Teachers/Educators

As a sanctuary for birds, the garden is an excellent example of the value of and need for conserving wildlife, its habitat and natural resources in an urban setting. We invite you to use Wing Haven as an extension of your classroom experience.  If you and your class are unable to visit us, we are glad to assist schools within Mecklenburg County in the development of gardens and/or bird feeding stations. 

Garden Visits
A Garden Visit to Wing Haven can complement many classroom activities, and our educational staff is happy to work with you to meet the needs of your students.  We offer two on-site programs that are age/grade specific and are closely aligned with the North Carolina Standard Course of Study curriculum standards.  Our programs last approximately one hour; however, we can modify this timing to best fit your needs. 

Scheduling
To schedule a visit, please call the Wing Haven Office at 704/331-0664 extension 102.  Tours are normally available for groups of 10 or more on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday mornings at 9:15 and 10:30 am.  Depending on the time of year, we may be able to accommodate your group at other times.  Tours for the spring months should be scheduled well in advance. 

Curriculum-Based Tours

1. Kindergarten/First Grade: 

Wing Haven is Really for the Birds:
Overview 
Young children learn best through exploration and movement and are keenly interested in animal and plant life. We can encourage cooperative learning by setting up opportunities for students to work together to make discoveries and draw conclusions. This premise is the foundation for the kindergarten/first grade visit to Wing Haven. 

Kindergarten Science Competencies Addressed: 

1.01     Observe and describe the similarities and differences among animals including: structure, growth, changes, movement.

1.02     Observe how animals interact with their surroundings.

1.03     Observe the behaviors of several common animals.

1.04     Demonstrate how to care for a variety of animals.

1.05     Observe the similarities of humans to other animals including: basic needs, growth and change, movement.

3.03     Describe how objects look, feel, smell, taste, and sound using their own senses. 

First Grade Science Competencies Addressed: 

1.01    Investigate the needs of a variety of different plants: air, water, light, space.

1.02    Investigate the needs of a variety of different animals: air, water, food, shelter, space.

1.03    Observe the ways in which humans are similar to other organisms.

1.04    Identify local environments that support the needs of common North Carolina plants and animals.

1.05    Discuss the wide variety of living things on Earth.  

Kindergarten Arts Education Competencies Addressed

Dance

2.04  Improvise movement based on own ideas and ideas from other sources.

7.01    Identify connections between dance and one other content area.

Music

6.02  Identify sound sources visually and aurally.

8.02  Identify ways in which the principles and subject matter of other content areas …including …science… are related to those of music.

Theatre Arts

2.04     Express various ideas and emotions through gestures, movement, and voice.

4.02    Imitate the sounds and movement of objects, animals, and people.  

Program Components 

Preparation
Teachers scheduling a field trip to Wing Haven will receive an information packet confirming the details of the visit.  We strongly encourage our teachers to take the time to prepare the students for the visit. 

• Please remind them that Wing Haven is a bird sanctuary, not a playground. 
   

• Please take the time to make binoculars prior to the visit.  Instructions for these easy-to-make binoculars will be included in the packet. This simple tool is quite effective in reminding the students that they have come to the garden to observe. 

The Garden Visit

• Orientation.  The visit begins with a welcome and brief discussion of habitat.  The guide will then read Elizabeth’s Garden to the group.  This age-appropriate story illustrates the needs of humans and animals and introduces children to the Clarkson's, the couple who founded the garden. The guide will also show the children pictures of the birds that they are likely to see in the garden.  The children will also be introduced to the songs and some of the distinctive behavioral characteristics of our most common songbirds.
   

• Garden Walk.  As the group walks through the garden, the leaders will provide information about birds, plants, and small mammals at Wing Haven.   The children will have the opportunity to try to mimic the movement and behavior of birds they see.  The mealworm feeding will be a highlight of the visit.
   

• Wrap-up.  The visit concludes with a drink in the Main Garden and a close inspection of some of the foods that we provide for the birds.  Each child will receive a small bag of birdseed to take home.

Cost: $2 per student.

THIRD GRADE 
Wing Haven City Wildlife Program

The third grade language arts curriculum for Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools includes a reading unit exploring the theme of City Wildlife, animals and plants that have adapted to life in an urban habitat. This theme is used because factual material about this topic is easy for students to find, and familiar animals and environments naturally arouse curiosity and questions. To explore this theme, students read fictional and non-fictional books on the topic and complete a research project. Through their research, students become more aware of urban wildlife, become more familiar with the animals that live near their home and school, and explore the problems and rewards of sharing our habitat with wildlife. Research questions posed by students have the potential to connect to the fields of biology, sociology, and economics.  

