Unit Study Inspiration: Birds
The Great Backyard Bird Count starts on Friday. Gear up to flex your citizen scientist muscle with these birding resources.
Read This
The Burgess Bird Book For Children by Thornton W. Burgess introduces kids to birds through Peter Rabbit stories, making it as fun to read as it is informative.
Hoot by Carl Hiaasen, tells the story of a boy’s efforts to save the habitat of a family of burrowing owls from an encroaching pancake restaurant.
Bright Wings, edited by Billy Collins, is a collection of poetry about birds.
Birds, Nests, and Eggs by Mel Boring, is just the thing for beginning birders. The book covers fifteen common birds, including their appearance, nesting habits, and ideas for bird-themed nature activities.
The Complete Birder: A Guide to Better Birding by Jack Connor is the perfect next step when you’ve mastered the basics of birding and want to sharpen your skills.
Watch This
The Life of Birds, from the BBC collection and narrated by David Attenborough, is a seven-part documentary just packed with avian information.
Winged Migration uses fabulous cinematography to capture birds in flight.
Do This
Dissect an owl pellet. If you’re not up for the real thing, use the KidWings Virtual Owl Pellet Dissection.
Play birdsong bingo. Practice identifying bird sounds by playing a bingo style identification game with a birdsong CD. (We like Know Your Bird Sounds, Volume 1: Yard, Garden, and City Birds andKnow Your Bird Sounds, Volume 2: Birds of the Countryside.)
Audubon’s Birds of America Coloring Book, part of the excellent Dover coloring book series, lets your student birders put their observation skills to the test coloring in copies of Audubon’s bird illustrations.
This article was originally published in the spring 2015 issue of home/school/life.
