Hummingbirds Lesson Plans

1. A Hummingbird Compared to a Helicopter
A Hummingbird Compared to a Helicopter MATERIALS NEEDED: library books from the library on hummingbirds and helicopters paper, pencils, erasers, and rulers STEPS TO FOLLOW: one Pass out the books on four Ask the students to put hummingbirds and helicopters down all the similarities and have the students look between the hummingbird and through the books for helicopter opposite each information on them...

2. Journey North: A Global Study of Wildlife Migration: Monarch Butterfly
...ourney North! Site map >> Journey North engages students in a global study of wildlife migration and seasonal change. K-12 students share their own field observations with classmates across North America. They track the coming of spring through the migration patterns of monarch butterflies, robins, hummingbirds, whooping cranes, gray whales, bald eagles? and other birds and mammals; the budding of plants; changing sunlight; and other natural events. Find migration maps, pictures, standards-based lesson plans, activities and information to help students make local observations and fit them into a global con...

3. Travel Plans Travel Plans
...What to Do 1. Organize students into small groups. Ask each group to choose an animal that migrates each spring and fall. You might offer students a list of animals from which to choose; examples include lesser long-nosed bats, hawks, bald eagles, monarch butterflies, manatees, humpback whales, and hummingbirds. 2. Tell each group to research their chosen animal's migratory habits. They can use an online source or encyclopedias or other reference books to do their research. 3. Have students create a map showing their animal's migration route and report their findings to the class. Internet Resources Journe...

4. Flowers and Their Friends Lesson Plan
...1. Study flower and plant parts: roots, stem, leaf, seed, sepal, petal, stamen, and pistil. Learn what role each plays in the plant's life. 2. Find out how sight, smell, and shape affect which birds and insects pollinate different flowering plants. Sight-Birds have great color vision, which is why hummingbirds prefer to visit red flowers and bird feeders. Bees are attracted to white and blue flowers. Many flowers have "targets" (honey guides that are often invisible to humans). Insects use these stripes, spots, or stars somewhat like markers on a runway to lead them straight to the pollen. Smell-Birds hav...

5. Life-Cycle Sleuth
...Groundwork: Before Migration Help students grasp the idea that behavioral adaptations are responses that help animals survive in particular environments. 1. Begin with a classroom discussion about animals' physical adaptations. Spark students' thinking by asking questions such as, Why do you think hummingbirds have long tongues? (To reach in and draw nectars from flowers.) Why are polar bears furry? (To survive in a cold environment.) Why do humans have thumbs? 2. Next, discuss how an animal's behavior can also be adapted to its environment. Unlike physical adaptations, such as fur and fat, behavioral ada...

6. Summing it All Up
...in the article about a humminbird? The size of the hummingbird would be interesting so we would put in this circle that the weight of the smallest hummingbird is 2 grams. In order to keep adding on to the web you will need to come up with some more important information from the article describing hummingbirds." At this time allow the students' some time to finish their web or at least write down some more key points from the article. Explain also after finishing the web you can write all of these important details into complete sentences, which will be about one paragraph and this will be your summary. 4...

7. Journey North
...News regularly. Select "News" on the navigation bar above. The News page links directly to the latest news story for each species. An accompanying abstract tells the highlights included in each report. Students can read the full story for details. Sample headlines: February 28: First ruby-throated hummingbirds reported in U.S. March 10: Ice melts from Thoreau's Walden Pond. March 20: Monarch butterflies are leaving the sanctuaries in Mexico. April 7: The first whooping cranes leave Texas for Canada. April 10: First Gray whale mothers & babies reach Monterey Bay, CA. May 1: Robins finally arrive in North P...

8. Slim Down to the Good Stuff
...in the article about a hummingbird? The size of the hummingbird would be interesting so we would put in this circle that the weight of the smallest hummingbird is 2 grams. In order to keep adding on to the web you will need to come up with some more important information from the article describing hummingbirds." At this time allow the students' some time to finish their web or at least write down some more key points from the article. Explain also after finishing the web you can write all of these important details into complete sentences, which will be about one paragraph and this will be your summary. 4...

9. Hinterland Who's Who - Snow Lovers or Haters?
...hey can. Mice and voles, for instance, tunnel under snow to keep warm and to hide from predators. Deer and elk pack down trails that make travelling easier, and bears hibernate. In a very severe winter, however, many snow tolerators will die. Chionophobes know better than to stick around in winter! Hummingbirds and other feathered species head south otherwise they would simply freeze to death. (No wonder they are snow fearers.) Some bats in Canada, such as the red bat and the hoary bat, are considered chionophobes because they migrate. Others, like the common little brown bat, however, are snow tolerators...

10. Journey North
...uld ask to verify accuracy of an observation. For instance: Who is the observer and what is his/her level of experience? Has the observer participated in this project in previous years? Is the observer following Journey North's protocol? How regularly was the observer watching for monarchs (robins, hummingbirds, etc.) before reporting the first one in the region? Is the observer likely to have seen a monarch in his or her region, given the average temperature and climate? Question the Source! When Jim Hateli's second-grade students were confused about an early monarch sighting in New Jersey, they decided i...