Investigation 3

Show Me
the Data
Before You Start Goal
Students will use graphing techniques to visually represent
00:90
Time and Place data.
90 minutes, more if you explore
eBird data Learning Objectives
Indoors 1. Students will be able to correctly identify and describe four
kinds of graphs commonly used in science: pie charts, line
MATERIALS NEEDED graphs, scatter plots, and bar graphs.
Resource Pages 2. Students will be able to draw an appropriate example of a
• “Graphs of Bird Data” handout pie chart, line graph, scatter plot, and bar graph to repre-
• “Graphing My Data” article sent data.
• “The ‘I Wonder’ Kid” handout 3. Students will be able to explain how the four types of graphs
Journal Pages 7–11 are used to represent different kinds of information.
Other Curriculum Components
• None Lesson Outline
1. Introduce graphs.
You Provide
• Graph paper 2. Look at real world graph samples.
• Internet access 3. Discuss choosing the right kind of graph.
4. Generate class graphs.
Getting Ready 5. Become an eBird data sleuth (optional).
• Copy the Reference Guide
articles for each student. 6. Think on Your Own: complete another graph.
• Make a color transparency
or class handouts of “Graphs Conducting the Activity
of Bird Data,” or prepare to
project it for the class. 1. Introduce graphs.
Remind the students that in Investigation 2, they saw ex-
amples of bar graphs in “Amy’s Scientific Report,” and dif-
ferent kinds of graphs in the “Answering Your Scientific
Questions” article. Begin with a class discussion about how
and why people use graphs.
Ask questions such as
• Have you ever made a graph? Why do people make graphs?
• Can you name any types of graphs? (Make sure that bar, line,
and pie/circle graphs have been mentioned.)
• Why do you think that information is often presented in graphs
instead of just in lists or tables? (Graphs visually show relation-
ships between variables.)

17
BirdSleuth: Investigating Evidence Teacher’s Guide
Show Me the Data
2. Look at real world graph samples. REFERENCE PAGE 16
Display an overhead or give each student Graphs of Bird Data
the “Graphs of Bird Data” handout (REFER-
ENCE PAGE 16) that illustrates four kinds Pie Charts
of graphs you will focus on: pie, line, scat- Types of birds we counted this month

ter, and bar. Ask students to compare and songbirds

water birds

contrast the graphs, focusing on how the

shorebirds
birds of prey
other
Bar Graphs
data are presented and any differences they Percentage of feeders visited by
Northern Cardinals in four states

might notice between the kinds of data pre- 120

Percentage of feeders visited

100

sented in each. 80

60

You may wish to create a Venn diagram to il- 40

lustrate similarities and differences between Line Graphs 20

0
Minnesota New York Illinois Indiana

pairs of graph types, and ask students to tell

Group sizes of American Crows in New York state
22 State
20
18

what they think the graphs show. 16

14

Average Count
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
1/1 2/1 3/1 4/1 5/1 6/1 7/1 8/1 9/1 10/1 11/1 12/1
Scatter Plots
Week Starting on
The effect of temperature on the number
of bird feeder visits in winter
20

15

Number of visits
10

0
0 10 20 30
Temperature (˚C)

16
BirdSleuth: Investigating Evidence Resource Materials Cornell Lab of Ornithology

18
BirdSleuth: Investigating Evidence Teacher’s Guide Cornell Lab of Ornithology
 Show Me the Data
3. Discuss choosing the right kind of REFERENCE PAGE 17
graph.
Placeholder
Graphing Mytext
Data
Have students read “Graphing my Data”
(REFERENCE GUIDE PAGES 17–21). You’ve probably heard the phrase, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” A well-made
graph is worth a thousand words—it summarizes your data and might even make it easy to

Review the terms “Independent Vari- see any trends in your data! Graphing is all about showing people your data visually.
There are many kinds of graphs. Not every kind of graph will be best for your data. Deciding
able” and “Dependent Variable” if neces- on what kind of graph to draw, and how to draw it, can require thought—which makes
graphing a fun challenge! Here, you’ll learn about four kinds of graphs and when to use
sary. Discuss ways that different types of each kind.

