Young Bird Detectives Hit the Trail

New BirdSleuth curriculum features "real science for real kids"

By Jennifer Schaus

BirdSleuth will help 4th-8th graders ask questions about birds and look for the answers the way scientists do.

Photo by Claudia Zan

Ask an average group of fifth graders that question, and they are likely to say, "No way!" But here at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, we believe that science is for everyone, including children. Birds are excellent subjects for studying biology because they are easy to see and enjoyable to watch just about anywhere, from rural areas to urban neighborhoods. Many teachers and youth leaders have told us that kids love going outside to study birds. "It's a wonderful way to teach life science concepts because the examples are right outside the window!" said Conni White, a science specialist at Maude H. Trefethen School in New Hampshire.

Beginning this fall, students and teachers will be able to explore birds and schoolyard inquiry through BirdSleuth, a new middle-school curriculum from the Lab of Ornithology. BirdSleuth is designed to do more than help students learn new scientific concepts. It shows them how science is conducted by having them make careful observations of birds, ask questions, gather data, and share their findings. We also hope that learning about the birds around them will set them on the path toward caring about conservation.

BirdSleuth will help bring citizen science into schoolyards nationwide. First students learn about bird identification using full-color bird-focus cards, field guides, and a bird identification CD-ROM. Then they learn to observe and count birds. They are encouraged to send their data to us via eBird www.ebird.org, an online citizen-science project that collects bird counts continentwide. (See "eBird's New Horizons," in this issue). Students find it rewarding and motivating to learn that their data will help scientists study bird populations and develop bird conservation programs.

Teaching science through inquiry is important in today's classrooms. In practice, classroom inquiry is challenging, both for students and teachers, because it involves asking questions that don't always have easy, or even known, answers. The great thing about bird observation is that after a number of weeks, kids begin to get curious. At the same time, they gain the confidence to make observations and ask questions such as, "Why does the first-period class always see more birds?" "Why do we see so many crows this time of year?" "How does that woodpecker go around the tree like that?" "If I put a stuffed cat in the tree by the feeder, will it scare the birds?" "Do we see fewer small birds when there is a hawk or crow in the area?"

We encourage students to answer their questions through observational study, reference research, and experimentation. They can publish what they find in our Classroom BirdScope magazine or a new online magazine we are developing.

The BirdSleuth curriculum will have several units, each including 6 to 10 lessons. The first unit, which focuses on citizen science, will be available this fall. Students will identify and count birds, submit their data to the eBird database, and answer questions using eBird data. Forthcoming units will focus on bird biology, including how birds survive and reproduce, where they live, and how they migrate. Another will introduce critical aspects of the scientific process and support students in drawing evidence-based conclusions about the questions they ask. Supporting resources include a BirdSleuth reference guide, journal, CD-ROM, and web site.

We're encouraged by feedback from teachers about the field test materials. "It accomplishes what every good science program should," said Diane Caveness, who tried the curriculum with her seventh-grade class at Azalea Middle School in Oregon. "It makes kids aware of their environment, it teaches careful observation and record-keeping, it engages learners in the process, and it provides for inquiry."

Phil Kahler from Tulatin Valley Junior Academy in Oregon said that his students enjoyed going outdoors to watch birds each week. He added, "Students are not only engaged in watching birds and learning about them, but they are learning about the nature of science as they conduct their own scientific investigations."

Can kids be scientists? YES!

For information about ordering the BirdSleuth curriculum, please contact Jennifer Schaus at (607) 254-2403 or jms327@cornell.edu.

Jennifer Schaus is the Lab of Ornithology's curriculum developer.

For permission to reprint all or part of this article, please contact Laura Erickson, editor, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, 159 Sapsucker Woods Rd., Ithaca, NY, 14850. Phone: (607) 254-1114. email: lle24@cornell.edu