Species
Representatives of 63 natural resources found in Illinois are included in Set 4 of the Illinois’
Natural Resources Trading Cards. Mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fishes, inverte-brates,
plants, fungi, protists and geological resources are shown.e cards are marked to in-dicate
which of the three major habitat types in Illinois each item is most often associated
with: aquatic; woodland; or prairie. Below you will find a list of each of these groupings. Some
of the species represented are found in Illinois only as fossils.eir habitat association is based
upon where they would have lived when alive. Other cards show rocks and minerals of the
state.ey are found underground but are assigned a habitat based upon the dominant habi-tat
type in the part of Illinois they are usually associated with. You will note that while most
common names are shown with an associated scientific name, others are not. In some groups
it is not always possible to determine the scientific name for a species without careful exami-nation
of a specimen. Common practice for species in these groups is to list the order, family
or other classification category instead of the scientific name.
eastern gray squirrel Sciurus carolinensis
long-tailed weasel Mustela frenata
meadow vole Microtus pennsylvanicus
Rafinesque’s big-eared bat Corynorhinus rafinesquii
red fox Vulpes vulpes
southern flying squirrel Glaucomys volans
American white pelican Pelecanus erythrorhynchos
Baltimore oriole Icterus galbula
common nighthawk Chordeiles minor
eastern kingbird Tyrannus tyrannus
eastern screech-owl Megascops asio
fox sparrow Passerella iliaca
mallard Anas platyrhynchos
mourning dove Zenaida macroura
purple martin Progne subis
white-breasted nuthatch Sitta carolinensis
wood duck Aix sponsa
Blanding’s turtle Emydoidea blandingii
diamondback water snake Nerodia rhombifer
fence lizard Sceloporus undulatus
ground skink Scincella lateralis
northern water snake Nerodia sipedon
spiny softshell turtle Apalone spinifera
bird-voiced treefrog Hyla avivoca
Cope’s gray treefrog Hyla chrysoscelis
green frog Lithobates clamitans
longtail salamander Eurycea longicauda
plains leopard frog Lithobates blairi
wood frog Lithobates sylvaticus
channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus
redear sunfish Lepomis microlophus
rock bass Ambloplites rupestris
smallmouth bass Micropterus dolomieu
walleye Stizostedion vitreum
band-winged grasshopper Family Acrididae
mosquito Family Culicidae
narrow-winged damselfly Order Odonata
regal fritillary Speyeria idalia
stink bug Family Pentatomidae
tapeworm Cittotaenia spp.
White River crayfish Procambarus acutus
celandine poppy Stylophorum diphyllum
northern catalpa Catalpa speciosa
pickerelweed Pontederia cordata
rattlesnake master Eryngium yuccifolium
shooting-star Dodecatheon meadia
showy orchis Galearis spectabilis
sugar maple Acer saccharum
toothwort Dentaria laciniata
bear’s head fungus Hericium coralloides
earth star fungus Geastrum saccatum
Amoeba spp. Kingdom Protista
Paramecium spp. Kingdom Protista
agate mineral
dogtooth calcite mineral
feldspar mineral
fern fossil Division Pteridophyta
geode sedimentary rock
gneiss metamorphic rock
granite igneous rock
horsetail fossil Annularia spp.
trilobite fossil Gabriceraurus spp.
trilobite fossil Gavricalymene spp.
Habitat Associations
Habitat Associations continued
Total representation in all four sets of cards combined:
The Illinois Learning Standards,
Illinois Early Learning Standards and
Suggestions for Use
While the main objective of these cards is to supplement teaching science and social science
components of the Illinois Learning Standards and Illinois Early Learning Standards, they can
also be used to enhance learning in other subject areas. Listed below are a few suggestions for
using the cards. Do not be limited by these ideas. Use the cards to assist with your own cur-riculum
in the manners that work best for you. If you have all four sets of cards, you can com-bine
them to achieve the best results.
Illinois Learning Standards
Science
StAte GOAl 12: Understand the fundamental concepts, principles and interconnections of
the life, physical and earth/space sciences.
Early Elementary
12.A.1a Identify and describe the component parts of living things.
Give each student a card and ask him/her to develop a list of features that seem to make
each organism unique. Have the students speculate what the adaptationsmay be used for
then conduct research and/or a class discussion about their ideas.
12.A.1b Categorize living organisms using a variety of observable features.
e cards can be used to illustrate different groups of organisms: mammals; birds; rep-tiles;
amphibians; fishes; invertebrates; plants; fungi; protists. By sorting the cards into
these categories, students learn how to associate organisms by their common character-istics.
ey also learn these traits and how they help the species to survive.