graphs are better at illustrating different Pie Charts

kinds of data. Make the following points • When you can convert data to show percentages, you can use a pie chart.
• Remember that the pieces of a pie together make 100%.
by appropriately referencing the four
“Graphs of Bird Data” graphs: Types of birds we counted this month

songbirds

• Line graphs are especially helpful for water birds

shorebirds
showing how something changes over birds of prey

time.
other

• Scatter Plots are similar, and good for

Figure 1

showing trends in data. They show WHAT DO YOU THINK? What is the most common kind of bird the students
counted? What kind of bird was seen least often? Approximately what proportion
how much one variable is affected by of birds counted this month were water birds?

another.
• Bar graphs are used to compare two
or more categories of things.
• Line, bar, and scatter plot graphs all
have a dependent variable that is BirdSleuth: Investigating Evidence Resource Materials
17

measured and plotted on the y-axis.

• Line graphs are preferred for showing JOURNAL PAGE 7
changes over time because they bet- Name: Date:

ter represent a continuum of data. In- Show Me the Data

formation presented in a bar graph is Practice representing data using different types
of graphs.
divided into categories.
Types of Graphs
• Pie charts show proportions and al-
ways add to 100%. After a class discussion about graphs, fill in the reasons for using each type of graph.

Students should record these ideas in the Type of

When to Use This Graph
Graph
table on JOURNAL PAGE 7. Pie Chart

You may wish to discuss the “What Do You

Think?” questions scattered throughout
the article, or ask students to submit writ- Line Graph

Scatter Plot

Bar Graph

7
BirdSleuth: Investigating Evidence Investigator’s Journal

19
Cornell Lab of Ornithology BirdSleuth: Investigating Evidence Teacher’s Guide
Show Me the Data
ten responses as part of your assesment. JOURNAL PAGE 8
Name: Date:

4. Generate class graphs. Show me the Data

Fun with Graphs!
Practice making a sample graph of each type
Follow along with your class to complete an example of a pie chart, line graph, scatter
with simple class-generated data (see sam- plot, and bar graph. For each graph remember to include:

ples below). Students should record a sample Question you are trying to answer

graph of each of the four kinds on JOURNAL Title for your graph
Labels for x and y axes (line, bar, and scatterplots)

PAGES 8–10. Scale measurements for x and y axes (line and bar graphs, scatterplots)
Key or legend

Pie Chart Data table (optional)

• Examples to graph: what proportion of 1. Pie Chart

Question to graph

students choose a given favorite sport,

bird, or food? See the sample pie chart,
Figure 1.
• Steps for making a pie chart:
1. Collect the data and organize them in
a table with column and row headings
(see Table 1). Remember, pie charts
are used to display percentages and
the total of all categories always adds
up to 100%.
2. Calculate the proportions and circle 8
degrees for each item in the table (for Cornell Lab of Ornithology BirdSleuth: Investigating Evidence Investigator’s Journal

younger students, calculating circle de-

grees is not necessary; estimating and
drawing the proportions will suffice).
3. Draw a circle to represent a pie chart.
4. Transfer the data to the graph by
drawing segments in the chart. Distin-
guishing sections by color is the stan-
dard way to tell them apart.
5. Decide on a title for the pie chart. The
title should go at the top and summa-
rize the variables studied.

Favorite cafeteria food

Favorite Number Circle
Percentage
cafeteria of degrees
of students
food students (% x 360)
Pizza Pizza 8 40% 144
Hamburgers Hamburgers 5 25% 90
Chicken Nuggets
Other Food
Chicken 3 15% 54
Nuggets
Other 4 20% 72
Total 20 100% 360
Figure 1: Sample pie chart Table 1: Table of favorite cafeteria foods

20
BirdSleuth: Investigating Evidence Teacher’s Guide Cornell Lab of Ornithology
 Show Me the Data
6. Create a key to identify the sections of JOURNAL PAGE 9
the pie chart. Name: Date:

Placeholder
Show Me thetext
Data
Line Graph 2. Line Graph
• Examples to graph: a student’s growth Question to graph

in height or weight since birth, the daily

high temperature over the course of last
week. See Figure 2 for an example.
• Steps for making a line graph:
1. Collect the data and organize them
in a table with column and row head-
ings (see Table 2).
3. Scatter Plot
2. Draw a right angle on the board to Question to graph

represent the graph axes.

