Do Birds Have Teeth?
LIFE SCIENCES
Get curious
5 min
Video/ Slide show (5 min)
Watch a film
What do hummingbirds eat?
How do they eat? What do their beaks look like?
Do all birds drink nectar?
How do they eat? What do their beaks look like?
Do all birds drink nectar?
Get going
5 min
Observing (5 min)
Invite students to come to the tables with bird food. Tell them what you have prepared for them.
NOTE: Before the lesson, prepare the classroom – i.e., place food for birds on tables. You can find details of how to do this at the end of the lesson plan in the “get ready” section.
Discuss which products are edible for birds and which aren’t. How do birds get food? How do they fish food out of water, pick it out of tree bark, etc.?
Discuss which products are edible for birds and which aren’t. How do birds get food? How do they fish food out of water, pick it out of tree bark, etc.?
7 min
Movement game (7 min)
Time to take on the role of birds. How would you “handle” food if you couldn’t use your hands, but had beaks instead? Try!
Students will try to collect food using tools that simulate beaks, thanks to which they will find out that you can’t collect every type of food with every type of beak, and they will learn how many different types of beaks birds can have – depending on what they eat.
13 min
Analyzing (13 min)
Students will view the “nests” to which they have carried food. Students will match appropriate species of birds to the tools they have used. They should justify their choices.
The purpose of this task is learn about food collecting mechanisms using different tools (beaks). Show photos of birds and talk with each team, asking questions such as:
What types of food did you collect with your tool. Why these types in particular?
Which bird has a beak with a similar shape to your tool?
What in its structure makes it easy for it to collect food?
Could this beak collect various types of food?
Do birds need teeth? Do birds have teeth?
What types of food did you collect with your tool. Why these types in particular?
Which bird has a beak with a similar shape to your tool?
What in its structure makes it easy for it to collect food?
Could this beak collect various types of food?
Do birds need teeth? Do birds have teeth?
5 min
Conclusions (5 min)
Discuss the significance of the diversity of birds' beaks. You can ask auxiliary questions
Is it good that birds have such diverse beaks? What does it give them? What would happen if it were otherwise?
Get practicing
Constructing
Build a bird feeder – discuss exactly what type of food you will put into it.
Put it in a place where you can observe how birds feed from it.
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