Illustrating a Bird Field Guide!

Post Contributed by Jocelyne Adkins, Program Director

To conclude our first fun-filled week of BirdSleuth activities, we decided to merge art and science with the creation of a local bird field guide! After a short demonstration on how to create illustrations using the Pixie program, students selected their favorite Chicago-area bird and quickly went to work.

Emory, Peregrine Falcon

 
They began with a simple line drawing and then added color and textures using the various Pixie tools. We discovered that the "dry brush" tool is fantastic to use in the creation of feathers, and that the "crayon" tool can create a wonderful speckled appearance.

Emory, Peregrine Falcon

Caroline, Robin

 
The students' process was close to magical, as we witnessed them bringing their birds to life on screen. We were completely impressed with the students' success and invite you to have a look below : ) Next Friday, we will complete the field guide, describing each bird's habitat, voice and diet.

Chan, Western Bluebird

Cassie, Purple Finch

Leila, Blue Jay

Jadon, Red-Winged Blackbird

Anika, Cardinal

Cassie, Purple Finch

Caroline, Robin

Yeoeun, House Sparrow

Chan's Western Bluebird (Chan created a water-color effect!)

Cassie, Purple Finch

Jadon, Red-Winged Blackbird

Collaboration bt. Isaac & Ms. Bernstein, Bald Eagle

Jordan, Cooper's Hawk

Chan, Western Bluebird

Yeoeun, House Sparrow

Food Web Tangle and Hawks & Rabbits

Post Contributed by Ally Bernstein, Teaching Assistant

Today’s project left us tangled up – in the best way possible. We got up close and personal with the food web for our third day of bird-themed projects brought to us via the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s BirdSleuth science program.

Ms. Adkins briefly explained the difference between a food chain (which shows energy flow from sun to plants to animals) and a food web (which illustrates the entire flow of energy through many species in an entire ecosystem). Food webs consist of the sun, producers (plants) that use the sun to make food energy, consumers (animals) that eat producers and other consumers, and decomposers (bacteria and fungi) that break down dead plants and animals.

 

Every Beye student was given a card with either the sun, a producer, a consumer or a decomposer.  Instead of humans, we became caterpillars, bacteria, seeds, hawks, domestic cats, beetles, leaves, fungi, robins, hummingbirds, berries, doves, snakes, etc. Using lengths of yarn, students demonstrated the connections between different players in the food web. The sun was connected to all of the producers. The producers were connected to consumers that were herbivores (animals that eat plants) and omnivores (animals that eat plants and animals). Consumers that were carnivores were connected to their prey. And the decomposers were connected to all the plants and animals that they decompose.

As you can see in the photos above, it didn’t take long for things to get pretty complicated! A food web demonstrates how everything in an ecosystem is delicately interconnected. If all of the producers gently tugged their yarn, many consumers and decomposers could feel the pull. If all the decomposers gently tugged, ALL of the consumers and producers could feel the pull, since decomposers are responsible for all nutrient cycling of organic matter.

 

Ms. Adkins then asked for a scenario that affected a single species within the food web. If one species drops out – for example, all ground beetles fall victim to disease and die – many other members of the food web are affected. To demonstrate, the student acting as a  beetle dropped her yarn, and everyone connected to her also dropped their yarn: A seemingly small event can have significant effects on the entire food web! We repeated this once more with a different species and watched our food web fall apart.

 

The second half of this lesson got us outside and moving. We played a game called “Hawks and Rabbits” to connect the food web to the four factors that make a habitat hospitable (food, water, cover and space). It was cold for a May afternoon on the playground, however the children were far too excited by the game to notice. Most of the class became rabbits; two students were hawks. The rabbits had to gather grass (popsicle sticks) and bring it back to their thicket to eat (the domed spider-web structure on the playground). At the same time, the hawks had to tag rabbits and bring them back to their nest (the tree with a bench around it). The first time we ran this three-minute experiment, not many rabbits were able to eat the required amount of food to survive! How could the habitat be adjusted to provide greater balance within this chain?

 

We played again, and this time the food source was closer to the rabbits' cover: a new thicket was found at the bacon bridge, much closer to the food. As a result, some rabbits were able to gather more food. But it was still difficult for many rabbits to evade the hawks. How could the habitat become more favorable for the rabbits' survival?

 

For our third and final play-through, one hawk was removed. With only one predator, many rabbits were able to live successfully. We threw out some additional ways the habitat could be changed to make the game play differently – two thickets! Two places to collect grass instead of one! More rabbits! More nutritious food to sustain the rabbits longer, hence fewer trips to the food source! The important lesson in today's activities is the interconnectedness of living things and the significance of balance within an ecosystem.

We would like to extend a sincere thank you to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's K-12 Education Department for developing the BirdSleuth curriculum and for offering workshops that help teachers to creatively engage their students with topics and activities such as these presented today!

