Teaching Suggestions: Hello, Robins! Hello, Spring!

American Robin

Teaching Suggestions
What Do Robins Eat in the Wintertime?
Overview

Introduction

When winter robins are in our backyards, citizen scientists observe and wonder. When earthworms are not available, what food will robins find? Where will the robins find water?

Essential Question:
What do robins eat in the wintertime?

Set the Stage for Learning

1. Assess prior knowledge.

Where are robins in the wintertime?
What do you think winter robins eat?
How can we help winter robins?

2. Preview and predict.
Take a walk through the gallery. What details do students notice in the images? What questions do the images spark?

Revisit for Understanding

1. Collect, create, and share.
Curate information from various sources. Make something new. Share discoveries.

2. Ask reflective questions.

Robins do migrate, so why are some seen in cold, wintry places?
Why is winter an important feeding time for robins?

Collect, Create, Share

Wrap Up

1. Observe like a scientist.
Go outside. Look closely, note details, sketch what you see, and jot down questions.

2. Track migration with Journey North.
As robins spread throughout their breeding range, have students explore the migration maps to predict when and where American robins will travel.

Citizen Scientists
Share your sightings
and observations
with Journey North.