Class One: Seabird Basics
Objectives and Activities by St. Paul Island teacher; Tonia Kushin.
Objectives:
1a. Students will be able to list characteristics that differentiate a seabird from a land bird, and
discuss the specialized behaviors seabirds possess.
1b. Students will know the main groups of seabirds and characteristics of each group.
1c. Students will list and find photos of main species of seabirds that breed on the Pribilof
Islands.
Activities:
1a. Use a Venn diagram, prior knowledge, and a basic google.com search to find
characteristics of birds in general, and land birds vs. seabirds. Give students 1-3 minutes to
fill in the Venn themselves or in small groups. After this time period, project a Venn diagram
and allow each group to share some ideas as the teacher guides the discussion to include the
appropriate material in each section.
Subactivities:
•
To show ‘Dense Bones’ - get a beaker of water, a cork, and a paperclip. Use the cork
(which will float in the water) to show why a land bird has hollow bones to help it be
lighter and more able to fly. Use the paperclip (which will sink in the water) to show why
diving seabirds would benefit from dense bones when going into/under the water to
capture prey.
www.seabirdyouth.org 1 •
To show ‘Wing Shape’ – shine photos of gliding birds for students to see the general V
shape.
•
To show “Head Structure” – ask students to make paper airplanes without direct
instruction. Students will then line up on one side of the classroom to fly their planes.
Bring their attention to the shape of the nose, and the “wing” area of the plane. It is also
likely that someone will ask for a paperclip for their plane. Link all of these similar
characteristics to those of a bird: e.g. the similarity between the sharp plane nose and a
seabird bill that aerodynamically cut through water not air. The topic of bird flight will be
taught with more depth in a future lesson.
•
To show “Specialized Behaviors” - students will fill in the cartoon sheet as we discuss in
class.
1.b. Students will take notes practicing a note taking format during a class discussion on the
seabird Groups and their basic characteristics/ similarities. The Seabird Basics document
provided by Ann Harding will be used for this. A matching activity will be used as an
assessment of understanding.
1.c.
•
First, conduct a general review of which seabirds the students know that breed on St.
Paul Island. Then, show a series of color photos (for a small class size) or images on a
smart board (for a large class size) and ask students to identify each species. If color
photos are available, student will do a sorting exercise to group the species into the 5
main groupings provided.
www.seabirdyouth.org 2 •
Students will practice the Unungan (Aleut) names for each species.
•
After the prior introduction, students will log onto computers and do the “seabirds.net”
exercise provided by Ann Harding to explore what (and how many) seabirds breed in the
Pribilofs. Discuss data collection by scientists and potential opportunities that the local
students have to work with these people in summers, internships, and long-term.
•
Students will be given (or pick from a hat) one species to begin to research. Websites
will be used that were provided by Ann Harding as well as guidebooks found in the school
library.
www.seabirdyouth.org 3 Other&specialized&Seabird&behaviors&that&helps&them&live&and&feed&in&the&marine&environment.&
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Seabird(Behavior(
•  Long(Lived(–(represented(by(the(birthday(
cakes.(Words(“Long(Lived”(go(in(the(arrow(
•  Few(Chicks(–(represented(by(the(few(eggs.(
•  Diet(–(represented(by(the(chef.(Items(to(go(in(callouts:(
Diet,(zooplankton,(fish,(squid(
•  HardJworking(parents(–(represented(by(the(
runner/athlete.((
•  Adapted(to(Life(at(Sea.(Live/feed(at(sea(when(not(nesMng.(
(–(represented(by(the(=(sign.(
www.seabirdyouth.org 4 Name
Directions: On the short line, write the letter of the definition (on the right)
that matches the term (on the left).
………Tubenoses.
A. All are highly adapted to underwater travel, but cannot fly.
Except for the Galapagos Penguin, they all live in the Southern
Hemisphere (but not all live where it is very cold) B. This group of species (family Alcidae) both fly and swim with
……...Gull-like birds.
their wings. They live only in the Northern Hemisphere. The
Great Auk is now extinct. Species of alcid include the puffins,
murres, and auklets.
C.
…….Other seabirds
All tubenose species (Order Procellariformes) have their
nostrils enclosed in tubes. They include the albatross, fulmar,
petrels, shearwaters and prions.
D. This order (Pelecaniformes) includes the gannets, pelicans,
……. Alcids.
boobies, tropic birds, cormorant, and frigate birds.
E. The
…….Penguins.
skuas, jaegers, gulls, kittiwakes and terns (family
Laridae)
www.seabirdyouth.org 5 www.seabirdyouth.org 6