Hirrel, AR; Teri Rogoway, CA; Teresa Higgins, CO; Mary Moulton, CT; Curt Carter, IL; Celeste Prussia, MO;

Yancey Ranspot, NM; Susie Ruby, OKand Phoebe Atkinson, Laura Bonneau, Ken Forman,

Janine Kohn, and Lori Nicholson

Additional writing and review by: Maria Kopecky, Aldo Leopold Foundation Education Staff

Big bluestem (Jeannine Richards)

Remnant Prairie, Leopold Memorial Reserve (Alanna Koshollek)

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Teaching Like LeopoldAs a non-formal educator, you may or may not have extensive academic training or a scientific background. Regardless, you teach because you have a passion for using the natural world to ignite a spark in your students, creating memorable field-based experiences that are hard to replicate in a more formal setting like the classroom. You and Leopold have much in common. Leopold once wrote that his objective as a professor was: “To teach the student to see the land, to understand what he sees, and enjoy what he understands.” Leopold had an informal style of teaching that made his students want to learn. He employed many methods of instruction including visual aids, handouts, lectures, and inquiry-based discussions. He also held his classes in the field whenever possible. Leopold was genuinely interested in his students, creating opportunities for independent learning. He fostered an atmosphere of curiosity and exploration.

The activities in the LEP Habitat Discovery Series are inspired by the writings in Leopold’s classic book A Sand County Almanac. They explore five different habitats (Deserts, Forests, Prairies, Urban Areas, and Wetlands) with simple, fun, and inviting activities designed to engage students in inquiry-based learning, very much in the style of Leopold.

Aldo Leopold at the Shack (Aldo Leopold Foundation archives)

Aldo Leopold with students in the field (Aldo Leopold Foundation archives)

“As a teacher, Leopold always exercised restraint. He was keenly aware of the thrill of personal discovery and did not rob those around him of the pleasure of learning.”

–J. Baird Callicott, Leopold scholar

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Prairies OverviewWhat is a prairie? Prairies are ecosystems dominated by grasses and other non-woody plants called forbs. Climate and soils determine the species of vegetation present in any particular prairie. Before American settlers moved west, large expanses of prairie supported large herds of grazing animals such as bison, elk, deer, and pronghorn, as well as a variety of small mammals, birds, reptiles, and insects. Many of these species can still be found in prairies today. In addition to providing habitat for wildlife, the large root systems of prairie plants help to prevent erosion and runoff. The largest threat to prairie ecosystems is habitat destruction via conversion to cropland.

Are there different types of prairies? There are three primary types of prairies: tallgrass, shortgrass, and mixed grass. Tallgrass prairies are characterized by an abundance of grasses that typically grow three to six feet tall with deep root systems of nine feet or more. Grasses found in tallgrass prairies include big and little bluestem, gama grass, indiangrass, and switchgrass. Numerous forbs (herbaceous flowering plants that are not grasses, sedges, or rushes) flower throughout the season. Shortgrass prairies are found in drier climates than tallgrass prairies. Plants are no more than two feet tall and have relatively shallow root systems. Grasses include buffalograss, blue grama, and sideoats grama. Mixed grass prairies consist of grass species of all heights that have roots extending to a depth of about five feet. Both bunch and sod-forming grasses are present, as well as many forbs. Little bluestem is dominant and sideoats grama and western wheatgrass are common.

Related LEP Lessons

Shortgrass prairie in Texas (Wikimedia user Leaflet)

Discovery Series Lessons in a Land Ethic Curriculum

Exploring the Outdoors with Aldo Leopold CD

Prairie Plants & Adaptations

• Prairie Birthday• Look, See, Discover• Botany Scavenger Hunt• Blown Away

Insects of the Prairie • A Mighty Fortress • Allies and Invaders• Habitat High Rise

Prairie Wildlife Now & Then

• Draba and Bur Oak• Home Range

• Landscape Investigators• Habitat High Rise• What’s it Worth?• Sell It to Save It

A Prairie Full of Wonder

• My Special Place

Lessons in a Land Ethic is the original LEP curriculum guide. It consists of 21 interdisciplinary lesson plans designed to align with the essays found in Aldo Leopold’s conservation classic, A Sand County Almanac. Each lesson includes learning objectives, vocabulary, material lists, procedures, additional extensions, and student worksheets that have both indoor and outdoor activity options. Lessons are designed for use by classroom teachers, but can be adapted for use in non-formal educational settings as well.

