Owl Unit

I taught the kindergartners about nocturnal/night animals.  We talked about many of the different animals that are awake at night.  Then I did an owl unit discussing the different owls that live in our state and their unique qualities.  They really enjoyed this lesson!  

We decided to display our learning while helping to teach others in our school about owls.  I taught a step-by-step owl drawing lesson.  I will add a photo of that tomorrow.  Next, we discussed which facts to share.  This display is in our hallway.  This will be good review for past kindergarten students too.

A couple of days ago I did a PowerPoint slideshow teaching the kindergarten and 2nd grade students about the owls of South Dakota.  I displayed a photo and played the song/call of each owl.  They quickly learned that not all owls hoot.  I also showed some photos of the prey that owls eat.   

I explained how owls cannot digest the fur and bones of their prey, so they cough it up in the form of a pellet.  Next, I gave each kindergartner a pellet and they pulled it apart removing the bones.  They compared the bones that they discovered to that on a chart.  It was mostly rodents and a couple of birds.

I imagine that you are thinking that this is gross, but kids seem to find it fascinating and so do I.  It is a good learning experience because it teaches students about anatomy, the food chain and it gets them thinking deeper by piecing the puzzle together.  Its a bit like being a detective.  The students were all actively engaged in the activity and having great conversations about what they were finding.  Kids thinking and asking good questions...this is what teachers love to see!

They compared the bones to the sorting chart.

The looks on their faces made me smile.

The bones were quite tiny.

"Look!  A skull!"

The 2nd graders and K-kids worked well together!

Here's the crew!  They are hard at work!