Touring Winged Shadow Lesson Plan by North Dakota Museum of Art

Winged Shadows: Life Among Birds It is the birdsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; independence from predictable patterns of human design that draws us to them. In the birdsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; separate but related universe we are able to sense hope for ourselves. Barry Lopez About the Exhibit Winged Shadows: Life Among Birds exhibits ways contemporary artists celebrate and connect with their world by using birds as their subject. In some cases this exhibit and its materials may encourage youth to make informed decisions regarding global and community responsibility and to realize the moral and ethical obligation we have in sharing our world with wildlife. At the very least, this exhibit may inspire the young artists, musicians or writers among us. Winged Shadows: Life Among Birds is an exhibit that opened in Grand Forks at the Museum in the fall of 2011, a portion of which now travels as part of the Museumâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Rural Arts Initiative. The following materials help students make connections while they learn through the interaction with actual artworks. Students can practice abstract and concrete language and writing skills using birds as a theme as well as develop art skills while doing art activities. By conducting research, they will understand how artists form ideas and how important issues can be addressed by art. Images of birds have appeared in art throughout the ages. As long as 40,000 years ago Australian Aboriginal people scratched, carved and painted images of animals, some of them birds, on the walls of rocks an caves. Egyptians employed bird symbols in their hieroglyphs, the Bible refers to many bird species such as owls, ravens, and peacocks that represent meaning in historical and contemporary art and writing. Images and stories of birds have long appeared in Native American cultures. Birds have also been used in scientific and artistic ways that help us better understand our environment and our feelings toward nature in general. In fact, the development of the science of flight can be attributed to our interest and observation of birds. Musicians and composers have written music about birds, and writers have written lyrics, poems and stories about birds. We cannot deny the influence of birds upon us.

Using the Museum Rural Arts as a Resource Rural Arts Initiative The Rural Arts Initiative began in 2003 with the Museum’s first traveling exhibit Snow Country Prison: Interned in North Dakota. The Museum, recognizing the difficulty of bringing children to Grand Forks on the far eastern edge of the state, has made its goal to bring exhibits to rural communities. We invite each hosting community and its schools within a fifty mile radius to actively participate by attending the exhibition in their community, holding related events, and using the exhibit as a source for learning. Winged Shadows: Life Among Birds is the seventh traveling exhibit from Grand Forks. Previous exhibits included Snow Country Prison: Interned in North Dakota, Shelterbelts, Introductions: Artists’ Self Portraits, Jim Dow: Marking the Land, Animals: Them and Us and Fantastic. To find out more about the Museum’s Rural program visit www.ndmoa.com or call 701-777-4195. Before You Visit the Exhibit Teachers are urged to prepare students by first helping them understand that our personal responses to what we see reflect individual opinions, and that it is always good to ask ourselves questions about what we see. We suggest that before you visit the exhibit you look at Visual Thinking Strategies (pg. 30 – 31). These are methods for interpreting what we see, and are included at the end of this document as well as interwoven in some of our activities. Practicing these strategies before your visit will offer students a chance to feel more comfortable in voicing opinions when they are at the actual exhibit or when involved with after-visit assignments. While at the Exhibit Remind students to be respectful towards the work by not touching it. In this case, taking photographs without a flash is permitted. Activities included in the lessons are designed to inspire discussion. For instance, you can meet at one image in the exhibit, using Visual Thinking Strategies as a guide, so that students can connect ideas and discuss what they will be seeing. Please help the Museum and the community by completing the evaluation at the exhibit and by signing our guest book. After Your Visit to the Exhibit These materials are designed for two basic age ranges, fourth grade and eighth grade. The activities may be altered and standards added to accommodate different grades and ages of children as you see fit. You may duplicate any information. If you would like further assistance, more information about the exhibit and its accompanying programs, the Museum, or to make arrangements for an artist-in-residence or traveling exhibit, contact Matthew Wallace, Director of Rural Arts at mwallace@ndmoa.com or call 701-7774195.

Winged Shadows: Life Among Birds Lesson Plans ACTIVITY 1 and 2: WHO’S THE WINNER 4th and 8th Grades Two pictures in this exhibit may be asking us to look at our world from another point of view. Let’s see if you agree. Remember there is no such thing as a wrong answer. Look at Matt Anderson’s digital inkjet print called Adaptation (pg. 4). What is happening in the picture? Point out what you see that makes you think this. Point out what else you see that supports your idea. Why are the birds so big? Do you think the buildings are very tall? What has the artist done to make the buildings seem tall? Find at least two things the artist has done with the birds to make them seem stronger than the buildings? Why aren’t there leaves on the trees? When and where does this picture take place? In the past, present day in big cities, in the future, never in the world? Why do you say this? What do you think the artist is trying to tell us? Is there a “winner” in this picture? Explain your answer. Curriculum Standards: Visual Arts (Activity 1 & 2) Standard 2: Students understand how works of art are structured and how visual art has a variety of functions. Standard 3: Students know a range of subject matter, themes, symbols and ideas. Standard 5: Students understand the characteristics and merit of one’s own work of art and the works of art of others. Curriculum Standards: Language Arts (Activity 1& 2) Standard 6: Students engage in the speaking and listening process.

Matt Anderson Adaptation

David Krueger Emulating Nature

ACTIVITY 1 & 2: FISHING FOR AN ANSWER 4th and 8th Grades Look at David Kruegerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s drawing Emulating Nature (pg. 4). The artistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work often addresses subject matter dealing with fishing, nature, and the interaction between animals and people. At first this colored pencil drawing might look a little funny to you, almost like a cartoon. After all, when do you see a bird as big as this one? Start out by asking yourself these questions: What do you see in this picture? What do you think is happening? Point out the thing or things that make you say that. Why are there fishing hooks in the air all around the bird and the fishermen? What kind of bird is this? Is it a water bird or a bird that spends most of its life on land and in tree? How can you tell what kind of bird this is; what things about how the bird is built makes you say this? Why does the bird have long legs and a really, really long beak? What are the two men doing? Why do you think they are acting the way they are? Who is copying the behavior of whom? Why? What do you think the artist wants us to think about the way the men and the bird are acting? Is it all right for artists to make artwork that is funny? Does all art have to be serious? Can an artwork be both serious and funny? Is a cartoon as important as a serious painting? Can a funny piece of artwork have a serious meaning? What do you think the artist is saying to us? Is it a good message in your opinion? Why? Curriculum Standards: Visual and Language Arts Same as Activity 1 above

