Taking it to the Classroom:

Because dung beetles are found throughout the United States, any classroom teacher should be able to find an area in which to lead student field studies. If dung beetles are not available, similar studies can be undertaken using other organisms, such as planaria, crabs, and crayfish. Projects such as this could be done early in the year with the following possible objectives:

• To involve students in hands-on interaction with nature
• To develop skills of observation
• To maintain a field notebook
• To learn to use a taxonomic key/field guides
• To conduct a literature review to provide background information
• To become familiar with and appreciate local biodiversity
• To use statistical analysis to interpret data
• To create meaningful graphical representations of data collected
• To make connections between findings and global issues of environmental change
• To present findings to an appropriate audience