STUDENT CONTESTS

 

Below you will find details about three different contests for children in grades 1-8, including some curriculum links.  All students are invited to participate and submit entries to the contest.  Submissions must include the student's name, school, grade, and contact information (either of teacher or parent). 

PRIZES:

Grades 1 and 2 - Butterfly net and bug collecting box plus a Kids For Turtles Environmental Education 2008 membership complete with t-shirt and membership pin for the top three entries.

Grades 3, 4 and 5 - A Fist Guide to the Butterflies Field Guide plus a Kids For Turtles Environmental Education 2008 membership complete with t-shirt and membership pin for the top three entries.

Grades 6, 7, and 8 - A $20.00 gift certificate from Manticore Books in Orillia plus a Kids For Turtles Environmental Education 2008 membership complete with pullover sweater and membership pin for the top three entries.

The closing date for submissions is June 13, 2008.  

Winning entries will be announced at the Mariposa Butterfly Festival, on June 28, 2008.

Click on image to download important information for teachers and release form for parents to sign:

Please send entries to:  
KIDS FOR TURTLES ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION
P.O. Box 2497
Orillia, Ontario
L3V 7A3

 

  Read further details and download individual templates below or download the complete contest package in printable pdf format 

 

Colouring Contest

Grades 1 – 2

Objective:

·        Familiarize students with the life cycle of the butterfly

Contest:

·        Colour in the life cycle of the monarch butterfly

·        Label each stage of the life cycle using the information in the short story

Click on an image to download template and story:

   

Curriculum Links:

·        Grade 1 – Life Systems Basic Needs

o       Demonstrate an understanding of the basic needs of animals and plants

o       Investigate the characteristics of plants and animals

o       Demonstrate awareness that plants and animals depend on the environment to meet their needs

·        Grade 2 – Understanding Life Systems Life Cycle

o       Demonstrate an understanding of the similarities and differences among various types of animals and ways which animals adapt to different environmental conditions

o       Investigate physical and behavioural characteristics and the process of growth of different types of animals

o       Identify ways in which humans can affect other animals

 

 
 

Drawing & Short Story Contest

Grades 3 -5

Objective:

·        Encourage students to explore how the monarch butterfly is able to migrate from Mexico to the milkweeds in the USA/Canada

Contest:

·        Write a short story (Gr. 3: 2-4 sentences; Gr. 4 & 5: 1 paragraph) on how the monarch butterfly migrates from Canada to Mexico and back every year (i.e. what tools do they use to track their progress and find their way back to the milkweeds) and draw a picture of the monarch butterfly  

Click on image to download template:

Curriculum Links:

·        Grade 3 – Growth and changes in plants

o       Demonstrate an understanding of the similarities and differences in the physical characteristics of different plant species and the changes that take place in different plants as they grow

o       Investigate the requirements of plants and the effects of changes in the environmental conditions on plants

o       Describe ways in which plants are important to other living things, and the effects of human activities on plants

·        Grade 4 – Habitats and communities

o       Demonstrate an understanding of the concepts of habitat and community, and identify the factors that could affect habitats and communities of plants and animals

o       Investigate the dependency of plants and animals on their habitat and the interrelationships of the plants and animals living in a specific habitat

o       Describe ways in which humans can change habitats and the effects of these changes on the plants and animals within the habitats

 

 

Story on Restoration of Natural Features
& Biodiversity from Habitat Loss

Grade 6 – 8

Objective:

·        Think critically with respect to how to restore natural features without the use of chemical pesticides

·        Identify ways in which humans impact biodiversity through habitat loss and ways we can prevent it

Contest:

·        Write a children’s story about the monarch butterfly and the challenges it faces with ecosystems changes and habitat loss.  Use the monarch’s natural ecosystem (a milkweed patch) as the setting and the monarch as the main character  

Click on image to download template:

Curriculum Links:

·        Grade 6 – Biodiversity (natural features)

o       Demonstrate an understanding of ways in which classification systems are used to understand the diversity of living things and the interrelationships among living things

o       Investigate classification systems and some of the processes of life common to all animals

·        Grade 7 – Interactions (pesticides, habitat loss)

o       Demonstrate an understanding of the interactions of plants, animals, fungi and micro-organisms in an ecosystem

o       Investigate the interactions in an ecosystem, and identify factors that affect the balance among the components of an ecosystem

o       Demonstrate an understanding of the effects of human activities and technological innovations, as well as the effects of changes that take place naturally, on the sustainability of ecosystems