ACTIVITY 3: PELICANS AT CHASE LAKE 8TH Grade In 2003, something happened to migrating pelicans in Chase Lake, North Dakota, about 60 miles east of Bismarck. Chase Lake Refuge was established by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1908 to protect wild birds, in this case, pelicans, who at that time were being hunted in great numbers simply to have fashionable feathers for womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hats and clothing. Now, every year in April birds arrive from the Gulf of Mexico, spending the entire summer breeding and laying eggs, raising young at Chase Lake. Sometimes as many as 30,000 birds rest there, sometimes less because of climate conditions or other natural things. In 2003, however, a very strange thing happened when pelicans came in April and left in May. They abandoned their nests, chicks and their eggs, moving on to other parts of the Dakotas. Since pelicans breed only one time a year, people were worried. No one can figure out why they left. Would pelicans be gone forever? Scientists and naturalists thought the cause might be climate changes, some thought there could be new predators who were hunting them. Perhaps they were being poisoned by contaminated feed, fish or water. We do know people were not directly suspected. Fortunately, the pelicans have come back to Chase Lake. The artist, Rosalie Winard helped band the chicks that were left behind before they were able to fly away, so that we could follow where they went and find out when and if they would return. She also took pictures of Chase Lake and the pelicans as well. One of those pictures is in this exhibit. You can be scientists. Read about Chase Lake and the problem in 2003, and find out information about pelicans and other migrating birds that migrate through North Dakota. What reasons do you have for why the pelicans to have gone away in 2003? If people were not directly responsible for them leaving, could they still have done something that caused them to leave? What would that be? Where does our water come from? What can happen if one species of animals becomes endangered; does it affect other animals? How? What things are happening today that might effect birds and their environments? Now look at Rosalie Winardâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s photograph Pelican Chicks on Chase Lake (pg. 7). Why do you think she photographed an abundance of birds? How important do you think an artist can be in helping causes for the environment? What would you do, if you were an artist, to help wildlife or something in our environment? 6

Curriculum Standards: Visual Arts (Activity 3) Standard 2: Students understand how works of art are structured and how visual art has a variety of functions Standard 3: Students know a range of subject matter, themes, symbols Standard 5: Students understand the characteristics and merit of oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own work of art and the work of others. Standard 6: Students make connections between the visual arts and other disciplines. Curriculum Standards: Language Arts (Activity 3) Standard 6: Students engage in the speaking and listening process

Rosalie Winard Pelicans at Chase Lake

ACTIVITY 4: BIRDS AS SYMBOLS 4th and 8th grades A symbol is a representation or a characteristic of a thing or an idea. For centuries people have made symbols using birds as their subject, noting the color or the patterns and designs of their feathers as well as their behaviors. People have listened to the sounds and songs as well. All of this study help us identify common attributes specific to certain birds. For example, the white dove is a bird that usually symbolizes peace, purity, gentleness. An owl might be a symbol for knowledge. Some corporations and organizations use symbols as well to promote their idea or product. They call these symbols â&#x20AC;&#x153;logosâ&#x20AC;? A good logo is one that can be identified by a broad audience and can even impart an idea without words. Can you identify these company logos? An apple (computers brand) A panda bear (World Wildlife Fund) A green lizard (Geico Insurance) Red and yellow clam shell (Shell Oil Company) Roaring lion (MGM movie logo) A red fox wrapped around a blue world (Firefox internet logo) Choose a bird from the list below birds. Using online sites such as the US Fish and Wildlife Service and United States Geographic Service (USGS) or using books, research the bird you chose. A list of resources can be found at the end of this document. Once you have chosen a bird, search for pictures, identify what they eat, where they live, what kind of eggs they lay, and, if they migrate, when and where do they go? Do they have any special characteristics such as webbed feet or a head crest? Do the females and males look alike? Looking closely, trying to draw or paint the bird by finding shapes within it. The bill might be a triangle, the body an oval, the tail a trapezoidal shape. Using no words at all in your picture, make a simple logo (symbol) of your bird using what you have learned about its shape, color, and special features. Red-Headed Woodpecker Nuthatch Kingfisher Cedar Waxwing Pileated Woodpecker Ruby-throated hummingbird Western Meadowlark Rose-breasted grosbeak Green-tailed towhee Wood Duck Canada Goose Ring-necked Pheasant

White Pelican Golden-crowned Kinglet Northern Mockingbird Bohemian Waxwing Dark-eyed Junco Snowy Bunting House Finch Common Loon Blue Winged Teal Trumpeter Swan Snow Goose Western Grebe

Barn Swallow House Sparrow Bluejay Western Tanager Skylark Snowy Egret American Goldfinch Mallard Great Blue Heron Whippoorwill Crow Raven 8

Great Egret Red Tailed Hawk American Kestrel Black-billed Cuckoo Bald Eagle Gray Catbird

Bittern Cooperâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Hawk Killdeer Barn Owl American Robin Magpie

Blackbird Chimney Swift Snowy Owl Great Horned Owl Baltimore Oriole Cardinal

Curriculum Standards: Visual Arts Standard 1: Students understand and apply visual arts media, techniques and processes Standard 2: Students understand how works of art are structured and how visual art has a variety of functions Standard 3: Students know a range of subject matter, symbols and ideas Standard 5: Students understand the characteristics and merit of oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own work of art and the works of art of others.

ACTIVITY 5: BIRD POSTERS 4th and 8th grades Using the same bird that you used to make a logo, design a poster. Posters should be bold and simple so that they can attract people from a distance. Employ as few words as possible, perhaps limiting yourself to five to ten words. Think of an issue or a subject that you would like to address with your poster. Perhaps you will be making a poster about a musical groups called “The Blue Birds,” or you might like to design a poster that is about what your bird represents, as a peacock for beauty. You might make a poster advertising a camera that would take clear nature pictures of birds. Make sure the image(s) in your poster is as, or even more, important as the words. Or make a flyer, bulletin, brochure or invitation for an event that features a bird. Perhaps the local barn dance could use a barn owl or barn swallow as the bird. Or a swan might be on a wedding invitation taking place in a park. If you were to make an informational poster about a particular bird, what would you include? Migratory patterns A picture of its nest Eggs Pictures of its predators A Picture of the bird Words or messages A Picture of the summer and winter habitats Tips that make a good poster: • Most information is taken in the first few seconds of looking at a piece • Use few words, large readable letters to be seen from a distance • Bold colors and images attract viewers • Coloring or fill in all of the background • If you are making a large poster, you would need to be able to see it from a distance, keeping it simple, with few pictures, words, not crowded. Curriculum Standards: Visual Arts (Activity 5) Standard 1: Students understand and apply visual arts media, techniques and processes Standard 2: Students understand how works of art are structured and how visual art has a variety of functions Standard 3: Students know a range of subject matter, symbols and ideas Standard 5: Students understand the characteristics and merit of one’s own work of art and the works of art of others.

