MEDIA

Lower Elementary

Song Links:

• Gray Squirrel Song

• Gray Squirrel Song - animated version 1

• Gray Squirrel Family Song

• Five Little Acorns Song

upper elementary

Video Links:

• Gray Squirrels in Action - this video has some great visuals of squirrels in action along with many interesting facts

• Sneaky Squirrel Theives in Action — a great BBC video of squirrels ability to steal and hide their food

Middle and Upper level Science

Video Links:

• Backyard Squirrel Maze - Ninja Warrior Course 1.0 — This video is a fun way to introduce squirrels and their incredible anatomy to your students. The video was found and used by Megan Newhouse & Jason Mauro as the hook in their middle school lesson plan on squirrel adaptations and features of success. You can find their full lesson plan under the “FOR EDUCATORS” tab.

• Backyard Squirrel Maze 2.0 - The Walnut Heist — continued activities of suburban squirrels

• Backyard Squirrelypics 3.0 - The summer games

articles

Most of the articles listed below are best suited for upper level science courses. However, many may be adapted to suit middle and upper level elementary classrooms. These articles are a great way to enrich natural history and background information. They would be a valuable addition to a lesson using stations and/or to include additional literacy standards in your plan.

• Intro to the Squirrel Mapper Project - a great introductory article

• Squirrel Mapper in the News - another good introductory article

• Ecology and background information on the Eastern Gray Squirrel

• Interspecies Breeding Is Responsible for Some Squirrels’ Black Coloring

• Why are black squirrels all over the US?

• What turned gray squirrels black?

• Secrets of the black squirrels revealed

• Mystery of the Black Squirrel Solved

• Natural Selection Favors Black Morph of Eastern Gray Squirrel in Cities

• 50 years of Black Squirrels on Campus

• Squirrel Week: Where did D.C.s black squirrels come from?

Other helpful articles can be found in the publications tab

Background Information

• Introduction to the Eastern Gray Squirrel Google slideshow —

This google slideshow can be used as a learning tool for educators wanting to strengthen their knowledge of basic squirrel biology. It an also be modified for use in your classroom. All of its content is found in the text linked below.

• Squirrels: The Animal Answer Guide

by Richard Thorington Jr. & Katie Ferrell

• NENHC 2022 Squirrel Survival

• Poster - Melanism in the Eastern Gray Squirrel

• Graph of Black Squirrel DEcline

• Gray Squirrel population genetic PPT pdf

• Squirrel Crypsis ppt. pdf

• The Genetic Basis of Melanism in the Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis)

• summer resting metabolic rate of the Gray Squirrel

• Thermogenic Capacity in Gray and Black Morphs of the Gray Squirrel, Sciurus carolinensis