Eat Like a Bird! January

Contributor
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Type Category
Instructional Materials
Types
Lesson/Lesson Plan , Activity
Note
This resource, vetted by NSTA curators, is provided to teachers along with suggested modifications to make it more in line with the vision of the NGSS. While not considered to be “fully aligned,” the resources and expert recommendations provide teachers with concrete examples and expert guidance using the EQuIP rubric to adapted existing resources. Read more here.

Reviews

Description

This lesson and activity is one of several lessons about birds. In this lesson, students learn that bird beaks come in many different sizes and shape. Each beak has a specific shape and function to help the bird to get and eat food.

Intended Audience

Learner
Educational Level
  • Early Elementary
Language
English
Access Restrictions

Free access - The right to view and/or download material without financial, registration, or excessive advertising barriers.

Performance Expectations

1-LS1-1 Use materials to design a solution to a human problem by mimicking how plants and/or animals use their external parts to help them survive, grow, and meet their needs.

Clarification Statement: Examples of human problems that can be solved by mimicking plant or animal solutions could include designing clothing or equipment to protect bicyclists by mimicking turtle shells, acorn shells, and animal scales; stabilizing structures by mimicking animal tails and roots on plants; keeping out intruders by mimicking thorns on branches and animal quills; and, detecting intruders by mimicking eyes and ears.

Assessment Boundary: none

This resource appears to be designed to build towards this performance expectation, though the resource developer has not explicitly stated so.

Comments about Including the Performance Expectation
As students develop an understanding of how the shape of a bird's beak connects to the function of the beak in relation to the food the bird consumes, the teacher may connect this understanding the number of items engineered to help us meet our needs. An example could be long spoons designed for ice cream sundaes or ice tea.

Science and Engineering Practices

This resource appears to be designed to build towards this science and engineering practice, though the resource developer has not explicitly stated so.

Comments about Including the Science and Engineering Practice
To fully address the Practice the teacher may ask students to apply experience and evidence to build and/or design a device that meets a need or solves a specific problem.

Disciplinary Core Ideas

This resource is explicitly designed to build towards this disciplinary core idea.

Comments about Including the Disciplinary Core Idea
The activity, Eat Like a Bird should be incorporated early in the overall lesson. This change to the instruction sequence will allow students to engage in the phenomena.

Crosscutting Concepts

This resource is explicitly designed to build towards this crosscutting concept.

Comments about Including the Crosscutting Concept
Birds have beaks similar to the tools you used in this activity. Have students match the shape/function of any of the tools with real beaks.

Resource Quality

  • Alignment to the Dimensions of the NGSS: The lesson has grade-appropriate elements of the Disciplinary Core Idea(s) and Crosscutting Concept(s). It provides opportunities to develop and use specific elements of the Disciplinary Core Idea(s) to make sense of phenomena and provides opportunities to develop and use specific elements of structure and function to make sense of phenomena.

  • Instructional Supports: The lesson plan and activities provide students with relevant phenomena to make sense of and/or relevant problems to solve. The lesson plan provides suggestions for how to connect instruction to the students' home, neighborhood, community and/or culture as appropriate.

  • Monitoring Student Progress: This lesson does not provide formative or summative assessment material.

  • Quality of Technological Interactivity: This lesson along with the entire BirdSleuth K-12 site developed by the Cornell Lab or Ornithology is easily accessed. The site provides a number of lessons and ideas for activities engaging students in phenomena. The Cornell Lab or Ornithology also provides a list of suggested literature and interactive opportunities.