Fantastic Feet and Beaks

Lesson Title: Fantastic Beaks and Feet

Grade Level: 4-9 Science Discipline: Life Sciences & Environmental Sciences

Concepts to be Constructed: Birds are amazing animals that are beneficial to the earth and people. Birds have special adaptations that help them to survive in their environment. Different birds have different beaks that are perfectly designed for their food sources. Different birds have different feet that allow them to catch food, grasp onto branches, swim through water and tear through flesh.

Sub-Concepts: Humans have the ability to impact a bird's life. By working to protect birds, we are ensuring a larger variety of life on the planet as well as protecting our food sources.

Materials Needed: Activity Station Materials- will need one set of all materials for each team. -5 plastic bowls to place the food materials in. -1 plastic plate to place the apple slices on. -1 cup of red kool-aid to represent flower nectar -1 straw to represent a hummingbird's beak. -1 piece of styrofoam with pieces of rice pushed into it - represents insects in wood -Marshmallows - represents flying insects -1 paper bag - represents whip-poor-will beak -1 mesh strainer- represents duckbill -Peanuts with the shells still on - represents seeds -1 pair of nutcrackers - represents cardinal's beak for breaking seeds -1 pair of tweezers - represents woodpecker bill - Dry or wet oatmeal with gummy worms in it- represents worms in the mud -1 pair of chopsticks - represents woodcock bill -1 apple sliced into pieces and placed in shallow plate of water - represents fish in shallow water -1 fork - represents heron bill -Picture of bird beaks -Enough play-doh for each student -Pencil and paper for sketching -Pictures of different birds and bird feet (enough for each group to have a set)

Expansion Activities: -Owl pellets (1 per student) -Safety goggles (1 per student) -Plastic gloves (1 pair for each student) -Rulers for measuring bones (1 or 2 for each table) -Tweezers (1 per student) -Paper plates (1 per student) -Black poster board cut into squares large enough for skeletons (1 per student, and 1 per team for collective skeleton) -School glue (1 per team) -1 set of dissection lab handouts per team -Skeleton diagram (1 per team) -Paper for each student -Markers & crayons for drawing food webs & ultimate birds.

Safety Precautions and/or Special Procedures: Divide students into groups prior to class, making sure to pair them in a manner that allows each student to demonstrate their strengths. Explain about using the tools for the Dinner with Birds Activity but do not give the answers away. When dissecting the owl pellets it is a good idea to have students wear safety goggles and plastic gloves. If you collect owl pellets on your own they must be sterilized in a 400˚ F oven for 2-4 hours. You may also want to try the virtual pellet dissection at www.kidwings.com.

1st E: EXPLORATION. Process Skills: Observation, Communication, Predication, Inference, Interpreting Data, Questioning, Defining Operationally, Hypothesizing EXPLORATION activity: Duration: 20-30 minutes Objective: Students will explore the different beaks and feet of various birds. They will learn that a bird’s beak and feet are specifically designed for the habitat in which it lives. Method/Procedure: Part One 1. Divide students into their activity groups. 2. Have the maintenance managers of each group collect the materials necessary for the activity and return to their learning station. 3. Encourage the students to explore the different food types and tools. 4. Have the group recorder write down or tape record things that they feel are special about bird beaks. 5. Guide the students through their explorations, but allow them to remain student-centered. 6. Have the students share their special observations about birds' beaks. 7. Allow at least 10 minutes for the beak & food exploration. Have the principal investigator read the directions aloud to their group and oversee that everyone is sharing and equally participating. Part Two 1. Now tell the students we are going to move on to bird feet. 2. Read the description of each bird, without telling the students what bird it is. 3. Have the students mold the foot of each bird described out of play doh, they may also sketch the feet. 4. Have the group recorder write down or tape record things that they feel are special about bird feet. 5. Have the students share the feet they created and their special observations. 6. Allow each group 10 minutes to explore. Have the principal investigator read the directions aloud to their group and over see that everyone is sharing and equally participating.

Activity Station Descriptions: Station #1: Dinner with the Birds- If you have students with severe material needs you may try using grips for the tools that represent the beak structures. You may also want to provide assistance manipulating the physical objects during the acitivity. -Set-up each station with various items that represent what a bird might eat, and household tools that represent a specific bird's beak structure: Paper bag, Chop sticks, Fork, Tweezers, Straw, Nutcrackers, and Strainer/Sieve. Food types include: Marshmallows to represent flying insects, Gummy worms in oatmeal to represent worms in mud, Apple slices on a plate of shallow water to represent fish, Rice pieces stuck into styrofoam to represent insects in wood, glass of red kool-aid to represent flower nectar, Peanuts with the shells still on, Rice crispies floating in water to represent bugs and plants on the surface of a pond. -Students will explore the bird food, and match each tool to the appropriate food. -Group recorders will write the food type and tool used to eat each food on their group worksheet. -After completion of this station, discuss the findings with the entire class.

