Websites

Worldwide Fund for Nature: endangered species www.wwf.orgspecies

Home page that links to many other resources. Information is key stage 4 and above, but the fun stuff and kids’ resources have activities for all ages.

Endangered species.com

www.endangeredspecies. com

A comprehensive exploration of the issues surrounding endangered species. It includes an extensive section on human influences that describes habitat destruction and exploitation. There is a “kids’ corner” but the content is mostly aimed at secondary students and above.

Red list of endangered species

www.redlist.org

The World Conservation Union assesses the threat to species and highlights endangered species on its “red list”. This site offers reference information on the current status of global biodiversity suitable for AS students and above.

Think Quest virtual zoo

http:library.thinkquest.org11922index.htm

Text-based, with an enormous amount of information on any animal to be found in a zoo. For key stages 3 and 4.

Biozone

www.biozone.co.uklinks.html

Information on any biology-related topic. The links page gives directions to related areas from animal behaviour, conservation and physiology to space biology. A useful starting point for teachers and students.

Enchanted Learning www.enchantedlearning. comcoloring

From aardvark to zorro (a dog-like fox from South America), this contains drawings of every animal you are likely to want to introduce. Spice up worksheets or print outline drawings for younger pupils to colour in.

Other resources

Animals of the British Isles CD-Rom

pound;29.99 from Spiny Software. Fax: 029 20319071. www.spinysoft.co.uk An interactive CD-Rom suitable for key stage 3 that uses colour photographs to help students find out about the appearance, habitat, diet and distribution of more than 400 of Britain’s most common animals.

Alpha Animals pound;19.99 from AVP. Tel: 01291 625439; www.avp.co.uk

A CD-Rom “board game” suitable for key stages 1 and 2. Players land on a letter and must name an animal beginning with that letter. Fact files and photographs of more than 300 animals help players learn about the animal kingdoms.

Animals and Birds - colour library pound;32.60 from TTS.Tel: 0800 318686. www.tts-group.co. uk A pack of 96 colour A5 cards that show photographs of animals, insects, reptiles, amphibians, marine life and birds from around the world. A useful resource for discovering the diversity of life at key stages 1 and 2.

Fossil activity set pound;24.50 from Philip Harris Biological. Tel: 01530 418550. www.philipharris.co.uk

Containing real fossils and moulds to make replicas, the kit helps key stage 3 and 4 students to understand the conditions in which fossils are formed.

Blades Biological Tel: 01342 850242. www.blades-bio.co.uk

There is no substitute for live observation when studying the variety of life. Blades Biological can supply a large range of invertebrates suitable for use in the classroom or school pond.

Animal pound;35 from Dorling Kindersley. Tel: 020 7010 3000. www.dk.comanimal Dorling Kindersley is renowned for its stunningly visual books. This recent offering looks at more than 2,000 species and their habitats throughout the world and is an excellent addition to any school reference library. The website is stunning.

The BBC’s own raft of tie-ins are published by BBC Worldwide. Children’s titles include the paperback 3D Beasts (pound;3.99); and the Walking with Beasts Annual 2001 (pound;5.99). Walking with Beasts: a prehistoric safari is an illustrated hardback for adult and child readers (pound;19.99). A CD-Rom will be released on November 23 and the video and DVD of the series will be available from early December.