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Owl STEM, Crafts, and Books

After reading a book like Whooo Knew? The Truth About Owls, celebrate curiosity with the readers with owl STEM activities, owl crafts, and more owl readings!

OWL STEM ACTIVITIES UPDATE:

I now have a complete and comprehensive teacher guide for Whooo Knew? The Truth About Owls. My owl educator guide includes 10 ELA and 9 STEAM activities, plus two worksheets! 

Some of the ideas below made it into the owl teacher guide, but not all of them...plus I added new ideas, too. Enjoy!

Download Free Owl Teacher Guide 






A book like Whooo Knew? makes curious kids want to get outdoors.

Owl Prowl

During an owl prowl, small groups listen and watch for owls. Not all owl prowls are successful, but they are fun. 

Most hosting organizations limit how often they will actively search for owls so as not to disturb owls. Your local county park, state park, or nature center might host an owl prowl. I found my first owl prowl with a simple online search about 30 minutes from my home.

Night Experience

Take a group into the woods or the backyard at dusk. Sit in a circle and use the dark to showcase lots of science experiments. Keep the flashlights off because after ten minutes or so, everyone's eyes will adjust to the dark. Your own night experience might feature night time experiments you are passionate about. Below explains a bit of what I do during my own.  

I've led hundreds of "night hikes." During these night experiences we'd focus on our senses. I'd pass around (safe and familiar) scent jars. After talking about rods and cones, we did an experiment using light. And, of course, we put on our "owl ears" to better hear nature.

We talked about bioluminescence and then related it to the less familiar (but tons of fun) triboluminescence--and showcased it using wintergreen candies and quartz rocks.  The highlight was always the fire experiments I performed. (I never caught my hair on fire...but it was sometimes close!)

(Yes, I'd love to lead your group in a night experience! See all of my author events.)

Owl Pellet Dissection

Elementary and middle school children alike appreciate the fun of an owl pellet dissection. Some classrooms do this each year. But some teens have never dissected an owl pellet. If you have participants who have dissected an owl pellet before, challenge them to not only find and clean all of the bones but also to name figure out the bones and how they would connect with others. It's a puzzle! In Whooo Knew? The Truth About Owls the What's for Dinner? activity will guide you through. Check out these additional bone charts. You can also buy owl pellets online (affiliate links).

Owl Crafts

Any online search will lead you to tons of owl crafts. Many of them feature common supplies like paper plates, muffin liners, acorns, pinecones, or pompoms. I thought I'd share two different ones since these might be fun for various ages.

Heart-Shaped Owl


This heart-shaped owl craft can be adapted for various ages. 
    • Preschool- Use precut small hearts (and only one layer). Trace the large heart for those able to cut it. 
    • Elementary- Children will have fun cutting and gluing their own hearts from pre-cut squares.
    • Middle school - adults- Use the heart-shaped owl to create note cards or Valentines.

The eyes are just paper reinforcers. (The eyes look even cuter on smaller owls. This one is about 8 inches tall.) The owl's ear tufts, beak, and talons are all made with hearts! 

Cork Owl Ornament

I didn't make the cork owl ornament, but found a tutorial here. (The one I pictured was a gift.) It'd be fun for middle schoolers on up!

Mentor Text

With the unique question-and-answer format, Whooo Knew? The Truth About Owls provides young writers with a fun and engaging structure they can use in their own informational writing process. Maybe they'll even create humorous sidebars from an animal's point of view.

Owl Books

Owl stories and informational books are popular! 

One of my favorite books is Maria Gianferri's Whoo-Ku Haiku: A Great Horned Owl Story.
Snowy Owl Invasion! Tracking an Unusual Migration by Sandra Markle is illustrated with photographs.
My book, Whooo Knew? The Truth About Owls is also illustrated with photographs. 
Each page spread also includes an art-illustrated owl with a bit of sass. 
Check out the trailer for Whooo Knew? The Truth About Owls!

Don't forget classics like Jane Yolen's Owl Moon and Martin Waddell's Owl Babies. They're wonderful! 

Learn about the Book

If you are a teacher or just a curious person, you may want to learn about my writing process for Whooo Knew? The Truth About Owls. It's a slideshow with audio clips.

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1 comment

  1. Love making crafts with our 3 years old grandson. The owl craft will be fun.

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