Bird Clues 1st grade Outreach Program 02/11 Objective: To identify the one characteristic that differentiates birds

s from other organisms To recognize that characteristics of birds help them survive in their environment To recognize that characteristics of birds differ depending on what they eat or where they live Set-up: Hang up the What is a Bird? poster and the Bird lues song poster underneath it! lay out materials on table" # $s students come in get a head count and show students or tell teachers how to have them sit" %a&e sure there is space between each row for you to wal& through as well as the aisle" Materials: 'ffice: %i&e(s office o )esses * leash +bac& of door,! o mister bottle small green sheet to cover cage +inside gray wooden cabinet, -ear $dmin .es& during Bird lue season: o /reat Blue Heron +on $dmin .es&, o Bird lues bin0 ta&e entire bin +front of $dmin .es&, 1aptors mews: o 'wl! carrier ! "#gageme#t $Setti#g the Stage% & 'the hoo(): 10 mi# 2ntroduce yourself +and other staff! if present, $s&! Who &nows why 2(m here today? Today you will be learning about birds" 3et(s read title of the poster together" Have students read along with you! What is a Bird? %any of you will be raising your hands to as& 4uestions" How will 2 &now it(s a 4uestion and not a story? 1ight! a 4uestion ends with a 4uestion mar& and needs an answer" $ story tells me something and us usually longer than a 4uestion" 5ince 2 can only be here for a short time! 2(m going to as& that you stic& with as&ing me 4uestions or answering my 4uestion" 2 wish 2 had time to hear your stories! but if 2 did that we wouldn(t have time to see a special visitor 2 brought today" 5o remember 6 we need 4uestions or answers! not stories7 3et(s read the rest of the poster together" 1eady? /'7 As you read place your hand under the word so all students can follow along. That was good7 $s&! .o you li&e to sing? 5o do birds7 .o you &now the song 3ondon Bridge is 8alling .own? 2 have a song that sounds the same! but has different words" 2 am going to sing the Bird lues 5ong so you can hear how it goes" Sing the Bird song once by yourself" The second time, ask the students to sing through it with you. Then tell them we need to add some action to the song to make it more fun. Demonstrate the 3 movements. When you hear the word feet 0 touch your hand to foot! 9, When you hear the word *i#gs 0 fold both hands bac& and into arm pit then flap to and from the side of your body! and :, When you hear the word bea( 6 using both hands above your head! hold ; fingers together and place thumb underneath" pen and close the hand" -ow! we(ll add the movements to the song" Before we begin! here is what 2 want you to do: When 2 say the word spelled by the letters /0'! 2 want you to stand up" /'7 $re you ready to sing? -ow remember! no noises! )ust movements" Sing three times with movement ! starting out slow and then eventually going fast. After the third time singing with movements, have the students pat themselves on the back and sit down. "ake sure that the aisles are open and there is space between each row for walking.

