Virtual Bird Lesson
Background for Presenters - click to view
This lesson for distance learning is based on our field Bird Behavior lesson and Cornell's Bird Sleuth "Bird Communication" lesson at the top of that page - the parts that work for online learning are on this page (here is a Google Doc outline with more details). For teaching remotely, it can be challenging to make a lesson engaging, fun, interactive, and meaningful, while keeping it short enough for the attention spans of 3rd-graders. So feel free to improvise and alter this lesson to make it work for you!
For Zoom, be sure to click the "Share Computer Sound" checkbox when presenting screen.
For Google Meet, choose Share TAB (not window) and make sure "share audio" is checked to hear the computer sounds
Feedback is appreciated if you have found something that works well or doesn't- contact mriley@inyocoe.org.
Intro - Bird Sounds
Today we are going to explore bird sounds, we're going to use our science skills to notice and wonder about them, make connections, and come up with explanations from evidence.
When we think of observation, we usually think of observing with our eyes, but you can observe with your ears, too! Take a few moments to move to where you can hear outside sounds - by an open window, or in your yard or on your porch. Notice if you can hear any birds, and pay attention to what they sound like. Is there more than one type of bird sound? Do you think there is more than one type of bird making those sounds? What do you think they are saying?
Warm Up - Morning Bird Chorus
Presenter Notes: Click on spectrogram above each bird to play the call; click on the bird to go to the All-About-Birds page.
STUDENTS:
Start making your bird sound when the clock reaches your start time (4, 5, 6, or 7 am)
Stop when the clock reaches your stop time (9, 10, 11, or noon)
Discussion - Why do Birds Sing or Call?
Presenter Notes: use Whiteboard in conferencing app or use physical "board' to record ideas, or just have discussion without a whiteboard.
Possible Answers
Territory - "get off my lawn!"
To Attract Mates
Warning or Alarm Call
Basic Communication - "I'm over here!"
The above are the 4 types of calls in the activity below, but students may come up with more!
Four Different Chickadee Calls - What do you think they mean?
Presenter Notes: play each call once, then go back and take students' guesses (students can also write their guesses in the chat or in notebooks)Chickadee Call # 1
Chickadee Call # 2
1) Click to see the answer
Singing to a potential mate, In most of North America, the song is a simple, pure 2 or 3-note whistled “fee-bee” or "cheese-bur-ger," or more appropriately, “hey, sweetie" This may also advertise the territory to other chickadees in the area.
2) Click to see the answer
Contact call, chipping chickadees foraging with other birds.
Chickadee Call # 3
Chickadee Call # 4
3) Click to see the answer
Danger or alarm call for when a predator is nearby. ("Chick-a-dee-dee") An increasing numbers of “dee” notes indicates an increasing level of alarm. In this call, you can hear several chickadees joining into the chorus of alarm. Interspersed with the “chickadee-dee-dee” call are scolding, high-pitched “see” notes.
4) Click to see the answer
A territorial “gargle” sound given when one chickadee intrudes on another chickadee’s territory or when two chickadees in a flock get too close together or are “arguing” over food, usually given by the dominant bird.
Bird Language - can you learn to speak "bird"?
Bird calls and songs have meaning, and we can learn what they mean by observing their behavior. Sometimes, knowing what those calls mean can help us - if a lot of birds are doing alarm calls, there may be a predator nearby!
Practice listening to birds talk by doing your own Magic Spot at home - try the sound map, where you draw or write out the different sounds you hear relative to where you are sitting - you can make up words that sound like the bird calls you hear.
See how many different kinds of bird songs you can notice - keep a list, and keep a list of your wonderings, too!
How to make a Sound Map
Magic Spot- Sound Map.pdfSound Map Journal Page
Eastern-Sierra-Birdcall-Bingo.pdfBird Call Bingo!
Maybe you'll hear your own Bird Song Opera!
You never know what you'll hear!
From The Institute for Bird Populations
Do a Magic Spot
Make a Sound Map in your journal of the bird songs you hear
OR, make notes about birds you see and what you think they might be doing
Just for Fun: Bird Call Bingo, Coloring Pages, and more!