Climate Story - Birds Lesson

Provided by: Gulf of Maine Research Institute |Published on: October 23, 2023

Lesson Plans

9101112

Scientist Reviewed ↗

Synopsis

This report examines the connection between climate change and bird sizes everywhere, the ecogeographical rule that helps explain this connection, and the risk climate change poses to North American birds.
Students will learn that birds are getting smaller because of climate change, hundreds of North American bird species are struggling to reproduce, and Bergmann's rule asserts that animals become smaller as the climate warms.
The report includes other resources from Cornell University and Audubon.

Related Teaching Resources

Subjects: Biology, Earth and Space Sciences, Mathematics

Authors: Gulf of Maine Research Institute

Region: North America, USA - Northeast, United States, Global, Maine

Languages: English

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Teaching Materials

Positives

This report contains specific and relevant statistics regarding birds and their connection to climate change.
This report includes links to games, activities, and curriculum about birds, which are great paths for extension after reading the article.

Additional Prerequisites

Students should zoom in when viewing this report's graphs.
Students should already understand what climate change is and how it increases the frequency of extreme weather events.
Teachers can use the included vocabulary list to determine what terms to introduce to students before reading the article.

Differentiation

Language arts students can use this report for an informative essay on how climate change impacts biodiversity and the evolution of certain species.
Students can read this report to supplement a lesson on evolution and natural selection.
After reading this report, students can brainstorm and discuss ideas for what conservation organizations can do to help North American birds.
This report can be used with other resources that show animals decreasing in size in a classroom activity where students investigate the validity of Bergmann's rule in various contexts.

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Climate Story - Birds Lesson

Synopsis

Teaching Materials

Scientist Reviewed

Related Teaching Resources