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#202
Bye Bye Birdie
The children find
a dead bird that they suspect was the neighbor's cat's prey.
To help them deal with their sadness, Rousso helps them
plan and conduct a funeral, burying the bird in a handmade
house/casket. The children cry as they bury "Twinkle"; Yaya
says it is good to cry when you are sad. The bird's nest
is discovered with two hungry babies inside. The children
takes turns guarding the nest from the cat until the birds
are nurtured enough to fly on their own.
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- Children will learn something
about nature's food chain (cats catch birds, birds catch
worms).
- Children will learn that small
creatures in nature may need to be taken care of, just as
small humans need care.
- Children will learn that rituals
(such as funerals) help us at important times, such as death.
- Children will learn that it
is good to cry when something sad happens.
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Vocabulary: |
funeral
on guard
hunter |
Suggested Activities: |
| Before you view:
Watch to see what Wimzie and her friends learn about cats and
birds and worms. |
| While you view:
See suggestions in "How to use this guide" |
| After you view:
Go back to your pre-viewing activity and have the children respond
to the question. (Answer: Cats chase birds and birds catch worms.
This is all part of the cycle of life.) |
Extended Learning Activities |
Option 1: Protecting and Nurturing
(Discussion Activity)
Materials required: None |
| Ask the
children if they have ever wanted to protect someone or something
(baby, insect, pet). Why did they want to protect it? What happened?
Ask the children who protects them (parents, siblings, you,
etc.) How does it make them feel? Discuss how you take care
of a living thing (food, water, shelter). How do you take care
of a baby, a puppy, a bird, a flower? |
Option 2:Nature Walk (Collecting, Observing, Counting, Sorting
Activity)
Materials required: Paper bag for each child, pad and pen for
you. |
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Take the children for a nature
walk to look for birds, insects, cats, squirrels, dogs, or
other animals. Keep track on the pad every time an animal
is seen so that children can tally their results back home.
The children can collect little sticks and grasses, and other
materials that a bird might use to build a nest.
Back home, count up the kinds and numbers of animals seen
-which is most? Try to make bird nests (very hard to do).
Or arrange the sticks in size order, littlest up to biggest.
Someone might count the sticks for fun.
Option 3:Making Houses (Construction Activity)
Materials required:Empty shoe box, jewelry, matchboxes; cotton
balls, grass, scraps of cloth, sticks (from above), glue,
tape
Children can construct "houses" for real, imaginary, or toy
animals. Refer to the house Wimzie and friends made.
Option 4:Food Chains (Sorting, Matching, Counting Activities)
Materials required: "Who Eats Who Cards" [see
directions], markers or crayons
Children can color these cards before playing with them. Each
set A-E shows a food chain: Set A, for instance, has a bird,
cat, and worm. Children can put each set together - for convenience,
the three cards in each set are marked on the back with the
right letter. Or they can match pairs of cards as there are
two of each. Or they can mix the sets up and make other groupings,
such as animals with legs and without legs, or animals that
swim and don't swim, plants vs. animals, or different colors.
Older children may make some other food links: for instance,
a hawk might eat a fish, as might a human (see the list "Other
Food Links" with the cards). These cards can be used by children
in many different ways, all of which make for good discussions.
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Theme Related Books: |
I'll Always Love You,
Wilhelm Hans. Crown Publishers, 1985.
Sarah's Questions, Harriet Ziebert. Lothrop, Lee, Shepard,
1986.
Over in the Meadow, Olive A. Wadsworth. Penguin Puffin,
1986.
I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly, Glen Rounds.
Holiday House, 1990.
No Roses for Harry, Gene Zion. Harpers, 1976.
Honkers, Jane Yolen. Little Brown, 1993.
My Food Chain Diary, [no author listed] NY: Scholastic. |
Notes |
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