Richland Engineering Lab
Grade:
2nd
Experiment:
Bird Brain
Question: Can you think like a bird and create a nest to hold 3 marbles.
Standard:
2- K-2-ETS1-2. Develop a simple sketch, drawing, or physical model to illustrate
how the shape of an object helps it function as needed to solve a
given problem.
Duration:
50 minutes
Lesson
Estimated Time
Components
Engage
5 min
Engage
5 min
Explore
40 minutes
Explain
10 minutes
Brief description
Gather students on the carpet.
Explain that they will be exploring
one of the world’s most amazing
builders… birds. Ask if anyone
have ever looked closely at a bird
nest. What did they see?
Lab teacher will use Humane
Society slide show and online info to
give a brief overview of nests.
Lab teacher will explain that the
students will be in groups of 2 and
they can use any of the natural or
“found” items to create a nest that
will hold 3 marbles.
Students will break in to lab groups
of preferably 2-3. They will work to
build a nest. If they have extra time
they can research birds’ nests
online, or create a basket with
strips of yard and cloth for birds to
use in their backyard.
Students come back to the carpet.
Discuss nest building. What
materials did they have success
with? Discuss how different
environments birds are in will
change what their nest. Explain to
never touch a used bird nest.
Advance Preparation: Obtain and collect all needed materials.
Materials needed for lab:
-
-
Pencils (approximately 15)
Paper for sketching (approximately 75 sheets)
Scissors (approximately 15)
Access to website and photos to class
http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/resources/tips/nest_bui
lding.html?referrer=https://www.google.com/#id=album144&num=content-2747
Blue trays (approximately 15)
Marbles (approximately 45)
Dirt
Water
Cups to hold dirt and water (approximatly 60)
Collected leaves
Grass clippings
Collected twigs
Boxes to dump out contents of brown paper bags and look through
items (approximately 15)
Trash bags to collect waste
Yarn
Brown paper bag for each child in the grade
Optional: camera to photograph students nest model at end of lab
How to prepare materials before the lab:
A couple days before the STEAM day send home a brown paper bag with
instructions. Ask students to collect natural items from their yard for a school
project. Suggest things like grass clippings, dried or fallen leaves, and twigs.
Put the date that the brown bag is requested back at school on the instruction
sheet.
Note: It is not suggested to list dirt & water but instead have it available in the
classroom the day of the lab.
Prepare a couple extra bags for students that forget their brown paper bag with
supplies.
Put a blue tray on each lab station. Put 3 marbles on each tray as these will be
the eggs. On each tray also put 2 cups. In one cup is ¼ cup water and in the
other cup is ½ cup dirt. These can be used to make mud to help the nest
building materials stick together. Near each tray put a box that contents of
brown bag can be dumped into so students can sort through the optional items
they have for nest building.
Teacher Opening Dialog example:
Hello Friends, Glad to see you engineering lab. Today we are going to explore
birdhouses. Has anyone seen a birdhouse? (pause) Wow, that is really neat.
You have had many fun experiences watching birds build.
I would like to show you a website and some pictures. Teacher then reviews
website and photos on site with students.
http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/resources/tips/nest_bui
lding.html?referrer=https://www.google.com/#id=album144&num=content-2747
Wow friends, I really think birds are amazing builders. They collect things they
find and use it to create a safe place to raise their young. I know you all
collected things in your own yard, park or local environment. Today you are
going to see if you have a bird brain. Can you and your partner work together
to make a nest using the found items? Can the nest you create hold 3 eggs?
Your perimeters are that you can only use natural or found items. There is
some dirt and water on your building station and you can use this if you like
as birds usually have access to this. Your nest will need to be able to hold 3
marbles, our pretend eggs, safely.
Then lab teacher breaks students up into groups of 2. If desired each student
can be handed their own brown bag or for ease of implementation mixing up the
brown paper bags is a workable model. If bags will be mixed up lab teacher
might want to address this in opening talk. As students build walk around and
observe process and lab partner commination.
Optional: Have some printed papers about bird for students to read if they
finish early.
Free printable reading about different birds
http://www.thecurriculumcorner.com/thecurriculumcorner123/2013/03/07/
bird-research-passages/
Optional 2: Scraps of Aid Bird station
Materials:
-
Hole punch
Empty and clean school milk container (1 per student)
Yarn of many colors cut into 2-4 inch strips
String for stringing through milk container
raffia
If it is desired by lab teacher time can be allowed to have students build a
scraps-of-aid stand for birds. Open the top of the milk container. Before lab
have an adult help hole punch 4 holes on top of the milk container and string
cotton or nylon string through so milk container can be hung outside. Have
yarn, cotton strips, raffia available. Allow students to put yarn, raffia, left over
twigs and buildings supplies to make a bird donation material stand in a tree
or bush in their own back yard.
:
Example from http://www.thenatureofgrace.blogspot.com/2012/04/homeschool-theme-of-weekbirds.html
Bring students back to rug to discuss the building experience. Ask questions
and lead discussion.
Was building a nest harder or easier than they thought it would be? Why?
Would a drought affect the birds and their ability to build nests? Why?
Would an increase of people in an area change the birds’ ability to build a nest?
Why?
Would the location a bird lives affect the materials they use in their nests?
Why?
Important to end discussion with below statement:
Students, do you know if it is ever a good idea to touch or move nest a bird
made? Correct, it is not a good idea to move a nest that is being built or used.
Birds think of this as an attack and they will abandon their nest in response to
a disturbance.
Optional extensions:
free bird/nest poster for classroom
http://www.survivingateacherssalary.com/wpcontent/uploads/2012/05/nestwatch-poster-pg1.jpg
Free printable reading about different birds
http://www.thecurriculumcorner.com/thecurriculumcorner123/2013/03/07/
bird-research-passages/