3. Label the x and y axes of the graph.
Lay out the scales for each axis (for
the example below: height in inches,
0–60, age in years, 1–10).
4. Transfer the data to the graph by add-
ing data points and drawing a line
through them.
5. Decide on a title for the graph. The 9
Cornell Lab of Ornithology BirdSleuth: Investigating Evidence Investigator’s Journal

Kerry’s height since age one

Age (in years) Height (in inches)

1 27
How Kerry has grown since age one 2 32
60 3 37
50 4 40
Height (in inches)

40 5 42
30
6 45
20
7 48
10
8 50
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 0 10 8 52
Age (in years)
10 54
Figure 2: Sample of line graph Table 2: Table of student’s growth

21
Cornell Lab of Ornithology BirdSleuth: Investigating Evidence Teacher’s Guide
Show Me the Data
title should go at the top and describe
the relationship between the variables
represented.

Scatter Plots
Scatter plots are best for showing whether
two variables are correlated.
• Examples to graph: the number of hours
that students spent studying for an exam
versus the grade received (see Figure 3).
• Steps for making a line graph:
1. Collect the data and organize them
in a table with column and row head-
ings (see Table 3).
2. Draw the outline of a graph (a right
angle) on the board to represent the
graph axes.
3. Label the x and y axes of the graph.
Lay out the scales for each axis.
4. Transfer the data to the graph by add-
ing data points.
5. You may choose to draw a best-fit line
through the points if they seem to be
correlated. (This has not been done
in the sample, but it appears there is
a positive correlation between time Hours spent
Student Test score
spent studying and test score.) studying
1 3 80
2 5 90
3 2 75
4 6 80
5 7 84
6 1 55
Effect of Study Time on Test Scores
7 2 64
100
8 0.5 48
90
0 9 1 42
70
10 7 100
Test Score

60
50 11 1.5 81
40
0 12 2.5 82
0
10
13 3.5 82
0 14 4 91
0 2 4 6 8
Hours Spent Studying 15 1.5 61
Figure 3: Sample scatter plot Table 3: Table of study time and associated test score

22
BirdSleuth: Investigating Evidence Teacher’s Guide Cornell Lab of Ornithology
 Show Me the Data
6. Decide on a title for the graph. The JOURNAL PAGE 10
title should go at the top and de- Name: Date:

scribe the relationship between the Show Me the Data

variables represented. 4. Bar Graph
Question to graph

Bar Graph
• Examples to graph: which movies the
students have recently watched, what
pets they own, or which ice cream flavors
are their favorites.
• Steps for making a bar graph:
1. Collect the data and organize them in
a table with column and row head-
ings (see table 4).
2. Draw a right angle on the board to
represent the axes of the graph.
3. Label the x and y axes for the graph.
Lay out the scales for the y-axis and
the categories for the x-axis.
4. Transfer data to the graph by draw-

10
Cornell Lab of Ornithology BirdSleuth: Investigating Evidence Investigator’s Journal

What Pets Do Students Have?

Kind of Number of Students who have
10 Pet at least one of this kind of Pet
Number of Students

8
6 Dog 6
5 Cat 7
2
Fish 8
0
Dog Cat Fish Rodents Others Rodents 5
Kind of Pet
Others 3
Figure 4: Sample bar graph Table 4: Pets owned by students

