eBird Explorers: Discover Schoolyard Birds

Inspire a Connection to Your Local Environment While Teaching Important Science Content

Image shows the eBird 3-5 cover titled "Discover Schoolyard Birds". It shows a child out in nature spotting a variety of animals.

Wherever you are, whatever the time of year, birds are all around you, so why not use them as an engaging hook for science education? Aligned to 3-5th grade Next Generation Science Standards and Common Core State Standards, eBird Explorers: Discover Schoolyard Birds helps students engage in participatory science while building connections to their local habitat. This kit supports students in building observation skills by diving into bird ID, bird behavior, and the structure and function of bird feathers through hands-on explorations. Students become scientists by conducting their own eBird walks during which students look and listen for birds, document their sightings, and share their findings.

The full kit is available for purchase through our kitting partner.

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NGSS Standards Met

  • LS1.A: Structure and Function
    • 4-LS1-1 Construct an argument that plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction.
  • LS2.D: Social Interactions and Group Behavior
    • 3-LS2-1 Construct an argument that some animals form groups that help members survive.
  • LS4.B: Natural Selection
    • 3-LS4-2 Use evidence to construct an explanation for how the variations in characteristics among individuals of the same species may provide advantages in surviving, finding mates, and reproducing.
  • LS4.C: Adaptation
    • 3-LS4-3 Construct an argument with evidence that in a particular habitat some organisms can survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive at all.
  • ESS3.C: Human Impacts on Earth Systems
    • 5-ESS3-1 Obtain and combine information about ways individual communities use science ideas to protect the Earth’s resources and environment.

Kit Includes

  • Enough materials for a class of 30
  • Life-size bird images
  • Bird ID cards
  • Clues to bird identification poster
  • Feather exploration packets
  • Lesson plans, handouts, and worksheets