Bird Beaks – Animal Adaptations

1. Materials:
• Choose Your Food Wisely Sheet
• Bird Beaks Teacher Sheet
• Bird Beaks Record Sheet
• Build A Bird Kit Handout and Directions
• Photographs of birds with different beak shapes (e.g.,
hummingbird, eagle, pelican, crane)
• For Experiment
o Bird Beaks
 7 tweezers
 7 plastic spoons
 7 chop sticks
 21 cups
o 3 Feeding Stations
 100 pennies
 100 stones
 100 toothpicks
2. Outcomes:
• Science and Technology Curriculum Framework
o Students will be able to give examples of how inherited
characteristics may change over time as adaptations to
changes in the environment enable organisms to survive.
MA – Biology – Adaptations – #6

o Students will classify plants and animals according to the

physical characteristics that they share. MA – Biology –
Characteristics of Plants and Animals – #1

• Mathematics Curriculum Framework

o Students will collect and analyze data using observations

and experiments and identify appropriate ways to display
the data. MA – Data Analysis – 4.D.1

o Students will construct, draw conclusions and make

predictions based upon data in bar graphs. MA – Data
Analysis – 4.D.3

3. Introduction:
• Prior to this lesson, students will be given an open response
question on adaptations birds have that enable them to survive
within their environment.
• Ask students to discuss birds that they have seen before and where
they saw them
• Show students the photographs of birds with different beak shapes
(e.g., hummingbird, eagle, pelican, crane)
• After viewing different birds ask students to think about how the birds
are different and how they are the same. Turn the focus of discussion on
beaks
o What do birds use their beaks for?
o Are all beaks the same?
o Why do some birds have different beaks?
o Go back to discuss the different birds that students have previously
seen and what they think the birds eat based on their beak shape.
4. Procedure:
• Divide students into three pre-determined groups.
• Show students the chopsticks, tweezers and plastic spoons that they
will be using as beaks. Also show the stones, pennies and toothpicks which
represent bird food
• Within each groups have students discuss what “beaks” would be best
suited to pick up their “food”
• Call students’ attention to talk about safety while using the chopsticks,
tweezers, toothpicks and stones – write what students suggest, teacher adds
anything else that the students need to know
• Tell students that in this activity they are to pretend that they are
birds. Students will each have one beak type (which they must keep
throughout the activity) and a plastic cup (to represent the bird's stomach)
and will attempt to pick up various types of food at timed intervals.
Emphasize that they can use only that beak for eating. They should hold the
beak in one hand and the stomach (cup) in the other hand
• Have each group go to a different feeding station; handout one type of
“beak” to each station and cups. Place the food item in the middle of a
feeding area you have set up (ex. the middle of a circle created by students)
for each feeding station
• Tell students that when you say "Go," they should feed for 1 minute or
until all the food is gone. Students should then empty their cups and count
the contents. They should then record the amount on their Bird Beaks
Record Sheet. Repeat this activity for the other types of food by having each
group rotate to another feeding station
• When students have completed an individual Bird Beaks Record Sheet
have each group calculate the totals of each food type they able to collect
as a group. While they are compiling their data prepare a copy of Bird Beaks
Teacher Sheet on the board
• Have one member from each group record their data in the on the
whiteboard. Have group members clean up their materials while the other
member is writing on the board; remind students that there should be 100
pieces of each “food” returned
• Gather students in front of data table on whiteboard. Have them look
at the data and see the differences between the amount of “food” that could
be collected by each “beak”
• Have class help design a bar graph on whiteboard based upon the
data that they collected. Help them develop the idea that the different bird
beaks should be on the X axis, with the amount of food on the Y axis. There
should be a different color bar for each type of food.
• As a class we will determine what the scale and intervals should be on
the bar graph as well as making sure that the chart has a title that is
underlined as well as labels under every category.
• Ask the following questions to help generate discussion and
interpretation of bar graph
o Which beak collected the most of each food item? Why do you think
this is so?
o Which beak collected the least of each food item? Why do you think
this beak had the hardest time collecting food?
o Was one beak type successful with more than one food item?
o Were your earlier ideas of what beak would be best suited to pick up
food correct? If not, how have they changed?
o What do you think would happen to a bird if only one food item was
available? Why?
o Could two different bird types live in the same environment but eat
different food? Why? How does this help them survive?
• Students will then receive Build A Bird Kit Handout which they will
use to create either a real or imaginary bird that has beak and
foot adaptations that allow it to survive within its environment.
• For students who finish ahead of others, they may go online and
research more on bird beak and feet adaptations at
o http://www.vtaide.com/png/bird-adaptations3.htm
o http://www.vtaide.com/png/bird-adaptations2.htm
 • As part of the students’ post-test, students will respond to an open
response question on bird adaptations that allow for survival within its
environment.

5. Conclusion:
• Tell students that these variations between animals are due to
the different areas where they live. The different areas where
animals live is known as their environment. The variations
between these animals are called adaptations and these
adaptations allow animals to survive in their environment.
• Discuss other adaptations that birds have that help them get
food. Discuss other animals and adaptations they may have to
get food or to survive within their environment.

6. Assessment:
• Students will be assessed on their ability to work in groups and
follow direction to complete the experiment.
• Students will be assessed on their ability to compile and interpret
data as well as turn the data into a bar graph to represent their
findings to an experiment.
• Students will be assessed on the creation of their bird and how
its beak and feet are adapted for survival within its environment.
• Students will be assessed on an open response question dealing
with bird adaptations that allow for survival within their
environment.

7. Accommodations:
• Students struggling to create bar graph will be reminded look at
the sample bar chart on the student record sheet.
• Teacher will pre-determine student grouping to eliminate
problems that can arise with certain students working together.
This will also allow for additional support from classmates within
the group for students who may need it. Teacher will also be
available to offer assistance.
• Teacher will be walking around and helping students as they
work in their “feeding” stations and ensure that all safety rules
are being followed and no students are in danger at any time.

8. Reflection:
Students in the class told me how much they enjoyed this lesson.
Through this lesson students were able to see how different bird beaks
are adapted to be able to eat different types of food. Students further
expanded upon this concept by building their own birds and
researching bird feet adaptations. With this lesson I had to closely
observe students while they were experimenting and go over all the
safety rules beforehand. The students in my class are good kids, but
they are extremely chatty. Adding in the excitement of doing
something new and experimenting with new concepts just enhanced
their chatter. I did have to shut the lights off and warn the students
that if they could not keep it down and talk quietly with their group
members they would have to sit at their seat and do the activity alone
afterwards. Students then understood that they were getting too loud
and quieted down to finish the rest of their experiment. They were not
allowed to talk for the rest of the activity.
As a class we came back together and compiled all our data.
With this information we worked together to create a three bar, bar
graph. It was exciting when one of the students mentioned how they
were doing math with science, because they had made the connection.
This was a perfect point for us to also talk about how scientists use
math to calculate their results and report their findings. As we made
the bar graph as a class, the students also were creating their own
graph. Using these graphs we talked about how different beaks were
better suited to eat different foods. The students enjoyed talking about
the different foods and how each beak picked up different amounts of
food. They really enjoyed themselves and now understand how
different types of beak shapes are adapted to eat different types of
food. I would definitely have another class do this activity.
Resource: “Bird Beaks” Grades 3-5, by Science Netlinks Created: 09/05/2003

http://www.sciencenetlinks.com/lessons.cfm?BenchmarkID=5&DocID=81