Overview
Here is a description of the Second Grade "A Bird Walk in Monticello Park" book project. You may be interested in this project if you want to teach your students:
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About This Project
We started the project by determining our objectives for the students. This is what we decided:
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Notes
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Lessons
Day 1: What makes a bird a bird? Through games, videos and background reading, the students learned the characteristics that differentiate birds from other animals.
Day 2: Feather exploration. As a class, we read Feathers by Melissa Stewart, which discusses the functions of the many different types of feathers. The students made observations of real feathers and wrote and drew in their observation journals.
Day 3: Considering beaks. As a class, we read Beaks by Sneed Collard, which illustrates the great variety of beak designs and purposes. We used several different tools to simulate beaks in the Choose Your Food Wisely activity created by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Day 4: Bird Communications. As a class, we read Bird Talk by Lita Judge, and discussed the different reasons and mechanisms for bird communication. The students began to explore the MP Nature website, which offers recordings of the vocalizations of all the birds that visit the park.
Day 5: Bird Watching and field marks. In pairs, the students explored the National Geographic Kids Bird Guide of North America with special attention to the section on field marks and other tools birdwatchers use to identify birds. We had a class discussion about what they learned, and then the students hunted for birds in the library (see below).
Day 2: Feather exploration. As a class, we read Feathers by Melissa Stewart, which discusses the functions of the many different types of feathers. The students made observations of real feathers and wrote and drew in their observation journals.
Day 3: Considering beaks. As a class, we read Beaks by Sneed Collard, which illustrates the great variety of beak designs and purposes. We used several different tools to simulate beaks in the Choose Your Food Wisely activity created by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Day 4: Bird Communications. As a class, we read Bird Talk by Lita Judge, and discussed the different reasons and mechanisms for bird communication. The students began to explore the MP Nature website, which offers recordings of the vocalizations of all the birds that visit the park.
Day 5: Bird Watching and field marks. In pairs, the students explored the National Geographic Kids Bird Guide of North America with special attention to the section on field marks and other tools birdwatchers use to identify birds. We had a class discussion about what they learned, and then the students hunted for birds in the library (see below).
Day 6: Assigning a bird to research:
The project is for the students to research a bird that frequents Monticello Park in Alexandria, VA. This park is very close to the school, and is a well-known stop for a variety of species on the migratory bird path.
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Day 7: Research
Students are directed to the Monticello Park Website. Students were provided with worksheet to take notes. They were asked to find the following information:
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Day 8: Checking Your Own Work
We taught the student show to use the Merlin Bird ID App. They put their research information into the App to see if their bird turned up in the Merlin Bird ID app as one of the possible birds. They had to refine their data until it worked. The two most common issues were:
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Art Class
Simultaneously the students were drawing their birds in Art Class.
Simultaneously the students were drawing their birds in Art Class.
How to Use the Merlin Bird ID App with A Walk in Monticello Park
Here are step-by-step instructions on how to use the Merlin Bird ID App with A Bird Walk in Monticello Park:
Publishing a Book on Amazon
Publishing the book on Amazon was an important part of this project. Students take projects more seriously when there is an authentic audience. They give it their best effort and edit their own work. It also creates a real sense of excitement in the community. It's exciting for them to see their book on Amazon with all flourishes like Look Inside, reviews, etc. We've planned a "Book Signing" party and giving copies of the book to prospective students.
I am NOT going to write step-by-step instructions on how to publish a book on Amazon, as it's pretty straight forward and things can change. Instead I'm going to write down some high-level notes. I must confess, publishing the book on Amazon was the part I was most worried about, as I had never done it before. But let me assure you, it is surprisingly easy and Amazon has incredible support. You can talk to a live support person 7x24 with near zero wait time. The support people are really knowledgable and helpful. It is amazing that Amazon can produce such beautiful books at such a reasonable price. We will definitely be doing it again and wished we had started earlier.
Here are some general notes and helpful tips:
I am NOT going to write step-by-step instructions on how to publish a book on Amazon, as it's pretty straight forward and things can change. Instead I'm going to write down some high-level notes. I must confess, publishing the book on Amazon was the part I was most worried about, as I had never done it before. But let me assure you, it is surprisingly easy and Amazon has incredible support. You can talk to a live support person 7x24 with near zero wait time. The support people are really knowledgable and helpful. It is amazing that Amazon can produce such beautiful books at such a reasonable price. We will definitely be doing it again and wished we had started earlier.
Here are some general notes and helpful tips:
KDP Account
You'll need to go to KDP to create a login and setup the account including:
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Bookshelf - Paperback
- Select "Create a Paperback"
- Follow the instructions. They provide "more information" (click on the i) to help you with each entry. Just remember, this is what populates the Amazon description for your book. I looked at similar books on the Amazon site to get ideas.
- Paperback Content - select the size of the book before you get started to ensure it is supported. We formatted a 5"x5" book and then found out that the height had to be at least 6". We had to reformat our book for 6"x6". The rework took a lot of time.
- Decide if you want a book with bleed (pictures go all the way to the edge of the page) or no-bleed (pages have a white margin). We wanted a book with bleed which requires formatting changes. You can contact support if you want to know the exact bleed for your book. We used InDesign to create the pages, but Amazon support is most familiar with Microsoft Word formatting. If using InDesign, make sure you export the file as a PDF (each page should be a separate image) with the bleed turned on.
- Make sure you are using CYMK Mode.
- Images need to be 300dpi and remember to flatten all image layers. We used Photoshop to edit images. Amazon will let you know if the images do not meet the required resolution.
- Upload a PDF version of the book and use "preview" to see how it looks.
- Book Cover - I created a separate jpg image of the book cover and used Amazon's Book Cover Creator
Paperback Rights and Pricing
- Amazon provides a pricing calculator
- This video was very helpful in understanding how pricing and royalties work.
- You will see the royalty for the book when you officially enter the price of the book.
- Once you've published your book, you can automatically generate "reports" to see exactly how much you've made in royalties. Because this is a fundraiser, we priced the book on the high side. The Kindle version is $9.99 and our royalty is $6.03/book. The Amazon paperback version is $14.99 and our royalty is $4.92/book.
Bookshelf - Kindle eBook
- Select Create a Kindle eBook
- Use the Kindle Kids Book Creator to create the book - upload a PDF version of the paperback book and delete any pages you might not need (e.g. blank pages). Export a .mobi file to use on the kdp.amazon.com site.
- We uploaded a jpg cover.
- Preview the book.
- You will see the royalty for the book when you officially enter the price of the book.