Station #2: Fantastic Feet -Set-up each station with various pictures of different bird feet. -Provide enough play-doh for each group. -Have the students mold the different feet out of play-doh and save them for sharing with the class. -Have the students match the feet to the bird descriptions provided at the activity table. See attachment for descriptions. -After completion of this station, discuss the findings with the entire class.

2nd E: EXPLANATION; construction of the concept. Duration: 15 minutes Key questions and desired answers: What tools worked best for what food? What do you think each food item represented? Which bird used with tool and what food did they each eat? How did it feel to eat like a bird? What types of feet did you mold? Why do you think birds have different shapes of beaks and feet? Do the birds control these adaptations? Why or why not?

Procedures/steps toward concept construction: 1. After each group has completed each exploration, gather the class together for a teacher led discussion. 2. Invite them to share their answers, observations and creations from each exploration. 3. Reveal the adaptations of each exploration and the correct bird matches. 4. Encourage students to share the adaptations of birds as a whole and some of the individual types they encountered along the way. 5. Help the students visualize the concept from each exploration by using the following sentence starters: Birds eat many different foods including.... Birds' beaks are.... Birds' feet are... Birds' adaptations....

3rd E: EXPANSION of the Concept. Process Skills: Observation, Classification, Communication, Measurement, Prediction, Questioning, Using numbers, Interpreting Data, Inferring, Hypothesizing, Formulating Models Duration: 1 hour or more Activity (procedures/ steps): Owl Pellet Dissection- If you have students with severe material needs, you may visit www.kidwings.com and have them participate in a virtual pellet dissection. You may also have the student learn more about barn owls at www.owlbrandkits.com in their interactive owl viewer. 1. Divide the students into their activity station teams. 2. Have the materials managers get the following materials for their group: 5 pellets, 5 paper plates, 5 pairs of plastic gloves, 5 pairs of safety goggles, 5 pairs of tweezers, 1 set of dissection lab handouts, 1 skeleton diagram, 6 pieces of black poster board, and 1 bottle of glue. 3. Have the students follow safe science procedures by putting on their plastic gloves and safety goggles prior to beginning the dissection. 4. Each group will dissect their pellets, collectively working to build a complete skeleton of the prey animal. 5. The remaining bones may be glued onto the other poster boards and taken home with the students. 6. Students should glue their collective skeleton onto one piece of poster board and label each part. (See skeleton diagram for bone and part names). 7. After dissection of the pellets is complete, have the maintenance manager facilitate the group clean-up efforts. Students should throw away all the hair and any bone fragments not used. Students should wipe down their lab area with soap and water. Students should then thoroughly wash their hands with soap and water. 9. Have each group display their skeleton for the class to see. 10. Discuss with the students why someone would want to dissect an owl pellet. What would they want to learn from the experience. 11. Have the students create a group picture of a basic owl food web.

4th E: Evaluation of the Concept.

Hands-On Assessment: Use an embedded assessment to evaluate the process and science skill used during the explorations. Have the students list the different birds and the correlating beaks and feet for each bird.

Pictorial Assessment: Have the student create a picture of the ultimate bird, with representations of birds' special adaptations. Have the students complete the Dinner with the birds and Fantastic Feet worksheets.

Reflection Assessment: Have the students create story about their favorite bird. Have them include the ways that they eat, what they eat, they type of beak, and the type of feet. They may include pictures if they wish. OR have the students write a story about an owl hunting. Make sure they include descriptions about the owl's beak and feet.

References. Owl Brand Kits. (2000). Owl pellet dissection lab. Retrieved on February 27, 2005 from http://www.owlbrandkits.com/pdf/Lab.pdf. Sutton, A.H., Sorenson, L.G. & Keeley, M.A. (2001). Wondrous West Indian wetlands: A resource book on Caribbean wetlands for teachers and other educators. Boston: The West Indian Whistling- Duck Working Group of the Society of Caribbean Ornithology.

Adaptations for special needs: Some adaptations are embedded within the lesson for more adaptation suggestions see the Teaching Adaptation Suggestion Table in the environmental education adaptation suggestion section.