Bird Basics 4 th 5 th Grade Lesson Plan For more information, please contact: Janice Kerber Director of Education John D. MacArthur Beach tate Park T: (561) 776-7449 Ext 104 Email: janicekerber@macarthurbeach.org [January 2012]
Bird Basics (Pretest / Post-test) (You may use the back of this paper or attach additional sheets to answer the questions.) 1. Explain how animals get their energy. 2. how the flow of energy from a producer to a bird of prey such as an osprey, owl, hawk or eagle. 3. What do all animals need in order to survive? 4. Tell what happens if an animal cannot meet its basic needs in its environment. 5. Choose an animal and describe an adaptation the animal has to help it survive in its environment. 6. Pick one of the following ecosystems and create a food web. (hammock, estuary, dune and beach, or rock reef) 7. Name a positive and negative impact humans can have on an environment.
Bird Basics (Pretest / Post-test) (You may use the back of this paper or attach additional sheets to answer the questions.) 1. Explain how animals get their energy. Animals must consume (eat) plants or other animals to get their energy. 2. how the flow of energy from a producer to a bird of prey such as an osprey, owl, hawk or eagle. ea grass small fish large fish Osprey 3. What do all animals need in order to survive? Animals need food, water, shelter and space. 4. Tell what happens if an animal cannot meet its basic needs in its environment. If an animal cannot meet its needs the animal may move to a new location or it will die. 5. Choose an animal and describe an adaptation the animal has to help it survive in its environment. (Answers will vary. One example may be an osprey. Osprey have talons for catching their prey (fish) like all birds of prey. ) 6. Pick one of the following ecosystems and create a food web. (hammock, estuary, dune and beach, or rock reef) Osprey Large Fish Great Blue Heron Rosette poonbill mall Fish crabs shrimp ea grasses 7. Name a positive and negative impact humans can have on an environment. Positive impacts on a beach environment picking up litter or not littering at all, staying off the dune, when snorkeling, swimming or boating remember to not touch the reef, do not
disturb turtle nests, if you live along the beach, turn off your outside lights at night during turtle nesting season, etc. Negative impacts on a beach environment littering the beach, leaving fishing line on the ground or water, walking on the dunes, dropping anchor on a reef, building on the dunes, etc
Title Bird Basics Mini-Lesson Grade level Fourth and Fifth Grade tudent Target Fourth Grade Benchmarks C.4.N.1.1 C.4.L.17.2 C.4.17.3 C.4.L.17.4 Raise questions about the natural world, use appropriate reference materials that support understanding to obtain information ( identifying the source), conduct both individual and team investigations through free exploration and systematic investigations, and generate appropriate explanations based on those explorations. Explain that animals, including humans, cannot make their own food and that when animals eat plants or other animals, the energy stored in the food source is passed to them. Trace the flow of energy from the un as it is transferred along the food chain through the producers to the consumers. Recognize ways plants and animals, including humans, can impact the environment. Fifth Grade Benchmarks C.5.L.15.1 Describe how, when the environment changes, differences between individuals allow some plants and animals to survive and reproduce while others die or move to new locations. C.5.L.17.1 Compare and contrast adaptations displayed by animals and plants that enable them to survive in different environments such as life cycles variations, animal behaviors and physical characteristics. Materials (tart Here) Teacher Copies of the pretest from the packet MacArthur Beach Packet Copies of Bird Feet Adaptations Bird Identification Books, magazines with pictures of birds, or Bird Books Copies of Bird orting Chart Warm-up 1. Administer the pre-test provided in packet. 2. Using the Bird Feet Adaptation heet, discuss the structure of birds feet and why different birds have this adaptation. Main Lesson 3. In teams of 3 or 4 children, provide each group a bird identification book, magazines with pictures of birds or bird books and the sorting sheet. Have each group go through the resource materials and sort the animals based on their feet structure. Reflection 4. Discuss the results of their findings. 5. What other structures do these birds have to help them survive? What type of environment do you think they may live in for this structure to be necessary? Assessment Pretest Participation in the activity Attachments Information packet about John D. MacArthur Beach tate Park Copy of Bird Feet Adaptations Copy of Bird Feet orting heet
Title Bird Basics Regular Lesson Grade level Fourth and Fifth Grade tudent Target Fourth Grade Benchmarks C.4.N.1.1 C.4.L.17.2 C.4.17.3 C.4.L.17.4 Raise questions about the natural world, use appropriate reference materials that support understanding to obtain information ( identifying the source), conduct both individual and team investigations through free exploration and systematic investigations, and generate appropriate explanations based on those explorations. Explain that animals, including humans, cannot make their own food and that when animals eat plants or other animals, the energy stored in the food source is passed to them. Trace the flow of energy from the un as it is transferred along the food chain through the producers to the consumers. Recognize ways plants and animals, including humans, can impact the environment. Fifth Grade Benchmarks C.5.L.15.1 Describe how, when the environment changes, differences between individuals allow some plants and animals to survive and reproduce while others die or move to new locations. C.5.L.17.1 Compare and contrast adaptations displayed by animals and plants that enable them to survive in different environments such as life cycles variations, animal behaviors and physical characteristics. Materials for Pre & Post Lessons (tart Here) Teacher MacArthur Beach Packet Copies of the post-test Construction Paper Craft supplies (glue, stapler, tape, scissors, string, yarn, artificial feathers, etc.) tudent Paper Colored pencils or crayons Pre-visit Warm-up Lesson (completed in classroom before visiting) 1. Review the information in the MacArthur Beach packet with your students. Main Lesson (completed during visit with their staff) 1. Welcome, Introductions to park, overview of park, and safety talk. 2. Divide the students into 2 groups to rotate through 2 different activities: A. Estuary to Beach Hike: tudents will explore the ecosystems from the Estuary to the Beach focusing on the diversity of the environments and the adaptations that the birds have in order to survive in these environments. B. Oh Osprey!: tudents will participate in an activity to learn how birds survive in their environment and compare skulls and feet replicas of various birds to see the adaptations necessary for survival. Post-visit Reflection Lesson (completed in classroom after visiting) 1. Divide the children into teams of 3 to 4. Tell the children they are going to be transported 25 years into the future. Their task is to write about the conditions of the environment and draw or construct a bird that can exist in this new environment. What adaptations will your bird need in order to survive? Be able to tell about what it eats, how it finds shelter, how it moves, and how it raises its young. 2. Write about your experiences at John D. MacArthur tate Park. Assessment 1. Complete the post-test included in your packet. 2. Participation in the activity Attachments Information packet about John D. MacArthur Beach tate Park
BIRD FEET ORTING HEET GRAPER CRATCHER WIMMER PERCHER RUNNER CLIMBER