Kindergartners learn bird calls for research
“Chickadee-dee-dee” is just sound that can be heard in Mrs. Casper’s kindergarten classroom at the Pocatello Community Charter School.
Her class is learning the calls of winter birds, and how to identify those birds, in class.
The students built a feeder and they are doing observations on what birds they see at the feeder and how often. That information is logged and sent to Cornell University. Cornell uses it to learn about trends in winter bird populations across the U.S.
Mrs. Casper’s class teamed up with the Idaho Museum of Natural History at Idaho State University to learn about the birds. It’s part of a national project sponsored by Cornell called “Project Feeder Watcher” where groups all around the nation are doing the same thing and sending their information to Cornell too.
The students are taught mnemonic devices like “cheeseburger” or “flies with dip and potato chip chip” to help learn the sounds of bird calls. By identifying and studying the look and sounds of birds, they’ll be able to recognize them and record them for the research.
But it’s not just Cornell benefiting from this scientific research. The kids do too.
“They are learning about being a scientist,” said Sarah Casper, kindergarten teacher. “That’s our number one goal is that they’re learning about scientific inquiry, that they’re learning how to communicate with each other and also to share their learning with other people.”
Casper said this is a unique and interactive way to get the students intrigued about learning.
“Anytime you can get students involved with the work, they’re going to e more interested and they’re going to be more invested in their learning,” Casper said. “So picking something that’s authentic, that allows them to see the results of their efforts is really important to fuel their desire to learn.”
Project Feeder Watcher runs until April. On Jan. 11 the Pocatello Community Charter School is holding a “Exhibition Expedition” event where kids can showcase to the public what they’ve been learning. Casper’s class will be teaching people about the birds they’ve been learning. That event will be from 6-8 p.m.
