How Do I
BLAST Elementary Thematic Program
Birds and Constellations
(November and December 2009)
It's a Bird's Life
Recommended for grades K-2
From chickadees to pigeons, from eagles to roadrunners, toucans, hummingbirds, hawks, and woodpeckers. Birds come in just about every shape and size. So what makes a bird a bird? Students will explore these feathery friends through stories, informational text, and poems. Get ready for a chirping good time!
Fiction and Informational Books:
Franco, Betsy
Birdsongs
Throughout the day and into the night various birds sing their songs, beginning with the woodpecker who taps a pole ten times and counting down to the hummingbird who calls once.
Collar, Sneed B.
Beaks!
Simple text describes various bird beaks and how birds use them to eat, hunt, and gather food.
Spinelli, Eileen
Feathers: Poems About Birds
More than twenty-five poems about both common and unusual birds
Gans, Roma
How Do Birds Find Their Way?
Explores the mysteries of bird migration, including theories on how birds find their way and how scientists learn about migration
Return to the topStories in the Stars
Recommended for grades 3-5
We all know the stories of how escaped slaves followed the drinking gourd, or the Big Dipper, to freedom. Constellations have played an important role in science, history, and society for hundreds of years. Even as far back as 4000 BC, people have seen pictures in the stars and created stories to go along with them. In this program, students will play the role of characters in some well-known constellation stories. Then, their creativity will be put to the test when they have a chance to create their own constellation.
Fiction and Informational Books:
Mitton, Jacqueline
Zoo in the Sky: A Book of Animal Constellations
A look at the different stars that make up the animal constellations
The Constellations: Stars & Stories
Driscoll, Michael
A Child's Introduction to the Night Sky
Galat, Joan Maire
Dot to Dot in the Sky
Recounts the stories behind some of the best known constellations, provides instructions on the best ways of spotting each one in the night sky, and offers information about stars
