| Lesson Plan: Barred Owl |
Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6
Objectives Materials Requisite Skills Evaluation Follow Up Education Main
- Identify physical and behavioral features of the barred owl.
- Create an aesthetic literary piece using the barred owl as a stimulus.
Materials:
- Reference books including photos of barred owls
- The Raven, by Edgar Allen Poe
- Writing supplies
- Audiotapes/audio recorder
- An audiotape of barred owl calls
- Candle or flashlight
Prerequisite Knowledge: Students should be familiar with poetry, particularly timber and rhythm. They should also be aware of literary devices such as metaphor, simile, onomatopoeia, analogy, imaging, and allegory.
Top of Page • Education Main
Day One: With lights off and candle or flashlight shining ominously, read E. A. Poe's The Raven. Ask students to tell how the reading made them feel, what they saw in their minds, what they thought about after the poem was done. Record terms on the board as they are offered.
Top of Page • Education Main
Day Two: Begin by reviewing the poem and terms listed on the board. Discuss other animals that might make one feel similarly (rodents, snakes, insects, owls, cats, etc.) When identified by students, focus the discussion on owls. Have students complete a the first two sections of a K-W-L sheet while working in groups of four. (A K-W-L sheet is divided into thirds: what is known about the subject, what students would like to know about the subject, and what has been learned. Typically the middle section is based on known information and the final section answers questions raised in the middle section.)
Top of Page • Education Main
Day Three: In a whole class discussion, share questions raised about owls. Introduce the barred owl by playing an audiotape of calls, then showing photographs. Group students and assign the task of matching calls with behaviors: calls signaling that food is available, begging calls made by immature barred owls, mating calls of males and females, warning calls, and general contact calls. Use reference texts to locate answers.
Top of Page • Education Main
Day Four: Share hypotheses about the purpose of different barred owl calls with the class. Record the information on the board in note-taking form. Discuss how barred owl calls indicate behavior of the species. Make a comparison between people and the barred owl: what sounds or intonations do humans use to denote the same messages? Chart responses on the board.
Top of Page • Education Main
Day Five: Read The Raven again with lights low. Using the pattern below (or another chosen by students), have each student create a "barred owl version" of the poem.
Once upon a (time) (adjective)
A barred owl (verb) (noun) (adverb)
(Pronoun) (verb) (adjective) (adverb) (noun)
(Verb) (noun) (verb) (repetitive phrase)
A Sample:
Once upon a (midnight) (dreary),
A barred owl (shadowed) a (mouse) so (clearly),
(She) (uttered) her (terrible) (warning) (cry),
Then (pierced) the (mouse), (saying), ("Now you die.")
Top of Page • Education Main
Day Six: Revise and edit poems, then print or write final copies to be shared with others.
Top of Page • Education Main
Evaluation:
Objective 1 will be evaluated on the content of the K-W-L sheets and on the content of the poems.
Objective 2 will be evaluated on the accuracy and creativity of the content of the poem.
Top of Page • Education Main
Follow up:
- Illustrate poems, bind into a book and place in the class or school library.
- Schedule a visit to a nursery school, nursing home, or other community center and have a lights-out poetry reading.
- Write a factual account of the barred owl's behavior during each season of the year.
- Write an editorial to the local or school paper citing the beauty and environmental value of barred owls.