Size relationships can be addressed by asking students to make representative lengths
(using yarn, string, paper or other objects) and then comparing and sorting the species by
size. A “length line” can be made to rank the organisms from smallest to largest.
Sorting the species by coloration and relating the results to habitats, can aid students in
learning the adaptive value of color in the environment.
12.B.1a Describe and compare characteristics of living things in relationship to their
environments.
e cards can be separated into the three habitat components: aquatic; woodland; and
prairie. Students can be asked to describe features of the species in each group, then com-pare
and contrast them to features in all of the groups. Students should speculate on how
the adaptations are valuable to each species in the associated habitat.
12.B.1b Describe how living things depend on one another for survival.
Using the back of the card, students can find the types of food eaten by each organism, or
in the case of plants, that they make their own food. Students can diagram simple food
chains and food webs to show the relationships between organisms.
Late Elementary
12.B.2a Describe relationships among various organisms in their environments.
By using the food list on the back of each card, students can show interactions between
species such as predator and prey, food chains and food webs.ese relationships can be
used to postulate how other factors in the environment (pollutants, diseases, parasites)
may be spread between organisms.
Using the types of foods, students should be able to predict which species must adapt to
changing seasons and propose what the species might do to survive (migrate, hibernate,
change diet, etc.).
12.B.2b Identify physical features of plants and animals that help them live in dif-ferent
environments.
Assign a card to each student. Have the student list any features that may be survival
adaptations for the species and explain how they would favor survival. Note the habitat
type the organism lives in. Switch cards and do the same exercise for the new species.
Switch cards and repeat again. Compile a list of adaptations from the class for each habi-tat
type (aquatic, woodland, prairie). What would happen if an organism adapted to the
prairie were to be moved to a woodland setting? Could it survive? How are some species
able to survive in more than one habitat?
Middle School/Junior High School
12.A.3c Compare and contrast how different forms and structures reflect different
functions.
Select all of the cards with organisms that can swim. Ask students to develop a list of adap-tations
that these species have in common. Now make a list of how the same species are
different. Do they havemore similarities or differences? How are different structures used
to obtain the same result, in this case, survival in water? Repeat the activity using organ-isms
that can fly.
12.B.3b Compare and assess features of organisms for their adaptive, competitive
and survival potential.
Assign a card to each student. Ask the student to list the adaptive advantages of this
species.Now tell the student to design a new species using these same adaptive advantages
for the same type of habitat. Once the new species has been designed, ask the student to
explain whether or not two species with the same adaptive advantages could co-exist in the
same type of habitat.
Social Science
StAte GOAl 17: Understand world geography and the effects of geography on society, with
an emphasis on the United States.
Late Elementary
17.A.2a Compare the physical characteristics of places including soils, land forms,
vegetation, wildlife, climate, natural hazards.
Assign one or two cards to each student. Have the students use an outline map of Illinois
to plot the range for their assigned species. Compare rangemaps for all of the species. Are
some species found only in certain parts of the state? If so, conductmore research on these
species and their requirements. How is their range limited by physical factors in the envi-ronment?
If species are found statewide, what does that tell you about their requirements?
Middle/Junior High School
17.B.3b explain howchanges in components of an ecosystemaffect the systemoverall.
Sort the cards by habitat type. Set up a food chain in each habitat type. Now remove one
of the species in each chain, representing elimination of that species. How is the envi-ronment
as a whole changed?What would be the effect on physical factors as well as bio-logical
factors?
Sort the species by habitat type again. Remove one of the species fromthe aquatic habitat.
How does the loss of this species affect the woodland and prairie species?
Other Learning Areas
e cards could be applied to assist in meeting these and other benchmarks of the Illinois
Learning Standards.
English Language Arts: 3.C.1a, 3.C.1b, 3.C.2a, 3.C.3a, 5.A.1a, 5.B.1a, 5.C.1a, 5.C.1b, 5.A.2b,
5.C.2a, 5.C.2b, 5.C.3b
Mathematics: 10.A.1a, 10.A.1b, 10.A.2a, 10.A.2b, 10.A.2c, 10.A.3a, 10.A.3b
Science: 12.E.1a
Social Science: 17.B.1a
Fine Arts: 26.B.1d, 26.B.2d
Illinois Early Learning Standards
Language Arts
StAte GOAl 5: Use the language arts to acquire, assess and communicate information.
5.A.eC Seek answers to questions through active exploration.
Give the cards to the students and ask them to sort them into groups based upon similar
traits. You can let the students develop their own criteria for sorting (preferred), or you
can assist the process by suggesting some features to sort by (color, shape, habitat, feath-ers,
fur, antennae, swim, walk, fly, etc.). Have the students explain what they looked for
when they organized the cards. Encourage them to look for other similarities and differ-ences
in the groups they developed.