23
Cornell Lab of Ornithology BirdSleuth: Investigating Evidence Teacher’s Guide
Show Me the Data
ing bars on the graph.
5. Decide on a title for the graph. The title Teacher Background
should go at the top and describe what ADVANCED INQUIRY OPTIONS
the graph is about. (Taken from Most Wanted Birds:
“Become an eBird Data Sleuth”)
5. Become an eBird Data Sleuth (option-
Open Inquiry
al). Give a copy of the “Questions to Investigate”
We encourage you to complete or begin BIRD- handout (Resource Materials) to each student. Ask
SLEUTH: MOST WANTED BIRDS LESSON each pair of students to explore the question that
interests them the most. You may wish to have
6, “Become an eBird Data Sleuth”
students present what they have found either to
with your students if you have not the whole class, to another group, or in a written
already done so. If you began the report.
lesson, but did not complete either of
the “Advanced Inquiry Options” (page 32 Independent Inquiry
Have each student or pair of students develop
of that unit), consider doing that part at this
a question that they think can be answered using
time (see TEACHER BACKGROUND box the eBird database, then research the answers.
this page, “Advanced Inquiry Options,” for You might specify that they examine either your
information.) classroom’s BirdSleuth eBird data (if you have col-
(BirdSleuth: Most Wanted Birds may be or- lected enough), or all eBird data. Ask students to
dered on the BirdSleuth web site. note any interesting findings as well as the answer
to their question as they work. Students should
Project “The ‘I Wonder’ Kid” overhead (RE- share their findings with another group, with the
SOURCE PAGE 22—note that the students entire class, or in a written report.
were previously introduced to this figure
in the “Kinds of Questions” article on RE-
SOURCE PAGE 4.) Emphasize the “Explore RESOURCE PAGE 22
and Analyze Data” jumping in point on the The “I Wonder” Kid
diagram. To answer these kinds of questions,
students will need to look at data that have
already been collected. The Cornell Lab of
Ornithology’s citizen science databases are a EXPERIMENTAL DESCRIPTIVE
STUDY STUDY
perfect resource. For example, eBird is full of co
nd
I wonder…?
cond
data about the kinds and numbers of birds uct uc
t

seen around the country, and can be used to DATA

explore
and analyze
answer many kinds of questions about bird
out
ab

distribution and abundance. eBird also eas-

ns

ANSWER
sio

YOUR
lu

QUESTION
ily generates graphs of that data. Consider
nc
co
aw

visiting eBird at [Link] to explore

dr

REPORT
en

FINDINGS
th

this resource.
d,
a
re

If you’d like more support for using eBird, as- MORE

QUESTIONS
REFERENCE
MATERIALS
sociated lessons can be found in two other
Figure 1

BirdSleuth modules: BirdSleuth Most Wanted Where will you jump into the process?
Depending on your question, you can enter the process of science at different stages. Look at the
Birds and BirdSleuth: Exploring Bird Behav- dotted arrows to see where this student scientist could jump into the scientific process. Some conduct
their investigations through experimental or descriptive studies, some start by exploring and

ior (you may order these BirdSleuth modules

analyzing data from a database (like eBird, for example), and still others find answers by pulling
together information they find in reference materials such as books or web sites.

at [Link].) Specifically, we en-

courage you to complete:
• BirdSleuth: Most Wanted Birds Lesson 6, 22

“Become an eBird Data Sleuth,” particu- BirdSleuth: Investigating Evidence Resource Materials

24
BirdSleuth: Investigating Evidence Teacher’s Guide Cornell Lab of Ornithology
 Show Me the Data
larly the “Advanced Inquiry Options” JOURNAL PAGE 11
(page 32 of that module, see Teacher Name: Date:

Background box this page, “Advanced Show Me the Data

Inquiry Options,” for information.) Think on Your Own

• BirdSleuth: Exploring Bird Behavior “Ex- Create a graph and exchange it with another person or group.

plore Corvid eBird Data” lesson (page 17

of that module).
These modules come complete with slide
shows that can help you explore eBird.

6. Think on Your Own

Ask students to complete their own example
graphs in groups, pairs, or individually, on
JOURNAL PAGE 11. You may want them
to do one of each type of graph, or specify
type(s). They can use the data in their jour-
nals or data the class has collected during
their BirdSleuth bird counts. Students should
exchange their graphs with another group,
pair, or student who can peer review their
graph before submitting their revised graph
to you for comment. Provide graph paper for 11

the students. Cornell Lab of Ornithology BirdSleuth: Investigating Evidence Investigator’s Journal

In class, review and correct any common

mistakes found in the graphs. You may wish
to post exemplary examples of each type of
graph.

Thinking ahead to conducting independent research on your schoolyard…

Teacher Tip Teacher Tip

JUMPING IN POINTS HELPING STUDENTS
Questions that the students an- INTERPRET DATA
swer using the data you’ve collected on Consider the following questions to
your schoolyard, questions that they answer help students make sense of data:
using the eBird database, and questions they
• What patterns do you notice?
answer using literature and online resources are
all possibilities for publication in the Classroom • What does the data “show”?
BirdScope student research magazine or Bird- • What do you think the data mean? What can
Sleuth Reports webzine. In other words, each of you conclude?
these “jumping in points” is a great way to answer • How would you explain that?
scientific questions, and each of these question
• What generalizations do you think you can
types will be considered for publication.
make based on your data/observations?
Students will learn more about publishing their
original research in Investigations 4 and 5.

