Mystery Bird Game
School: Pocatello Community Charter School
City/State: Pocatello, ID
Grade(s): K
Format(s): Note cards
Subject(s): English Language Arts, Social Studies, Visual Arts
Project Overview
Students conducted fieldwork at Bear River Wildlife Refuge and along the Portneuf as part of their effort to become Ornithologists (bird experts). They researched a specific bird then wrote clues about that bird for the reader to guess. An artistic collage served as the answer on the back.
Student feedback included these comments:
- “I noticed some added texture to their branches.” – Jackson
- “I learned to make my handwriting more neat.” – Luke
- “My mom never knew that Black-capped Chickadees say “cheeseburger”!” – Savanna
- “I saw a Black-capped Chickadee at my house yesterday!” - Harlan
- “I noticed Roslyn made the paper match the feathers in the picture.” - Henry
How This Project Can Be Useful
- Complexity: Students composed their own clues. Students received differentiated support based on their needs from verbal help stretching words they wanted to write to dictated sentences on a sticky note to be copied.
- Craftsmanship: The criteria list located on the back of the art piece speaks directly to craftsmanship and was created by the students after participating in an Adapted Quality Work Protocol. It was used for self-assessment and peer-critique while completing the art piece.
- Authenticity: This work fills a real-world need to educate the public about our local birds and represents the individual voice of each student.