>This is an extended *FLEXIBLE SCHEDULE* unit study version of the live shortform class!!!<

This session will introduce students to the ratites and their allies, now collectively known as the Paleognaths (Palaeognathae). This clade of mostly flightless birds include the world's largest living birds (ostriches) and several of the world's other biggest and tallest birds (cassowaries, emus, and rheas), as well as two extinct species which may have been the heaviest (elephant birds) and tallest (moas) birds ever. But this same group also includes the much smaller noctural kiwi birds and flying tinamous! We will take a look at what we currently know about this clade's evolution and natural history in order to make sense of how all these birds all evolved from a common ancestor and ended up scattered across the globe, as well as take a closer look at each individual family and their current conservation statuses.

SYLLABUS [tentative]:

WEEK 1: Introduction to the Paleognaths (Palaeognathae) -- overview of taxonomy, evolution, biogeography, life history, etc.
WEEK 2: The Extinct Giants -- Elephant Birds and Moas
WEEK 3: Today's Big Birds -- Ostriches, Cassowaries, Emus, and Rheas
WEEK 4: The Unexpected Relations -- nocturnal Kiwis and flying Tinamous

*ASYNCHRONOUS CLASSROOM: 
--This class has NO pre-scheduled live meetings or pre-recorded video meetings. However, requesting an "office hours" live Zoom meetup is always an option.  
-Initial materials will be distributed via the classroom board with commentary and discussion questions posted, and it is up to each individual student to download/view the materials and then participate in classroom board communication with both the instructor and any other students enrolled in the same session. Additional materials and instruction will be provided based upon individual students' questions and interests!
-New material will generally be posted at the beginning and middle of each week (varies by class), with the classroom board open for daily discussion and Sundays serving as weekly checkpoints.
-I will also be available throughout the session via the classroom, direct message, and email to answer any questions you have -- I strive to respond to all contacts within 12 hours (and usually much sooner!).

While there may be supplementary notebooking pages/worksheets and optional quizzes provided as part of the weekly lesson materials in any given flex class, these will not be collected or graded unless the student/parent requests it. If you want/need a formally graded course, this can be arranged ahead of time -- otherwise, this will be run as a fun (but thorough!) unit study. 

*IMPORTANT NOTE ON AGE LEVELS: Please note that while this flex course is currently set to ages 13-18 in order to comply with Outschool's five-year age range listing, I operate under a flexible age range policy and welcome younger learners. I believe in giving *all* interested learners open access to the same general resources and knowledge base, without prejudging age as a limiting factor to understanding -- I know full well there are plenty of younger children out there who can comprehend this level of general audience science, and who know more about their favorite animals than most adults do! ;)