On a Wing and a Prayer
Lesson Introduction
Long ago, no one knew that birds migrated during the winter months. Many naturalists believed that they went underground or under the mud at the bottom of a pond to escape the cold. Aristotle, the Greek philosopher, thought that some birds changed into a different species for the winter! We now know that is not the case, but there is still a lot we don't know about bird migration (definition). By banding some of the birds and tracking their routes, scientists have been amazed by what birds are capable of doing. As seen in the video, On a Wing and a Prayer, songbirds travel great distances, often thousands of miles. Arctic terns, for example, fly 10,000 miles from Maine to the South Pole!
Some questions remain. How do they find their way? Why do some travel at night and others during the day? How do birds instinctively know that it is time to go? More than that, how do they know where to go? There are several theories on each of these questions. Migration research has been conducted by hundreds of people throughout the years, and all of them have contributed to what we know today. Phenologists (definition) still do not know all there is to know about migration, but their studies are great examples of scientific inquiry and solving mysteries in science. In this lesson, students join the researchers to see what they can find out about the mysteries of bird migration.
Grade Level
8 through 12
Objectives
The students will:
1. design a research study to learn more about migration.
2. distinguish between direct and indirect reasons for bird migration.
Time Allotment
three 40-minute sessions
Materials
copy of student data sheet Migration Mystery Clue Cards, one card for each group
student journals
pencils or pens
access to reference materials
video/video player
Books to Read
How Do Birds Find Their Way?, by Roma Gans, New York, NY: Harper Collins, 1996.
How Birds Migrate, by Paul Kerlinger, Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 1995.
Advanced Preparation and Teacher Notes
Make one copy of the student data sheet. Cut into individual cards. Be sure to have one Migration Mystery Clue Card for each group of students. It is fine to give more than one group the same card. Arrange students in cooperative groups of four.
Procedure
Tap Prior Knowledge
1. Engage students in a discussion about bird migration. Have they ever noticed that time when most of the birds seem to disappear in the fall? Have they noticed when the birds reappear in the spring? Bring up the subject with your own observations of changing bird populations near your school to make the subject more immediate. Show the section of the On a Wing and a Prayer video (from 13 25 to 18 38) which highlights the mysteries of migration.
Share with Neighbor/Revise Ideas
2. Give the students time to work together in each of their groups to make a list of questions they have about bird migration. At the end, check that each group has at least four questions written in their journals. Tell them that ornithologists have a lot of questions, too. This is the first step in scientific inquiry. Share one of the biographies from our Career Connections with the students.
Engage Students in a Hands-on Activity
3. Discuss the questions as a class. Write each on the board so all can see. There will be some overlap between groups so consolidate the questions as necessary to form clusters related to the same mystery. For example, put all of the questions relating to "How do birds find their way?" in one category, and all of the questions about "How do bird know when to go?" in another. See the Clue Cards for clarification on possible categories. Be sure there are enough sets of questions for each group.
4. Using the class list as a guide, assign each group its own Migration Mystery. Distribute the appropriate Migration Mystery Clue Card to each group for students to read over together. Each card has key ideas, examples of past research, and some things to think about in designing future studies. Instruct the students to design a research study on their topic. They will have another class period to work together, and the examples of past research on the cards will guide the lesson.
Introduce the Scientific Principle/Concept
5. During the second session, give the students access to books and references as necessary. This will be a working session for the groups to plan their research studies. Help them concentrate on isolating the important variables in each situation. The test questions will show the students which is the important variable. How can they set up a study so that they can learn if birds use the stars as their guide during migration, for example? Remind them to pay attention to confounding variables, which is when more than one thing is being changed at a time. With confounding variables, you cannot say for sure if one thing causes another.
6. Also, point out the need for control groups if the proposed study is a true experimental study. An experimental study is one in which variables are manipulated by the researcher. The students can propose a method where one group does not get exposed to the changing variable.
7. During the third session, let each group have about 10 minutes to describe their set of questions, and explain how they would conduct research to test a specific theory. Allow other students in the class to ask questions and share their own ideas.
8. Bring all of the proposed research together with the idea that there can be more than one answer. Birds are capable of using several cues to orient during migration, including the moon, the sun, stars, wind, magnetism, topography, and olfactory cues. Help the students distinguish between indirect and direct causes of migration. Songbirds seem to leave when winter comes, but it may not be the winter itself which makes them leave. It may be the lack of food which is caused by the winter season.
Connect to Other Everyday Examples
9. Think about other animals that seem to navigate. Salmon, eels, and green sea turtles make long-distance journeys out to sea and return. It is very doubtful they can see the stars or even estimate the position of the sun from underwater with the kind of eyes they have. Among the invertebrates, the animals without backbones, bees do an unbelievable job of navigating by the sun and can estimate the position of the sun when it is hidden. No vertebrate seems to be able to do this.
10. Give students a chance to surf the World Wide Web for more information about migration:
