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Home For Birders For Teachers Fledging Birders Challenge Programs
| Bringing the joy AND BENEFITS of birding to our youth - to promote their healthy development and bird conservation. |
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skills include: persuasive writing, research, analysis, and public speaking
Almost everyone knows that our national symbol is the Bald Eagle. Did you
know, however, that Ben Franklin fought for it to be the Wild Turkey instead?
Now, it's your students' turn to be Ben Franklin!!
Their mission is to find the ideal bird to represent your town/city AND try to
convince the local official to declare it as your Official Town Bird!
Procedure:
1) As a class or in small groups, have the students brainstorm special qualities of your town.
2) Using the "range maps" in a field guide or online resource such as: www.rightbird.com,
have them identify some birds that can be found in your area. At rightbird.com, they can scroll down to
the "attributes" box and click on "Location". From there, they can select their state and click "Next". The
"Matches" box above will list the birds from your state!
3) Have them check out the different birds. Then, they will pick a species that they feel is appropriate,
interesting, or exciting to represent the town. Have them consider your area's geography, history,
people, and other special characteristics as they make their selections.
4) Create a persuasive presentation for their classmates to convince that their bird is the ideal choice
for the town. The presentation should include:
5) The class can vote on which student selection makes the best choice for the Official Town Bird.
6) The chosen bird species for your class will then be submitted to your local government. Have each
student draft a formal letter to proposing the NEW Official Town Bird.
Their writing should include:
Almost everyone knows that our national symbol is the Bald Eagle. Did you
know, however, that Ben Franklin fought for it to be the Wild Turkey instead?
Now, it's your students' turn to be Ben Franklin!!
Their mission is to find the ideal bird to represent your town/city AND try to
convince the local official to declare it as your Official Town Bird!
Procedure:
1) As a class or in small groups, have the students brainstorm special qualities of your town.
2) Using the "range maps" in a field guide or online resource such as: www.rightbird.com,
have them identify some birds that can be found in your area. At rightbird.com, they can scroll down to
the "attributes" box and click on "Location". From there, they can select their state and click "Next". The
"Matches" box above will list the birds from your state!
3) Have them check out the different birds. Then, they will pick a species that they feel is appropriate,
interesting, or exciting to represent the town. Have them consider your area's geography, history,
people, and other special characteristics as they make their selections.
4) Create a persuasive presentation for their classmates to convince that their bird is the ideal choice
for the town. The presentation should include:
- a well-researched paragraph or essay to state their opinions
- an oral presentation of the essay to persuade their classmates
- visual aids (photos of bird and town, etc.) to hep audience understand their points
5) The class can vote on which student selection makes the best choice for the Official Town Bird.
6) The chosen bird species for your class will then be submitted to your local government. Have each
student draft a formal letter to proposing the NEW Official Town Bird.
Their writing should include:
- a clear opening paragraph
- reasons why your town needs an official bird (have fun!)
- reasons why their choice is more appropriate for your town bird
- how your town would benefit from having an official bird
Name Your Official Town Bird