Implementation of ‘The birds are singing’ (SOI-GR-62)
The idea behind the scenario
I implemented the learning scenario ‘The birds are singing’ created by Işıl Gülmez, Europeana Ambassador for Turkey. I liked the idea that my students will have an opportunity to connect with real-world sounds and have a deep feeling of nature. An experience that they do not usually have in the classroom. And my choice proved correct since they fully engaged with the activity. They found it unique and somehow “exotic” for the classroom environment.
Steps of implementation
First I divided my students into groups of 2 or 3 persons. Then I introduced them to the Europeana website. I indicated that they should visit the Natural History collection and then choose the Sounds of Nature – Animals and Birds subcollection. Alternatively, they could choose the Birdsongs SoundCloud Playlist, but there were only 6 song samples there. The second list could be used in case there is no much time for students to search into the full list of sounds of the first link.
Secondly, the groups of students had to search into the collection listen to the sounds and try to guess which bird is singing. Since the names of the birds were written in English, students had to search for the name of the birds in their own language. To do this, they used Wikipedia to find the scientific name of the bird (in Latin). Then, they also visit the site of the Hellenic Ornithological Society to relate this name with the common name of the bird in Greece.
Finally, they browsed Wikipedia and highlighted some information about one of the birds. Each group creates a Padlet or a presentation for this bird. It included textual info, images, videos and of course the singing sound they found in the Europeana collection.
You can see some examples of Padlets created by the students here: Nightingale, Blackbird.
Tips and guidelines for teachers
From the curriculum aspect, the scenario covers the area of environmental education and ICT. It lasts about 2 teaching hours depending on how familiar the students are with the use of ICT. I implemented it in the computer lab. Nonetheless, it can easily be implemented with the use of tablets or even with students’ mobile phones. The final presentations are going to be shared in the whole classroom. Either by sending links or by using the interactive whiteboard.
Did you find this story of implementation interesting? Why don’t you read about the related learning scenario?
The birds are singing created by Işıl Gülmez
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- ‘The birds are singing‘, implemented by Carmen Alexandra Miricioiu
- Implementation of ‘The birds are singing’ by Elisabete Pires
- ‘The birds are singing‘, implemented by Elena Vladescu
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The featured image used to illustrate this article belongs to the public domain.