ACTIVITY 3: WORDS AND PICTURES COMBINED 8th grade Using some of the information you have learned, imagine yourself as a cartoonist who is making one cartoon for a major magazine. Below are some suggested sayings about birds that you may have heard. What do you think the sayings mean? Use your imagination to make a cartoon; you may be a little silly, you might connect it to some situation or political event or person, or to a cause. Use your imagination. “Birds of a feather, flock together” “Bird-brained idea” “The early bird gets the worm” “Don’t count your eggs before they hatch” “My allowance is chicken feed” “He crows about his accomplishments” “She allowed her son to spread his wings” “Feather weight champion” “A bird in hand is worth two in a bush” “One swallow does not make a summer” “Its not only fine feathers that make a fine bird” “A bird doesn’t sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song” “Running around like a chicken without its head” “Pecking order” “I think his goose is cooked” “I think the play was just “ducky”” Curriculum Standards: Visual Arts (Activity 6) 8th grade Standard 1: Students understand and apply visual art media, techniques and processes Standard 2: Students understand how works of art are structured and how visual art has a variety of functions Standard 3: Students know a range of subject matter, symbols and ideas Standard 5: Students understand the characteristics and merit of one’s own work of art and the works of art of others. Curriculum Standards: Language Arts (Activity 6) Standard 6: Students understand and use principles of language

ACTIVITY 7: BIRD MASKS 4th and 8th grades If you have looked at a variety of birds, you know there are many kinds of birds. They vary in color, size, features, and personality. Find a bird that interests you. Look at as many pictures as you can, or at the real bird if you are lucky enough to have one close by. Try to pick out the one or two features that make that bird unique. Maybe it is a funny top-knot or crest on its head, maybe it is a beautiful color, perhaps it has big feet, or maybe it has a silly expression on its face. Now you are ready to make a bird mask using some of the things you have noticed. You may even create your own bird putting together things you have observed from several birds. For youngest artists: Paper plate masks Materials: Paper plate (Cardboard preferred, not Styrofoam, and with no separate food compartments). Popsicle sticks, tongue depressors or a 8-10â&#x20AC;? bamboo garden stick Markers, crayons, paint (optional), paint brushes, tape and glue (hot glue optional), baubles, buttons, pipe cleaners, feathers, and other things to attach First of all, measure where the eyes would be on each child (if you want to cut the eyes out, do so now) Design a beak by rolling a cone out of paper, or fold paper to look like a duck bill or another kind of mouth. (Do not attach this until near the end) Paint, color or draw the face. Add feathers, beak, and other items. Attach the stick that holds the mask to your face to the back of the mask with tape. For older artists Paper macheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; masks Materials: paper strips, newspaper, tissue paper, magazines wallpaper paste or watered down school glue: 8 parts water to 1 part glue shallow pans to put glue mixture forms to make face-like base such as a bowl, mask form, box covered with plastic to be able to release final mask from form Begin by researching bird masks, or drawing a bird mask Find or make a form that would be the base of your face mask. Wadded up newspaper, a store-bought face form, a bowl about the size of a face work well. 12

Mix glue or paste according to directions. Tear newspaper or other paper into strips about 1â&#x20AC;&#x153; wide and varied lengths from 1 to 9 inches or so. Dip strip by strip into mixture, remove excess water by combing strip between two fingers Apply strip onto mask form, building up in a criss-cross pattern (at least 3 layers) Allow to dry for at least 1 full day. Remove from mold, paint, decorate by adding items such as feathers, jewels, etc. Curriculum Standards: Visual Arts (Activity 7) Standard 1: Students understand and apply visual arts media, techniques and processes Standard 2: Students understand how works of art are structured and how visual art has a variety of functions

DISCUSSION AND PRACTICE BEFORE THE EXHIBIT VISIT EXPLORING ACTION WORDS, SIMILES, AND METAPHORS 4th and 8th grades POETRY There are many kinds of poetry: Some poems make us laugh Some poems make us think Some poems are short or funny Some poems are long and serious Some poems rhyme Some poems do not rhyme The important thing is that a poem has emotion or a strong message or feeling. In order for our poems to carry the most meaning, we should learn about how words add to the meaning of a poem. Verbs (Action words) If you are talking abut a big train engine, you might use words such as “charging along the tracks” instead of “going” on the tracks.” Finding interesting action words (verbs) to help make a poem interesting. Think of words that mean the same as the words below to make them more exciting: Walk Talk softly Run Sleep Similes and metaphors: “Similes” are used in many poems. Similes compare one thing to another. You will usually see words such as “like” or “as” in a poem that uses similes. Strong as an ox Light as a feather Yellow as sunshine Changing like weather

“Metaphors” actually attach a meaning or character to a person or thing without using the words “like” or “as.” They are still comparing one thing to another. Gold flecks in black velvet Are the stars in the sky. A blue-black blanket Of clouds pass by. Practice activity before your visit to the exhibition Divide your class into groups of 2 – 5 children, or work together as a class. Have a group pick and agree upon a particular word about a characteristic such as sleepy, happy, sad, confused or some other emotion. The other group or the rest of the class finds five different descriptive words or phrases that represent that emotion. Example: If your group decides upon “mad,” the other group or class might say words or phrases such as: furious, fiery, angry, stormy or raging. Some words to find better descriptions are listed below. You can always come up with some of your own. Adjectives: find five different adjectives that mean the same as each of these: angry, lazy, slow, tired, happy, jealous, grateful. Verbs and action phrases: run fast, walk slowly, pull, push, lift, stare, laugh, shout. Now do the same group exercise using metaphors and similes to finish the phrases or to make new phrases: Similes: As big as…, as tired as…, cold like a … Metaphors: The waves are…, the winds are…, the morning sun… Try this with opposites black and ______, hot and ________, empty and _______

The next four activities that work best when done in sequence. The first encourages us to think about the words we use, and about descriptive words. The second is reading and discussing poetry, while the third is a writing exercise about birds. The fourth is to illustrate your bird. Teachers may have children pick their own bird to write about or suggest a bird or two that has unique features such as a peacock, and owl, or a flamingo. 15

ACTIVITY 8: READING ABOUT BIRDS Below are poems about birds written by different poets. What words are used by the poet to make you envision the bird or its environment. from Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird It was evening all afternoon. It was snowing And it was going to snow. The blackbird sat In the cedar-limbs. -Wallace Stevens â&#x20AC;&#x201C; From The Eagle He clasps the crag with crooked hands; Close to the sun in lonely lands, Ringed with the azure world, he stands. The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls; He watches from his mountain walls, And like a thunderbolt he falls. -Alfred Lord TennysonA Bird A bird came down the walk, He did not know I saw; He bit an angleworm in halves And ate the fellow, raw. And then he drank a dew From a convenient grass, And then hopped sidewise to the wall To let a beetle pass. -Emily DickinsonWhat colors do you imagine in these poems? Is there a season or time of day you feel from the poem? How can it be evening all afternoon? Why does the sea look wrinkled? Curriculum Standards: Language Arts (Activity 8) Standard 2: Standard 3: Standard 6: Standard 7:

Students engage in the reading process Students comprehend literature Students engage in the speaking and listening process Students understand and use the principles of language

ACTIVITY 9: WRITING ABOUT BIRDS 4th and 8th grade Research and write on an artist or art piece that includes birds. Choose a bird to write about. Search for information, finding pictures of the bird, unless, of course you see the bird in real life. Now, write a short description or a poem about the bird, as if you were explaining the bird to someone who had never seen it. What colors? Where is it â&#x20AC;&#x201C; in a tree, in the water, flying, in a cage, alone, in a flock? What is the bird doing? Is it moving, resting, singing, drinking water, swimming, chasing other birds, eating, hiding, trying to get out of a cage? Does it remind you of someone you know? How does it move? Pretend the person you want to read your writing to cannot see the bird so you have to describe the bird well. Remember to use the things we learned about action words and good describing words. Curriculum Standards: Language Arts (Activity 9) Standard 1: Standard 2: Standard 3: Standard 4: Standard 5: Standard 6: Standard 7:

