Implementation of ‘The birds are singing!’ (SOI-MT-64)

I have implemented the lesson scenario The birds are singing! by Işıl Gülmez, with a class of Year 2 students (6/7-year-olds).  I chose this scenario for three main reasons. It is related to the topic of animals, which forms part of our Science curriculum.  The use of ICT, in particular, Augmented Reality provides a fun learning activity, stimulating student engagement and motivation. Moreover, we could take the activity out of the classroom through a school visit to the National Museum of Natural History, in Mdina.   

About the implementation

I have adapted the learning scenario to suit the age and ability of my young learners. The learning scenario was implemented over three 45-minutes sessions in the classroom, followed by a visit to the museum. 

Searching the Europeana Collections

During the first session, the students had the opportunity to search for bird images and sounds in the Europeana Collection on classroom computers.  Moreover, I encouraged them to listen carefully to the different sounds of the birds and discriminate between high, low, long and short sounds. This served to engage their aural skills while making them aware of differences in pitch and rhythms.

For the second session, I organised these images and sounds in an interactive presentation. I also included some basic information about these birds. At the end of the session, we had a mini quiz where the students had to identify the bird images and sounds.

The Augmented Reality Experience

During this session, we used the Quiver App.  Students thoroughly enjoyed the colouring activity and were thrilled to see their birds coming to life.  For most of them, this was their first experience with AR and they tried to figure out how it works.

The visit to the National Museum of Natural History

The concluding visit to the museum served as an enjoyable activity of informal learning.  Here the students had the opportunity to observe an interesting collection of stuffed birds.  They were indeed very pleased to be able to identify some of the birds from the Europeana Collection.

In conclusion

The implementation of “The Birds are Singing!” provides a rich learning experience. It integrates Science with ICT.  It also incorporates the promotion of 21st-century skills. Moreover, through the different steps, it makes the learning process an enjoyable and memorable one for the children.

Did you find this story of implementation interesting? Why don’t you read about the related learning scenario?

The birds are singing! by Işıl Gülmez

Did you find this story of implementation interesting? You might also like:

• ‘The birds are singing‘, implemented by Carmen Alexandra Miricioiu
  
• Implementation of ‘The birds are singing’ by Elisabete Pires
• ‘The birds are singing‘, implemented by Dilajla Pavletic

Do you want to discover more stories of implementation? Click here.

The featured image used to illustrate this article belongs to the public domain.