Full Lesson Plan >> Students will learn how researchers use ethograms to draw conclusions about animal behavior and create their own ethograms based on activities in a Bald Eagle nest. Information gathered from this lesson plan can be adapted to other curriculum areas, including compare/contrast, identifying characters, anthropomorphism, and creating persuasive arguments, to name a few. This lesson plan can also be adapted to other species. Some prep work is required, but the lesson plan itself can be completed in an hour of class time.
Additional Resources
- Decorah EagleCam: https://www.raptorresource.org/birdcams/decorah-eagles/.
- Raptor Resource Project video repository: https://www.youtube.com/c/RaptorResourceProject
- Ethogram descriptions and templates are included at the end of the lesson plan. Instructors may use or modify the templates we provided or find their own.
Teachers are welcome to apply for a Raptor Resource Project educational chat account to observe incubation, hatching, and eaglets with other classes from around the country. The chat is moderated by Raptor Resource Project volunteers. Link: https://www.raptorresource.org/classroom/. If you don’t have a Raptor Resource Project classroom account, register here: https://www.raptorresource.org/register/. All of our birdcams can be accessed at https://www.raptorresource.org/birdcams/.
Life Science and Middle School