B! "+pectatio#s/"+ploratio#: ,0 mi#utes What does it mean to be uni4ue? Different or special. What ma&es a bird different from all other animals? <ou may get answers li&e flight! wings or bea&s" #or flight reply! 2nteresting! but penguins don(t fly! do they? #or wings reply, /ood guess! but don(t butterflies and bats have wings? 5o its not wings" #or beaks reply, /ood guess! but did you &now a turtle(s mouth is called its bea&? 5o it(s not a bea&" 8eathers7 'nly birds have feathers" Have you ever seen a reptile li&e a lizard or turtle with feathers? Have you ever seen a fish with feathers or a dog with feathers? Have you ever seen people with feathers? That(s because feathers ma&e birds different from -- other animals" 2f you have feathers you(re a +have students answer, bird.... Here are 9 feathers that came from a Bald =agle at - == " $ass the % Bald &agle feathers around. Demonstrate how to pass the feathers so they last longer. Have the teacher start the feathers in the bac& of the room! that way the feathers will be passed toward the front of the room for easy collecting" What are some things that all living things need to survive? #ood, water, shelter, air, Birds have special tools to help them get the things they need to survive" 3et(s tal& about those" What do birds do with their feet? 'accept all answers( for holding on to things, to walk, )* Don+t prompt swimming, since that will come up later. Wal& around the room showing students the Bald =agle replica rubber foot while placing it on her>his hand" What do you thin& this bird(s foot is used for? +#or holding on to things*. .o you thin& all birds( feet loo& li&e this? ?eep an eye out for other bird feet when we pass items around to see if we missed anything feet might be used for7 What do birds use their bea& for? 'accept all answers( feeding, singing, breathing, )*,f eating worms comes up( .o all birds eat worms? -o. 2t would loo& pretty funny to see a large Bald =agle loo&ing for enough worms to feed itself! wouldn(t it? Birds also use their bea&s in a way we did earlier" Birds use their bea&s to communicate -ow we(re going to loo& at different birds and 2(m going to as& you what the bea&s and feet are used for" %ost of the bird and things 2 show you are real! but not alive" Before we begin! remember that 2(m going to be as&ing you 4uestions which 2 need you to answer" 2f you need more information to answer the 4uestion! raise your hand and when 2 call on you say! 2 need a Bird lue and 2(ll give you a little hint" $re you ready? Commo# /lic(er $0oodpec(er% mou#t 0 This bird has a strong! thic&! chisel0li&e bea&" What is this bird(s bea& used for? Bird lue 6 This bird(s name begins with wood" Wal& this bird around the room" This bird uses its bea& to ma&e holes" .oodpecker. Why would a woodpec&er ma&e a hole? +To eat grubs! ants! beetles! and termites! or to ma&e a shelter or nest," ?noc& on wood or ob)ect to ma&e noise" Why would a woodpec&er &noc&? Why do people &noc&? To let the person inside know you are there. 2t(s a way to communicate" Woodpec&ers do the same thing" By &noc&ing they are letting the other birds &now that they are in the area" 2t helps the birds &eep trac& of who is where" /emale 1orther# Cardi#al or Bob*hite stud2 s(i# 6This bird has a short! fat! strong! triangle0shaped bea&" Wal& the bird around through each row so students can see the bea& up0close" What &ind of bird is this? -. /ardinal 1emember! you can as& for a bird clue" What would you eat with this type of bea&? Bird lue 6 2t(s rhythms with the word beads" Bird lue 6 This bird eats things that come from a plant" +5eeds they crac& with their strong bea&, 8or ardinal: 8emales or girls are brown and males are bright red" Why are the females brown and drab? To be hard to see and to keep the babies safe. What is it called when an animal blends in with its environment? /amouflage 3reat Blue 4ero# mou#t 6 This bird has a long! sharp! pointed bea&" Wal& this bird around the room" .o you &now what bird this is? This is a /reat Blue Heron" What is this bea& used for? Bird lue: This bird wal&s in shallow water loo&ing for food" 5ee these long! slender legs and long toes? This bird wal&s slowly through the water and when it sees a fish close by! it stands still until the fish is closer and then 4uic&ly moves forward spearing the fish and flipping the fish into its mouth" Demonstrate the heron spearing 0w your hand over your head. Why doesn(t a bird chew? Because it has no teeth. Herons swallow their food whole! head first" 5uc( stud2 s(i#6What &ind of bird is this? Duck. orrect" How does a duc& use its bea& to get food? The duck puts its head underwater to scoop up food" 'ne 4uestion students often as& is how do duc&s get the food separated from the water? 2nstead of me answering that for you! how about some bird clues? <our