The Exploring the Outdoors with Aldo Leopold CD includes 16 outdoor activities designed to teach observation skills, plant and animal identification, natural history, land stewardship, and outdoors skills. Each activity is based on an essay from A Sand County Almanac. This activity guide can be used by interpreters, naturalists, park rangers, zoo educators, teachers, youth group leaders, and others who want to offer a unique learning experience for early childhood through high school age students in an outdoor setting.

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Prairie Plants & Adaptations

Audience: 9th-12th grade

Time Needed:60-75 min.

Students will be able to… • Identify at least three prairie plants• Identify at least two prairie plant adaptations• Compare and contrast data on plants from different areas

Educator Background Information: Prairie plants have developed adaptations in response to many conditions, including drought, high wind, grazing, fire, and competition for light and space. Exceptionally dense and deep root systems allow for maximum water uptake in the water-limited environment and allow plants to survive natural fire occurrences. Leaves have evolved to withstand a variety of environmental factors. Thin, finely divided, and small leaves help minimize water loss. Rough leaves may deter animal grazing. Fuzzy or hairy leaves reflect sunlight and keep the plant cooler by creating a boundary layer of water vapor. Waxy leaf surfaces help retain water and reduce evaporation.

Tallgrass prairie in Iowa (Jeannine Richards)

Materials Needed: Paper, pencils, clipboards, tape measures, magnifying glasses, prairie plant field guides, rulers or tape measures, trowels or shovels to examine roots

Activity: Visit a local prairie. Identify whether you are seeing a shortgrass, mixed grass, or tallgrass prairie (See Prairies Overview). Split students into small groups of three to five. Identify a unique prairie area for each group to sample, such as the top or bottom of a rolling hill or open and wooded areas. Establish a uniform sampling area (for example, 3 feet by 3 feet) and ask students to count, identify, and record the plants in their section. Compare and contrast data collected in each prairie area, using graphs and charts if appropriate. Discuss prairie plant adaptations found in each prairie area.

Discussion Questions: • What environmental challenges do prairie plants face and how are

they adapted to them? • What environmental factors might change areas of this prairie?

Extension: As a teacher and writer, Aldo Leopold was skilled at presenting his information in a way his audience could understand. Ask each group of students to create a cartoon drawing that would excite younger audiences about one particular “superhero” prairie plant, suited to withstand the elements. Drawings should include identifying characteristics as well as adaptations, both of which can be exaggerated for the purpose of the exercise. Ask students to introduce their “superheros” to the group in an animated manner.

Compass plant’s rough leaves keep grazing animals away (Jeannine Richards)

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Materials Needed: Sweep nets, collection containers, magnifying glasses, insect field guides, pencils, paper

Activity: Visit a prairie. Collect insects by swinging sweep nets through prairie grasses, being mindful of bees and other stinging insects. Carefully place collected insects in jars or viewing boxes. In small groups and using field guides, identify and record commonly collected insects. Have each group further classify their insects into major groups, such as dragonflies/damselflies, grasshoppers, true bugs, beetles, butterflies/moths, flies, and bees/wasps. Ask each small group to create a pie chart or bar graph depicting the percentages of each type of insect they collected and share their findings with the larger group.

Discussion Questions: • How many different insects and types of insects were found? • Did you find the same insects at all sites sampled? • What might lead to insect variation among areas of a prairie? • What does this tell us about the prairie we are studying?

Extension: Aldo Leopold was known for documenting his nature observations in multiple ways, including data collection, sketching, and writing. Ask each small group to focus on one insect they collected. Have each small group divvy up the tasks of 1) sketching the insect, 2) writing a paragraph description of the insect using information from a field guide, and 3) creating a poem or song about the insect or experience. After 15-20 minutes, ask students to share their products with the larger group. Release insects.

Insects of the Prairie

Audience: 7th-12th grade

Time Needed:60-90 min.

Students will be able to… • Identify at least three prairie insects• Compare and contrast identifying characteristics

Educator Background Information: The prairie is home to many different forms of life, found in all shapes and sizes. Most prairie animals are small and secretive and the vast majority of them are insects. Insects are beneficial to a healthy ecosystem. They provide food for other prairie wildlife and play the important role of pollinating many prairie plants. Although humans may find some insects to be “pests,” they still are needed for a healthy prairie. Biologists have found that as many as thirty different insects may live part of their life on a particular prairie plant. Some insect species, such as the Karner blue butterfly, feed exclusively on one prairie plant, in this case lupine, and depend on the existence of prairie habitats for their survival.

Monarch on butterfly weed (Alanna Koshollek)

Bees on blazingstar (Jeannine Richards)

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Materials Needed: Paper, pencils, clipboards, field guides

Activity: Visit a prairie. Split students into small groups of two or three and ask them to search an area of prairie for clues of animal activity. Each group should create a map of their area, recording each clue they find as well as animals they see or hear during the exercise. With the help of field guides, have each small group use their clues to determine what animals inhabit this prairie and present their findings to the class. Tell the story of the bison in the American prairies. If bison are no longer present in your area, consider what clues the bison would have left on the landscape.