25
Cornell Lab of Ornithology BirdSleuth: Investigating Evidence Teacher’s Guide
Show Me the Data
Notes Page

26
BirdSleuth: Investigating Evidence Teacher’s Guide Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Name: Date:

Show Me the Data

Practice representing data using different types
of graphs.

Types of Graphs

After a class discussion about graphs, fill in the reasons for using each type of graph.

Type of
When to Use This Graph
Graph
Pie Chart

Line Graph

Scatter Plot

Bar Graph

7
BirdSleuth: Investigating Evidence Investigator’s Journal
Name: Date:

Show me the Data

Fun with Graphs!

Follow along with your class to complete an example of a pie chart, line graph, scatter
plot, and bar graph. For each graph remember to include:

Question you are trying to answer

Title for your graph
Labels for x and y axes (line, bar, and scatterplots)
Scale measurements for x and y axes (line and bar graphs, scatterplots)
Key or legend
Data table (optional)

1. Pie Chart
Question to graph

8
Cornell Lab of Ornithology BirdSleuth: Investigating Evidence Investigator’s Journal
Name: Date:

Placeholder
Show Me thetext
Data
2. Line Graph
Question to graph

3. Scatter Plot
Question to graph

9
Cornell Lab of Ornithology BirdSleuth: Investigating Evidence Investigator’s Journal
Name: Date:

Show Me the Data

4. Bar Graph
Question to graph

10
Cornell Lab of Ornithology BirdSleuth: Investigating Evidence Investigator’s Journal
Name: Date:

Show Me the Data

Think on Your Own

Create a graph and exchange it with another person or group.

11
Cornell Lab of Ornithology BirdSleuth: Investigating Evidence Investigator’s Journal
 Graphs of Bird Data

Pie Charts
Types of birds we counted this month

songbirds
water birds
shorebirds
birds of prey
other
Bar Graphs
Percentage of feeders visited by
Northern Cardinals in four states
120

Percentage of feeders visited

100

80

60

40

Line Graphs 20

0
Group sizes of American Crows in New York state Minnesota New York Illinois Indiana
22 State
20
18
16
14
Average Count

12
10
8
6
4
2
0
1/1 2/1 3/1 4/1 5/1 6/1 7/1 8/1 9/1 10/1 11/1 12/1
Scatter Plots
Week Starting on
The effect of temperature on the number
of bird feeder visits in winter
20

15
Number of visits

10

0
0 10 20 30
Temperature (˚C)

16
BirdSleuth: Investigating Evidence Resource Materials Cornell Lab of Ornithology
 Placeholder
Graphing Mytext
Data

You’ve probably heard the phrase, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” A well-made
graph is worth a thousand words—it summarizes your data and might even make it easy to
see any trends in your data! Graphing is all about showing people your data visually.
There are many kinds of graphs. Not every kind of graph will be best for your data. Deciding
on what kind of graph to draw, and how to draw it, can require thought—which makes
graphing a fun challenge! Here, you’ll learn about four kinds of graphs and when to use
each kind.

Pie Charts
• When you can convert data to show percentages, you can use a pie chart.
• Remember that the pieces of a pie together make 100%.

Types of birds we counted this month

songbirds
water birds
shorebirds
birds of prey
other

Figure 1

WHAT DO YOU THINK? What is the most common kind of bird the students
counted? What kind of bird was seen least often? Approximately what proportion
of birds counted this month were water birds?

17
BirdSleuth: Investigating Evidence Resource Materials
 Placeholder
Graphing Mytext
Data

Bar Graphs
• Use a bar graph when there is no connection from one data point to another
(this is called categorical data). For example, a bar graph can be used to present
data from different sites.
In the example in Figure 2, students wanted to know whether Northern Cardinals are seen
at feeders more often in states where the cardinal is the state bird. They hypothesized that
Northern Cardinals would be seen more in states like Illinois and Indiana, where the cardinal
is the state bird, than in states that chose another bird as the state bird, like Minnesota and
New York.

