"All About Birds"
Lesson Plans created by -Stephen Labedz - for EVE 546 Spring 2009
Overview: Students
will participate in a variety of “food
gathering” activities in which various tools will simulate
different kind of
bird beaks, each with their own specialization. Students will
also time the various activities and graph the
results, comparing the results with their predictions. Students over the course of several weeks will
be introduced and will be expected to memorize the appearance and calls
of the
most common birds in their area and then display their prowess in the
field. Students
will be
introduced to the feathers of a bird and to their uses and to man-made
objects
performing some of the same tasks. Students over the
course of several classes will
participate in several experiments meant to explain how birds utilize
various
types of flight using form and techniques.
Objectives:
Students will:
-
Be able to list various uses of feathers, recognize various feathers on the body of birds, and be able to list specific uses that humans have found for feathers.
-
Be able to be able to identify by sight and sound, various common birds in their surroundings and develop a sense of the complexity and diversity inherent in successful ecosystems.
-
Learn, through hands on exploration, the advantages and necessity of animals adapting to fill specific niches in their respective environment.
-
Students will be able to recognize the various forms of flight utilized by birds and to understand the principles behind flight itself. Students will also be able to recognize the benefits inherent in each flight form.
Key Concepts: Biodiversity, Bird
feathers, Coloration, Evolution, Insulation, Ecology, Bird calls,
Survey techniques
Subjects: Biology,
Ecology, Geography,
Ornithology, Flight,
Wing Shape, Adaptation, Bernoulli’s Principle
Duration: 1 week followed
by numerous short periods over the course of 4 weeks to
familiarize/test
students with appearances and calls
Setting: Any classroom and
then eventually in the field
Season: Mid
to late fall or early spring
Interdisciplinary Connections
Frameworks: See Standards
Matrix
Individual Lesson Titles:
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Click
here for a PDF version of this unit plan -
Click
here for a PDF version of the Standards Matrix -
Matrix of Lesson Standards
Other EE lessons that would engage learners in a variety of inquiry activities including the following:
- Cove River Historical Site - Creating a Historical Timeline
- Navigating the Landscape - Geocaching
- People and Cultures - Natie American Site Introduction - Approaching the land with reverence - smudging.
- Soils
- Native Flora - plants of the region and habitats of coastal CT
- Native Fauna - animals of the region - birds
- Invasite and non-Native sepcies - invasive plants
- All about Insects
- Native and Colonial Agriculture
- Water and its uses - water quality
Environmental Science Education @ Cove River
Other Environmental Science activities conducted at the Cove River Site include SCSU Graduate and Undergraduate as well as local West Haven High School Environmental Science students using the GLOBE Program field observation strategies to gather information and data. These field investigations follow an Earth Systems Science approach. For each of 4 earth "spheres" - Geosphere, Hydrosphere, Biosphere and Atmosphere - field data are collected for analysis and sharing with the broader GLOBE Program community, which includes students from over 110 different countries.
SCSU Science Educaton & Environmental Studies - Cove River Historical Site GLOBE Investigations... coming soon!
- Geoshere investigations
- Hydrosphere investigations
- Biosphere investigations
- Atmosphere investigations
- other investigations
Mr. Kevin Dickson's Environmental Science and Ecology Classes - West Haven High School... coming soon!
Student Investigations: Zizi Yu's Hydrology Investigations..... coming soon!
Archaeology Education @ Cove River
The
Archaeological education activities occuring at the Cove River Site
have been directed by local experts in partnership with researchers
from the Yale Peabody Museum. A separate section ofthis website is
devoted to educational material, lessons and activities connected to
the history of human habitation and the story of native american life
ways at the site.
- Cove River Site Archaeology
- Local Native American life ways in coastal Connecticut
No Child Left Inside!
A generation of children are growing up with little opportunities taken to explore nature. What ever happened to un-structured play in our own backyards and neighborhood parks and open spaces. Where's my tree fort?
More than any other generation, today's kids spend a great deal of time indoors. No Child Left Inside℠ is a promise, and a pledge... to help Connecticut's children live active, healthier lives while they enjoy the natural treasures of our state parks and forests - and discover the rewards of becoming environmentally conscious citizens.
- Connecticut State Department of Environmental Quality - No Child Left Inside website!
Nature Deficit Disorder!
The term “nature-deficit disorder” was coined by author Richard Louv in his book “Last Child in the Woods” to describe what happens to young people who become disconnected from their natural world. Louv links this lack of nature to some of the most disturbing childhood trends, such as the rises in obesity, attention disorders, and depression.
Green outdoor settings appear to reduce ADHD symptoms in children across a wide range of individual, residential, and case characteristics. - Kuo and Taylor, NIH article
- A National Coalition for Environmental Education - No Child Left Inside website!
