Building a Bald Eagle Nest

Designed by: Aleah Gramling

Lesson Plan Designer: Aleah Gramling Facilitator Name: Aleah Gramling

a. Lesson / Activity / Game Title: Building a Bald Eagle Nest

b. Audience and Facilitation Style:

 Target audience: students 5-11 years old
 Facilitation style: Group instruction; students will arrive at the activity in groups of
10-15 depending on the size of each class; this means the facilitator will explain the
activity/facts to each of the eight groups as they arrive at the activity
 Time needed to complete the activity: 15-20 minutes

c. Lesson Goals: Students will learn some interesting facts about Bald Eagles, such as their
anatomy and their nests. Then, the students will use their teamwork skills to build a life-
size Bald Eagle nest using similar materials that these birds use in the wild.

d. Description of space needed / set up: This activity will require an outdoor space
approximately 30 x 30 ft. The students will sit on the grass in rows while the facilitator
stands in front of them. On the ground next to the facilitator, there will be a circle
outlined with survey flags to represent the size of an actual Bald Eagle nest. Students will
use this as a guide when building their nest for the activity. Next to the circle, there will
be a pile of sticks and other materials which they will use to build their nest. Below is a
rough diagram of how the space will be set up. (x’s = students, smile face = the
facilitator, circle = outline of the nest, and the square = pile of sticks and other materials)

e. Description of equipment and supplies needed:

 Sticks and Twigs (for the outer part of the nest)

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  Newspapers (for the center part of the nest; represents moss)
 Survey Flags (to outline the width of the typical size of a real nest)
 Tarp (for kids to sit on in case the ground is damp/wet on the day of the event)
 3 ft rod (to show kids how tall Bald Eagles are and how tall their nest should be)
 6 ft rod (to show kids how long a Bald Eagles wingspan is)
 Teaching Visuals:
o Picture of a Bald Eagle and other types of eagles
o Picture of a real Bald Eagle nest

f. Participant outcome objectives:

 Outcome Objective #1: By the end of this activity on April 1, students will be able
to identify a Bald Eagle from other types of eagles as measured by a Q & A at the end
of the activity. (knowledge)
 Outcome Objective #2: By the end of this activity on April 1, students will be able
to recall how big a real Bald Eagle nest is as measured by a Q & A at the end of the
activity. (knowledge)
 Outcome Objective #3: Students will have to use their teamwork skills to
successfully construct a life-size Bald Eagle nest by the end of this activity on April 1
as measured by a fully constructed nest. (skills)

g. Detailed lesson plans

Below is the script of what to say along with the visuals to show for this activity.

Introduction:
 When the students arrive, instruct them to sit in rows on the grass directly in front of
the outlined circle. Once everyone is seated and paying attention, greet the students to
the activity.
 “Hello everyone, and welcome to my activity. My name is Aleah and today, you will
be working together as a team to build a life-size Bald Eagle nest.”
 “However, before we get started, we first need to know what a Bald Eagle looks
like.”

Identifying a Bald Eagle:

 Pull out the poster board with these pictures on it. (pictures below)

(All of these pictures come from: https://birdwatchinghq.com/eagles-in-the-united-

states/)
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 “Here are some pictures of three different types of eagles that can be found in the
United States. Two of these pictures are of a Bald Eagle while the other two are
completely different species.”
 “Can anyone raise their hand and tell me which of these pictures is of a Bald
Eagle?”
o Answer: Picture 1
 “Great job! How could you tell it was a Bald Eagle?”
 Answer: white head
 “Can anyone spot the other picture of a Bald Eagle on this poster?” (The second
picture is of a Golden Eagle and the third picture is of a Steller’s Sea-Eagle. Only
mention these names if the kids point to these pictures.)
o Answer: Picture 4
 “Yes, this is a picture of a Bald Eagle. The reason he does not have a
white head, dark brown body, or yellow beak is because this is a
young Bald Eagle.”
 “In fact, their heads, feathers, and beaks will not change color until
they are around five years old. When this happens, they are
considered adults and will look like this (point to the first picture).”
 (These two facts also came from:
https://birdwatchinghq.com/eagles-in-the-united-states/)
o “One of the reasons we are doing this activity today is because Bald Eagles
have actually been spotted here at Greenwood Furnace. So, as you go
throughout the different activities today, keep your eyes peeled for any birds
in the sky that may look like this (point to the first picture) or this (point to the
last picture).
 “Now, Bald Eagles can live quite a long time.”
o “Can anyone tell me how long they think a Bald Eagle can live?”
 Pick a couple students to share their answers.
 Answer: “Bald Eagles can actually live to be 15-30 years old.”
 (This fact comes from:
https://www.fws.gov/midwest/eagle/Nhistory/biologue.html)
 “Bald Eagles are also really big birds.”
o “They can weigh anywhere from 7-12 pounds, and their wingspan is about 6
feet.”
 (This fact comes from:
https://ccbbirds.org/what-we-do/research/species-of-concern/virginia-
eagles/facts-about-eagles/)
o “They can also grow to be about 3 feet tall.”
 (This fact comes from: https://avianreport.com/what-is-the-bald-eagle-
size/)
o “To show you just how big these birds are, I need a volunteer.”
 Have a kid come up and stand in front of the group. Hold the 3ft rod
vertically next to the student to show the group the average height of a
Bald Eagle.

