Birds and Food Science

The fourth grade students loved the Animal Adaptations Unit we covered in Science.  I thought they worked very well together during the experiments and follow-up discussion.  We used different spoons, tongs, eye droppers, and other kitchen tools to mimic various bird beaks.  Then, we placed styrofoam pieces in water, rice puffs in water, beads on a string, noodles in Easter grass, rubber bands in oatmeal, and popcorn in a graduated cylinder filled with water to represent the kinds of food birds eat.  The rubber bands were worms, the red beads were berries, and so on.  The children had a ball!  They couldn't wait to do more research on how birds use their beaks!