0.+Introduction

Can we generalize about the science (or other subject) content areas that the students need to learn throughout these areas (i.e. what are the needs in CR, Guatemala, Caribbean)? What needs are we meeting for the participants? - I think this is a question we should explicitly ask the partners when we send them the first draft, because it could be very time-consuming and difficult to research this. - ask the partners what they think would be the ideal way to connect their kids with kids in other cultures - use the Turkey Vulture as a focus species for connecting kids?
 * - need to format all lessons consistently - big idea, background, etc. **


 * Welcome to BirdSleuth!**

Our goal is to connect children with nature and build their scientific and environmental literacy through indoor and outdoor experiences focused on birds and their habitat needs. Birds provide an accessible way to get children outside, observing and connecting to the environment and understanding first-hand the importance of where they live.Though birds are part of our everyday lives, they still capture our imaginations—with their ability to fly, their colorful plumage, and their amazing capacity for song. Wherever you are, and what ever the season, you can find bird species in your area. And while you can observe some bird species at any time of year, some species are international citizens, traveling between countries and continents on their yearly migrations. Through their migration, birds can connect us—quite literally—to other places, people, cultures and environmental issues. Looking at a small songbird, and considering the thousands of miles that it has traveled, is a vivid way to connect students with other places and habitats. These migratory species depend on habitat in more than one geographic area, giving them a unique ability to connect people through conservation efforts.

**Conservation is Key!** Bird conservation—the preservation, protection or management of birds and their habitats—aims to ensure the health of bird populations and the habitats on which they depend. ‍Habitat conservation is a key component of conserving our birds. Each habitat is unique, facing distinct threats, and posing specific conservation challenges. It's estimated that about one-third of North America’s bird populations declined during the last half of the 20th century,‍ and in the last 30 years biologists have documented alarming declines in Neotropical bird populations as a result of habitat loss and fragmentation by human activity. Cooperation between people in various countries is key to meeting shared bird conservation goals since many species migrate between the two hemispheres. Cooperation at a global level is required as well, due to wide recognition that climate change will affect habitats and the birds that depend on them.

There is a great need for bird conservation at local, state, regional, national, and continental scales. ‍‍But while the problem is large, we don’t want kids to get discouraged: there’s reason for hope and things we can all do to help! These lessons aim to engage students not only by helping them to understand habitats and bird migration, but also by empowering them to see themselves as part of the solution for bird conservation. These activities encourage students to think critically about the most significant bird conservation issues in their own area, and consider the potential obstacles that could prevent people from overcoming these problems. Then, they will collaboratively develop and participate in hands-on projects to help birds in their own communities. Such projects could include habitat enhancement initiatives like tree-planting, shoreline cleanups, and building bird boxes, or raising awareness amoungst family and friends through community education campaigns. By engaging children in local environmental stewardship efforts, and explicitly teaching them about the importance of their actions, we can empower students to see themselves as part of a positive force that is working to ensure healthy ecosystems for birds and many other species, locally and globally, now and into the future.

**LEADER/PARTNER TIP:** Think about your largest national and/or local conservation challenges. Which ones involve birds? Bear these issues--especially those connected to birds--in mind as you think about adapting this resource for your local audiences.


 * Citizen Science is Important!**

In addition to the projects described above, students can also make a meaningful contribution to bird conservation efforts - and learn a lot about birds and science in the process - by participating in citizen science projects. What is citizen science? When volunteers help collect data for real scientific research, that is called citizen science. It is a partnership between scientists (like the ones at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology) and the public, including people like you! Through the Cornell Lab's citizen science projects, people around the world collect data about their local birds and contribute these observations to databases that are used by researchers, students and the public to better understand bird distribution, abundance, and population trends. The eBird citizen science project is one of the world’s largest and fastest growing biodiversity data resources, currently receiving over one million bird observations per month entered by participants. This project asks people to conduct a local bird count (for as long or short a time as desired) and report the kinds and numbers of birds they see. Because it is flexible and easy, and used anywhere in the world in any habitat, eBird is popular among educators. In addition, students can use the outputs of the eBird database to investigate intriguing questions about bird abundance and distribution.

Citizen Science is quickly becoming a powerful tool for scientists to answer local and continental questions, and teachers showing students how to observe their natural surroundings is among the first steps towards creating the next generation of citizen scientists. The following lessons will help you teach your students how to observe and identify birds, and how to enter data into eBird. Even if your students can't identify many birds at first, learning to observe carefully is an important first step. Citizen science works because a lot of people, like the children in your group, are knowledgeable about birds and enjoy watching them! Developing a local bird count, whether around your school or at another local area, is a great way for your students to better understand local bird species and to participate in the protection of birds. For students, participation in citizen science projects is motivational because their data are put to use addressing real-world issues of local and global concern. eBird data entry requires the use of a computer with an internet connection, and we understand that not all teachers and students will have easy access to these resources. However, we would still strongly encourage you to keep records of your bird observations and counts, even if you are unable to enter this data into eBird in the short-term. The process of collecting and recording data is still a valuable educational experience for students, and one that will make them more aware of their environment. It is also important to monitor birds in conjunction with the class' chosen conservation project, to help you and your students evaluate whether your actions have helped improve local bird populations.

We need to make the role of partners more explicit. **LEADER/PARTNER TIP:** When adapting this resource for your local audiences, take into consideration the technology at your disposal. Do any of the local schools have computers and internet access? If not, does your organization have computers and internet access? There are several approaches you can take to engage students in the eBird data entry activity, including:
 * Bring the students to your center/station/offices to enter eBird data on your computers
 * Collect bird data in collaboration with the students, but enter the data into eBird yourself without student participation
 * Encourage students to collect bird data and keep records in their "Bird Journals" (described below), and do not enter it into eBird in the short-term but explain to them the importance of monitor and data collection for the reasons discussed above

The migratory nature of many species of birds creates a wonderful opportunity to connect kids from different countries. Though a student in upstate New York may live miles away from another student in the Caribbean, Costa Rica, or Brazil, they share many of the same birds. These birds breed in the northern countries of Canada and the United States, and spend their non-breeding season throughout the tropical habitats of Latin America. This curriculum encourages kids from all over the Western Hemisphere to make connections through the birds they share, and learn about other cultures, traditions, and languages in the process.
 * Connecting Kids **


 * How is this curriculum organized? **

The BirdSleuth curriculum is flexible and can be easily integrated into an existing science curriculum. Some teachers plan a bird-related class one day each week throughout the year. Others plan a more concentrated study of birds during several weeks, but set aside time for collecting and sending data every week thereafter. The BirdSleuth: Most Wanted Birds curriculum package contains:
 * **Teacher’s Guide** with **ten** lessons
 * **Materials Kit** that includes curriculum resources, such as posters, field guides, and //BirdSleuth Briefs//, that you’ll need as you teach the lessons.

**Create a "Bird Journal."** Each student will keep a "Bird Journal" throughout the following lessons, and hopefully beyond. This journal can be part of another notebook (such as their Science notebook), or it can even be written on scrap paper, so long as all of the sheets are kept together in one place. The students will be encouraged to record their ideas and observations throughout each unit, as well as take their Bird Journals outdoors to record their bird observation data. We also encourage teachers to keep a Bird Journal as well, if possible, for it can be useful in keeping a "master" tally of all the bird observations your students collect over the course of these lessons and however long thereafter you and your students continue your citizen science efforts.