Hi Families…
In this lesson, your child will learn about bird beaks and how they come in many different sizes and shapes. But, that their beaks have a purpose that is why they are shaped the way they are.
For this activity you will need various sizes and shapes of cooked pasta and some seeds (and some oil). Plus you will need different utensils (spoons, forks, chopsticks, fingers, etc.).
What is the lesson (overall purpose)? Children will learn about special functions of bird beaks.
MA Guidelines/Standards:
Inquiry skills: use simple tools to explore and experiment with.
Language: Communicating personal experiences
Learning Outcomes: My hopes are that children will be interested in the birds in their backyard, neighborhood and on Cape Cod.
Birds all have some kind of beak for grasping and eating their food. The size and shape of a birds beak enables it to eat certain kinds of food. Seeds and nut eaters, such as sparrows and finches, usually have short, thick beaks for cracking open seeds. Nectar feeders, such as hummingbirds, have long, slender beaks for reaching into flowers. Flesh eaters like hawks and owls, have powerful hooked beaks for tearing and cutting flesh and skin. Other birds may have beaks suited for filtering, spooning, chiseling or pinching.
A birds beak is an example of an adaptation, a special feature or behavior that helps an animal survive in its environment.
Songs, Books & Videos (Motivational Techniques)
Bird feeding adaptations: https://youtu.be/lFZ8NMBDCJw
Peaceful relaxing instrumental music (with birds)
https://youtu.be/kA8cOG2cRzE
Materials:
-a set of eating utensils for each child/person participating in the activity (spoon, fork, chopsticks or 2 craft sticks, 2 toothpicks).
-various shapes of cooked pasta (shells, spaghetti, macaroni etc).
-vegetable oil
-sunflower or pumpkin seeds
-serving utensils
-small plate
-colander
Activity (Procedure):
-cook the pastas together in 1 pot
-drain and rinse the pasta using a colander.
*pasta may also be served chilled
-sprinkle the pasta with seeds before serving on a small plate.
Ask your child or people participating in the activity to use the utensils to eat each piece of pasta and seeds. Encourage them to try to use all the different utensils. Avoid picking up any food with your hands.
Activity Wrap Up:
Ask your child about each utensil that they used (What did you eat with the spoon? fork? chopsticks? toothpicks? etc.). Why did that utensil work well with those foods?
We eat with utensils, and certain utensils work best with certain foods. Do birds use utensils to eat? How do birds eat?
Which bird's beaks are best for each of the bird foods we tried?
How do I know what my child is learning? (Assessment)
How can looking at a birds beak help us guess what it eats?
How can you extend this activity? (Modifications)
Take a walk outside to look for birds. Walk quietly and listen for bird songs and calls. When you see a bird, watch it closely. Can you see it eating? Look carefully at its beak. What might this bird eat?
*Go to Beech Forest Trail in Provincetown. Bring bird seed with you. If you shake your birdseed while walking down the trail, then place some birdseed in the palm of your hand..birds will come and eat out of your hands. It is approximately a mile trail.
Helpful Hints: (Pitfalls & Solutions)
If you don’t have any birds in your yard. You can visit a pond, lake or the ocean to find birds.
In this lesson, your child will learn about bird beaks and how they come in many different sizes and shapes. But, that their beaks have a purpose that is why they are shaped the way they are.
For this activity you will need various sizes and shapes of cooked pasta and some seeds (and some oil). Plus you will need different utensils (spoons, forks, chopsticks, fingers, etc.).
What is the lesson (overall purpose)? Children will learn about special functions of bird beaks.
MA Guidelines/Standards:
Inquiry skills: use simple tools to explore and experiment with.
Language: Communicating personal experiences
Learning Outcomes: My hopes are that children will be interested in the birds in their backyard, neighborhood and on Cape Cod.
Birds all have some kind of beak for grasping and eating their food. The size and shape of a birds beak enables it to eat certain kinds of food. Seeds and nut eaters, such as sparrows and finches, usually have short, thick beaks for cracking open seeds. Nectar feeders, such as hummingbirds, have long, slender beaks for reaching into flowers. Flesh eaters like hawks and owls, have powerful hooked beaks for tearing and cutting flesh and skin. Other birds may have beaks suited for filtering, spooning, chiseling or pinching.
A birds beak is an example of an adaptation, a special feature or behavior that helps an animal survive in its environment.
Songs, Books & Videos (Motivational Techniques)
Bird feeding adaptations: https://youtu.be/lFZ8NMBDCJw
Peaceful relaxing instrumental music (with birds)
https://youtu.be/kA8cOG2cRzE
Materials:
-a set of eating utensils for each child/person participating in the activity (spoon, fork, chopsticks or 2 craft sticks, 2 toothpicks).
-various shapes of cooked pasta (shells, spaghetti, macaroni etc).
-vegetable oil
-sunflower or pumpkin seeds
-serving utensils
-small plate
-colander
Activity (Procedure):
-cook the pastas together in 1 pot
-drain and rinse the pasta using a colander.
*pasta may also be served chilled
-sprinkle the pasta with seeds before serving on a small plate.
Ask your child or people participating in the activity to use the utensils to eat each piece of pasta and seeds. Encourage them to try to use all the different utensils. Avoid picking up any food with your hands.
Activity Wrap Up:
Ask your child about each utensil that they used (What did you eat with the spoon? fork? chopsticks? toothpicks? etc.). Why did that utensil work well with those foods?
We eat with utensils, and certain utensils work best with certain foods. Do birds use utensils to eat? How do birds eat?
Which bird's beaks are best for each of the bird foods we tried?
How do I know what my child is learning? (Assessment)
How can looking at a birds beak help us guess what it eats?
How can you extend this activity? (Modifications)
Take a walk outside to look for birds. Walk quietly and listen for bird songs and calls. When you see a bird, watch it closely. Can you see it eating? Look carefully at its beak. What might this bird eat?
*Go to Beech Forest Trail in Provincetown. Bring bird seed with you. If you shake your birdseed while walking down the trail, then place some birdseed in the palm of your hand..birds will come and eat out of your hands. It is approximately a mile trail.
Helpful Hints: (Pitfalls & Solutions)
If you don’t have any birds in your yard. You can visit a pond, lake or the ocean to find birds.
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