Our class has begun learning about birds. We are conducting an in depth research about the exciting world of birds. Before we started our conversations about birds, the children had very little awareness of which animals were considered to be in the bird family and what made them birds. We will explore the characteristics of birds and learn the names of many different kinds of birds.
We launched our bird project with each child writing what they thought a bird was and naming as many birds as they could. The list of birds ranged from two to nine, with most of the children naming only three or four birds. Our goal is to increase their knowledge and appreciation for the wide diversity of birds. While on the field trip to the zoo, the students were assigned to a team parent, who led the students in a hunt for birds that could be found at the zoo. These teams generated long lists of the many birds that the children encountered on their zoo trip.
Our project based learning lessons about birds began with several general activities to familiarize the children with a wide variety of birds. This included investigating reference books about birds, exploring bird models, and making a drawing book of birds. By Wednesday we will narrow our study to include nine different focus birds for the children to consider researching. From this list the children will form research teams of two or more and begin their study. The teams will brainstorm what they already know about their chosen bird. To find out more information, on Thursday for homework they will talk with their family about the bird they are studying. Next the teams will study bird reference books specifically related to their topic and look for additional information on the internet. All the information the teams have found will be compiled into student-made reference books. Finally, each student will write an "All About" book specific to their chosen specie. This book will contain a table of contents, a diagram of the bird that each child drew, and information pages about the bird. We will include such things as:
Why is this animal a bird?
What does it eat?
Where does it live?
How does it move?
What is special about this bird?
How does it protect itself?
This study follows the basic format which was introduced first with our study of pets, and then with our study of farm animals, and woodland animals. With each study the students have added new presentation options. Our study of birds will include transforming our room into a imaginary aviary.
