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5D Interdependence of Life #1
For any particular environment, some kinds of plants and animals survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive at all....
5F Evolution of Life #1
Individuals of the same kind differ in their characteristics, and sometimes the differences give individuals an advantage in surviving and reproducing....
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Bird Beaks
Purpose
To explore the relationship between a bird's beak and its ability to find food and survive in a given environment.
Context
This lesson focuses on bird beaks, exploring the relationship between
a bird's beak and its ability to find food and survive in a given environment.
Students should be encouraged to explore how various organisms satisfy
their needs in the environments in which they are typically found. They
can examine the survival needs of different organisms and consider how
the conditions in particular habitats can limit what kinds of living
things can survive. Studies of interactions among organisms within an
environment should start with relationships that students can directly
observe. Students should look for ways in which organisms in one habitat
differ from those in another and consider how some of those differences
are helpful to survival. The focus should be on different features of
organisms and how these features impact the organism's chances for survival
and reproduction.
Planning Ahead
Gather several online and print photographs of birds
for student exploration. Online resources containing photos of birds
include:
Materials:
Note: You may want to print out and make copies of the Build a Bird Kit ahead of time so that you can provide copies to students.
Motivation
Have students discuss birds with which they are familiar,
and then focus the discussion on beaks. What do birds use their beaks
for? Are all beaks the same? What beak shapes have students seen?
Next, students should use the Bird Beaks student E-Sheet to view the page called Natural
Tools on the Illinois Birds website. Have students read the text and look at
bird beaks on this page. Then ask students to discuss why each beak
type is compared to a specific tool. What are some uses of the tools?
Of the beaks?
Use the resource Peekabeak, from the Missouri
Department of Conservation, to further discuss the purpose of a bird's beak shape. Students should use their student E-Sheets to go to the online activity, Beak Bingo, located on the same page, where they should try to match
the birds with the foods they eat. Students should be able to explain
and defend their answers.
Development
Allow students to continue exploring birds and their
beaks by observing real birds in the schoolyard as well as photographs (print or
online). There are several websites that contain bird photos, including:
After students have looked at a variety of birds, refer them to the charts
of Bird Adaptations: Feet and Bird Adaptations: Bills and Beaks. Discuss what features of the beaks
and feet might make them suitable for the activities listed. Then tell
students that they will try to test out different models of bird
beaks to see which are most effective in picking up different types of food sources. In this activity, students pretend to be birds by using the "beaks" (spoons, chopsticks, or tweezers) to eat the "food" (glass marbles, pennies, or toothpicks).
Distribute the Choosing Your Food Wisely student sheets. Students should use the materials and follow
the instructions provided. Tell students that in this activity they are to pretend that they are birds. Students
will each have one beak type (which they must keep throughout the activity) and a cup (to represent the bird's stomach)
and will attempt to pick up various types of food at timed intervals. Emphasize that they can use only that beak for eating. They should hold the beak in one hand and the stomach (plastic cup) in the other hand. When done, they will make a graph that will show how much of each kind
of food each beak type can pick up.
Place the first food item (glass marbles) in the middle of a feeding area you have set up (i.e., the middle of a circle created by students). Tell students that when you say "Go," they should feed for 1-2 minutes or until all the food is gone. Students should then empty their cups and count the contents. They should then record the amount on their Bird Beaks Record Sheet. Repeat this activity for the other types of food (pennies and toothpicks).
After students have recorded the results, ask each student to provide you with the total amount of food collected by each beak, which you can record on a grid on the blackboard or using the grid provided on the Bird Beaks teacher sheet. (Note that students have a copy of this grid on their student sheets.) Add up all the student totals for each beak type and then ask students to make a bar graph using these totals. There should be a different color bar for each type of food. The three different bird beaks should be displayed on the X axis, with the amount of food on the Y axis (see the sample bar chart on the student sheet). Discuss the results by asking these questions:
- Which beak collected the most of which food item?
- What do you think would happen to your bird if only one food
item was available?
- Which of the beak types feed most successfully on which food
item?
- Was one beak type successful with more than one food item?
- Did your earlier observations about beak types help
you to understand how birds feed side by side but utilize different
food items?
You could have students predict some places (or
habitats) in which birds with particular beak types could survive. Then
they could research actual birds with beaks that resemble those modeled
in the activity, and check to see if their predictions were consistent
with the research.
Assessment
To assess student understanding, have each student
do an activity in which they build a bird. Pass out the Build a Bird Kit that you printed out before class. The object
of this activity is to design a real or imaginary bird that is adapted
by its feet and beak for a particular way of survival. Students should use the different bird parts on the page to build their bird. After students
have constructed their bird, they should select and describe a habitat
in which they think that bird would thrive.
Extensions
The Science NetLinks lesson, Animal Adaptations can help extend the ideas in this lesson by expanding students’ knowledge of animal features and behaviors that can help or hinder their survival in a particular habitat.
All About Birds is the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology site that provides a wealth of information about birds.
Created : 09/05/2003 |