FEATHERY
FRENZY
By Penny Taub
Peacock
With spring just around the corner, Aaron Reynolds latest picture book NERDY BIRDIE will inspire children to look at birds in a whole new way. Matt Davies illustrations of birds and animals will have children and parents laughing at their antics. The story tackles the tough issues of being different than the rest of the cool flock and finding friends that share your interests. Despite being a Nerdy Birdie who looks different and likes books, he meets a great group of other Nerds. The book celebrates respect, encouraging children to treat new friends with kindness. (Published by Roaring Brook Press, 2015)
STEM
The book provides many opportunities to incorporate STEM into
Grades K – 2.
SCIENCE &
TECHNOLOGY
ACTIVITY 1
Hatch some chick eggs in the classroom to teach about the
life cycle of birds or have students watch a video on this topic.
ACTIVITY 2
Allow students to search the Internet for various habitats.
New vocabulary terms include: wetlands, forests, grasslands, mountains,
treetops, and cities to discover the interesting and strange world of birds.
ACTIVITY 3
Take students on a nature walk to find locale birds
to draw and learn about.
ENGINEERING
Students will use various materials to design and build a
bird’s nest. Then use golf balls for eggs to determine how much weight the
nest can hold. Have students’ determine which is the strongest building material.
MATHEMATICS
ACTIVITY 1
A fun art activity that incorporates listening skills and
following directions while learning the names of geometric shapes: oval,
circle, triangles, squares, and rectangles, to create their own Nerdy Birdie.
ACTIVITY 2
Create a class graph of the different color Nerdy Birdies
made by the students. Use the graph to create several word problems for the class to
solve.
ENGLISH
Write the following sentences on chart paper to use as a
choral reading activity. They can be
made into a class big book to read aloud.
Have students make mini books to color and practice reading. Dictate
similar sentences for students to practice letter-sound correspondence. These
activities are perfect to ease boredom in the classroom by allowing children to
be active learners.
EXAMPLE SENTENCES
The red bird sings.
The brown bird dances.
The yellow bird can play.
The green bird can talk.
The black and white bird can swim.
The little bird eats a bug.
The big bird flies to a tree.
The blue bird makes a nest.
WRITING
Teacher will model writing by asking questions and
brainstorming ideas with students using Calkins Writing Approach. Students will
Draw, Label, and Write a 3-page picture story about a bird(s).
GEOGRAPHY
ACTIVITY 1
Display a map of the United States of America. Have students
use the Internet to discover each states' state bird. Add a compass rose to
create activities incorporating the vocabulary North, South, East, and West.
This can be expand to have class learn the state names and capitals.
ACTIVITY 2
Display a map of the seven continents. Have students use the
Internet to investigate the birds and animals found on each continent. Add a
compass rose to create activities incorporating the vocabulary North, South,
East, and West.
BIRD FRENZY
LITERATURE CONNECTION
FROODLE by Antoinette Portis (2014), another
clever story where a bird follows his own heart and sings a new song.
PEEPSQUEAK!
By Leslie Ann Clark (2012), a baby chicken hatches and wants to fly.
A
BIRD’S LIFE by Ellen Lawrence (2013) this non-fiction book includes a table of
contents, photographs of birds building a nest, eggs hatching, chicks feeding,
and growing up to fly!
BRILLIANT
BIRDS by Thea Feldman (2015) another non-fiction book explores what factors
make an animal a bird and the different types of birds.
In
A BIRD IS A BIRD by Lizzy Rockwell (2015) the illustration explore all the
different places around the world birds live.
This colorful non-fiction book shares many bird facts.
MAMA
BUILT A LITTLE NEST by Jennifer Ward (2014) explores all the different habitats
and ways birds create nests.
ONE COOL FRIEND by Toni Buzzeo (2012) is a great way to have
students compare penguins to other birds in this 2013 Caldecott Honor Book.