Meet America's Most Famous Bird: The Northern Cardinal

This class is taught in English.

Students will learn about the Northern Cardinal in depth, including its physical characteristics, habitat, diet, song, courtship rituals, breeding/nesting habits, and early life.

Students will leave class with a basic knowledge of bird identification so that they may be able to start using field guides and online searches to identify birds they see in the wild or in their backyard. 

Students will learn how to attract cardinals to their backyard (provided they live in the bird's expansive habitat...which includes some parts of southern Canada, the central and eastern part of the United States, and much of Mexico).

In addition to learning about birds, students will also practice social skills by interacting with both the teacher and other students in this interactive class environment. We will practice being good listeners and active, critical participants in the classroom.

Ever since I was in third grade when my teacher shared her passion for birds with us, I have found a love for them as well. I have informally been a bird watcher over the years and have picked up quite a bit of knowledge about the birds local to my area. In the past few years, I have also enjoyed expanding my hobby to include bird photography. 

I have also taken a bit of pride in my love for our feathered friends, as prior to me, every female member of my family was terrified of birds!  Through my teacher, I was able not only to avoid this trait, but also to enjoy a simple hobby that has brought me so much peace, and so many smiles. And sometimes, they even bring me laughter with their antics--especially when they are joined by their squirrely friends.

While my training is as a high school Language Arts teacher, I have experience teaching younger students as a Cub Scouts den leader for several years. 

I look forward to sharing my knowledge with your student, and I hope they find a hobby they may enjoy for years to come!

There is no homework for this one-time class; however, learners will receive a printable prior to the start of our class. If your child likes to take notes or doodle during lessons, I recommend printing this ahead of time if you are able. I will talk about the printable a little and highlight a few things they may want to write down, but it will not be a heavy note-taking experience unless that is how students best learn and they want to do this for themselves! 

As a one-time experience, student learning will be assessed informally. Students will be able to ask questions frequently, and I will also check for understanding periodically. The printable is a good way students can self-check  to ensure they know "the basics" about our bird of study today. 

50 minutes per week in class, and maybe some time outside of class.

I will share some audio from the National Audubon website, audubon.org. I will also hold up the book "The Backyard Birdfeeder's Bible" to show another photo of the cardinal and further defend its title as America's "Favorite" bird!