Student Worksheet

Get Into Birds - Activity Instructions

Have you ever watched a bird fly? Isn’t it just amazing! You’re going to use your eagle eye to observe some birds, thinking about what they do and how they move. Then you’ll have a chance to imagine what it’s like to be a bird and why they do what they do.

Safety advice: In this activity you might be going outside and standing or sitting in one spot where you will look around and identify as many colours as you can. Before heading outside check with your parents/caregivers if there are any rules for being outside that you need to know about. They may decide it’s best to come with you.

Step 1.

Find a good spot where you will be able to observe some birds. Then spend some time just watching the birds. Watching a bird fly is a wonderful thing to do: see how they duck and weave and swoop and glide.

Next take a look at the Bird Observation Checklist and see if you can find a bird doing some of the activities described on this table. Add a tick or some notes next to any of the activities that you see. You can also add some other bird activities that you see to the bottom of the table.

Step 2.

You could then imagine how the world must look from where the bird is. Think about this a bit more using the following questions:

How do birds know where to land?
Which might be the best tree for birds to land in and why do you think this is?
Do you think they can remember all the trees in an area? How might the trees look from the sky?
How do they land without crashing?

Step 3.

Now imagine that you are a bird, flying around your house or neighbourhood. Think about this a bit more using the following questions:

How does it feel to be a bird flying around?
Which trees would you land in?
Where would you go?
Where would you find something to eat and drink?
Where would you find your friends?
What would you do all day?

Step 4.

Back inside pick one of the following activities to complete:

Draw one or more of the birds you saw.
Create a map of the landscape that you imagine the birds are looking down on (e.g. your yard and house, or your neighbourhood).
Write a story about what the birds are doing.

Taking It Further

Repeat this activity at different times of the day:

Do you see different birds at different times? Why do you think this is?
Are birds more or less active at different times? Why do you think this is?

Try to identify some of the birds you have seen. Use a bird identification book or a website like Birds Australia Bird Finder (https://www.birdsinbackyards.net/finder). Birds Australia also has a great field guide on their Aussie Backyard Bird Count app that can be accessed all year round. (Note: The actual count is in October and is a great way to participate in a national citizen science project and help your kids sustain their connection to nature in their neighbourhood.)

Get Into Birds (home learning)

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Summary

Activity guides and printables

Activity Details

Curriculum Mapping

Additional Info

In this activity