What is a Habitat? Birds and Their Habitat Needs

Post Contributed by Ally Bernstein, Teaching Assistant

This week was themed around a favorite animal family of many Beye students – birds! The Cornell Lab of Ornithology via their BirdSleuth curriculum and teacher workshops provided us with a week packed full of interactive science and imagination-stretching exercises centered around habitats and of course, birds! These explorations provided fuel for our creative fire! Today, we focused specifically on habitat, and our lesson began with animal crackers (yes, animal crackers) for everyone.

Elise and Heidi

First, Ms. Adkins asked everyone to sort their animal crackers by "type". Many students initially sorted theirs by animal species, some students chose different methods, a few sorted by broken and unbroken crackers, and some others chose to separate animals found on the African continent and those found in colder regions. This last idea segued into a discussion of animal habitat, which consists of four very important factors – food, water, cover, and space. Every habitat must provide these factors to be a good home for animals!

Yinka

Ms. Adkins had posters that featured a variety of ecosystems, including but not limited to temperate forest, deserts, polar areas, and farms. We all began to sort our animals into these habitats. (Of course, it was hard not to eat our crackers, and we did snack on a few while we worked!) We discussed which animals could fit in which habitat and why, considering temperature, precipitation, food availability, etc.

Chan and Yeoeun

Upon discussing our results, we hit upon a few big ideas: that some species can exist in multiple habitats, that some habitats have similarities (temperate vs. tropical rainforests), and that some are quite different (deserts vs. wetlands). Upon finishing this exercise, everyone was excited to munch on all of the giraffes, lions, buffalo, sheep and other animals. We even had a few unanswered questions, which ended up on an “I Wonder?” board to be investigated later.

Jessica

Now that we had thought about the necessary functions provided by habitat, it was time to design our own birds. We considered what type of habitat we would live in if we were a bird. We imagined ourselves as avians – and thought about…

Where do we get food? Where do we find water? Where do we sleep and nest? What do we see? Where do we hide from predators?

Xantal

Our students were quite creative and drew beautiful bird versions of themselves occupying all types of habitats, from the coldest polar regions to the most lush rainforests. One student even created himself as a bird that lived in space and received all of his habitat needs from a well equipped space ship! Check out some of our creations below and have some fun for yourself: Consider where YOU would live as a bird!

Joaquin

Elise

Joel

Dexter

Jessica

Vivianna

Xantal

Wonderful Worm Habitats!

Post contributed by Jocelyne Adkins, Program Director

Hi Families,

Our theme for this week is "The Wonderful World of Soil". Yesterday we learned about soil, soil layers, maintaining soil health and the importance of decomposers.  So it follows that today we would focus our attention on friendly worms, those all important decomposers that contribute greatly to soil health.

Yeoeun peers into her group's habitat

 
We began our session by reading the picture book "Yucky Worms" by Vivian French to learn how and why worms are so beneficial. The book unfolds in a conversational manner, as a grandmother in her own garden teaches her grandson why worms are anything but "yucky". Here are a few examples:

1. worm tunneling helps to loosen and aerate the soil
2. worm tunneling allows rainwater to filter down through the soil and allows roots to grow deeper into the soil
3. worm movement, as well as worm castings, carry important nutrients through the soil to help living things grow

Elise, Jordan, Yinka, D., and Shlok

Next, we visited the perimeter of Beye's native garden to find worms for observation and study. Here, we sprinkled some water (to simulate a rain shower) to coax the worms closer to the surface. Students waited a few minutes and then started to dig carefully. The children went about their task quite enthusiastically ~ each worm that was found was a moment of pure excitement!

Elijah, Jacob, & Chan

We returned to the classroom to assemble our worm habitats with gravel at the bottom, followed by layers of sand and soil. The students then contributed some organic matter to the top layer (dead leaves, grass clippings, apple cores and peels, and brussel sprout leaves). Then the fun part ~ the children added the worms to their habitats and watched with more excitement as the worms descended into the soil. Some worms could even be observed tunneling their way down through the soil, since they were positioned close to the interior of the clear bottle.

Observations over the next 2 weeks will include:
1. How worms aerate the soil and distribute nutrients due to their movement within it. By doing so, the layers of sand and soil we started with should no longer be distinct
2. How the worms aid in the process of decomposition.

The photos below document most of our process (except for attaching the top of the bottle to enclose the habitat) ~ it was a terrific afternoon!

Laila, Joel, Anika, Joey and Jessica

Jessica, Leila, Joey, Norah

Heidi and Elise receiving their worms from Ms. Bernstein

Joey, Norah & Leila (Jessica is behind Leila)

Shlok, Joel & Chan

Jadon, Laila, Jordan & Yeoeun

Elise, Heidi and Emily's worm habitat: can you see the worm tunneling in the top soil layer? 

worm habitat 1, top view with organic matter (without lid)

worm habitat 2, top view (without lid)

Elise, Heidi and Emily's worm habitat, side view with soil and sand layers

Joey, Norah, Jessica and Leila's worm habitat: This worm loved sitting on top of the apple peel!

Every few days we will add water and take a peek at our guests' progress through the soil and noting our observations. After approximately 2 weeks, we will return our worms to their natural habitat near the Beye native garden with a small going away party in their honor. Thank you worms, for all that you do!