Feet and beaks II

Feet and beaks II

Pencil and paper
Overview
Using this Resource
Connecting to the Curriculum
Marking Student Responses
Working with Students
Further Resources

Look carefully at each bird. Take note of its beak, its feet, and where the bird is. Then answer the questions on the next page.

Picture source: J.L Kendrick, DOC

Picture source: C.R Veitch, DOC

Picture source: DOC

Picture source George Pope, NZCER

Picture source: Wikipedia.org

Picture source: R Morris, DOC
 
 

Instructions
Read the information below about beaks, feet and food. Decide which sentences go with which bird in the chart at the bottom of the page. Write only the letter or number for each sentence.

  • The sentences for the kiwi have been done for you.
  • Each sentence can only be used once.

HINT: Think about the food and where the bird gets it.  

Information about beaks Information about feet Information about food
A    long beak for probing, nostrils at the end of beak for smelling food 1    long toes for holding food and hanging from branches A1    nectar, seeds, and fruit of native trees, grubs in rotten wood, honeydew on beech trees
B    long beak for spearing prey 2    perching feet for sitting on tree branches B2    freshwater insects and freshwater snail in fast-flowing rivers
C    pointy beak for spearing prey 3    perching feet for sitting up high and watching for prey C3    flying insects in bush areas
D    strong beak for opening cones to get seeds, digging for grubs in rotten wood; brush tongue for getting nectar from flowers 4    webbed feet for swimming, sharp claws for clinging to rocks in fast-flowing water D4    fish, small mammals and birds, insects
E     "whiskers" above beak for sensing flying insects 5   strong legs for walking on forest floor E5    fish, frogs, tadpoles, insects and spiders
F    scoop shaped beak for scooping up food in water, flexible beak for digging under stones 6   spread out feet for walking in soft sand, long legs for wading in water F6    worms and insects found in the soil and leaf litter

   

Name of bird Beak Feet Type of food
Kiwi A 5 F6
Kaka      
Blue duck      
White faced heron      
Fantail      
Kingfisher      
Task administration: 

Two resources were developed together to provide two different assessment strategies. 

Individual assessment: The resource (this version) was trialled nationally by 185 Year 6 students as an independent pen and paper assessment. 

Group assessment: Feet and beaks is a card matching activity. It was trialled in classrooms.

Purpose of assessment
When thinking about how you are going to use this task, consider what sort of information you want to obtain.

If the purpose is to find out where next teaching points for the class should be focused, use the card activity as a group or pairs task, leading to a class discussion of the contentious ideas, with groups attempting to justify their opinions. Consider using Feet and beaks.
If the purpose is self-assessment (either as a group or individually), used part way through a unit of work consider using Feet and beaks. Provide the answers once the activity is complete, and ask questions that help students to evaluate their thinking. Go to Working with students.
If the purpose of the task is to assess students' learning at the end of a unit of work, use the cards individually, or the pen and paper version. Focus attention on whether they understand the big idea about adaptations to survive in a particular environment rather than on specific details.

NOTE: This task has a high literacy load so may not be suitable for some students if the purpose is to assess individual students' understanding. Consider what support students may need to ensure that the task is a reliable measure of what they know, e.g., reading the text to them. (Go to Further resources for alternatives that involve less reading and writing.)

Level:
3
Curriculum info: 
Science, Investigating in science, Living World
Keywords: 
ecology, adaptation, birds, native birds, beaks, feet, pattern seeking, peer assessment
Description of task: 
Task: Show the relationship of birds' beaks and feet to the food they eat. Assessment focus: adaptations.
Curriculum Links: 
Science capabilities
The capabilities focus is brought about by the conversations you have and the questions you ask.
 
Capability: Gather and interpret data
This resource provides opportunities to discuss how close observation informs inferences. 
Science capabilities: 
Gather and interpret data
Making Better Sense: 
Birds
Answers/responses: 
  Y6 (05/2006)
Kaka D
1
A1
Beak
Feet
Type of food 
 moderate
difficult
difficult
Blue duck F
4
B2		 Beak
Feet
Type of food		 easy
very easy
moderate
Heron C
6
E5		 Beak
Feet
Type of food		 difficult
easy
difficult
Fantail E
2
C3		 Beak easy
Diagnostic and formative information: 

Similar patterns occurred in the pen and paper task and the group task, although results suggest that the pen and paper task was more difficult. Two reasons are:

  • support provided by the co-operative nature of the group task; and
  • manipulating cards requires students to hold less information in their heads.
Next steps: 

Next steps

  • It is difficult to make inferences about birds' feet and beaks if you don't have sufficient background knowledge to draw on. For example, you need to know parrots eat seeds and generally have curved beaks before you can infer how a kaka might use its beak. Use information from the students' responses to identify where gaps in their knowledge are. They can then research this information.
  • Provide pictures of other birds with similar adaptations and ask students to predict what they might eat, and/or where they might live.
  • Keep coming back to the idea that all of a bird's features work together to enable it to survive. It is helpful to look at the "big picture", not only of the total bird but also where it lives and what it eats. Encourage students to include more than one piece of evidence when they are justifying predictions.
  • Explore very specific adaptations that a bird may have. For example:
Feature Question
the position of a kiwi's nostrils at the tip of its beak, and its highly developed sense of smell What other sense might not be so highly developed?
the "fan" tail of the fantail

What have you noticed about the way a fantail flies?
How does the shape of its tail help it change direction quickly?
Why does a fantail need to do this?
the brush tongue of the kaka Why is it helpful to have both a brush tongue and a strong beak?

Feet and beaks (the same task, but presented on cards so students can manipulate the bits of information).

  • Ministry of Education (2000). Building Science Concepts Book 3. Birds. Wellington: Learning Media.
  • Ministry of Education (2001). Making better sense of the living world. Wellington: Learning Media. See pages 46-51.