Beaks of Our Feathered Friends

Materials Needed
Activity
Career Connections
Assessment
Standards

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Throughout the story, Alice meets many different types of animals, including a vast variety of birds ... the most famous being the Dodo bird. In this activity, children will make connections between the similarities of common household tools and biological functions by using different tools to pick up seeds and food. Through careful observation and thought about the many ways birds' beaks are adapted for their environmental and dietary needs, children will become better observers of the birds they frequently see in their own environment.

Materials: What You Will Need: (for each student or small group)

• an assortment of tools representing different beak adaptations: tweezers, needle-nose pliers, short pliers, adjustable pliers, eyedropper, melon scoop or baby spoon
• jar with a hole in lid (container for "nectar" - colored water)
• jar lids or containers to hold seeds
• small plastic container packed with play dough
• trays
• food coloring
• honeycomb patterned wood or plastic lattice
• assortment of seeds from tiny birdseed size to large nut size
• pictures of birds with a variety of beak adaptations to match your tools

To Get Ready:

1. Set up a tray with tools and containers with seeds for each child or group.
2. Each tray should have one of each tool, a container of play dough, a jar with colored water with a hole in the lid (big enough for the eyedropper to fit through), a container with large nut-like seeds, a container with tiny seeds, a container fitted with lattice with bean-sized seeds, and lids for each container.

To Start, Ask:

What kinds of different birds do you know and what do they eat?

Activity: Now, Try It!

• Take a look at the variety of materials (seeds, water, playdough) and the different tools provided.
• Using each tool on the tray, try to move the seeds from the container onto its lid. Are there any tools that work with only one material? Are there any tools that work to move all of the materials?
• Observe the pictures of the different birds on the table. Looking at the shape and size of the beaks, what kids of seeds or foods do you think the different birds eat? Are any of the beaks similar to the tools on the tray? In what ways?

Questions to Think about and Ask:

• Which tool was the hardest to use? Why?
• Did any of the tools remind you of the beaks of birds you have seen before?
• Can you imagine having to eat your meal one seed at a time?

Career Connection:

Ornithologists are scientists who study birds. If you like observing and studying birds, you might enjoy being an ornithologist.

Assess What Happened: (Students reflect)

Try designing a beak yourself! What kind of food will it have the ability to pick up?

Connect it to the Story!

After swimming in the Pool of Tears, Alice and her new animal friends, "the birds with draggled feathers, the animals with their fur clinging close to them, and all dripping, wet, cross and uncomfortable" had to figure out a way to dry themselves. After much discussion and some experimentation, they final settle on holding a Caucus Race to dry off. Basically, a Caucus Race in this story, is when all the animals run around in a circular racecourse until the end of the race is called at random - at which point, they hope they are all dry. Some birds are adapted to swim well, while others fly better. What beak adaptations help birds to be good eaters in their environment?

Connect It to Standards:

"An organism's patterns of behavior are related to the nature of that organism's environment, including the kinds and numbers of other organisms present, the ability of food and resources, and the physical characteristics of the environment." (NSES Standards)