Wings Over the Woodlands and Wetlands

To the Teacher

As monitors of environmental health, birds have few equals. Scientists have found that changes in bird behavior, reproduction and population levels can indicate changes in water quality, habitat, fish stocks and pollution levels. A working knowledge of birds and their place in the environment can serve as a building block for these concepts and others students will encounter in biology and environmental science.

Wings Over the Woods and Wetlands is a Parks As Classrooms program designed to help students develop the skills necessary to observe and study birds that live in the greater Washington, D.C. area. Like all Parks As Classrooms programs, it was developed in cooperation with teachers to compliment and enhance existing curriculum.

While park specific, each program takes concepts students learn in the classroom and applies them to field situations in a national park. These Parks As Classrooms pages will prepare students for visiting Theodore Roosevelt Island, providing background information and activities that can be used in the classroom.

This Web site is broken down into several sections. The Program Description provides a sense of what students will be experiencing on their visit to the island. This section also includes program logistics and a sample itinerary.

Following a statement of the program's theme and objectives, there is background information about Theodore Roosevelt and the island that bears his name. Please share this information with students prior to your visit and make use of it while conducting the activities.

The pre-visit and post-visit activities are designed to support the program's theme and objectives. Pre-visit activities will provide students with the information they need for a positive and meaningful experience on the island. Post-visit activities are designed to reinforce the concepts students learned during their park visit.

Also included are guidelines addressing safety issues, chaperones, items to bring on the day of your visit and a list of terms that students should be familiar with prior to their visit to the island. Please make note of the evaluation form for Wings Over the Woodlands and Wetlands. Your feedback is greatly appreciated and will help upgrade and further develop this Parks as Classrooms program. You'll also find a list of resources and sources for more information about birds and about the National Park Service.

And of course, this program would not have been possible without the assistance of numerous people. The National Park Service gratefully acknowledges their contributions.

Thank you for participating in the Parks As Classrooms program. Should you have any questions or need additional information, please feel free to contact the Parks as Classrooms Program Coordinator at (703) 289-2556 or write to the Virginia District, George Washington Memorial Parkway.

See You on the Island!