Allow the students to review the entire set of cards.Have each child develop a question that
can be answered by looking at the cards. In turn, the child will ask his/her question, and
the other students will find and relate the answer.
5.B.eC Relate prior knowledge to new knowledge.
After listening to or reading a story about animals, students will be asked to find species
in the set of cards that are similar to the topic(s) in the story. For instance, if they have lis-tened
to or read a story about butterflies, the students can be asked to find the butterflies
in the set of cards. If they have read or listened to a story about birds, they can be asked
to find the birds in the set of cards.ey will be applying what they learned fromthe story
to actual species in Illinois.
5.C.eC Communicate information with others.
Have each student select a card with an organism or object that he/she is familiar with
and relate to the class what he/she knows about that species/object.
Shuffle the cards and give a card to each student. Ask each child to look at the species or
object depicted on the card and try to determine its features.ey should share their dis-coveries
with the rest of the class.
Select some of the cards with organisms or objects that have traits in common (birds,
trees, rocks, etc.). Show the set to the students. Ask them to tell you why they think you
selected these cards to show them. Encourage them to look for and point out the traits.
Mathematics
StAte GOAl 6: Demonstrate and apply a knowledge and sense of numbers, including nu-meration
and operations (addition, subtraction,multiplication, division), patterns, ratios and
proportions.
6.A.eCb Count with understanding and recognize “how many” in sets of objects.
Students can be encouraged to learn to recognize groups of organisms or objects and count
the number of each. For instance, they can find all the birds in the set and count them.
Shapes, colors and other features can be used as well.
e cards can be used to assist with simple addition, subtraction,multiplication and divi-sion
problems by providing a source of hands-on illustrations to help make the problems
more practical for students.
6.C.eCb Connect numbers to quantities they represent using physical models and
representations.
Choose a group of cards and have students count them.
Give the students a number and have them select that number of cards.
Size relationships can be addressed by asking students to make representative lengths
(using yarn, string, paper or other objects) and then comparing and sorting the species by
size. A “length line” can be made to rank the organisms from smallest to largest.
6.D.eC Make comparisons of quantities.
is poster lists for the educator the number and identities of each group of organisms and
objects depicted. For example, there are six mammals, 11 birds and six reptiles in the set.
Students can separate the groups by traits and compare the quantities in each group.
Science
StAte GOAl 12: Understand the fundamental concepts, principles and interconnections of
the life, physical and earth/space sciences.
12.A.eCa Investigate and categorize living things in the environment.
Students can become familiar with Illinois species and objects by studying the photo-graphs
on the cards.ey can be asked to make predictions about the species and follow
up with research, including using the information on the back of the card.
Ask the students to look at the entire set of cards and sort them into categories. Have
themexplain why they selected the categories and how the organisms/objects fit into each
category. Mix up the cards and have them perform the exercise again, looking for differ-ent
ways to sort the cards into similar groups.
12.C.eCc Make comparisons among objects that have been observed.
Select some of the cards with organisms or objects that have traits in common (birds,
trees, rocks, etc.). Show the set to the students. Ask them to tell you why they think you
selected these cards to show them. Encourage them to look for and point out the traits.
Have the students sort the cards into the three habitat classifications: prairie; woodland;
aquatic. Use the icon on the card to help you determine the habitat type: butterfly for
prairie; pine cone for woodland; water/fish for aquatic. Ask them to look for similarities
within the habitat associations and differences with species in the other habitats.
StAte GOAl 13: Understand the relationships among science, technology and society in his-torical
and contemporary contexts.
13.B.eCa express wonder and ask questions about their world.
Let the students review the entire set of cards without giving them any instructions. In-corporate
all four sets of the cards, if you have them. Encourage them tomake comments
and ask questions but don’t answer the questions at this time. Keep a list of the questions
and comments.When they are finished, ask themto discuss what they said.How could you
find the answers to the questions? Where could you find these objects in Illinois? Assist
the students in researching the answers to their questions. Set up a field trip to see some
of the organisms and objects. Continue to explore new topics as questions are posed.
Biodiversity of Illinois CD-ROM Series
If you like the Illinois’
Natural Resources Trading
Cards, you’ll want to ob-tain
a set of the CD-ROMs
in the Biodiversity
of Illinois series for even
more information and
images. Pleasemake your
request in writing on
school letterhead and mail to the following address. No phone, fax or email orders accepted.
IDNR, Division of Education, One Natural Resources Way, Springfield, IL 62702-1271.
Biodiversity of Illinois, Volume I: AquaticHabitats
Biodiversity of Illinois, Volume II:WoodlandHabitats
Biodiversity of Illinois, Volume III: Prairie and EdgeHabitats
Each CD-ROM has hundreds of photographs of species and habitats.