Discussion Questions: • What impacts are we having on prairie ecosystems today? • What is our role in preventing species from becoming endangered

and extinct?

Extension: Aldo Leopold spent a lifetime developing his land ethic, a moral responsibility to the natural world. The concept of the land ethic is about values, which shape our decisions and actions. Leopold’s land ethic lead him to be involved in the development of wildlife management initiatives that protect species from the threat of extinction. Ask students to make a mental or written list of what they value about prairies and/or the environment and how those values affect their actions. In particular, ask them to consider their values and actions as they relate to wildlife and extinction. Have students pair up to discuss their values and then share their combined lists with the entire group. Ask students to discuss their similar and different values in a respectful and open manner.

Prairie Wildlife Now & Then

Audience: 7th-12th grade

Time Needed:45-90 min.

Students will be able to… • Read animal clues on the landscape • Deduce the identity of at least two prairie wildlife species • Consider the impact of humans on the landscape

Educator Background Information: Before the Civil War, between twenty and sixty million bison roamed prairies across America, but by 1900, less than one thousand were alive. For hundreds of years, Native Americans had hunted bison for their nutritious meat and warm hides. When settlers began moving westward, they started hunting the bison in unsustainable ways. Hundreds of thousands of bison were killed and shipped eastward each year. This uncontrolled hunting not only damaged the bison population, but also the way of life for the Native Americans who depended on the bison for survival. Today, the bison population has recovered to about 200,000 individuals, but prairies in many areas of the country are no longer home to the mighty bison.

Bison in the Badlands (NPS photo)

Why did the bison cross the road? Rocky Mountain Arsenal NWR (Jeannine Richards)

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A Prairie Full of Wonder

Audience: 3rd-9th grade

Time Needed:45-60 min.

Students will be able to… • Identify curiosities and awes in the landscape• Discuss questions and values regarding the land• Consider the effect of fire on the ecosystem

Background Information: Fires are a natural and important element in prairie ecosystems. Prairie fires are caused naturally by lightning and can be very intense. With over half of their growth underground in insulating soil, native prairie plants are able to survive an encounter with fire. Fire can remove non-native and invasive species, clear dead plant matter, and return nutrients to the soil. When fire is suppressed, trees and shrubs are able to take over, turning the grassland into woodland. Lack of fire is leading to the loss of prairies globally, but many people are employing prescribed fire to replicate this naturally-occurring event that is so important for prairie health.

Moonlight through the prairie (Alanna Koshollek)

Materials Needed:

Index cards with string attached, pencils or markers

Activity:

Visit a prairie. Explain the two definitions of the word “wonder.” The first is to feel curious and the second is to be surprised or in awe. Ask each student to find two different spots in the prairie: one that gives a sense of wonder through curiosity and the other that gives a sense of wonder through awe. Encourage them to use senses other than sight. Instruct students to leave one index card at each of the two locations. At the “curious” spot, students will write down a question they have. At the “awe” spot, students will write down a sentence describing what stands out to them. As a group, travel to each index card, answering students’ questions if possible and discussing each student’s spot of note.

Discussion Questions:

• Was it difficult to select just one spot that made you feel curious and just one spot that made you feel awe?

• Did visiting other students’ awe spots change your perception of the prairie?

• How would you convince someone that this prairie is important?

Extension:

One aspect of the prairie ecosystem that can often elicit both curiosity and awe is fire. Throughout his life, Aldo Leopold transitioned from being curious about the role of fire on the landscape to respecting its importance in prairie health and restoration. Discuss the role of fire in the prairie. Ask students to consider how they would feel if they saw this prairie in flames and how this area would look without the presence of fire. If possible, show a video clip of a prescribed burn. Answer any questions students have about natural and prescribed fires.

The Aldo Leopold Foundation P.O. Box 77 • Baraboo, WI 53913

608.355.0279 • www.aldoleopold.org

The LEP Habitat Discovery Series was designed for use by non-formal educators who want to introduce their students to various habitats, using Leopold’s inquiry-

based method of teaching and learning. Additional Discovery Series booklets apply to Forests, Wetlands, Deserts, and Urban Areas.

Did you enjoy the lessons? There are many more LEP resources available! LEP is administered by the Aldo Leopold Foundation.

Please visit our website or contact us for more information.

Habitat Discovery Series

Restored prairie in flower (Alanna Koshollek)