Sonoran Desert For Families

1 - I can do better 2 - Jury's out 3 - Pretty darn good 4 - Splendiferous 5 - Awesometastic by 4 people | Log in to rate

Ranked #966 in How-To, #10,147 overall

Unit Study for the Sonoran Desert of Arizona

Our family recently took a trip to Tucson, Arizona to see the Sonoran Desert. One of our goals for the trip was to learn as much as possible about this unique habitat.

We visited Saguaro National Park for hiking and birdwatching. The visitor's center there was very informative and there was a lot of literature available there to help us know more about the plants, animals, and rocks that we were seeing.

Whether or not you can go to the Sonoran Desert in person or not, I hope this lens will help you in a study of the desert.

Update: We recently took a trip to Southern California to spend time in a different desert and we found many comparisons. Joshua Tree National Park is at the border of the Colorado and the Mojave Deserts. Many of the same types of plants and animals live here as well. If you live near this area, you have access to a great desert resource.

Sonoran Desert Animals and Plants 

List of animals and birds to study:
Javelina or peccary
Coyote
Gila Woodpecker
Elf Owl
Great Horned Owl
Bats
Kangaroo Rat
Deer
Turkey vulture
Gambel's quail
Cactus wren

Desert Plants:
Cholla cactus
Organ pipe cactus
Saguaro cactus
Barrel cactus
Purple prickly pear
Desert globe mallow
Mesquite tree
Creosote bush
Mexican gold poppy
Mariposa lily
Beavertail cactus

Desert Arthropods
Tarantula
Scorpion

Desert Reptiles
Gila monster
Desert iguana
Whiptail lizards
Rattlesnakes
King snakes

Learning Resources 

I am going to accumulate the links to put together your own unit study on the Sonoran Desert.
Saguaro National Park-PDF brochures
The national park has numerous brochures that you can print out that give concise information about the Sonoran desert plants, animals, and habitat.
Saguaro National Park-Lesson plans
This link has a whole list of lesson plans and teacher's guides to help plan a unit study for the Sonoran desert. It also has a student's journal that can be adapted as a nature journal.
Arizona Coloring Book-PDF
This link takes you to a coloring book that you can print out and use as a supplement to your study of the Sonoran desert.
Sonoran Desert Fact Sheets
From the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. Fact sheets for:
People of the Desert
Animals
* Coyote
* Elf Owl
* Gila Woodpecker
* Kangaroo Rat
* Lesser Long Nose Bat
* Tarantula
* White-Winged Dove
Plants
* Flowers and Fruit
* Saguaro Cactus

Websites with Information for your Study 

I always like to browse websites for tips and facts about an area we are traveling to. Here are a few websites I enjoyed reading.
www.desertusa.com
The rocks, plants, animals, and people of the desert are pictured and described on this site. This site includes maps.
Center for Sonoran Desert Study
This page has information about different biomes along with photos.
What's It Like Where You Live?
This website has information about desert plants that we enjoyed reading.
Sonoran Desert plant and animal fact sheets
This page from the Sonoran Desert Museum has a whole list of animals and plants to learn about. Each animal or plant has its own fact sheet and many of the animals include a link to hear how the animal sounds. We love this page!

Sonoran Desert Photos 

desert view 1 by HarmonyArtMom

desert view 1

tall saguaro by HarmonyArtMom

tall saguaro

close up saguaro by HarmonyArtMom

close up saguaro

saguaro with bird nest holes by HarmonyArtMom

saguaro with bird ne...

saguaro and woodpecker by HarmonyArtMom

saguaro and woodpeck...

saguaro at sunrise by HarmonyArtMom

saguaro at sunrise

barrel cactus fruit by HarmonyArtMom

barrel cactus fruit

brittle bush by HarmonyArtMom

brittle bush

cactus bloom by HarmonyArtMom

cactus bloom

creosote bush by HarmonyArtMom

creosote bush

light pink cactus bloom by HarmonyArtMom

light pink cactus bl...

Mallow family by HarmonyArtMom

Mallow family

chollo bloom by HarmonyArtMom

chollo bloom

fairy duster with hummingbird by HarmonyArtMom

fairy duster with hu...

ocotillo flower by HarmonyArtMom

ocotillo flower

scarlet monkey flower by HarmonyArtMom

scarlet monkey flowe...

paper flower by HarmonyArtMom

paper flower

little white daisy like flowers by HarmonyArtMom

little white daisy l...

lupine 1 by HarmonyArtMom

lupine 1

paper flower by HarmonyArtMom

paper flower

white flower by HarmonyArtMom

white flower

yellow flower in the wash by HarmonyArtMom

yellow flower in the...

yellow wildflower 1 by HarmonyArtMom

yellow wildflower 1

cactus plant yellow flower by HarmonyArtMom

cactus plant yellow...

ocotillo good one by HarmonyArtMom

ocotillo good one

curated content from Flickr

Desert Video Clips Online 

Short videos to watch with your children about the desert.
Desert Food Chain
Two and a half minute video.
Saguaro Cactus
One and a half minutes long.
Prickly Pear Cactus
Two and a half minutes long.
Rattlesnakes
One and a half minutes long.
More Desert Animal Videos
I am going to give you the link to more animal videos that you can choose from to fit in with your interests.

