Migrating Bird Games for Students to Play

Learn About the Challenges of Migration

Oct 8, 2009 Susan Caplan

Students play a board game or an active running game that introduces them to the challenges of migration.

Birds know that it is time to migrate when there are decreased hours of daylight and a seasonal change in the food supply. Some birds may migrate a few hundred miles. A bird called the arctic tern will migrate from the North Pole to the South Pole – and back.

Migratory Bird Habitats

Migratory birds require three different types of habitat – breeding and nesting areas, where they lay their eggs; non-breeding or wintering areas where the birds find food, water, and cover; and stopover locations where birds can rest and find food to fuel their journey from the breeding to the non-breeding areas (or vice versa).

How Migrating Birds Find Their Way

Migrating birds use several different methods to find their way. One of the simplest involves following landmarks, such as rivers and coastlines. Some birds also use a built-in “compass” that allows them to navigate. Other birds will use the sun and the stars.

North American Migration Game

In this board game, students pretend they are birds flying from Canada toward Florida. Give groups of four students a map of North America and a dice. Students create place markers (this could be a simple circle of paper) in different colors. The students set their place markers in one of the provinces of Canada.

Each student takes a turn rolling the dice and moving his or her place marker that number of states, heading toward Florida. Students count the number of rolls it takes them to reach their goal. Introduce students to the North American Flyway System so they understand that birds travel specific routes based upon where they live and that birds really don’t migrate north to south in a straight line.

Migration Tag Game

Select an indoor or outdoor play area. The size of the area depends on the space available and the ages of the children. There will be three stopping spots; children should be able to run at least ten steps before reaching one of these spots.

At either end of the play area set one place marker for every two children. Place markers can be carpet squares, construction paper, or anything else that the children can set their feet on. One end represents the breeding area, the other the wintering area. In between the two areas, place another marker for every two children. This is the stopover area.

All players start in the wintering area, no more than two children to a marker. Explain that the markers represent ideal habitat for the birds they are representing. (The children can portray specific birds or birds in general.) One player stands between the wintering area and the stopover. This player represents a hazard that migrating birds can face (storm, high-rise building, predator, etc.)

The instructor calls, “migrate,” and the birds fly to the stopover. The hazard, tries to tag as many flying birds as possible. The tagged players become new hazards that spread over the play area. The birds move from the stopover to the breeding area. The birds continue to move back and forth over the playing field when prompted to migrate.

The instructor can remove or add any number of markers at the breeding, stopover, or wintering areas – giving the students a story about habitat loss or preservation due to natural or human causes. Randomly select tagged students to return to playing birds, representing successful breeding. End the game at any point and discuss the challenges migrating birds face.

With a bit of background about migrating birds, students can play a board game or an active tag game to reinforce what they learned about the challenges of migration.

The copyright of the article Migrating Bird Games for Students to Play in Teacher Tips/Training is owned by Susan Caplan. Permission to republish Migrating Bird Games for Students to Play in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Migratory Birds

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