Wing Haven has developed materials for a third-grade level field trip, corresponding to the goals of the City Wildlife reading unit.  The visit to Wing Haven is a multi-disciplinary experience that meets objectives and competencies from several North Carolina Standard Course of Study curriculum areas.  This field trip includes a story reading, wildlife observation in the garden with the use of a journal as a guide, and a wrap-up discussion at the conclusion of the visit. 

Although the inspiration for a third-grade level field trip is the City Wildlife language arts unit, the garden visit and journal activities combine to form a multi-disciplinary experience which meets objectives and competencies from several North Carolina Standard Course of Study curriculum areas, including language and visual arts, social studies, and science.  Thus, the field trip is appropriate for any third grade class wishing to visit Wing Haven, whether or not they are currently involved in the reading unit. Relevant learning objectives from the North Carolina Standard Course of Study are listed below.  

Social Studies 

1. Characterize qualities of good citizenship by identifying people who made a difference in the community and other social environments.

1.01  Identify and demonstrate characteristics of responsible citizenship and explain how citizen participation can impact changes within a community.

1.02  Recognize diverse local, state, and national leaders, past and present, who demonstrate responsible citizenship. 

3.  Examine how individuals can initiate change in families, neighborhoods, and communities.

7.  Analyze the role of real and fictional heroes in shaping the culture of communities.

7.01  Identify the deeds of local and global leaders.  

Science

1.01 Observe and measure how the quantities and qualities of nutrients, light, and water in the environment affect plant growth.

1.02 Observe and describe how environmental conditions determine how well plants survive and grow in a particular environment.

1.05  Observe and discuss how bees pollinate flowers.

English Language Arts 

2.03     Read a variety of texts, including…nonfiction (…letters...), …poetry.

2.04     Identify and interpret elements of fiction and nonfiction and support by referencing the text to determine the…author’s purpose…lesson and /or message,…cause and effect, fact and opinion, point of view.

2.05     Draw conclusions, make generalizations, and gather support by referencing the text.

3.01      Respond to fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama using interpretive, critical, and evaluative processes by: …considering main character’s point of view, …making inferences and drawing conclusions about characters and events, reflecting on learning, gaining new insights, and identifying areas for further study.

4.02     Use oral and written language to…answer open-ended questions.

4.04     Use planning strategies to generate topics and to organize ideas (e.g., drawing, mapping, discussing, listing).

4.07     Compose a variety of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama selections using self-selected topics and forms (e.g., poems, simple narratives, short reports, leaning logs, letters, notes, directions, instructions).

4.09     Produce work that follows the conventions of particular genres (e.g., personal narrative, short report, friendly letter, directions and instructions).   

Garden Visit

Orientation.  The tour guides will invite the children into the Clarkson home where they will receive an introduction to Wing Haven—a brief history of the garden and how it’s a habitat for birds and small mammals.  The guide will then read Elizabeth’s Wish, a book centered around Sammy the Squirrel, a favorite garden visitor who adapted quite nicely to life at Wing Haven. This full-color book is written at the third-grade level and is a creative and entertaining introduction to wildlife in the city.  With squirrels as the main example of city wildlife, the program’s “stars” are readily visible in the garden at all times of year and also readily seen and recognized by students around their own homes and schools. Upon conclusion of the story, we’ll present the students with their journals and divide the class into small groups. 

Garden Study.  While at Wing Haven students have the opportunity to spend time in several locations in the garden, and the journal encourages students to focus on the animals in the garden.  There is also space in the journal for drawings and follow-up activities as students are prompted to make notes about wildlife that they observe at their own homes.

Cost & Materials
Wing Haven will provide journals—you will be charged $3.00 per student to cover the cost of the materials. Each student should bring a pencil.

Fourth/Fifth Grade:

A Visit to Charlotte’s “Secret Garden” 

Overview
This program was designed for fourth grade students in the CMS Talent Development Program and gives them the opportunity to use a journal to express their thoughts and feelings about the garden through writing and art. The journal encourages students to focus on the garden’s poetry inscriptions, plant and animal life, physical and biological environment, design and structure, and the history of its creation.

