On Bird Hill
On Bird Hill by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Bob Marshall
The On Bird Hill – Teacher’s Guide (8 pages, free download) features activities that target national science, math, writing, and art education standards for grades K-2. This website provides background information, digital content, and supplementary activities to complement the printable Guide.
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Supplemental Materials for the Activities in the Guide:
Activity 1. Retellings and Reenactments
This video of an egg hatching will complement your reenactment of the story of On Bird Hill.
Additional questions:
- What differences do you notice between the two hatchings?
- Does it take long for a real chick to hatch?
- What is the chick like when it comes out of the egg?
Activity 2. Sequential Storytelling
Use this Story Board organizer to create a numbered sequence of the most important story events. Invite children to draw and/or write what happens in each square of the organizer.
Activities 5 and 6. So Many Nests & Build a Nest
Take a look at the Cornell Lab’s NestWatch site for more nest identification tips, including a Clutch Size chart. Show children images of different bird nests and have them guess at who they might belong to. (Don’t be fooled by non-bird nests!)
Activity 7. Camouflage and Seek
Activity 9. Bouncing Baby Bird
Refer to the video below for a step-by-step guide to the activity. As an alternative, you may choose to play the video and answer the activity questions without doing the experiment.
[youtube id=”khgOTDvG-4A” size=”Large”]
Activity 10. Comparing Critters
Use the following sites to help you figure out what birds are common in your area:
Sort by region, habitat, and lots of other factors to find out who your neighborhood friends are!
Activity 11. See a Baby Chick Hatch
Reference the video for the Retelling and Reenactments activity to observe the hatching of a baby chick. You can also visit the All About Birds Bird Cams page to view live streams of different bird nests, including a Red-tailed Hawk’s nest and a Great Horned Owl’s nest.
Activity 12. Changing Chicks
Can you tell whose baby is whose? Use the pictures below to play a matching game with children and compare the ways young and adult birds look.
