More Activities

SUMMARY:	A collection of ideas for use in the classroom. This lesson is part of a series. Select this text to learn more about the series and how to extend its usefulness.
OBJECTIVES:	Students will become familiar with a broad range of topics dealing with birds.
SUBJECTS:	Science, Art, Language Arts
GRADES:	K - 8
LENGTH:	Various

1. Have the students make a notebook that surveys the birds that can be found in their area of Southern California. Have them devote one page to each species and include as much information about that species as they can find in their local library. Draw a picture of each species. Students can work individually or in teams.
2. Have students look through newspapers and magazines for several weeks or a month and collect articles, cartoons, and advertisements that in some way involve birds.
3. Have each student write their own naturalist's notebook, like John James Audubon. Each evening they can record observations of the birds, plants, and other animals they saw that day. Through sketches and writing they can record the changes as seasons progress.
4. Birds have several different wing shapes to correspond to different styles of flight. Have the students discuss each type of flight and see who can come up with the most birds in each category. Compare types of bird flight with our human attempts to fly.
5. Students can write a poem or adventure short story about flight from the bird's eye view of a hummingbird, eagle, pelican, or even an ostrich who longs to fly
6. " If I were a bird." Each student picks a bird that they feel reflects their personality. Depending on the length of the activity, they can describe the bird and tell why they picked it, or write a short story essay, or do a report on the bird with emphasis on topics such as habitat, food choice, close relatives, ecology, and interaction with humans. The student can include drawings or stylistic representations of their bird or make a name tag or button with their bird on it.
7. Hang a bird feeder outside your classroom. The students can build their own. Experiment with different types of food to see what different types of birds they attract. How do the bird's bills differ to eat the different types of food? Keep a journal of observations.
8. Create a game where the students try to "eat" different types of food with different types of utensils that we use. Compare these utensils with birds' beaks. Items can include: Raw Meat- knife, Dried fish flake food (for plankton) - macaroni strainer, Walnuts, sunflower seeds - nutcracker, Red-colored sugar water- straw, Meal worms in meal - short forceps, Live goldfish in tall jar with just a little water - longer forceps
9. Bring in different types of shoes such as: swim fins, hiking boots, waterproof mud boots, snowshoes, track shoes with spikes. See if you can think of birds that have feet adapted for similar functions.
10. Make tracks of different birds in plaster of paris, clay, or draw in sand. What are the different patterns and sizes of birds' feet? What adaptations do birds' feet exhibit to live in different environments? What are birds' feet used for?
11. Have the class draw a large wall-map of southern California. Color each of the habitats a different color, including the sea, shore, mountain, desert, chaparral, woodland, and marsh. Cut out pictures of birds and paste them in their appropriate habitat.
12. Have the class draw a mural with many different types of birds and their habitats.
13. Many birds have descriptive names, such as Yellow-rumped Warbler, Red-tailed Hawk, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. Have students read about a colorfully named bird, draw what they think it looks like and then look it up. Have them make up descriptive and fun bird names and then draw their own creations of birds.
14. Take a bird walk outside your classroom. Teach the students how to use binoculars. Make a list of all the birds you see around your classroom. Keep it going year-round. What birds are residents? What birds are migrants? Find out where the birds go when they are not in southern California.
15. Make your own bird field guide for your neighborhood. Take photos of the birds in your yard or in the surrounding area. Use a bird guide to identify the birds. Write a blurb about each.
16. Have a scavenger hunt and look for signs of birds in your neighborhood.
17. Contact a local conservation organization near you and find out what they are doing with birds. See if they can send a speaker to visit your classroom and bring some live birds.
18. Tape record bird songs. Listen to tapes of bird songs. How many can you imitate? Can you identify the birds by their song? How do the songs sound like sounds we make? What messages do birds communicate through song?
19. Have students visit the school library to learn about plants they can grow in a garden to attract birds. For example, hummingbirds feed on plants that have red, tubular flowers. Design a bird friendly garden.
20. Plant a garden in your school yard to attract hummingbirds and other birds. Place hummingbird feeders, seed feeders, suet, nest boxes, and bird baths in it. The students can observe behavior and learn about birds' habitat needs. Other topics they can learn about using this garden include nutrition, diet variation, water, temperature, migration, and bird identification.
21. Dissect a whole chicken. Study the internal organs, muscles, and bones. See if you can reassemble the bones into a chicken skeleton. , identify the bones end compare them with the ones in a human skeleton. How are they different?
22. Dissect owl pellets (obtainable from any biological supply company). What is a pellet? What birds other than owls, make them? Use a dichotomous key to determine what species of mammals the owl has eaten. Try to put the bones together to assemble the mammal. What are the names of the different bones? What is their function?
23. Break open a raw chicken egg and observe the parts.
24. Hatch a chicken. Learn about the function of an egg and how the chick is developing inside. Learn care and feeding of the young chick. Measure its daily growth and weight and observe how it learns about its environment.
25. Have the students make up a list of all the companies, shows, personalities, products, logos, and sports teams that have bird names such as the Atlanta Falcons, Big Bird, El Pollo Loco.
26. Have students make their own illustrated bird alphabet: "A" is for antbird, and, avocet, auklet, or albatross, etc. Don't sweat when you get to x (xenops) or z (zavatarriornis).
27. Have students pick one endangered bird species that lives in California and write a report discussing the reasons why it is endangered and the steps we are taking to preserve it
28. Birds in Mythology. Birds are visible and prominent and are featured in many of our stories including fairy tales and Aesop's Fables. Discuss birds as symbols in our myths and legends. Possible ideas include the owl of Athena, the phoenix rising from the ashes, and the stork bringing babies.
29. Students can select a culture/country ( Native Americans, Latin American, African, Australia, or Sweden for example), research how they use birds in myths, ceremonies, symbols, religion, and write a report about the culture.
30. What is California's State Bird? Have students do a report on state birds of other states.
31. Make a list of clichés we use in our language related to birds - such as "eats like a bird," "eyes like a hawk."
32. Have the students make a list of products we use from birds.
33. Each student can make a bird costume with bills and wings out of colorful construction paper. They should try and guess what bird each other.
34. When the students visit the Ralph W. Schreiber Hall of Birds, have them select their favorite species that is on display. When the class returns to school, have them prepare a report on that species. Include sketches of the bird and comments on the natural history of the bird.
35. The Hall of Birds features displays on the skeletons and organs of birds. After viewing the display at the Museum have the students set up comparative charts of the anatomy and physiology of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and fish.
36. Have students list all the different colors of feathers that you see in the Hall of Birds. See who can name the most birds that wear those colors. Make a list of all the different functions that feathers serve birds. What uses have humans made of feathers?
37. Find out more about your local Audubon Society and see what programs are offered for your students.
38. Visit nature centers such as Charmlee, El Dorado, Eaton Canyon, Placerita Canyon, Whinier Narrows, and the Wildlife Way Station.
39. College of the Canyons in Valencia has a Swallow Festival each spring to celebrate the return of the swallows, just like Mission San Juan Capistrano. Students could participate in the festival, or learn about bird migration - why the swallows return each year and where they go. Older students could check with the College about being research assistants in their ongoing swallow projects.
40. Visit the Los Angeles Zoo to see live birds in action.