In the Classroom with BITS: A Look Behind the Scenes

WhenBirds in the Schools (BITS) volunteers go into an elementary school, we wear blue T-shirts with a cartoonish-looking crow and the words, “Do YOU like Birds in the Schools?”

Well yes, we do! We start by telling the students that we belong to a club whose members all like to look at and learn about birds, and that this club is over 120 years old!

We teach one of two lessons. “Feathers” starts with a slide show that gets kids thinking about those remarkable things that only birds have. Hands shoot up as students offer ideas about why a particular feather might be shaped that way, or to tell us about an encounter they had with a bird.

The slides get the kids full of energy and enthusiasm. One picture features a barn owl’s big face and always elicits a gasp. We explain that the plate-like arrangement of feathers boosts the bird’s hearing. We talk about the owl’s asymmetrical ears, and how if a barn owl were in the classroom, it could hear each person’s heartbeat.

After talking about the types, uses, and parts of feathers, we bring out trays of feathers and baskets of colored pencils. Everyone selects a feather to draw. We hand out small magnifiers so that kids can see just how many colors are in even brownish beige feathers, and marvel at their complicated construction.

While the kids work at their drawings, we walk around and offer tips and encouragement. If there’s time, we ask the teacher if students can put their drawings on the overhead projector so everyone can see their work. They are proud of their beautiful drawings and get a lot of appreciation from their peers.

Our other lesson, “Binoculars,” starts in the classroom, where we hand out child-sized binoculars (purchased by CCBA, good quality and all the same) and explain how to use them. There’s always some goofing off at first as the kids fiddle around and look through the wrong end, but pretty soon we have them trying to spot the cutouts of birds we have pinned up around the room.

Then we go outside and walk the school’s perimeter, looking for birds. Crows are plentiful and seem to hang around playgrounds. One school had a kildeer nest they’d been watching at a respectful distance, and looking at it through binoculars was a revelation. If we’re lucky we spot other birds, and hear some, and talk about the Merlin app. Before we leave, we give the teacher a book—Birds of the Willamette Valley—to keep in the classroom.

Students really appreciate the hands-on lessons we offer. We BITS teachers come in wearing cartoonish T-shirts and leave feeling like superheroes. We thank the students and the teachers, and we thank CCBA, all its members, and the volunteers who keep this program going.

Last year the nine BITS volunteers taught more than one thousand students. If you’d like to get involved, there’s a place for you!

FMI: contact Barb Pope at birdsintheschools@gmail.com