Upper Elementary & Middle (4-8)

Upper elementary and middle school standards emphasize the role of animal groups and habitat on survival and behavior.

Examples – How do feeder birds react to predator calls? How long does a Black-capped Chickadee stay at the feeder compared to a Mourning Dove? Which species visit the feeder most often?

Sample Study:

Question: Will birds eat more from a feeder that has cover nearby or a feeder that is out on the open?

Methods: Find two different places to hang your bird feeders that are easily observable. One location should be near a tree or shrub and another should be out in the open, away from any cover. Have students record the number of bird visits to each feeder over several weeks or measure the amount of seed eaten from both.

Report: Create a graph to represent the total visits to the two feeders and determine if the hypothesis is supported or not. Challenge students to go further by seeing if there were any differences between species observed at the two feeders.