Getting Started with
Hooray for Hummingbirds!

1. Read the Background for Teachers essay. It contains more in-depth information that will help you answer questions and guide students’ exploration.
2. Familiarize yourself with the For Kids content for ““Hooray for Hummingbirds!”
3. Review the classroom- and field-based hands-on activities in Teacher-Led Activities and choose the ones suited to your curricular needs and classroom circumstances.
4. Introduce the topic with a discussion. Here are some suggested discussion starters:
• What is a hummingbird? Who here has seen one?
• What do hummingbirds eat? What is nectar? Why do you think flowers make nectar? What adaptations do hummingbirds have that make them “nectar specialists”?
• What is pollen? Why is it important for pollen to get from one flower to another? What is a pollinator?
• Are there birds you see only in the spring and summer? Are there birds you see only in winter? What birds can you see all year long?
• What do you think habitat is? What things do birds need in their habitats in order to survive? What do hummingbirds need? How can people make their yards, gardens, and parks good habitats for hummingbirds?
5. Review these vocabulary words or have students define them as they discover them in context in the “Hooray for Hummingbirds!” student magazine:
   
   beak
   bill
   climate change
   digestive system
   

   evolved
   hover
   migrate
   nectar
   pollen
   

   pollinator
   probe
   species
   torpor
   
   
   Definitions for all vocabulary words can be found in the online Naturalist’s Glossary.
6. With the whole class or in small groups, review the Audubon Adventures student magazine, “Hooray for Hummingbirds!,” and other student content that you’ve incorporated into your teaching or that students have explored on their own.
7. Do the hands-on activities you’ve selected, and follow up with review and discussion.
8. Download the Assessment questions and answer key to use as a tool for evaluating students’ learning with “Hooray for Hummingbirds!”
9. Extend learning with print, online, and video resources found in the Naturalist’s Bibliography.

Photo: Tom Koerner.