Designed in a field guide format, the CD-ROMs are searchable and include life history in-formation,
Illinois range, scientific classification, endangered/threatened species status,
sounds (where applicable) and more.
e CD-ROMs are networkable for an in-school network.
ese CD-ROMs are compatible with bothWindows® andMacintosh® operating systems.
Species and habitat information may be printed.
Agency Resources
Manymore educationalmaterials and programs are available fromthe IllinoisDepartment ofNat-ural
Resources’ Division of Education. To access a list of topics, visit the Web page at
http://dnr.state.il.us/education. You’ll find links to the online order form, lending locations for re-sources
trunks,workshop schedules, lessons, activities, contests, grants, podcasts andmore items.
Illinois Department of Natural Resources
Division of education
One Natural Resources Way
Springfield, IL 62702-1271
217-524-4126
dnr.teachkids@illinois.gov
http://dnr.state.il.us/education
Equal opportunity to participate in programs of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) and those funded by the U.S. Fish
andWildlife Service and other agencies is available to all individuals regardless of race, sex, national origin, disability, age, religion or other
non-merit factors. If you believe you have been discriminated against, contact the funding source’s civil rights office and/or the Equal
Employment Opportunity Officer, IDNR, One Natural ResourcesWay, Springfield, IL 62702-1271; 217/785-0067; TTY 217/782-9175.
is informationmay be provided in an alternative format if required. Contact the DNR Clearinghouse at 217/782-7498 for assistance.
Printed by the authority of the State of Illinois 8M - 5/09 • IOCI 0787-09
Illinois' Natural Resources Trading Cards Set #4 Poster © 2009, Illinois Department of Natural Resources
mammals • 26
birds • 44
reptiles • 25
amphibians • 26
fishes • 28
insects • 27
other invertebrates • 14
plants • 40
fungi • 6
protists • 2
rocks/minerals/fossils • 14
aquatic habitats • 95
woodland habitats • 105
prairie habitats • 52
aquatic • 25
American white pelican
Pelecanus erythrorhynchos
Amoeba spp. Kingdom Protista
Blanding’s turtle Emydoidea blandingii
channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus
diamondback water snake Nerodia rhombifer
fern fossil Division Pteridophyta
green frog Lithobates clamitans
horsetail fossil Annularia spp.
longtail salamander Eurycea longicauda
mallard Anas platyrhynchos
mosquito Family Culicidae
narrow-winged damselfly Order Odonata
northern catalpa Catalpa speciosa
northern water snake Nerodia sipedon
Paramecium spp. Kingdom Protista
pickerelweed Pontederia cordata
redear sunfish Lepomis microlophus
rock bass Ambloplites rupestris
smallmouth bass Micropterus dolomieu
spiny softshell turtle Apalone spinifera
trilobite fossil Gabriceraurus spp.
trilobite fossil Gavricalymene spp.
walleye Stizostedion vitreum
White River crayfish Procambarus acutus
wood duck Aix sponsa
woodland • 25
agate mineral
Baltimore oriole Icterus galbula
bear’s head fungus Hericium coralloides
bird-voiced treefrog Hyla avivoca
celandine poppy Stylophorum diphyllum
Cope’s gray treefrog Hyla chrysoscelis
dogtooth calcite mineral
earth star fungus Geastrum saccatum
eastern gray squirrel Sciurus carolinensis
eastern screech-owl Megascops asio
feldspar mineral
fence lizard Sceloporus undulatus
fox sparrow Passerella iliaca
geode sedimentary rock
ground skink Scincella lateralis
long-tailed weasel Mustela frenata
mourning dove Zenaida macroura
Rafinesque’s big-eared bat
Corynorhinus rafinesquii
showy orchis Galearis spectabilis
southern flying squirrel Glaucomys volans
sugar maple Acer saccharum
tapeworm Cittotaenia spp.
toothwort Dentaria laciniata
white-breasted nuthatch Sitta carolinensis
wood frog Lithobates sylvaticus
Birds • 11
Reptiles • 6
Amphibians • 6
Fishes • 5
Insects • 5
Other
Invertebrates
• 2
Plants • 8
Fungi • 2
Protists • 2
Rocks,
Minerals,
Fossils • 10
Mammals • 6
prairie • 13
band-winged grasshopper Family Acrididae
common nighthawk Chordeiles minor
eastern kingbird Tyrannus tyrannus
gneiss metamorphic rock
granite igneous rock
meadow vole Microtus pennsylvanicus
plains leopard frog Lithobates blairi
purple martin Progne subis
rattlesnake master Eryngium yuccifolium
red fox Vulpes vulpes
regal fritillary Speyeria idalia
shooting-star Dodecatheon meadia
stink bug Family Pentatomidae