Students gather and organize information Students engage in the reading process Students comprehend literature Students engage in the writing process Students write for a variety of purposes and audiences Students engage in the speaking and listening process Students understand and use the principles of language

ACTIVITY 10: WORDS MAKE IMAGERY 4th and 8th grades Reading and writing before your visit to the exhibition: One short poem form is called a haiku. Most contemporary types of Japanese haiku usually contains 17 syllables, and often, but not always, is divided into three lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables. Though definitions vary regarding what is included in a haiku, its subject is usually drawn from nature or a seasonal theme and it often consists of comparisons. A haiku is most often divided into two parts, the first line a fragment, and the other two lines a phrase. A haiku is a close look at something that is made important by using very few important words. It is often very much a "picture poem." Write a haiku together as a class. Concentrating on using only 17 syllables encourages us to be concise with our language. Look for a poem or haiku such as Snowy Owl below or find a photograph of a bird or an artist's depiction of a bird. Some artists who have used the bird imagery are the Northwest Coast Indians and the American artists Jim Dine, Leonard Baskin, or John J. Audubon. Snowy Owl Two amber stoplights hover above the fence Night waits with Snowy Owl Now illustrate the above poem or the one you have all written together. You might want to furnish materials that would enhance the " filmy feeling" of flight for instance, such as watercolor washes. Metallic pens, glitter, or shiny paper can represent shiny feathers. Colors, such as deep blue may be appropriate for dark water. Or you may use Styrofoam, potato prints, or collages to capture pattern and texture. Explain your own vision and think about how the material you use helps the way you think about the bird. Research and report on a bird. Curriculum Standards: Visual Arts (Activity 10) Standard 1: Students understand and apply visual art media, techniques and processes Standard 2: Students understand how works of art are structured and how visual art has a variety of functions Standard 5: Students understand the characteristics and merit of oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own work of art and the work of others.

Curriculum Standards: Language Arts (Activity 10) Standard 1: Standard 2: Standard 3: Standard 4: Standard 5: Standard 6: Standard 7:

ACTIVITY 11: MORE HAIKU 4th and 8th grade Review the haiku characteristics at the beginning of Activity 10. Read the poems below or find several different haiku with birds as subjects Egret Reeds, grass, marshes, legs Dawn between fools my sight An egret waiting mute Snowy Owl White meets white Talons plunge into snow’s crease Red painted across the field Meadowlark Sun’s golden burst Brings on sweetest music The morning’s first meadowlark What things do you notice about these poems? Hints: Short, full of images, numbers of syllables, they are all about birds and their environment Draw what is happening in the poem. For instance, in The Egret the grass and the long legs of the bird become confused. The light is shining in between the grass and the legs At the Exhibition: Meet with a friend by one of the pictures in the exhibition. Talk about what you think is happening in the picture. Remember there are no wrong answers. Write down some of the things in the picture or that you talked about. Choose one piece of artwork. Using what you wrote and what you learned about poems before your visit, write and make an art piece about the picture you and your friend saw.

Curriculum Standards: Visual Arts (Activity 11) Standard 1: Students understand and apply visual art media, techniques and processes Standard 2: Students understand how works of art are structured and how visual art has a variety of functions Standard 5: Students understand the characteristics and merit of oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own work of art and the work of others. Curriculum Standards: Language Arts (Activity 11) Standard 1: Standard 2: Standard 3: Standard 4: Standard 5: Standard 6: Standard 7:

ACTIVITY 12: WORKING WITH WORDS 4th and 8th grade Practice writing some short poems or phrases with words that make pictures in your imagination: flocks of birds, schools of fish, leaping frogs, etc. List words that are opposites: black/white, soft/hard, awake/asleep, huge/tiny. Write a sentence or phrase using one word in the first line and the other word in the second line. Example: You might at first have written: “A bunch of little birds were flying after a great big crow.” You can make that simpler: The huge crow fled from tiny birds. So, now that you know you can use more exciting words to make an imaginary picture in your head, you can write a short poem or story about one of these titles: What the Crow Saw What the Owl Sees at Night When I Heard the Rooster Crow The Kingfisher’s Busy Day I Heard the Sweetest Bird Today How a Pigeon Looks at a Person Eating Lunch on a Park Bench How would we make a collage or other kind of artwork about one of these stories? If you were writing about the tiny birds chasing the crow in the example above, you might make the crow’s wing in your drawing touch two sides of the page, taking up most of your picture, with a lot of little spots for the tiny birds. Now try to write a short story or poem about your picture. Curriculum Standards: Visual Arts (Activity 12) Standard 1: Students understand and apply visual art media, techniques and processes Standard 2: Students understand how works of art are structured and how visual art has a variety of functions Standard 5: Students understand the characteristics and merit of one’s own work of art and the work of others. Curriculum Standards: Language Arts (Activity 12) Standard 1: Standard 2: Standard 3: Standard 4: Standard 5: Standard 6: Standard 7:

MUSICAL ARTS ACTIVITY 13: ABSTRACT PATTERNS USING BIRDS AND MUSIC 4th grade A list below contains a variety of music that has been composed about birds. Notice how many composers use some of the same birds to write music about. For instance, the cuckoo and the nightingale are known for the sounds that they make. Listen to a piece of classical music (one that has no words). Using a crayon, marker or colored pencil, while you are listening to the music, make marks (lines, dots, swirls â&#x20AC;&#x201C; not actual pictures) of how the music makes you feel. For instance if you are listening to Swan Lake or a piece about a dreamy slow moving bird, your marks might be swirly, lazy lines. Maybe the music is fast and it reaches real high and real low notes. How would you draw that? What if there is a pattern such as four low, slow notes and then four fast, high notes, repeated over and over? Some music has a crescendo (Gets louder). Some music has crisp, fast notes (staccato) while others trill (vibrates.) You will have to listen closely. For fun listen to Peter and the Wolf by the composer Prokofiev. He used different instruments to be different animals. Sonja the duck is an oboe. Sasha the little bird is a flute. See if you can identify other instruments and whom they represent in the story. Why do you think he picked the instruments for each animal?

