Getting Started with Safety for Birds in Flight

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 “Safety for Birds in Flight.”
3. Introduce the topic with a discussion. Here are some suggested discussion starters:
• What dangers do you think birds face as they fly from place to place? Do you think birds can get hurt while they are flying? How?
• Millions of birds are hurt are killed because they have crashed into a window. Why do you think that happens?
• What do you think can be done to prevent birds from crashing into windows?
• How do you think lights inside and outside homes and buildings affect birds that are flying at night?
4. Review these topic-specific vocabulary words or have students define them as they discover them in context in the “Safety for Birds in Flight” student magazine (PDF):
   
   artificial
   barrier
   breeding grounds
   decal
   distract
   distracted
   

   floodlight
   habitat
   hazard
   low-rise building
   migrate
   motion sensor
   

   navigate
   reflection
   reflective
   species
   structure
   transparent
   
   Definitions of all vocabulary words can be found in the online Naturalist’s Glossary.
5. With the whole class or in small groups, review the Audubon Adventures student magazine, “Safety for Birds in Flight,” and other student content that you’ve incorporated into your teaching or that students have explored on their own.
6. Extend learning with print, online, and video resources found in the Naturalist’s Bibliography.

Photo: Mike Fernandez