Volume II Number 2
October 27, 1995

Still time to join

"The Birds Around Us" project!

Please accept this as an invitation to join Valcartier Elementary School's first Schoolnet Project!

This is a wonderful Science opportunity for students in Elementary levels 4-6!

If you are interested in joining this project, please send e-mail as soon as possible, as we need to get up and running quickly! (We do reserve the right to limit this project to the first 30 schools that sign up from across Canada in order to facilitate data management, so don't delay, sign up today!) Our e-mail address is :

Valcartier-Elementary@Schoolnet.Ulaval.Ca

We hope that you will join us as we observe:

"THE BIRDS AROUND US"

The Project:

The eight students of Grades 4 and 6 of Valcartier Elementary School will be looking at: "THE BIRDS AROUND US" during the 1995-1996 school year and invite you to join in! We will be looking at:

  1. Observing from September 30th - October 15th, the birds that are gathering at our school feeders, the birds that are flocking in preparation for migration, and the flocks that are already on the move southward. (The deadline for this phase of course has already passed.)
  2. Observing from November 1st - November 15th, the birds that have remained at our feeders for the winter. DEADLINE FOR OBSERVATIONS: NOVEMBER 25TH.
  3. Observing from February 1st - February 15th, to see if the birds at the feeders are the same types. DEADLINE FOR OBSERVATIONS: FEBRUARY 25TH.
  4. Observing from April 15th - May 15th, to see what birds have returned to our area. DEADLINE FOR OBSERVATIONS: MAY 25TH.

SHOULD YOU JOIN US:

  1. We would ask that in your observations, you send us the NAMES and NUMBERS OF BIRDS for the 5 MOST COMMON BIRD TYPES that you observe.
  2. We would ask that you join us for the entire Bird watching year.
  3. Please use a Bird Book in identifying your birds and give the specific ENGLISH name of your most common bird types. No Latin names please.
  4. We would ask that you respect Observation Deadlines.
  5. We would ask for your patience and understanding on our first e-mail project.

Thanks!

What Can You Expect to Receive in Return:

  1. After each observation period, you will receive: a list of each school, their location in Canada, their e-mail address and the birds that are the most common in their area. By the end of the year, we hope to have a bank of data that we can all refer to, showing interesting migration/nonmigration patterns across Canada!
  2. A bank of data that can be used in future years for Science, Social Studies, and Math! The potential for graphing and mapping this REAL data from other children across Canada should be a great motivator for all our students!
  3. Fun and interesting Science times with your students on a simple project that will help introduce your class to the Internet and e-mail!

How to Respond:

  1. Sign up soon! We need you!
  2. Use the following format to send in your Observations on or before the appropriate dates.
OBSERVATION PERIOD DATES:

SCHOOL:

MAILING ADDRESS:

E-MAIL ADDRESS:

GRADE(S):

NUMBER OF STUDENTS OBSERVING:

TEACHER'S NAME:

BIRD TYPE OBSERVED LOCATION NUMBER OF BIRDS SEEN

  1. __________________ ________ ___________________
  2. __________________ ________ ___________________
  3. __________________ ________ ___________________
  4. __________________ ________ ___________________
  5. __________________ ________ ___________________

Resources:

BOOKS:
  1. Peterson's First Guides: Birds by Roger Tory Peterson. ISBN 0-395-40684-6. $4.95.
  2. A Guide to Field Identification: BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA by C.S. Robbins, B.Bruun, and H.S.Zim (Golden Press). ISBN 0-307-33656-5. $15.95.
  3. BIRDS -- An Integrated Unit of Activities for Grades 3 - 6 (A Chrysalis Publication) by B. McKay. ISBN 0-921049-01-3.

When you sign up for this project I will send you some http sites that we have found on the Internet that will provide you with more information on Birds.

We hope that you will join us as we observe: "The Birds Around Us!"

Pam Bown
Valcartier Elementary School
1748 Blvd. Valcartier
Valcartier Village, QC
G0A 4S0
Telephone/fax: 418-844-2233
e-mail: Valcartier-Elementary@SchoolNet.Ulaval.ca

Copyright © 1995 the Manitoba Library Association. Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission.

Published by
The Manitoba Library Association
ISSN 1201-9364

Go back to CM Welcome page Go back to Table of Contents for this Issue