TALONS Category: Observation of Organisms

Curriculum Standard: Science ILO's, any grade level

Objective: Students will get in the observation mood.

Time needed: 20-40 minutes

Materials: a large assortment of feathers, a bag or basket, drawing materials.

Engage: Pass around the feathers, there should be more than enough for each student to take one. Say something like this "I'm passing around these feathers to use in this activity. Everyone take one that you think is interesting."  NOTE:  feathers of migratory birds are protected by law, and can only be possessed with special permits.  HWI has raptor feathers available on loan for teachers within the state of Utah.  Some feathers are commercially available: from domestic chickens, turkeys and other poultry used for food.  Other feathers, such as those from exotic pets such as finches or doves may not have the same regulations surrounding them.  If you wish to use feathers that you have collected on your own, please check with your local Department of Wildlife to ensure that your practices are legal.

Explore: Read the book to the students.  It is a very active book, which requires students to do the activities as the reader mentions them.  Be sure to prepare in advance!

Explain: Draw the parts of the feather for the students, and have them find the parts.

Elaborate: Talk about the uses of feathers, from various perspectives (social, cultural, economic, etc).  Raptor scientists use feathers from first year birds to know where they were hatched.  The chemical composition of the feather is unique because of regional differences in the water.

Evaluate: Each student will draw their feather and label it with anatomy terms.