RESOURCES MUSIC Classical Music Bartok – Piano Concerto No. 3, 2nd movement Beethoven – Symphony No. 6, and 25th Piano Sonata (Op 79) Dvorak - Wood Dove, Cock, Hen and Quail Handel – Cuckoo and the Nightengale Haydn – Lark Quartet op. 64, No. 5; Symphony No. 57 (finale); The Bird Janequin – Le Chant Des Oiseaux ,Oiseaux Exotiques; La Grive des Bois Messiaen – Piano Concerto No. 17 in G major, K.453; Musical Joke, K. 522; Mozart - “Pappageno/Pappagana Duet and Pappageno’s Vogelfanger (The Bird Catcher Aria) from the Magic Flute Prokofiev – Peter and the Wolf Rameau – La Rappel des Oiseaux Respighi – Gli uccelli (The Birds); The Pines of Rome Schubert – Die Vogel Stravinsky – Song of the Nightingale Vivaldi – The Goldfinch; Spring (from the Four Seasons); Summer (from the Four Seasons) Wagner - Siegfried Zeller – Der Vogelhandler (the Birdseller) Tchaikovsky – Swan Lake Ballet Contemporary Music Three Little Birds – Bob Marley (kids) Surfin Bird (Bird is the word) – Trashmen Little Bird – Annie Lennox Three Little Birds – Bob Marley Bird Song – Grateful Dead Rockin Robin - Bobby Day Blackbird – Beatles I Believe I Can Fly The Swallow Song – Joan Baez Wind Beneath my Wings – Version sung by Bette Midler? On-line source eNature: Bird audio – 550 songs

Fiction Baskin, Tobias. Hosie’s Aviary. This is mostly a picture book with poetic descriptions of makebelieve birds written by the child of famed artist and illustrator, Leonard Baskin. Ages 5 and older. Baylor, Byrd with illustrations by Peter Parnall. Hawk, I’m Your Brother. A child finds that some things in cannot be achieved by enslaving another. Ages 7 and older. Bruchac, Joseph. The Great Ball Game. Native American storyteller Bruchac retells an amusing story about a ball game between the birds and the animals, which explains why birds fly south every winter. Ages 6 and older. Bunting, Eve with illustrations by Charles Mikolaycak. The Man Who Could Called Down Owls. This is a tale about a friendship between a young boy and a person who can call the owls. It is a moral story of good versus evil where kindness and goodness prevail. Mikolaycak’s illustrations are accurate and beautiful. Ages 7 and older. Coerr, Eleanor. Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes. A Japanese child struggles with a terminal illness by making origami cranes, a project that is completed by her friends. Ages 8 and older Davis, Jacqueline. The Boy Who Drew Birds: The Story of John James Audubon. This biography follows the life of young Audubon into adulthood. Known as one of the most accurate early artists and scientists who studied birds, this is an inspirational book for young who are interested in nature. Ages 7 and older De Jong, Meindert. The Wheel on the School. This is an exciting and excellent story about town children in Netherlands who are trying to entice the storks to return to nest in their village. It is a chapter book that is fun adventure book to read together as a family. Ages 7 – 12) Eastman, P. D. Are You My Mother. A young bird who has not imprinted on his mother searches the world to find her, asking all kinds of animals and machines for her. A happy ending rounds this story out. Ages 3-6 Edwards, Pamela Duncan. Honk. A swan, through hope, perseverance, patience and hard work becomes a ballerina. Ages 5 and older Ehlert, Lois. Feathers for Lunch. This follows the escapades of a young cat who slips out of his house and attempts to catch some birds. Ages 3 to 8 Erdrich, Louise. Grandmother’s Pigeon. Two young children are left in charge of grandmother’s things as she travels around the world, only to find that some of her treasures include old eggs that hatch into passenger pigeons. Ages 6 and older 25

Folktales and Fables: The Golden Goose The Ugly Duckling Little Red Hen Fromental, Jean Luc. 365 Penguins. This funny book is about a family who receives a penguin each day for a year. What begins as fun grows into chaos. Ages 4 and older. Jarrell, Randall. The Bat Poet, illus by Maurice Sendak. A bat, who of course is a flying mammal, believes he is different from other bats and attempts to make them see the world in a different way. He stays awake during the day where he encounters and composes poems about his adventures with a mockingbird poet, jays, thrashers, chickadees, and owl and other daytime creatures. Ages 8 through high school. Jewett, Sarah Orne. The White Heron. This classic story can be found in book form or in a collection of Jewett’s work. It is a story about a young, shy girl who deals with the conflicts of growing into adulthood. Young readers are encouraged to ask themselves about what our responsibilities to nature are. Middle and high school. Lowry, Lois. Crow Call. Newberry Medal Winner, this book is about a girl whose father has been away to war. They have some trouble re-bonding until they share the natural world as their common ground, calling crows. Ages 7 and older. Native American Stories found on-line, and in collections of stories and books: Crow Brings Daylight (Inuit) The Raven and the Fox Politi, Leo. Song of the Swallows. Caldecott medal winner tells the story of the yearly return of the swallows to the Mission San Juan Capistrano through the eyes of a small child, Juan, who makes a garden for the swallows. Ages 6 and older. Roy, Mary Lyn and Sylvada, Peter. Welcome, Brown Bird. This is a story about a thrush who is “shared” between children in North and South America as it makes its winter/summer migration homes. Ages 5 and older. Schlosser, .S E., Mrs. Chory’s Chickens. A fun and silly for really young children that is full of imagery. Ages 3 and older. Spinelli, Jerry. Wringer. This chapter book is about boy who wrestles with peer pressure that begins in his neighborhood on each boy’s tenth birthday. Issues of entering adolescence and dealing with peer and societal pressures, are addressed through the boy’s loving relationship with a pigeon. An excellent must-read book for older elementary and middle school children.

Van Laan, Nancy. Rainbow Crow: A Lanape Story. This story is about how a colorful and sweet-singing crow appears to lose his colors while helping bring fire to his animal friends. Ages 4 and older. Wilde, Oscar. The Nightingale and the Rose and The Happy Prince. These are two “fairy tales” about love and loss and are good catalysts for discussion. Middle School and High School. Yolen, Jane. Owl Moon. This Caldecott winner takes you on a night walk with a young girl and her grandfather who encounter many night creature, including an owl, as they walk beneath the “owl moon.” John Schoenherr’s illustrations take one into a magical world. Ages 3 and older. Non Fiction Boring, Mel. Birds, Nests and Eggs. This is an easy bird identification book with good information about most birds one might see in your own yard. Fun science and art activities are included. 8 and older. Breakey, Kate. Small Deaths. A book with color photographs of birds that are no longer living whose passing has been treated by the artist photographer with respect and beauty. University of Texas Press, Austin. All ages. Burnie, David. Bird. One of the series of Eyewitness Books this book offers information from dinosaur to bird, nests, feathers, habitat, pictures and so much more. Some versions of the book come with CD and posters. A must for classroom science studies. Ages 8 and older. Falcons and Hawks: Great Creatures of the World. Good illustrations, photographs and information for identifying and learning about raptors. Ages 6 and older. Fiennes, William Snow Geese. The author follows geese on their spring flight thousands of miles north to breeding grounds on the Arctic tundra. This mesmerizing book, already a classic, captures their journey with wisdom, humility and endless curiosity. Older students and adults. Grater, Michael. Paper Mask Making. Contains lots of ideas and techniques for making masks for kids of all ages. Haus, Robyn. Make Your Own Bird Houses and Bird Feeders. A series of ideas and information about building for your back yard friends. Ages 8 and older. Lincoln, Erika. The Singing Condition. Winnipeg Art Gallery Publication. This includes an essay by Mary Ried about the exhibit featuring Lincoln’s work. Ages 8 and older.

