Getting Started with
Birds on the Move

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 “Birds on the Move.”
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:
• When we say an animal migrates, what does that mean?
• What kinds of animals migrate? Do birds migrate? Do all birds migrate?
• Why do you think birds migrate?
• Do you think birds can fly long distances when they migrate? Why or why not? What dangers do you think birds face as they migrate?
• What can people do to help protect migratory birds?
5. Review these vocabulary words or have students define them as they discover them in context in the “Birds on the Move” student magazine:
   
   climate change
   course
   destination
   experience
   grassland
   habitat
   habitat
   insect
   instinct
   landmark

   life cycle
   magnetism
   migrate
   migration
   migratory
   navigation
   nectar
   nonnative
   nutritious
   orient

   orientation
   protein
   raptor
   seabird
   shorebird
   songbird
   species
   transmitter
   tundra
   wetland
   
   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, “Birds on the Move,” 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 “Birds on the Move.”
9. Extend learning with print, online, and video resources found in the Naturalist’s Bibliography.

Photo: Frank Leung/iStock.