Migratory Birds: A Design Thinking Project

Suggestions

• This lesson can be taught in a science class as part of a biology, climate change, ornithology, or environmental science unit.

• This lesson can also be incorporated into an English class to practice reading comprehension skills for nonfiction resources and proposal writing skills.

• The game in the Inquire section and the site assessment in the Inspire section can both function as standalone activities.

Prerequisites

• Students need individual access to the internet for the game in the Inquire section.

• Students need to go outside on their school campus or in their neighborhoods to conduct the site analysis.

• Students should have a basic understanding of climate change and its impacts.

Differentiation

• Teachers can assign some activities for homework, such as the game reflection in the Inquire section, the presentation preparation in the Investigate section, and the site assessment or project proposal in the Inspire section.

• The whole class can assess the same site, then advocate for implementing one of the projects on the Project Proposal Ideas Slideshow instead of designing their own proposal.

• Students can conduct the site assessment at different locations or they can choose a local community center and create a proposal directed at the board of directors.
  

This lesson identifies the main causes of the fall in migratory bird populations and suggests countermeasures to reverse the trend. The source materials for the lesson have been thoroughly examined and approved by our scientific review panel.

Primary Standards

• Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
  • LS2: Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics
    • HS-LS2-6 Evaluate the claims, evidence, and reasoning that the complex interactions in ecosystems maintain relatively consistent numbers and types of organisms in stable conditions, but changing conditions may result in a new ecosystem.
    • HS-LS2-7. Design, evaluate, and refine a solution for reducing the impacts of human activities on the environment and biodiversity.

Supporting Standards

• College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Standards
  • Dimension 4: Taking Informed Action
    • D4.8.9-12 Apply a range of deliberative and democratic strategies and procedures to make decisions and take action in their classrooms, schools, and out-of-school civic contexts.
• Common Core English Language Arts Standards (CCSS.ELA)
  • Reading: Science & Technical Subjects (6-12)
    • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.9-10.2 Determine the central ideas or conclusions of a text; trace the text's explanation or depiction of a complex process, phenomenon, or concept; provide an accurate summary of the text.