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  Then, hold the 6ft rod vertically next to the student to show the group
the average length of a Bald Eagle’s wingspan.

Description of the Nest:

 “Now, because Bald Eagles are big birds, they tend to build really big nests.”
o “In fact, they build the largest nest of any bird in North America.”
 (This fact comes from:
https://www.pgc.pa.gov/Wildlife/WildlifeSpecies/BaldEagles/Pages/N
esting.aspx#:~:text=A%20nest%20may%20exceed%20eight,of
%20any%20North%20American%20bird.)
o “Here is a picture of a real Bald Eagle nest.”
 Show the students this picture below.

 (This picture comes from: https://natlands.org/news/bald-eagles/)

 After showing the kids this picture, walk over to the outlined circle on the ground.
o “Now, to show you just how big these nests are, this circle represents the
average width of a Bald Eagle nest.”
o “Can someone raise their hand and tell me how wide they think this nest is?”
 Call on a couple of students before you give them the answer.
 Answer: “This nest is actually about 6 feet wide.”
 (This fact comes from:
https://www.pgc.pa.gov/Wildlife/WildlifeSpecies/BaldEagles/
Pages/Nesting.aspx#:~:text=A%20nest%20may%20exceed
%20eight,of%20any%20North%20American%20bird.)
o “Now, can anyone tell me how tall they think these birds build their nests?”
 Call on a couple of students before you give them the answer.
 Answer: “These nests are usually about 3 feet and higher. In fact, they
have been known to reach a height of 12 feet!”
 (This fact comes from:
https://www.pgc.pa.gov/Wildlife/WildlifeSpecies/BaldEagles/
Pages/Nesting.aspx#:~:text=A%20nest%20may%20exceed
%20eight,of%20any%20North%20American%20bird.)
o “Why do you think they build such big nests?”

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  Call on a few students before you give them the answer.
 Answer: “It is because these birds will often return to the same nest
year after year during the mating season and what they do is they
continue to add materials to it, making it bigger and bigger.”
 (This fact comes from:
https://www.pgc.pa.gov/Wildlife/WildlifeSpecies/BaldEagles/
Pages/Nesting.aspx#:~:text=A%20nest%20may%20exceed
%20eight,of%20any%20North%20American%20bird.)
o “Now, these birds usually use sticks and branches to build the outer part of
their nests.”
 (This fact comes from:
https://www.pgc.pa.gov/Wildlife/WildlifeSpecies/BaldEagles/Pages/N
esting.aspx#:~:text=A%20nest%20may%20exceed%20eight,of
%20any%20North%20American%20bird.)
o “What do you think they use to fill the center of their nests?”
 Call on a few students before you give them the answer.
 Answer: “They tend to use grass, moss, and feathers to fill the center
of their nests, which creates a nice soft surface for the birds to lay
their 1-3 eggs and raise their young.”
 (This fact comes from:
https://www.pgc.pa.gov/Wildlife/WildlifeSpecies/BaldEagles/
Pages/Nesting.aspx#:~:text=A%20nest%20may%20exceed
%20eight,of%20any%20North%20American%20bird.)
o “This leads us to our activity for today.” (transition to explaining the activity)

Explanation of the Activity:

 “So, for this activity, you are going to use the sticks in this pile (point to the pile) to
build a life-size Bald Eagle nest.”
 “To do this, you are going to stack as many sticks as you can in a circle around these
flags.” (point to the flags on the ground)
 “Then, you will fill the center of the nest with as many newspapers as you can.”
 “You will have about 15 minutes to build your nest, and the goal is to build it as high
as you can.”
 “When your 15 minutes is up, you will sit back down on the ground while I measure
the height of your nest.”
 “Then, we will spend some time talking about what you learned from this activity.”
 “Any questions? Alright, your time starts now!”
 As the kids are building their nest, you will observe from a distance and step in if they
need help.

Quick Q & A at the End of the Activity:

 This will help you get a sense of what they learned from participating in this activity.
 “To wrap things up, I am going to ask you a few questions, and if you know the
answer, raise your hand.”
o “Which of these pictures are of a Bald Eagle?”  Answer: picture 1 & 4

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 o “How wide is an average Bald Eagle nest?”  Answer: 6 feet
o “Would anyone else like to share something new they learned about Bald
Eagles?”
 At the end of the Q & A, help the kids deconstruct the nest and move the sticks and
newspapers back to the pile so that the materials are ready for the next group.
 Lastly, thank them for participating and direct them to the next activity.

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