David L. Burns, Westside Elementary, Pittsburg, KS
BIRD STUDY
Appropriate for grades 3-6.
OVERVIEW: Trying to find a science unit that has everything can
be a frustrating task. Some units require costly or hard to get
materials. Others require an extensive background in science for
the teacher. Still others are just plain dull because of a lack of
activity. And then there are those units that don't involve the
students in the processes of science. Well, here is a unit that
has few drawbacks and a great deal of student interest. It is a
unit in which the teacher can learn a great deal along with the
students, and it has an added bonus. With just a little effort it
can promote a lot of parent involvement and make a lot of good
neighbors for the school.
PURPOSE: The purpose of this HOES activity package is to provide
science activities that help students practice the process skills
of natural science while acquiring a great deal of information on
birds and their place in the living community. These activities
can also help the students develop an appreciation of living
creatures and a respect for the property of others.
OBJECTIVES: Students will be able to:
1. Identify by name and locate the parts of a bird.
2. Identify by sound 20 different kinds of birds.
3. Record the description of twenty or more kinds of birds.
ACTIVITIES:
1. Use a quessing game to introduce this unit. Give
descriptions of some locally common birds one part at a time
and have the students try to guess what you are describing.
Use a sound tape of some very common bird songs in the game,
too. Once the kids catch on to the idea that all the
"things" that you are describing are very common birds, show
a good filmstrip or video on birds of your area and express
surprise that they don't know their "neighbors" very will.
2. Use a large diagram of a bird as a bulletin board to help
students learn the parts of a bird. Also give them a handout
to take home so that they can teach their parents about birds.
Give a quiz every day on the bird parts. This is a mastery quiz
and only perfect scores are recorded. (This activity becomes a
lot more fun if the teacher or a student draws the quiz bird on
the chalkboard freehand. You can draw some wild and crazy birds
and the students will learn to identify the parts on a wide
variety of bird shapes.) Students who have passed the quiz twice
can use this time to color bird pictures, work on a bird collage,
etc..
3. Use bird records to create a tape of twenty birds that are
common to your area. Each day give a mastery quiz over ten
of them. Check the quiz by playing it again and giving the
correct name of the bird as it is singing. Leave the tape at
a center table with a headphone for individual practice or
practice with the class with guessing openly allowed each
day. Tapes for take home practice can be dubbed for anyone
who wants to bring a blank tape.
4. Use binoculars with wide angle lenses and insta-focus for
birding. (This is really the only equipment that may not be
readily available to you. These can be purchased at discount
stores for around $45 a pair. It works best to have one pair
for each 4 or 5 students. Parent teacher organizations,
class fundraisers, or business sponsors are great sources if
the school budget doesn't stretch.) Have students take the
binoculars out of the cases and experiment with how they
work. Through the discovery method they will find out how to
focus the image. Encourage peer teaching if some students
have used binoculars. Encourage research by way of the
instruction sheets to find out how to clean the lenses and
how to adjust the eye piece if one eye is stronger than the
other. Emphasize that these are expensive pieces of
equipment and help the class develop a set of rules for using
the binoculars and penalties for misusing them.
5. Use a set of cards with small letters and numbers printed on
them to have binocular speed quizzes. To pass the quiz a
student must take a pair of binoculars that is out of focus
and set for the wrong eye width and adjust them so that they
can read the card in 5 seconds or less. This activity can go
very quickly if a relay game is set up. It is also a good
time to practice the proper precautions in handling the
binoculars.
Use the same type of activity for describing nests and eggs.
6. NOW WE ARE READY TO GO OUT AND STALK THOSE BIRDS!!! With the
permission of your principal and perhaps a visit with some of
the nearest neighbors around the school you are ready to
begin direct observation and recording of birds and their
behavior. On the first trip be sure to stress that we will
walk only on sidewalks and in the alleys and that we will not
pick flowers or bother other peoples property. If students
know that the class will come in immediately if these rules
are broken they will be on their best behavior in order to
stay outside. (If principals and neighbors know this they
are also much more cooperative.) If you have some dead end
alleys for if some neighbors will permit it, you will have
better results if you can scatter out in small groups (all
within sight of the teacher) and sit down for periods of time
to wait for birds to come near.
7. After several days of bird walks, take a special mapping
walk. Help students draw a map of the area by providing them
with a handout with the blocks around the school outlined.
As you walk, draw in landmarks and use symbols to show the
locations of any nests that you have found in the area. Keep
this map up to date by adding newly discovered nests and by
recording the activity in and around the nests on a separate
sheet. Develop a map key to use on this record sheet.
RESOURCES/MATERIALS NEEDED: Resources on bird study are available
in every library and in every bookstore. In addition, there are
many good nature programs on public television and many good
videos available. Universities, Museums of Natural History, and
Zoos may have exhibits that can be toured or brought to the
school. The following is a list of resources that have proven
helpful.
TYING IT ALL TOGETHER: Science is a field of study that requires
doing--involvement. This unit allows students to use the skills
and methods required in the search for knowledge as well as
calling on their creative abilities in completing a record of
their work. It allows them to experience the beauty and wonder of
the natural world while gaining an appreciation of the need for
careful study in order to understand and preserve that beauty.
Click here to return to OFCN's Academy Curricular Exchange
Click here to return to OFCN's Academy
Click here to return to OFCN's Main Menu
John Kurilecjmk@ofcn.org