Students are prompted to draw conclusions about the garden as a work of art, as a living ecosystem, and as a valuable and unique part of their community. They are encouraged to compare and contrast Wing Haven to the fictional garden in The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, and the visit to Wing Haven provides an experience from which students may visualize and understand the fictional garden.

The garden visit and journal activities combine to form a multi-disciplinary experience which meets objectives and competencies from several North Carolina Standard Course of Study curriculum areas, including language and visual arts, social studies, and science. The program is designed for fourth grade students in the Talent Development program and addresses the fourth grade competencies listed below; the program also meets several more advanced fifth grade competencies.

Fourth Grade Science Competencies:

1.05 Recognize that humans can understand themselves better by learning about other animals.   

Fifth Grade Science Competencies:

1.01 Describe and compare several common ecosystems (communities of organisms and their interactions with the environment).

1.03 Explain why an ecosystem can support a variety of organisms.

1.05 Explain and evaluate some ways that humans affect ecosystems.

Fourth Grade English/Language Arts Competencies:

1.03 Identify key words and discover their meanings and relationships through a variety of strategies.

2.02 Interact with text before, during, and after reading, listening, and viewing by:…making connections with previous experiences, information, and ideas.

2.03 Read a variety of texts, including:…poetry

4.02 Use oral and written language to: present information and ideas in a clear, concise manner…make decisions

4.05 Use planning strategies to generate topics and organize ideas (e.g., brainstorming, mapping, webbing, reading, discussion).

4.07 Compose fiction, nonfiction, poetry and drama using self-selected and assigned topics and forms (e.g., personal and imaginative narratives, research reports, diaries, journals, logs, rules, instructions). 

Fifth Grade English/Language Arts Competencies:

1.02 Select key vocabulary critical to the text and apply appropriate meanings as necessary for comprehension

3.01 Respond to fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama using interpretive, critical, and evaluative processes by: …creating and presenting a product that effectively demonstrates a personal response to a selection or experience.

4.02 Use oral and written language to…present and support arguments 

Fourth Grade Visual Arts Competencies:

1.04 Use complex symbols to fully explore ideas

2.04 Demonstrate one’s own thought and feelings visually

4.01 Create extended visual narratives based on one’s own life and experiences

5.02 Make responses that are both knowledge-based and personal (objective and subjective) 

Fifth Grade Visual Arts Competencies:

1.01 Use the imagination as a source for symbolic expression 

K-12 Social Studies Competency Goals/Objectives:

1.04 Draw inferences

2.04 Utilize community-related resources such as field trips, guest speakers, and interviews

3.01 Use map and globe reading skills

4.06 Draw conclusions

The Garden Visit

Orientation.  Your tour guide(s) will invite the students into the Clarkson home where they will receive a brief introduction to Wing Haven—the history of the garden and how it’s a bird habitat.  Upon conclusion of the introduction, we’ll present them with their journals and divide the class into small groups.

Garden Study. Each group will spend 15 minutes—sketching and writing—at 3 locations in the journal.  We also have newsprint and graphite for them to use for rubbings.  Their tour guides will direct the students from location to location and encourage them to explore the space.  (Your teachers are welcome to accompany the different groups and provide more direction.) 

Cost & Materials
Wing Haven will provide journals and newsprint for rubbings—you will be charged $3.00 per student to cover the cost of the journals and art supplies. Each student should bring a pencil. 

Habitat Development 
Wing Haven is happy to assist Charlotte-area schools interested in creating outdoor classrooms, wildlife habitats, and gardens on school grounds. The following two programs also provide excellent guidance. For more information, contact Wing Haven’s Cindy Willis at 704/331-0664 extension 103.

Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Classroom Feeder Watch Program
Through the Classroom Feeder Watch Program, elementary and middle school students can participate in Cornell University’s “Citizen Science” program, collecting and analyzing data about feeder birds and sending it on to scientists. The program includes a full curriculum for teachers, and a newsletter of student-produced material. Wing Haven is happy to sponsor Charlotte-area classrooms’ enrollment in this program. For more information about the program visit http://birds.cornell.edu/cfw/ 

National Wildlife Federation Schoolyard Habitat Program
NWF provides a step-by-step guide to creating outdoor classroom areas through this program. Schools also have the opportunity to be recognized by NWF as a Certified Schoolyard Habitat. Wing Haven is happy to provide assistance to participating schools. For more information about this program visit www.nwf.org/schoolyardhabitats.