Bird's Eye Story

SUMMARY:	Use your imagination to create a story from bird's eye perspective. 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 use their creativity to create a work of fiction.
SUBJECTS:	Language Arts
GRADES:	3 - 8
LENGTH:	Series or 1 - 2 hours

Background: Think of the last time you were up in an airplane. Your city or town took on a completely different shape from this perspective. Imagine if you were a bird, what would your perspective be?

Materials: Paper, pencil, and imagination.

How to:

1. Spark your students' imagination by having them all sit quietly in your classroom with their eyes closed as you narrate a made-up story from a bird's eye perspective, taking them on an imaginary trip from take-off to landing. Include familiar landmarks your bird might see. Or have your students read, over a series of time, "The Fledgling" by Jane Langton, which gives the perspective of a girl who rides on the back of a Canada goose.
2. Once students are in the mood, have them write their own bird's eye perspective story.
3. An option can be given for them to illustrate their stories.