Percentage of feeders visited by

Northern Cardinals in four states
120
Percentage of feeders visited

100

80

60

40

20

0
Minnesota New York Illinois Indiana
State

Figure 2: Percentage of feeders visited by Northern Cardinals in four states

by Kelsey, Anna, Charlotte, and Hannah, 7th Grade,
Minnehaha Academy, Minneapolis, MN, Mrs. Humason

WHAT DO YOU THINK? Was the girls’ hypothesis right? Were Northern
Cardinals reported more often in states that have Northern Cardinal as the
state bird?

18
BirdSleuth: Investigating Evidence Resource Materials Cornell Lab of Ornithology
 Placeholder
Graphing Mytext
Data

Line Graphs
• Line graphs are an excellent way to map Dependent and Independent Variables
that are both quantitative (measured with numbers). Unlike a bar graph, the
data are not grouped in categories.
• Line graphs are most useful for showing whether something changes over
time.
• Draw a line through the data points when you have plotted them.

Group sizes of American Crows in New York state

22
20
18
16
14
Average Count

12
10
8
6
4
2
0
1/1 2/1 3/1 4/1 5/1 6/1 7/1 8/1 9/1 10/1 11/1 12/1
Week Starting on
Figure 3: Group sizes of American Crows. From [Link]

WHAT DO YOU THINK? Does the group size of American Crows seem to
change during the year in New York state?

19
Cornell Lab of Ornithology BirdSleuth: Investigating Evidence Resource Materials
 Placeholder
Graphing Mytext
Data

Scatter Plots
• Scatter plots show at a glance whether a relationship exists between the
Dependent and Independent Variables.
• Scatter plots are like line graphs in that the Dependent and Independent
Variables are both quantitative, but you don’t draw a line through the data
points.
• You may wish to draw a “line of best fit” between or near the points to show
any correlation or relationship.
Examples
Imagine you wanted to determine whether the availability of food affects the weight of
nestlings. You might imagine that the more insects a mother Eastern Bluebird brings to the
nest in an hour, the heavier her fledglings will be when they leave the nest. The graph in
Figure 4 shows a positive correlation; as one variable goes up, the other does too.

The effect of the number of insects on

fledgling weight in Eastern Bluebirds

31.5
Weight of fledgling

31
30.5
(in grams)

30
29.5
29
28.5
28
27.5
0 5 10 15 20
Average number of insects provided per hour

Figure 4: A scatter plot showing a positive correlation

WHAT DO YOU THINK? What is the range of weights of these Eastern Bluebird
fledglings? In this sample, about how much does an average flegling weigh?

20
BirdSleuth: Investigating Evidence Resource Materials Cornell Lab of Ornithology
 Placeholder
Graphing Mytext
Data

Some researchers have found that when it is snowier or colder, birds visit feeders more
(perhaps because they burn more energy staying warm, or perhaps when it is colder there
is less food available besides seed at feeders, or both). If you graphed this relationship, you
would find a negative correlation; as one variable goes up, the other goes down. See
Figure 5.

The effect of temperature on the number

of bird feeder visits in winter
20

15
Number of visits

10

0
0 10 20 30
Temperature (˚C)

Figure 5: A scatter plot showing a negative correlation

Conclusion
After you summarize your data in graphs, you might notice a trend in the data, or you might
find no trend at all. Either will help you draw conclusions about the evidence of data in your
experiment or observational study, and show others what you found, too!

21
Cornell Lab of Ornithology BirdSleuth: Investigating Evidence Resource Materials
 The “I Wonder” Kid

EXPERIMENTAL DESCRIPTIVE
STUDY STUDY
I wonder…?
co
cond nd
uct uc
t

explore
DATA
and analyze

t
ou
ab
ns
ANSWER sio
YOUR
lu

QUESTION
nc
co
aw
dr

REPORT
n
he

FINDINGS
,t
ad
re

MORE REFERENCE
QUESTIONS MATERIALS
Figure 1

Where will you jump into the process?

Depending on your question, you can enter the process of science at different stages. Look at the
dotted arrows to see where this student scientist could jump into the scientific process. Some conduct
their investigations through experimental or descriptive studies, some start by exploring and
analyzing data from a database (like eBird, for example), and still others find answers by pulling
together information they find in reference materials such as books or web sites.

