Along the Birdhouse Trail

Students set up and maintain a birdhouse trail on the school grounds using instructions provided by NestWatch on the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website (see Tools and Resources). Working in small groups, students learn about different species of local cavity-nesting birds and their habitat needs by viewing videos, reading print materials, and visiting Internet sites. Students outline the stages in birds' life cycles and list five facts about one of the stages or topics in the outline. Students then visit the birdhouses at the school and use a digital camera to take photos of the different stages or use a digital video camera to film video clips. Students can keep in mind the following tips for monitoring the birdhouses:

• Only check boxes once or twice a week and in the afternoon.
• Make sure to be very quiet when approaching the boxes.
• Don't check boxes when the weather is cool and rainy or otherwise inclement.
• Don't check boxes during the first few days that the mother sits on the eggs.
• Don't check boxes when the young birds are getting ready to fledge or fly away.
• Keep good notes on what is seen in the box, including nest materials, number and color of eggs, how many hatch, and so on.

Students import photos into iPhoto and organize them in an album and import video clips into iMovie. Students send data that they collect to the Cornell Lab website. Each student group produces an iMovie project that includes the facts they have learned, images or video clips, music clips from their iTunes library, titles and transitions, and other elements. Students may choose to add text or record their voice to add narration.

Note: This project can be adapted to a different animal's life cycle such as that of the butterfly or the frog.

Outcomes
After completing this project, students will be able to:

• Understand and write about the life cycle of birds.
  
• Access, generate, and transfer information using appropriate technologies.
  
• Use scientific inquiry and engineering design to pose questions and seek answers.
  
• Use technology tools for individual and collaborative writing.

• Use the Internet to research and use their findings in a video project.
  
• Use a digital still camera and digital video camera to illustrate scientific concepts.
  
• Use iMovie to combine visual and audio clips to create an informative report.

Students can use a project-based learning project checklist (see Tools and Resources). Students can check their progress as they complete each requirement.

Tools & Resources
Books

• Mel Boring, Birds, Nests and Eggs, 2003
• Jack Griggs, Cynthia Berger, and Keith Kridler, Bluebird Monitor's Guide, 2002
• Hal Harrison, Eastern Birds' Nests, 1998
• Rene and Christyna Laubach, The Backyard Birdhouse Book, 1999

Video
North Carolina Bluebird Society, "Bluebirds Inside the Nest Box"

Internet

• Cornell Lab of Ornithology: http://www.birds.cornell.edu/
• Author's school website: http://www.dcboces.org/sufsd/nassau/vitek/btrail/index.html
• Customizable project checklists: http://4teachers.org/projectbased/

Tools
Macintosh computers, digital video camera, digital still camera, Internet connection, birdhouses, iMovie, iPhoto, iTunes