Sonoran Desert Books 

Cactus Desert (One Small Square)

Amazon Price: $8.95 (as of 11/27/2009) Buy Now

Desert Giant: The World of the Saguaro Cactus (Tree Tales)

Amazon Price: (as of 11/27/2009) Buy Now

The Sonoran Desert by Day and Night (Dover Pictorial Archive Series)

Amazon Price: $3.95 (as of 11/27/2009) Buy Now

A Desert Scrapbook: Dawn to Dusk in the Sonoran Desert

Amazon Price: $6.99 (as of 11/27/2009) Buy Now

Cactus Cafe: A Story of the Sonoran Desert

Amazon Price: $9.95 (as of 11/27/2009) Buy Now

Sonoran Desert Notebooking Pages 

Here are some pages we have completed so far for our desert notebook.

desert title by HarmonyArtMom

desert title

desert cover A by HarmonyArtMom

desert cover A

No Amer desert info by HarmonyArtMom

No Amer desert info

No Amer desert map by HarmonyArtMom

No Amer desert map

owls by HarmonyArtMom

owls

snakes by HarmonyArtMom

snakes

peccary by HarmonyArtMom

peccary

curated content from Flickr

Premade Units or Notebooking Pages 

I have found that sometimes it is easier to use pre-made pages rather than start from scratch. Here are some links to desert resources you might want to try.
Nature Study of North American Desert Wildlife
This set of notebooking pages are fantastic for using with your study of desert animals. Make sure to check out the table of contents and the sample pages.
Desert Unit-Hands on Activities
This unit study comes with ideas for making a desert lapbook. I haven't used it but it looks very well done. You might want to give this one a try.
The Sonoran Desert by Day and Night
This is a coloring book that could easily be used as notebooking pages or as a supplement for a younger child's unit study.

Desert Images for Personal Use 

Need a photo of a specific desert animal for your notebook or lapbook? The Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum has a whole catalog of images that they make available for personal and educational use. This is a treasure trove of images.
Image Library at the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum
Animals, plants, minerals, biotic communities

More Sonoran Desert Books for Children 

Who Pooped in the Sonoran Desert? Scat and Tracks for Kids

Amazon Price: $9.95 (as of 11/27/2009) Buy Now

Watching Desert Wildlife (Watching Wildlife With Jim Arnosky)

This is a fantastic book with beautiful paintings and a lot of very useful information. A must read!

Amazon Price: $7.95 (as of 11/27/2009) Buy Now

Creatures of the Desert World

Amazon Price: $10.88 (as of 11/27/2009) Buy Now

Cactus Hotel (An Owlet Book)

Amazon Price: $7.99 (as of 11/27/2009) Buy Now

A Walk in the Desert (Biomes of North America)

Amazon Price: $8.95 (as of 11/27/2009) Buy Now

Ultimate Field Trip Destinations 

We are going to be visiting this area and we have these places on our itinerary.
Arizona Sonora Desert Museum
From their website:
"The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum is a world-renowned zoo, natural history museum and botanical garden, all in one place! Exhibits re-create the natural landscape of the Sonoran Desert Region so realistically you find yourself eye-to-eye with mountain lions, prairie dogs, Gila monsters, and more. Within the Museum grounds, you will see more than 300 animal species and 1,200 kinds of plants. There are almost 2 miles of paths traversing 21 acres of beautiful desert."
Colossal Cave Mountain Park
The tour route is a half mile long and takes about 45-50 minutes to complete. As your guide relates the Cave's history, legends, and geology, you walk down and back up about six and a half stories and see beautiful cave formations like stalactites, stalagmites, flowstone, boxwork, and helictites.
Mt. Lemmon Scenic Drive
This drive takes you from the desert floor to a little over 9,000 feet. The views are fantastic, the rock formations are incredible, and it is a very refreshing 27 mile drive. Take a picnic to eat at any one of the many picnic areas along the way. There is also a visitor's center to learn more about the area.
Joshua Tree National Park
This is not in the Sonoran Desert but it is on the border of the Mojave and Colorado Deserts. If this is closer to your home, I highly recommend a visit to the Visitor's Center at 29 Palms.
The Living Desert Museum
This museum is not strictly about the Sonoran Desert but it does have loads of information about Sonoran Desert animals and plants. There is a complete outdoor garden dedicated to the Sonoran Desert.

I highly recommend this "museum" to those that live in the area of Southern California or if you are traveling through the area on your way to California.

More Desert Books to Enjoy 

How about some drawing and art? Also some other really great books!

Draw Desert Animals

Amazon Price: $8.95 (as of 11/27/2009) Buy Now

Dig, Wait, Listen: A Desert Toad's Tale

Amazon Price: (as of 11/27/2009) Buy Now

My Name Is Georgia: A Portrait by Jeanette Winter

This is a fantastic book at the artist Georgia O'Keeffe. *Please note that there is one page with illustrations of nude statues on it.

Amazon Price: $13.26 (as of 11/27/2009) Buy Now

Cactus

Amazon Price: (as of 11/27/2009) Buy Now

Field Guide Coloring Book DESERTS (Peterson Field Guide Coloring Books)

Rather sophisticated coloring book field guide with stickers too. 198 plants and animals of the deserts of North Amerca.

Amazon Price: (as of 11/27/2009) Buy Now

New Guestbook 

submit

by HarmonyArtMom

Mom of four, twelve years of homeschooling and now two children in college, passionate about art, music, and nature study.

We use a mix of Charlotte...

(more)

Explore related pages

HarmonyArtMom Recommends...

Create a Lens!