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The website link for Texas rivers has been updated.

• link: https://www.texasalmanac.com/articles/rivers

The title to this lesson has been changed to better reflect the contents of the lesson. Also, the introduction to Activity 3 has been revised to say the following:

Tell your child that much of this story takes place in the desert biome (specifically in the Chihuahuan Desert of Texas). A biome is a large community of plants and animals that occupies a distinct region. Ask your child what he knows about the desert. Tell him that although all deserts have very limited rainfall, many deserts have unique characteristics. We think of deserts as being very hot, but deserts in places like Antarctica are actually freezing cold, and the Atacama desert in Chile has mild temperatures much of the year. The plant and animal life among deserts can vary widely as well. For example, the saguaro cactus that many people associate with deserts in general is found only in the Sonoran Desert.

-Moving Beyond the Page

Hi all, Just an FYI — the Sonoran Desert (which is featured in some of the other links that have been posted, and is the only place where the Saguaro cactus grows) is NOT in Texas. The desert in Texas is the Chihuahuan desert, and while it’s still a desert, it has different plant and animal species. The deserts of the Western US are pretty cool, and one of the coolest things about them is that they’re not uniform. It’s nice to teach kids that even though they’re all deserts, they are very different biomes!

• link: https://www.worldwildlife.org/places/chihuahuan-desert

Desert Animals

• link: https://www.desertusa.com/animals.html

Good info about deserts around the world

• link: https://www.dkfindout.com/us/earth/deserts/

Interactive links explore various flora and fauna of American Deserts

• link: https://www.dkfindout.com/us/animals-and-nature/habitats-and-ecosystems/ame

This link has a small world map with deserts highlighted and info on animals and plants of desert biomes.

• link: http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/desert.htm