Getting Started with
Raptors! Birds of Prey

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 “Get to Know Birds.”
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 do you think a bird of prey or a raptor is? Can you name some?
• Why do you think some birds are called “birds of prey?” What does “prey” mean?
• What do you think “raptor” means?
• What do you think birds of prey eat? Do all kinds of birds of prey eat the same thing?
• How do you think raptors/birds of prey are different from other birds?
• What kinds of adaptations do raptors have that help them hunt, catch, and eat their food?
• What dangers do you think birds of prey face?
5. Review these topic-specific vocabulary words or have students define them as they discover them in context in the “Raptors! The Birds of Prey” student magazine (PDF):
   
   adaptation
   amphibian
   bird of prey
   climate change
   DDT
   ecosystem
   Endangered Species Act
   extinct
   

   insect
   mammal
   migrate
   monitor
   pesticide
   pollution
   prey
   raptor
   
   

   reptile
   rodent
   species
   talons
   thermal
   transmitter
   
   
   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, “Raptors! The Birds of Prey,” 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 as a tool for evaluating students’ learning with “Raptors! The Birds of Prey.”
9. Extend learning with print, online, and video resources found in the Naturalist’s Bibliography.

Photo: Camilla Cerea.