teacher and 2 will be passing some items around" 2 want you to pay careful attention to this part of the duc&(s bea& +demonstrate how0where to feel it so they notice the ridges*. When you touch the duc& do this +demonstrate the % finger rub from front to back before passing around to minimi1e feather loss on the specimen , and ma&e sure you loo& carefully at these 'rubber duck feet*" Ask the teacher to help you, by taking one of the study skins around half the room" -ow! 2 have a couple of 4uestions now that you(ve chec&ed out the clues" How does a duc& separate the food from the water? Accept 23% answers. The bird will s4ueeze the water out through the ridges or spaces along the edge of its mouth leaving the food behind" 2t(s li&e when adults try to get noodles separated from water" They pour the pot of noodles>spaghetti and water into a bowl w> holes 6 the water drains out and the noodles are left behind7 The duc&(s bea& has ridges around the edge of its bill that traps the food in the mouth but allows the water to drain out" -e@t 4uestion: What are these feet used for? merica# 0oodcoc( $ 6 : 7imber 5oodle% stud2 s(i#6 This bird has a long! narrow bea& with a round! fle@ible tip" This is an interesting bea&" Wal& the bird around through each row so students can see the bea& up0close" What is this bea& used for? Bird lue 6 This bird lives on the ground where the soil is wet and soft" This bea& is used for po&ing into the ground to find worms and other things" When it finds the worm! it suc&s it up into its mouth! sort of li&e we do when we eat spaghetti noodles" Would you li&e to &now how the male Timber .oodle gets his girlfriend? The male Timber .oodle does a dance" Demonstrate the dance by walking slow and moving your head forward and backwards at the same time. Then add the 4$eent5 noise that it makes while doing the dance. &6plain how the male will dance, fly up into the air and make large circles as it comes back down toward the ground at the same time its wings, tail3feathers and voice make noises" Then the male Timber .oodle starts all over again" The female Timber .oodle is somewhere nearby watching the male Timber .oodle" 2f she thin&s he(s a good dancer! then they will be girlfriend and boyfriend" $oint out that this entire dance is a form of communication" 8ireo stud2 s(i#6 This bird has a short! tweezer0 li&e bea&" Wal& the bird around through each row so students can see the bea& up0close" How many of you &now what tweezers are? The small pointy tools used for grasping small things li&e splinters and hairs. What do you thin& this bird uses its tweezer li&e bea& for? Bird lue: This bird lives high in the trees where its food feeds on leaves" 2t uses its bea& to feed on caterpillars and insects" 2t will hold the caterpillar in its bea& and bang and scrape the caterpillar against the branch to ma&e it softer and easier to eat" Barred O*l a#d 9ed-tailed 4a*( stud2 s(i#s 6 This bird has a strong! sharp! hoo&ed bea& with strong feet" These birds use their strong feet and talons to catch and hold food or prey" The owl and haw& are both of birds of prey" Birds of prey use their feet to hold their food and the bea& to tear the food into smaller pieces" Discuss how it+s like you holding the food w0 your fork while cutting w0 the knife. 2 want you to loo& carefully at the feet and bea& of this bird" <ou can touch the feathers front to bac&" .alk the two study skins around. Ask the teacher to help you, by taking one of the study skins around half the room. .o all birds have wings? 7es" .o all birds fly? -o. 5how the Barred 'wl wing" What are some birds that have wings! but not fly? Baby birds! emu! ostrich! and penguins"

C! "+ploratio#/"valuatio#/"+te#sio#: ,0 mi#utes $re you ready to meet a live bird? The bird 2(m about to bring out is not a pet! but a wild bird" Because the bird is wild and has both sharp talons and a bea&! we will not be petting the bird" 2 need you stay really still and 4uiet so the bird doesn(t get more scared that it already is" 2f you feel li&e you might accidentally ma&e a noise! please place your hand of your mouth now" Bring out the owl or hawk. What do you notice about this bird? She only has 2 wing. ,f it+s the screech owl, she has a damaged eye and brain. Believe it or not! her in)ury was probably caused by litter7 What is litter? =@plain what we thin& happened to the bird and about )esses and gloves used to handle the bird" When e@plaining about the permit! use the e@ample of adults having a driver(s license to drive a car" 5ame with our bird permit to &eep the bird at our site" What time of day do owls come out? -ight. .oes anyone &now what it(s called when an animal comes out at night? -octurnal. Aut bird away! as&ing for student cooperation w> 4uiet" losure: 0What ma&es a bird different from all other animals? Whisper the answer" /'7 #eathers.

0 ,f they don+t know, say 2t(s time for one last bird clue" 3et(s sing the song we did earlierB"" 0 Ask the 8uestion again. ,f they knew the answer to the 8uestion already, sing the song as closure.