22
BirdSleuth: Investigating Evidence Resource Materials
 The Climate Challenge
This g ame is bas ed on a tr ad it ional bo ard g ame mo del, except it us es
three s epar at e bo ards to help t each part icip ants about t he effects t hat
climate chang e may have on birds. T he game r eq uir es p layers to ass ume
the r ole o f a bird , and then fig ure out how climat e chang e is affecting
their lives in their Food , Habit at, and Migr at ion.
Materials:
• A pr int ed cop y (pr efer ably laminat ed) o f the g ame bo ards (t hree
sheets fo llow these instruct ions).
• So me sort of bird fig ures or to y bir ds that p articip ants can us e to
mo ve across the g ame bo ards- plush birds will work , or even
plain game p ieces if yo u do n’t have any bird -r elat ed fig ures .
• A few s ets of dice ( you may want to enclos e t hes e s ep arat ely in a
small, clear plastic box so that they d on’t get lost ; yo u will only
need one at a t ime).
• A r eward or pr ize o f so me sort for playing.
Optional Materials:
• Poster or chart to k eep track o f how many birds ar e successful in
all t hree ar eas.
Putting It Together:
Att ach the bo ards to a t able with tap e so that they ar e fix ed in one spot .
It do esn’t matt er what ord er yo u put t he game bo ards in!!
Put g ame pieces /bird fig ures in the fr ont ( befor e the bo ards) and then
the p oster wit h r esults so mewhere at the end .

Running the Game:

1. Have players choose a “bird” o r game piece (choice do esn’t affect
game).
2. You can p lay ind ivid ually, in t eams, or co mp et itively.
3. Have each p layer (or t eam) ro ll a single die and then move to the
correspo nd ing number of each of the bo ards.
4. Decid e whet her or not your bir d was successful in each area.
5. Give p layers a pr ize no matter what!
Things to Remember:
Keep it pos itive- none of t hes e birds ar e dying becaus e o f climat e
chang e ( at least not d uring this game!) so k eep it light.
This is just a gentle, kid-friend ly introd uct ion t o climat e change. If they
want mor e (s cient ific) infor mation, r efer them t o handouts or fact
sheets you may have hand y.
Hopefully most birds will s ee at least one chang e because of climat e- if
not, yo u can always play ag ain!!
 Food
1 2 3

There have been The fish that you An early spring

no effects from like to eat moved caused most of the
climate change further away into insects to hatch
here. You have colder water, but early. There is not
plenty of your you were able to enough food for
usual food! dive deeper than you this spring.
before and you still
have enough food
this year.
.

4 5 6

Since the ocean is There have been no The plants that

warmer, your effects from climate you rely on for
favorite fish (called change here. You food bloomed and
a sandeel) moved have plenty of your fell early because
to a cooler place to usual food! of a warmer
live, and is too far spring. There is
away for you to just barely enough
follow. There is no food for you this
food for you! year.

Habitat
1 2 3
 Warmer weather There have been no
led to a drought, effects from climate The level of the
which dried up the change here. Your sea is rising, and
wetland where you habitat remains the the salt marsh
normally go to same and you will where you live is
breed. You will not have lots of food slowly flooding.
be able to raise any for your healthy Your habitat is
chicks this year. chicks this year. changing, but you
adapt and raise
healthy baby birds
this year.

4 5 6

There have been There have been You are a chin-

no effects from more strong storms strap penguin,
climate change this year, and the who likes open
here. Your habitat coastline where water. Melting
remains the same you live is being pack ice in your
and you have lots washed away. You habitat is good for
of food and babies are not able to find you- you have
this year. a new habitat in more food and
time to breed or more chicks this
raise any chicks year than before!
this year.

Migration
1 2 3

You leave your You are a tree There have been

winter spot earlier swallow, and you no effects of
than usual, but migrate and breed climate change
when you arrive at earlier than you here. You will
your nesting site used to. You are make your usual
you can still find still able to find migration and
enough food for food to raise your have plenty of
your babies. young. food to feed your
young.

4 5 6

There have been Since it doesn’t get You migrate at the

no effects of as cold in winter, same time as last
climate change you stop migrating year, only to find
here. You will south in the fall that the insects
make your usual and stay in the you eat are
migration and same place year- already hatched
have plenty of food round. There is still and gone because
to feed your enough food for the spring was so
young. you and your warm. You are
young. too late for your
food this year!