On a Wing and a Prayer
Dear Parent/Guardian,
Your child is about to embark upon a very special and exciting journey!
In the weeks ahead, the focus of study for our class will be migrating songbirds and the many challenges-both natural and unnatural-- that are threatening their survival. The students will watch Bill Kurtis and his New Explorers team as they follow the birds' migration from South America to their summer homes in the forests of southern Illinois. Activities in and out of the classroom will help us explore the migration phenomenon and the important relationship between forest fragmentation and declining songbird populations.
We will be mapping the migration patterns of some popular songbirds, planning research studies to find out how birds survive their long flights, and adapting architectural plans to make them more friendly for migrating birds. Students will play a game to demonstrate the role of songbirds in the food chain. They will also be backyard birders and get involved in counting bird populations here at home!
We ask that you join our class by being a part of your student's educational experience. Help us gather pictures for our journals, donate materials for our investigations, and read some of the many books about songbirds with us. If you have traveled along a songbird's major migration route or have studied some of our related topics, volunteer to come in and share your experiences with us.
Please take some time to discuss our lessons with your child. You can enhance your child's learning by visiting the library to find out more about songbirds. For even more fun, plan a meal at home with a songbird theme! And with your child, watch for information about songbirds and forest fragmentation in the news. You may be surprised by how much is out there!
We hope you will remain informed of what is going on in the classroom, and as excited about this exploration as we are!