Peterson, Roger Tory. A Field Guide to Western (or Eastern) Birds. This is one of the bestknown bird identification guides which is updated regularly. If you are interested in bird watching, this is a must. Color photographs in natural habitats, description of migration, nesting and calls are all part of the guides. All ages. Sattler and Zallinger. The Book of Eagles. This book offers very good Illustrations and information about many species of eagles. Ages 8 and older. Sattler and Zallinger. The Book of North American Owls. This book also offers good illustrations, photographs and information about species of owls. Schwartz, Renee. Mask Making. A book with ideas and examples of several different kinds of mask making. Sivin, Carol, Maskmaking. An excellent and comprehensive book with a large variety of wellexplained technics for making masks. More suited for older students ages 12 and up. Williams, Terry Tempest. Between Cat Tails. Plant and animal life in the Marshes. Ages 12 and older. Winard, Rosalie. Wild Birds of the American Wetlands. Included is a forward by author Temple Grandin, and an essay by Terry Tempest Williams. Many of the images in the North Dakota Museum of Arts exhibition are included in this beautiful photographic book. All ages. Zuckerman, Andrew. Bird. A minimalist photographer artist photographs winged creatures from exotic parrots to everyday sparrows, and endangered penguins to woody owls. They are captured against a stark white background to reveal the vivid colors, textures, and personalities of each subject in extraordinary and exquisite detail. The ultimate art book for ornithologists and nature enthusiasts like, Bird is a volume of sublime beauty. (Amazon.com review)

Articles “Let There Be Night.” All Animals, July/August 2011. Notes what cities are doing to dim night lights which have been proven to interrupt and confuse migrating birds. “Sweeping Reform Pledged for Nation’s Egg-Laying Hens.” ASPCA Action, Fall 2011. Explains recent efforts being made to change legislation about how chickens are treated in factory chicken farms. “Operation Knock on Wood.” Kirsten Weir. Nature Conservancy, Issue 4, 2011. Also can be viewed on-line at www.kirstenweir.com. In Fort Bragg, North Carolina, soldiers are making a concerted effort to save the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker. 28

“In North Dakota, Pelicans Leave a Breeding Ground for Mystery” by Steve Friess, Sunday, July 4, 2004. Pelicans’ populations dramatically dwindles at Chase Lake Refuge in North Dakota. Check archives in washingtonpost.com Media Winged Migration. DVD – Internationally acclaimed, this is a stunning film that takes as close as you can get to flying with birds along migration routes. Five film crews use planes, balloons, gliders and other means to follow the flight pattern of 40 different species of birds. 89 minutes plus specials at the end. The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill. DVD - A homeless man in San Franscisco befriends a host of parrots. Throughout you find the parrots, who have names and personalities of their own, become the stars of this charming story. 83 minutes March of the Penguins. DVD – If you have not already seen this you must, if you have seen it, see it again. It is a documentary taken over a year featuring the Emperor Penguin in Antarctica. 80 minutes. Paulie: DVD – This is a comedy about the antics and experiences of a parrot, Paulie, and his human “family” as they criss-cross the country. Stars Tony Shaloub (Monk TV series) and Gena Rowland. 91 minutes. Fly Away Home: DVD – A young girl who loses her mother moves to live with her father. Being a lonely 13 year old, life is hard until she adopts a gaggle of baby geese, who imprint on her as their mother. She teaches them to migrate. 107 minutes.

FOR TEACHERS VISUAL THINKING STRATEGIES SUGGESTED PRACTICE FOR CLASSROOMS BEFORE YOUR VISIT TO THE EXHIBIT Look at art pieces in books, around your school, or even use nature as your source of discussion. What do you see? Have students point out specific things that they actually see. What is going on in this picture? Point out specific things that show this. What else? Or, what does this remind you of? Now answers may become a little more interpretive. What do you see that makes you think that? Point out specifics. Continue to ask, in different ways, “What else do you see?” or “What do you see that makes you say this?” Allow students to think, not rushing in too soon during silences. Repeat out loud what the student says trying not to change or interpret the idea. This allows students to clarify if they need to. It also gives other students a chance to hear what the original student has said. Refrain from making a judgment. Do not say “Good”, “ I like your answer”, etc. You might say something like, “ That is a different way of looking at this picture. I like how you thought so hard about this picture.” Treat each observation as important. Be prepared to follow a direction of thinking even if you feel you are getting a little “off track”. Students, if given time, will usually find their way back to the artist’s intent. If they do not, at least they will feel they have been given the license to investigate and interpret. This is a basis for developing good problem solving skills and a confidence in speaking. Not all art has to have an answer or solution. It is all right to continue on to discuss another piece without totally resolving the discussion.

Looking at Art with a Friend â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Visual Thinking With a friend or two, choose one artwork to look at. Focus on it until you and your friends have discussed the questions below. Spend some time really looking and discussing using artwork using these questions, then pick another piece and begin again. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be afraid to come up with your own questions. No answer is right or wrong. Look at one artwork for a time. What kinds of things do you see in this piece of art. What words would you use to describe this artwork? Can you come up with different or more descriptive words as well? What does this piece remind you of? How is this artwork similar or different from another artwork in this exhibit? What objects seem closer to you, or further away, if they do? What can you tell about the colors or tones in this artwork? Is it bright, happy or give you some other feeling? Point out the things that make you say that? What title would YOU give this artwork? Explain why you gave it that title. What other titles might you give it? What sounds would this artwork make? Why do you think so? If you like or dislike this painting or artwork, why? What grade would you give the artist for this work? What are your reasons for your grade? If you DO like it, is that the only reason to give it a good grade? What if you DO NOT like it? Think about what the artist was trying to do or say, how long he or she spent making it, how creative is the artist, what is the level of skill.

HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW ABOUT BIRDS A QUIZ FOR ALL AGES 1. Owl pellets are what? A. B. C. D.

Kidney stones Owl waste (poop) Little bullets used to shoot annoying owls Vomit from indigestible parts of owl prey

2. Owls only nest in trees True False 3. Owls can sneak up on prey because: A. B. C. D.

They have invisible cloaks They breathe almost silently Their calls are only audible to certain animals Their feathers cut through air quietly

4. Why do some owls have feathered legs and feet? A. B. C. D.

To protect them from animal bites To keep their feet warm as they fly To endure that their entire body is camouflaged To make their landing softer.

5. Owls mainly depend upon their sense of sight to capture prey True False 6. Owls are a great help to our ecosystem because: A. B. C. D.

They fertilize crops They scare other birds into obedience They reduce the pest populations They spread seeds in their droppings

7. Owlsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; personalities are most like what? A. B. C. D.

Solitary until winter when they join a flock Close to a small circle of like-minded owls Social and talkative Solitary and fearful of each other

8. The legendary strix is an owl-like creature who: A. B. C. D.

sings mournful songs feeds on human flesh and blood transforms into a human at night tap dances when no one is looking

9. Owls can turn their heads around 360 degrees. A. True B. False 10. To camouflage themselves from prey, snowy owls: A. B. C. D.

Blend in with the tree bark Have iridescent feathers that blend into the blue sky Have feathers that turn white in the winter Coat their feathers in snow in the winter

11. Who was the Italian artist and inventor that tried find a way to make humans fly? 12. Can you think of some reasons Leonardoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s flying machines (wings) may not have worked? 13. What brothers designed and flew the first plane in North Carolina on December 17, 1903. 14. Who was Icarus? 15. What is a Phoenix bird? 16. What is the largest SONGBIRD in North America? A. Cedar Waxwing B. Northern Oriole C. Common Raven D. Indigo Bunting

17. What is the most popular State Bird in the United States? (The one most states have adopted to be their state bird symbol) A. B. C. D.

Northern Cardinal American Robin Western Meadowlark Mockingbird

18. What is the best way to offer water to birds and why? A. B. C. D.

From a dripping fountain From a deep bowl From a shallow bowl on the ground All of the above

19. What bird “meows”? A. B. C. D.

White throated vireo Cowbird Gray Cat Bird Wilson’s Plover

20. What food makes up 90% of a hummingbird’s diet? A. B. C. D.

insects nectar nuts grains

21. Which bird now largely depends upon man-made nesting homes? A. B. C. D.

Yellow belly sapsucker Purple martin Bluejay Red breasted nuthatch

22. Which bird would NOT be likely to be seen at a birdfeeder that is filled with birdseed? A. B. C. D.

Robin Woodpeckers Flickers All of the above

23. Which of the following birds is mostly yellow? A. B. C. D.

Ringed Kingfisher Painted Bunting Western Meadowlark Tree Swallow

24. The female of which of these birds is “showier” than the male? A. B. C. D.

Barn Owl Bluebird Cardinal Goldfinch

25. What bird roosts in huge numbers in the winter? A. B. C. D.

Cooper’s Hawk Red Headed Woodpecker American Robin All of the above

26. Even though Bald Eagles are large strong birds their nests are extremely delicate. A. True B. False 27. What happens to a Bald Eagle when it lands in water? A. B. C. D.

It swims It drowns It can pick up 20 fish in its beak at one time It would never land in water

28. Mike (the headless chicken) lived without its head for A. Zero time. A chicken cannot live without its head. Sometimes a nerve reaction may cause it to move around for a short time after its head is cut off. B. 1 day C. 18 months D. This is a myth. There was not headless chicken still alive. It was a story that was photo-shopped.

29. Most penguins found at the North Pole are of the smaller variety of penguin. A. True B. False 30. What is the biggest threat to the world’s bird population? A. B. C. D.

Newly introduced predators into their territories. Family values have declined Competition with new bird species Human development and agriculture

31. Almost every species of albatross is endangered. A. True B. False 32. What bird got its name from the Spanish word meaning “stupid.” A. B. C. D.

Kukaburra Albatross Flamingo Blue Footed Booby

HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW ABOUT BIRDS? THE ANSWERS 1. Owl pellets are what? D. Owls regurgitate (vomit) what they did not digest such as small bones, beaks, etc. before they go out hunting each evening. These are called “owl pellets” 2. Owls only nest in trees False: The burrowing owl nests in the ground and when approached can make a rattling sound like a rattlesnake to scare its predators. 3. Owls can sneak up on prey because: D. Their feathers cut through the air quietly 4. Why do some owls have feathered legs and feet? A. Mostly, to protect them from bites and animals fighting to get away although some feathers also insulate in the winter to keep legs warm. 5. Owls mainly depend upon their sense of sight to capture prey False. They have good sight, but their sense of hearing is incredible. They can hear a mouse stepping on a stick 75 feet away. Some owls may have ears on different parts of their head so they may hear the location of their prey. One ear may be higher than the other for instance. 6. Owls are a great help to our ecosystem because: C. Owls are powerful well-adapted predators. They feed on a lot of things such as mice, shrews, fish, insects, rats, spiders and snakes. Some scientists think one owl could eat up to 2000 rodents a year – about five a night! 7. Owls’ personalities are most like what? D. Because owls are generally solitary animals, the have to overcome their fear to breed. Male owls bring gifts of food to the females but often it takes the female a long time to be un-shy enough to accept one. 8. The legendary strix is an owl-like creature who: B. The strix is an Ancient Roman legendary creature that looks like an owl. This night bird is said to eat humans. Over time the strix became known as stegra, a woman who attacks babies. 9. Owls can turn their heads around 360 degrees. False. Because they cannot move their eyes in their head, they have to move their head. However, they can only move it 270 degrees, otherwise they would twist it off

10. To camouflage themselves from prey, snowy owls: C. In the summertime, snowy owls are brown with dark spots and stripes, they become white in the winter. Their winter feathers keep them warm. Even their bills and toes are covered with feathers, which insulate in the freezing temperatures in the arctic. 11. Who was the Italian artist and inventor that tried find a way to make humans fly? Leonardo da Vinci, who lived from 1452-1519, drew on his knowledge of bird wings to design machines that would imitate their flight. His plan was to strap wings on to a human. 12. Can you think of some reasons Leonardo’s flying machines (wings) may not have worked? People are too heavy; our bodies are not built to move and flap in the way birds wings are. The invention of the propeller helped us develop flying machines eventually – called airplanes. 13.

What brothers designed and flew the first plane in North Carolina on December 17, 1903. Wilbur and Orville Wright.

14.

Who was Icarus? Icarus is a young Greek man who stole the wings that his craftsman father made from wax and feathers. Then the son tried to fly away. The young man flew too close to the sun, which melted the wax, plunging the youth to his death. It is a story that often is related to failed ambition.

15.

What is a Phoenix bird? The Phoenix is a mythical colorful bird who builds a nest, sets it on fire, and dies, only to be reborn again from the ashes. Some people use this story as a symbol for everlasting life, or as a metaphor for forming a new direction or “rebirth” in their lives.

16.

What is the largest SONGBIRD in North America? C. The Common Raven can have up to a 4 foot wingspan. Even though we might think its“song” is very melodic, it is considered a songbird.

17.

not

What is the most popular State Bird in the United States? (The one most states have adopted to be their state bird symbol) A. The Northern Cardinal is the state bird of the most states (Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia.)

18.

What is the best way to offer water to birds and why? A. A deep bowl could drown birds, while a shallow bowl on the ground could put birds in danger of predators, like your cat! So a dripping fountain is best as the sound attracts birds as well.

19.

What bird “meows”? C. This is easy – a Gray Catbird.

20.

What food makes up 90% of a hummingbird’s diet? B. They have a tube-like beak for food to be sucked up – their diet mostly consists of nectar.

21. Which bird now largely depends upon man-made nesting homes? B. The Purple Martin can thrive in martin houses that we build. Martins’ houses however have some very specific requirements, mainly to be a distance away from homes and trees and high off the ground. Some houses hold many, many martins. 22. Which bird would NOT be likely to be seen at a birdfeeder that is filled with birdseed? D. All of the birds listed mainly feed on bugs and worms so it is unlikely you would see them at your bird feeder. 23. Which of the following birds is mostly yellow? C. The Western Meadowlark 24. The female of which of these birds is “showier” than the male? A. The barn owl. The other birds listed here are very colorful, however the female owl is the only one that is more colorful than the male owl. 25. What bird roosts in huge numbers in the winter? C. American Robins seem to be a little more solitary in the summer time but in the winters they roost with their friends. As many as 250,000 robins have been seen to roost together. In the winter robins migrate to where there is food which is where the temperature is usually above 37 degrees Fahrenheit. That means that you might sometimes see robins in Canada and northern states during warm winter weather. 26. Even though Bald Eagles are large strong birds their nests are extremely delicate. False. Bald Eagles return to and add to their nests year after year. They are made of twigs, sticks and other things so are very messy and strong. One nest was found that had been used for 34 years and weighed 2 tons!!! 27. What happens to a Bald Eagle when it lands in water? A. Bald Eagles swim sort of like a human would swim doing the butterfly stroke.

