OBJECTIVE

Students will be able to identify different types of seeds used in bird feed. Students will understand the different uses of these seeds and why they are important.

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

Why are seeds important? Who uses seeds to survive?

MATERIALS NEEDED

Birdseed (allergy alert)
Pinecones
Peanut butter/sunbutter (allergy alert) Twine/string
Plastic spoons or wooden stirrers for spreading A tray for finished pinecones
Name tags (optional)

PROCEDURE

Introduction:

Ask students what they know about seeds: What do seeds look like? What do seeds feel like? What do seeds taste like? Are all seeds the same? What can we do with seeds?
Students can share about seeds that they know, and what they have done with them. Review what season we are in/approaching (winter).

Ask students, “In winter, is there much for us to harvest in the garden?”
Now, let’s think about other animals. Is there much for them to eat in winter? Well, today, we are going to make a winter feast for some of our outdoor friends. Ask students to guess which animals they think would like to eat seeds.
Explain steps to making the bird feeders:
– collecting pinecones (explain/ask why we use an outdoor object for the bird feeders)
– tying twine around pinecone to hang the bird feeder when finished
– spreading peanut butter on pinecone to make a sticky surface
– rolling the sticky pinecone in birdseed
– setting the bird feeder out to dry
– bringing it home to hang up and feed the birds during winter!

1 – seed sorting (many students can do this at once, and you can pull students in smaller groups to make the bird feeders) and seed identifying

2 – tying twine around pinecone
3 – spreading peanut butter
4 – rolling pinecones in birdseed

Wrap up/ Assessment:

Students name different kinds of seeds they recognized in the birdseed. Students also explain other ways we can use those seeds.

FOLLOW UP & EXTENSIONS

Students observe the bird feeders and make observations about the different birds (or other animals) that visit the bird feeder.