Pistes d'exploration

Create a bird observation and recording centre. Install a bird feeder outside the classroom window and record the number of times birds land on it. Note their behaviour.

In teams, research other bird species. Use the same notebook format illustrated in the book to present your information to the class. 

Imagine you were going to interview Robert Bateman. What questions would you ask him? Write his biography.

Browse through the book and notice the layout of each page in this field guide to birds. What kind of information do you find in the text? On the notepads? How do the pictures help you understand the text?

Search through the book for a bird you have seen near your school or home. Design a bookmark that includes information and an illustration of that bird. Can you add observations of your own?

Read the epilogue and decide what you and your class can do to help birds in your neighbourhood. Choose a project and carry it out with your class.

Look up!: Bird-Watching in Your Own Backyard, Birds A to Z, Birds, I Hatched!

Mots-clés

Non-fiction , animal behaviour , bird-watching , birds , Canadian animals , illustrations (acrylic) , nature

Commentaire descriptif

Canadian artist and naturalist, Robert Bateman, shares his love of nature in this child’s field guide to birds, with a focus on those that can easily be found in any backyard, such as doves, sparrows, cardinals and blue jays. For each of approximately 30 different birds, there is a short description of its feeding habits, migration patterns, senses and more. The text is conversational, as if Bateman were right beside the reader, sharing advice on how to fully appreciate the birds. Notepad sidebars contain facts about the bird’s length, wingspan, weight, etc. Budding birders will be delighted to learn how to spot them, often in their own backyard. Bateman’s renowned artwork depicts the birds with exquisite accuracy and detail, ensuring that children will not only appreciate their beauty, but will be able to identify them more easily in the wild. An introductory note explains how Bateman himself became a birder, while the epilogue identifies some environmental threats to birds and the need to protect them. A glossary adds to the resources of this great companion for class nature trips and activities.