28. Mike (the headless chicken) lived without its head for C. You won’t believe this but it is true. Mike was a chicken while being decapitated to prepare him for a family dinner, had his head badly chopped and his brain stem was still in tact, as was one ear. When he slept, he slept with his head under his wing for 18 months. The family who owned him took him to the University of Utah to prove that the story was not a hoax and that Mike was indeed still living. The family could not bear to put him down, so they kept him until he died a natural death. 29. Most penguins found at the North Pole are of the smaller variety of penguin. False. There are no penguins found in the Northern Hemisphere, except in zoos or in captivity. 30. What is the biggest threat to the world’s bird population? D. Human development by far, which brings with it loss of habitat (places to live and breed) pollution of air and water, dangerous items and chemicals and loss of food sources. All are reasons the world’s bird population suffers. 31. Almost every species of albatross is endangered. True. An albatross has a wingspan of up to 11 feet. Despite their ability to fly well and that their species has lasted for more than 50 million years, they are now facing extinction due to the fishing industry. Between 1997-2000 (3 years!) 67,000 were killed by the country of Chile alone! 32. What bird got its name from the Spanish word meaning “stupid.” D. The Booby got its name because it landed on sailors’ and fishermen’s boats and therefore was easy to catch for eating.

WORD SEARCH FOR THE BIRDS FOR YOUNGER STUDENTS The name of a bird is listed before a sentence. Find that bird name hidden in the sentence and circle it. 1. GREBE

I don’t like the story about the ogre because it scares me.

2. BITTERN

Because the candy was bitter no one liked it.

3. HERON

While babysitting Lisa, I put her on the swing.

4. CRANE

Eric Ran everywhere once he got off the bus.

5. WHIPPOORWILL When he saw the whip, poor Willie, the horse, ran away. 6. KESTREL

In the museum, the darkest relic was the one in the Egyptian section.

7. NUTHATCH My little brother thinks a walnut hatches just like an egg. 8. JAY

The deejay was very talented.

9. PENGUIN

I wrote with my new pen “Guiness World Records” and my teacher said my penmanship was perfect.

10. KIWI

I can ski with my friends on Saturday.

11. BUZZARD

When she heard the doorbell buzz, Ardith ran to the door.

12. OSTRICH

Most rich people live in big houses.

13. EMU

“Keep them up,” said my mom about my good grades.

14. JACKDAW

Jack dawdled because he did not want to go to school.

15. MARTIN

Omar tinkered with the machine until it worked.

16. COOT

The scooter was built so Miguel and Lars could both fit on it.

17. VIREO

Ravi reordered two pairs of shoes.

18. GANNET

“I play the organ,” Nettie said.

19. WEAVER

We averted disaster by planning well. 41

20. SPARROW In the boat race after breaking the spar, rowing was our only option. 21. CONDOR

It is just a great big con, Dorothy said about the special sales offer.

22. ROOSTER

The Australian guide asked Pierre not to disturb the kangarooâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s terrain.

ANSWERS FOR BIRD WORD SEARCH - FOR YOUNGER KIDS 1. ogre because 2. bitter no 3. I put her on the swing 4. Eric ran everywhere 5. whip poor willie 6. darkest relic 7. walnut hatches 8. deejay 9. pen “Guinness 10. ski with 11. buzz, Ardith 12. Most rich people 13. Keep them up 14. Jack dawdled 15. Ravi reordered 16. organ,” Nettie 17. We averted 18. spar, rowing 19. con, Dorothy 20. kangaroo’s terrain

BIRD IS THE WORD For older students See if you can find these bird names in the following sentences. Example: When burglars rob in a bank, they are usually caught. Find and circle or underling these words in the sentence: Pelican Lark Mallard Swift Swan

Crow Eagle Finch Chicken Loon

Goose Swallow Thrush Owl Tern

Wren Oriole Kinglet Macaw Gull

Hawk Egret Towhee Raven Flamingo

1. When we camped we washed our dishes with rushing water from the stream. 2. The brown cow rendered very rich milk. 3. The Polar Knit cap was very warm. 4. My friend, Marco Rio, let me ride his new bike. 5. I wish you would stop the dog from howling. 6. With my pin on my lapel I can get into the movie for free. 7. The beagle was very well minded. 8. After I eat a big meal I crave nothing more. 9. To perform all arduous tasks, you must plan first. 10. We let Jac row the boat for the first part of our trip. 11. The kindly king let all his subjects eat ice cream. 12. Please finish your chores swiftly. 13. Next to Joe, Greta makes the best spaghetti. 14. When Alan goes to Barstow, he eats at MacDonaldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s restaurant. 15. The stick measured a half inch longer than the rope. 44

16. Pigs wallow in mud, and they like it! 17. My mule, whose name is Hee-Haw, knows he looks silly when he wears a hat. 18. The color people wear to look chic, kendall green, is beautiful. 19. With some computers, like my Mac, awful things can happen. 20. The cartoon man, Mr. Magoo, sees nothing as he has bad eyesight. 21. In a grain silo, only grain should be put. 22. My best friend is from Botswana. 23. Afternoon is the best time to take a nap. 24. Mark is easy to fool because he is so gullible. 25. The red leaves on the maple tree were flaming, or at least it looked like a fire.

ANSWERS TO BIRD IS THE WORD: OLDER CHILDREN 1. When we camped we washed our dishes with rushing water from the stream. 2. The brown cow rendered very rich milk. 3. The Polar Knit cap was very warm. 4. My friend, Marco Rio, let me ride his new bike. 5. I wish you would stop the dog from howling. 6. With my pin on my lapel I can get into the movie for free. 7. The beagle was very well minded. 8. After I eat a big meal I crave nothing more. 9. To perform all arduous tasks, you must plan first. 10. We let Jac row the boat for the first part of our trip. 11. The kindly king let all his subjects eat ice cream. 12. Please finish your chores swiftly. 13. Next to Joe, Greta makes the best spaghetti. 14. When Alan goes to Barstow, he eats at MacDonaldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s restaurant. 15. The stick measured a half inch longer than the rope. 16. Pigs wallow in mud, and they like it! 17. My mule, whose name is Hee-Haw, knows he looks silly when he wears a hat. 18. The color people wear to look chic, kendall green, is beautiful. 19. With some computers, like my Mac, awful things can happen. 20. The cartoon man, Mr. Magoo, sees nothing as he has bad eyesight. 21. In a grain silo, only grain should be put. 22. My best friend is from Botswana. 46

23. Afternoon is the best time to take a nap. 24. Mark is easy to fool because he is so gullible. 25. The red leaves on the maple tree were flaming, or at least it looked like a fire.