Teaching

Teaching resources

Geography

We have one study for geography:

How do birds use the school surroundings?

The following activity is a simple locality study, based on the school grounds. Some practical work is involved.

Learning objectives

Children can learn to respond to simple questions about where things are in the environment, and to make observations about features.

Outcomes for the child

'I can describe different areas of the school grounds and explain how birds use them in different ways.'

Background to the activity

In this activity, children will define the different zones and areas that make up the school site and record them on a colour-coded plan. They will then make observations about the ways in which two areas are used by people and birds.

Record all sensible activities undertaken by people, however small in scale. In a playground there may be activities such as playing games, running, jumping and so on, but also eating snacks, sitting, talking, being quiet, feeling afraid. Ideas which are suggested should be evaluated by the children and recorded.

Bird activities may include feeding, bathing, drinking, preening, singing, sheltering from the weather, being with other birds (flocking), being aggressive and loafing (doing nothing). Birds spend the majority of their time loafing, which you need to remember when doing the survey.

The outcomes offer many possibilities for comparing those sites which are most important for human activities and those most important for birds.

Are there any areas of common interest?

Are there any conflicts?

Are the birds making the most of what there is, or are they actively encouraged?

The exterior of the school buildings may be seen as an area of the site if children can cope with this idea.

In encouraging discussion, teachers should have in mind the needs and activities of birds on the site. Birds need to feed and they might do this on the ground, on plants and in trees, or in the air. They need water for drinking and bathing. They may collect this in a variety of locations. Birds also take dust baths. Shelter is essential for roosting, for refuge from cats and aerial predators, for protection from weather and for nesting.

Materials needed

A school plan
Colours
Copies of simple recording sheets (print these out from the worksheet icon on this page).

Structuring the lesson

Introduction
Show the children a clear and simple school site plan. If possible, use a large master plan to identify areas and add drawings of any significant features. Give the children their own copy.

Activity

Walk the site to reinforce understanding of the areas of the plan and colour each area.

Give out the recording sheet, either to a group leader or to each child.

Choose two of the school areas for entering on the sheet and write down their names. On large school sites, groups might choose different areas.

In groups or as a whole class, discuss and record the uses of each area by people and birds.

Write the activities in the correct columns and boxes on the sheet.

Show children how to total the numbers of activities in each box and how to complete the final two columns. 

Summary

What did the children see the birds doing on the school site?

What were they most commonly doing?

How do they use the site in ways that are similar to and different from human beings?
 

Skills

Investigating physical and human features of surroundings
Answering enquiry questions from direct experience
Making maps of real places.

Vocabulary

Site, area, place, grounds, playground, edge, boundary, open, sheltered, cover, protection, habitat, food supply, flock, scavenging.

Expectations and differentiation

All children will be able to describe significant areas of the school site and what birds might do there.

Some will not be able to associate places with the parts of the school plan. They should be encouraged to draw pictures of each area and stick these around a plan. Link them to each area of the map with an arrow.

Some children will be able to make a simple key for their colour-coding and make drawings of particular birds actually observed in each place.

Extension activity

Make a similar survey of the area immediately surrounding your home.

Tips for teachers

Please close this window to return to the resource

This activity is directly linked to the national curricula as follows:

England and Wales: Undertaking geographical enquiry; understanding where things are and how they are used.

Scotland: Local area investigations.

Northern Ireland: Introduction to geographical skills.