email me at gwenmchugh@hotmail.com

Lesson Plans

Migratory Species

Why Migrate?

Human Influence on Bird Populations

Visit to American Museum of Natural History

 

The Institute

This program consisted of two parts.  The first week was devoted to microbiology at Pace University in downtown Manhattan.  We performed various experiments & grew cultures from samples we collected from a field trip to Constitution Marsh in Cold Spring, NY (it was awesome!!) at the Audubon site there.  This is me collecting samples from the stream with my partner George.  I haven't done microbio since college & it was a good refresher.  I never really thought of the biodiversity of the microbial world, and its interaction with plants & animals until participating in this institute.

 

The second week was held at the American museum of Natural History.  For me, the experience at the museum was totally wonderful.  Not only are the exhibits fantastic, especially the new Hall of Biodiveristy, the support material is very helpful.  I feel so much more comfortable at the museum now & will definitely be taking field trips there.  We used the method of cladistics to organize fishes & create a dichotomous key based on the observations.  We also used the same method for organizing our data from three different flowers.  This is what we are doing in this picture.

 

This institute was a commuter program, and it was nice to go home at night.  However, the days are jam packed.  I got so much information & resources & ideas from both parts of the institute.  I am very invigorated to get back to school in September.

Sample Units

From the museum experience I decided to focus on migratory patterns of birds since the school I teach at is in the Atlantic flyway.  If there is anyone out there with suggestions or has undertaken a similar project, please email me.

The basic plan of action is as follows...

There are four main projects to be developed out of this idea.

Project 1  Migratory Species

Have the students discover one species of bird within the flyway. Due to time constraints, the teacher may give them a list to choose from. In small research groups, the students would investigate their species - habitat, where it begins & ends its migration, dates of migration, diet, etc. Local birding groups would be contacted as well to help with the research.

A class-compiled, large data table would be constructed to make the information available to all students. A key point to this lesson is utilizing maps, atlases and plotting data. A Western Hemisphere map would be provided as well as locations along the flyways for each species. The students would then look up the latitudes & longitudes of these places & plot them on the map. This information could also be accessed via the Internet if technology use is desired. Other information such as dates & reasons why the birds are in this region would also be labeled on the map.

A related activity is for each student to devise a list of ten questions that they would like to have answered about the species. This extends the project and allows them the time to reflect on the information they have already amassed and what new questions have developed.

Project 2 Why Migrate?

This project revolves around the how & why of migration. The point should be made that many different types of animals migrate, not just birds & butterflies. A puzzling question to scientists is the mechanism of how birds know how & when to migrate. The students brainstorm ways or mechanisms the birds have that allow them to migrate at the correct time & in the correct direction. They would then research the previous studies performed & see if any of their ideas have been used. An evaluation of the study procedures is helpful for the students to understand the process a scientist must go through. For example, is the study humane or did the researchers use an adequate control.

Project 3 Human Influence on Bird Populations

The influence of man is a topic I am anxious to present. Too often the students don’t realize their impact, either positive or negative on their environment. There is a great anecdote in the book Wild New York that tells of ornithologist William Beebe setting up an observation in the Statue of Liberty. The light of the torch attracted birds, which crashed into the statue & died. The next morning he counted 270 dead birds & subsequently the light in the torch was dimmed. The topics to address include the destruction of habitat, both at their starting & ending locations as well as stops the birds make along their migration, why local areas are such pivotal centers for birds, the role of hunting, and what changes have been enacted to protect these birds.

Project 4  Visit to American Museum of Natural History

The last idea I have is to bring students to the museum to study their extensive bird displays that are there. Morphology studies can be conducted as well as the interaction of different types of birds in different types of environments. Evolutionary aspects can be addressed such as beak shape and diet.