Helping students identify the American Robin
Beef Up Your Powers of Observation
Identifying birds takes practice and keen observation skills. Try this activity to help students beef up their powers of observation.
- Ask one student to leave the room for a moment. On their way out, try to chatter a bit with that student so that others will glance at them on their way out. After the student is gone, ask the class questions about what he/she was wearing or things they may have said on the way out. Write a list on the board of what students remember. When the missing student returns, compare what the class observed and remembered to reality. How did they do?
- Try again with a new student, and with the class having a bit of warning. When the student returns, the "what the class observed" list on the board should be much longer and much more accurate. Why? What does it take to be a keen observer? (Concentration, focus on details . . . )
- If you have Bird field guides (Peterson, National Geographic, Sibley, and Golden Guides are common) in your school library, ask students to look up the American Robin (or Robin) in the index to locate the correct page. Compare the American Robin to other birds on the page. Are the sizes the same? Colors? If the colors are different, exactly where and how are they different? Some field guides use arrows to point to distictive characteristics of a particular bird. What advice would you give to someone going outside to observe and identify birds? (Focus, concentrate, look for patterns of color, try to guage size, bring a field guide and binoculars . . .) What characteristics might you look for to see if the bird you see is an American Robin?
Field Guide on the Web
Have students visit Cornell Bird of the Week. Click on the "taxonomic order" box in the upper left hand corner to see a list of all the birds. Choose American Robin.
American Robin Songs
Visit Jouney North's Robin Songs Activity to listen to, then quiz yourself on 5 vocalizations of robins. This is a teacher and kid-friendly lesson plan.
Life as a Robin
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources produces quite a variety of bird lesson plans. "Hello Mate" looks at mating behaviors.
Find a Project WILD Curriculum and Activity Guide. "Adaptation Artistry" has students design and create imaginary birds and write reports including descriptions of the bird's adaptations.
In the Project Learning Tree Environmental Education Activity Guide, try "Birds and Worms". This is best played outside, where students become birds searching for food of different colors as they study the concept of protective coloration.
Birds at Wolf Ridge
Consider scheduling your students for the Wolf Ridge Birds class. They will look at feathers through a microscope, discover how wings keep a bird in the air, compare bird bones with those of other animals, see why eggs are so strong, and sharpen their observation skills as they hike and look for birds living at Wolf Ridge. Depending on the season, students might also feed birds from your hand at "Chickadee Landing" in winter, witness hawks soaring above the ridge in fall, release a banded bird, or visit with our live raptors.
More About Robins on the Web
Journey North - Robins- Lots of fun stuff about Robins. Songs, current migration maps, ask the expert, FAQs . . . If you only visit one site to learn more about Robins, go here!
Ask the Robin Expert - Don't miss the opportunity to participate in this on-line Q and A! Open in late March. Ask Duluth's Laura Erickson your Robin questions.
Nest Box Cam - This just sounds like fun! Live views into the nests of several birds once they start nesting. (Not robins, but cool!)
Ebird - Serious data available here. On this site you can find maps and information about what birds other folks around the country are seeing, or you can add your own bird information. Especially interesting for older students or those with a bird background.
