Academy Curricular Exchange
Columbia Education Center
Science

TITLE:  For the Birds

AUTHOR:  Maura O'Conner (Living Lightly in the City)
Submitted by:  Julie Yamamoto; West Canyon Elementary;
Caldwell, ID

GRADE LEVEL/SUBJECT:  K-3, Birds

OVERVIEW:  Many students have not taken or had the
opportunity to watch birds feed.  This activity will allow
students to build their own feeders and then watch the
habits of birds.

PURPOSE:  Students can draw conclusions about the location
of feeder sites and the time of day birds feed.  Many
questions can be explored.

OBJECTIVE:  Students will make simple bird feeders and
describe feeding behavior of birds (K-1), and graph the
numbers of birds feeding at different locations (2-3).

MATERIALS:  pine cones, cord or string, peanut butter, wax
paper, bird seed, egg cartons, sand, block of wood, long
nails, milk or juice jug (not detergent or bleach bottles!),
or leave it up to the children to design their own bird
feeder.

ACTIVITIES/PROCEDURES:  Grades K-1:  Select a design for a
simple feeder.  Have students hang their feeders on trees
you can observe from the classroom, cafeteria or library.
Students could also take the feeders home and hang them
outside.  Encourage them to check their feeders at least
twice a day.  Have them describe the color of birds, the
number feeding at one time, and any interactions between
birds or birds and other animals.  As a follow-up activity,
provide pumpkin and sunflower seeds for your students and
discuss the nutritional value of seeds as food for people.

Grades 2-3:  Have children select a bird feeder design.
Have students set up an experiment to determine where the
best site for a feeder might be.  Decide on three 10 minute
periods throughout the day when students will observe and
record the number of times birds feed at each site.  Make
bar graphs to record the results.  This could take up to two
weeks to collect enough data to graph.

TYING IT ALL TOGETHER:  Ask students to comment on the
graphs.  Students can draw conclusions about the best
location for the feeders.  They can also come up with other
questions they would like to find answers for.

SHORT DESCRIPTION FOR LISTING:  build a bird feeder and
observe bird behavior.

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