TEACHERS TAKE NOTE

Saving Birds:
Heroes Around the World

Pete Salmansohn and Stephen W. Kress

Hardcover, $16.95, ISBN 978-0-88448-237-6

Paperback, $7.95, ISBN 978-0-88448-276-5

9 x 10, 40 pages, color photos

An Audubon Book

Children / Nature; Grades 3-6

Every classroom can benefit from promoting the idea of volunteerism and activism on behalf of our environment. Pete Salmansohn's and Stephen Kress's book, Saving Birds, is truly "global" in its outlook. It documents how individuals—some of them children—from California, Israel, China, Mexico, New Zealand, and Malaysia have come together and worked on projects in their individual communities to help save wild birds, some on the brink of extinction. The message of this book is that saving birds requires large doses of inventiveness and commitment as well as incredible cooperative skills! Of course, as every educator knows, those are exactly the same qualities needed to complete any successful group project. By using Saving Birds in classrooms and showing how others do "the right thing" for the environment, teachers will help their students begin to learn what it takes to put aside the "human agenda" and work on behalf of other species.

This book's vibrant photographs will introduce children simultaneously to birds and world geography. Salmansohn, who is a nationally recognized Audubon educator, urges teachers to read Saving Birds with groups of students and then brainstorm with them to identify "local heroes" in their own communities. He notes that many Audubon and wildlife organizations want to honor those who volunteer on behalf of the environment, and are happy to reach out to leaders of all ages in their communities.

These days, achieving a "sense of place" is valuable, yet uncommon for students. Teachers who educate their classes about the local environment, may help students develop just the qualities needed to become the leaders we will one day want.

Activity: What Can You Learn About Animals In Trouble?

From: Giving Back to the Earth: A Teacher's Guide for Project Puffin and Other Seabird Studies (The activities in this Tilbury House guide are a good fit with Saving Birds.)

• Objective: Students will learn about why different animals suffered years ago (bison, passenger pigeon, great auk, tern, wolf, eskimo curlew) and compare them with animals in trouble now (peregrine falcons, sea turtles, grizzly bears, spotted salamanders, gorillas, etc.).
• Time: Half period in class with more time for library research.
• Materials:
  • Lots of photos or drawings of animals that have suffered in the past (see above list).
  • Photos and drawings of animals that are currently endangered.
  • Index cards to write down individual reasons why animals became endangered/extinct.
• Lesson Content: Reasons for animals to be in trouble in the past.
  • Bison: Hunted for its fur and meat.
  • Passenger Pigeon: Hunted for its meat.
  • Great Auk: Hunted for its meat.
  • Tern: Hunted for its feathers.
  • Wolf: Hunted for its fur; people were afraid of it.
• Lesson Content: Reasons for animals to be in trouble currently.
  • Peregrine Falcon: exposure to DDT thins eggs.
  • Sea Turtles: Loss of nesting habitat.
  • Grizzly bears: Habitat loss and people afraid of them.
  • Spotted Salamanders: Acid rain kills its eggs and larvae.
• Method: Have students select an animal from the past or present and research why the animal's numbers declined to the point of extinction.
  • The students write findings on "their" animal on note cards and briefly share their information with the class. Later this activity becomes a matching game.
  • Hang or post the first group of animals pictures in one area, and the second in another area.
  • Students try to match the image of the animal with "trouble" cards telling why the animals suffered or are suffering. Have students take 10 minutes or so to do the matching.
• Discussion: Hunting for food and products were the main reason why animals were threatened in the past. Today, modern-day animals face an even greater array of threats. Talk about these differences and what can be done to protect the animals.