BIRD FEEDERS

Goals/Objectives
- Students will identify the elements of a bird feeder that help meet the needs of birds.
- Students will design and build a bird feeder using a curated collection of [mostly]
recycled materials.
- Students will hang their bird feeders in the schoolyard so that various birds can come to
eat.

Standards and Assessment Anchors

Science
NGSS:
- K-2-ETS1-2. Develop a simple sketch, drawing, or physical model to illustrate how the
shape of an object helps it function as needed to solve a given problem.
NGSS Practice:
- Define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or
improved object or tool.
NGSS Cross-cutting Concept
- The shape and stability of structures of natural and designed objects are related to their
function(s). (1-LS1-1)
NGSS Core Disciplinary Idea
- LS1.A: Structure and Function: All organisms have external parts. Different animals use
their body parts in different ways to see, hear, grasp objects, protect themselves, move
from place to place, and seek, find, and take in food, water and air.

Visual Arts
- VA:Cr2.1.1a: Explore uses of materials and tools to create works of art or design.

Materials and preparation

- Chart paper
- Markers
- Milk cartons (collected from breakfast)
- Pie tins
- Wooden skewers
- Wire to hang them up
- Scissors (for kids)
- Glue
- Scissors/exacto knives (for adults to prep certain cuts ahead of time)
- Paint, paintbrushes and cups etc (art room)
- Birdseed + scooping cup
Classroom arrangement and management issues
- We will go through the conceptual part of the design process in class ahead of time so
that we can devote as much of the art period as possible to actually building. Filling and
hanging up the feeders will happen outside, to minimize the mess and because of
course the feeders ultimately need to be outside!
- In art class, one person from each group will go up to get the materials, which I will
arrange in baggies ahead of time so that they only need to make one trip.
- I will choose the groups based on who I think will work together successfully. Sharing
responsibilities for such a hands-on project can be difficult, though, and I will make sure
to emphasize that the most important thing is that the final product can be helpful to
birds, rather than any specific aesthetic decision along the way. Of course I will also
remind students of expectations to share responsibilities and listen to one another so
that we can have a beautiful collaborative bird feeder that had everybody’s input.

Plan
- Hook (2 minutes)
- We have learned about many different birds, and we have even taken a walk
around our schoolyard to see how the birds might use the space. What’s one
way we could help birds and make our school a place where they want to
visit? [collect responses]
- Making bird feeders is an important way that humans can help birds who need
food to survive, and guess what?? We can make them ourselves, and make our
school a place that birds will love!
- Body (10-15 minutes)
- In art class today you are going to work together to build bird feeders! But we
need to do some planning first. Builders and designers have to know what their
goals are before they get started.
- What sorts of things do you think a bird feeder needs? [collect responses.
Probing questions: Where will the food be? How will the feeder stay off the
ground? How will the birds reach the food? Will the birds be able to stand
while they eat? How can we make sure the feeder doesn’t make a mess?
How will we make sure the birds will notice the feeders? Can we help the
birds to get anything else they need besides food? (water, shade, shelter
etc). Do all birds like the same kinds of feeders/food?
- [As students come up with descriptions for what the birds could need, list in bullet
points the necessary considerations, and sketch simple solutions (a hole for the
bird to reach the food, a stick for the bird to perch on etc).]
- So when we get to art class, your task will be to build something that will help to
solve all these problems. I know you can do it!
- Part 2, in art class (45 minutes)
- [As students come in, tell them where to sit according to predetermined groups.]
- Designers often work in teams, and you all will be working in small groups to
build a bird feeder. As a class we will build 10 bird feeders that can hold different
kinds of food and attract different kinds of birds!
 - What are some ways that you can be a helpful member of your design
team? [review small group expectations. Emphasize that everybody must listen
to one another because that’s how our good ideas get even better! Everyone
should have chances to handle the materials and should keep in mind the main
goal: that as a class we will have bird feeders that can help to feed birds!]
- Introduce the materials they will be working with and tell them that at the end,
once a teacher has come around to make sure that their project will work, they
can decorate their bird feeders with paint.
- Model how I might put together different pieces and think out loud “well I know I
need a perch, and probably the perch needs to be lower than the hole for the
bird…. Hm…. what if I put it here? No, that seems like the wrong direction. What
about this way? How can I attach it? Hmm….” etc.
- Call up one student from each group to pick up the bag of materials and remind
students of expectations for working in small groups.
- Tell students they can get to work constructing their birdfeeder.
- As students work, I will circulate and ask students what they are thinking and
why, as well as troubleshoot issues that come up due to first-grade dexterity and
perhaps minimal crafting/construction experience. I will ask groups who come up
with good ideas for solving problems and/or who are stuck on something to share
their thinking and questions with the group so that others can share their ideas.
- [Depending on how far we get during the art period, this construction phase may
have to be finished the following week]
- At the end, allow each group to present their bird feeder to the rest of the class.
- Closure (15-20 minutes)
- Your bird feeders all look so wonderful—I’m sure there will be a lot of very happy
birds around McClure this spring.
- The last step before we put them up is to choose what kind of food you want to
put in your feeder.
- What do you think would happen if we all used the exact same kind of
food?
- Introduce the types of food that I have and what types of birds each typically
attracts, as well as whether any of those birds prefer to eat low to the ground.
Remind students that depending on certain decisions they made in designing
and building their birdfeeders, their feeders might be better for bigger/smaller
birds already, so to keep that in mind when choosing a type of birdseed.
- Who wants type 1? [groups who want type 1 can come up and I will scoop in
birdseed to their feeder.] [repeat with subsequent birdseed bags]
- Finally, you have to choose where you want to hang your feeders! We have
some helpers from the Picasso Project here to help us hang up our feeders, so if
you want yours to be higher than you can reach by yourself, that’s okay.
- [Of course the more fulfilling closure will be coming out to observe birds that the
feeders attract over the course of the following weeks, but that will be ongoing]

Assessment of goals/objectives listed above

 - I will assess student understanding about birds and what they would need at a feeder
based on the anchor chart we develop as a class (taking informal notes on contributions
by students), as well as in small-group conferences during the building process.
- Students will be assessed as a group for how their bird feeder meets all the design
needs identified.
- I will also take informal notes during the design and construction process on what
strategies students are using to experiment and solve problems, as well as their
communication and group work skills.

Anticipating students’ responses and possible responses

- Management issues: The small-group design and construction work during art will likely
be the most difficult in terms of management. One important key will be creating groups
thoughtfully, as well as where each group will be positioned in relation to the others.
Some students may be frustrated because of lack of experience with certain materials,
and I hope that their partners will find ways to help them learn how to use the materials,
though of course I will always be circulating looking to make sure that student dynamics
within the groups are balanced and healthy. As far as disagreements over who gets to
do what, I will periodically announce for students to switch roles so that everybody can
have a chance doing every part they are interested in.
- Response to content of the lesson: Students may still have some misconceptions about
how birds actually eat which would impact our design goals. If any of these
misconceptions come up (for instance, most North American feeder birds do not eat
while suspended in flight) I will remind students to think back to birds we have seen on
the feeder cams or other resources we have looked at and redirect this comment
towards something that will better serve our design process.

Accomodations
- For students who may find the material too challenging: as there is no individual
component in this project, I think that all students will be able to participate—even if they
do not contribute to generating the anchor chart with our design needs, they will still see
how it was constructed and follow the questions we pose and considerations we take.
- For students who may need greater challenge and/or finish early: If a whole group
finishes much earlier than others and is done decorating, I will encourage them to draw
and label a diagram of their bird feeder that can be laminated and displayed nearby so
that other members of the school community can learn about it.