Wingspan: How Do Your Wings Measure Up?

SUMMARY:	Do this math activity to learn more about the size of the California Condor compared to other birds. This lesson is part of a series. Select this text to learn more about the series and how to extend its usefulness.
OBJECTIVES:	Learn about the diversity of birds through size comparison.
SUBJECTS:	Math
GRADES:	4 - 7
LENGTH:	Quickie

Background: Condors have one of the largest wingspans at nine feet. The average Hummingbird's wingspan is about 4", average duck's wingspan is 27", average gull's wingspan is 58" and the brown pelican's wingspan is 7'.

Materials: 9 foot piece of rope, 4 different colored pieces of string, small pieces of paper for "tags", and a tape measurer.

How to:

1. Have two students hold each end of the rope, demonstrating how long the wingspan of the condor is.
2. Use the measurements given above. If desired, have the students do additional research to find other bird species' wingspans. Have the students divide the wingspans of each of the birds by two.
3. Mark the middle of the rope. Starting at the middle measure the 1/2 lengths of each bird's wingspan against the condor rope in both directions. Tie the colored pieces of string along the rope to match where the tips of another bird's wings would be. Tag each string with the name of the bird.
4. Once you have all the strings tied on and tagged, have the students measure their arm span against the wings of all the other birds.
5. At the end have the students answer these comparative math questions: a) Which bird has the biggest wingspan and which has the smallest? b) What is the difference between the biggest and the smallest? c) Which two birds have the smallest difference in wingspan? d) What is the average wingspan?