Student activity
Suitable for: Years F to 10
Learning area: Science
Topics: Bugs, Animals
Discover the birdlife in your school yard with this free app.
Students can identify birds and other creatures in the school yard or local area using Museums Victoria’s free Field Guide app. Available for both Apple and Android devices, the app holds descriptions of over 950 species, including birds, mammals, fishes, reptiles, frogs and invertebrates from terrestrial, freshwater and marine environments.
In this activity students will
- Explore the diversity of birds or other wildlife in your schoolyard.
- Use an app to identify birds and animals.
- Learn to recognise commonly occurring species.
- Document their observations.
- Become more aware of the wildlife they interact with each day.
- Consider ways to improve species diversity.
Suggested questions to engage students
- What birds have you seen in the schoolyard?
- Do you know the names of the birds you have seen?
- How could we increase the diversity of birds that visit our school?
What to do
Download the field guide app to your devices.
As a class, identify locations around the school that are suitable for birdwatching. You may like to ask students:
- Where have you seen birds around the school?
- Do you know the names of any of these birds?
- What other creatures have you seen in the school yard?
- What do you think attracts wildlife to these places?
Familiarise students with the app. You may like to introduce students to a smaller selection of birds in preparation for carrying out the survey.
In groups, students should quietly observe their chosen area for a set period of time and record their observations using the provided worksheet.
- Schoolyard bird survey| 335.24 KB .pdf file
Groups can share their observations with the class and tally up their bird count.
Discuss with the class:
- What were the most commonly spotted species?
- What locations around the school attracted the highest number of birds? Why?
- Were any birds difficult to identify?
- How could we increase the diversity of birds that visit our school?
- How could we create bird habitats in our school yard?
Victorian Curriculum Links
Science: Foundation to Level 2
Biological sciences
- plants and animals have basic needs, including air, water, food and shelter; the places where they live meet those needs (VC2S2U02)
Science: Level 3 to 4
Biological sciences
- consumers, producers and decomposers have different roles and interactions within a habitat; food chains can be used to represent feeding relationships (VC2S4U03)
Science Inquiry
- data and information can be organised and represented to identify patterns and simple relationships by constructing tables, graphs and visual or physical models (VC2S4I04)
Science: Level 5 to 6
Biological sciences
- habitats can be described by their physical conditions; changing the physical conditions of a habitat, including by human activity, may affect the growth and survival of organisms (VC2S6U01)
Science Inquiry
- data and information can be organised and processed to show patterns, trends and relationships by constructing representations including tables, graphs and visual or physical models (VC2S6I04)
Sign-up to Museum Teachers
Subscribe and get special offers, teacher news and free entry to all museums.
