Lesson Plans

Featured Playlist: Soaring Survivors. Bald Eagle parents do many things to help their young survive!

  • They build a large nest high in a tree, which protects eggs and eaglets from ground-based predators.
  • They line their nest with grass and other soft materials, which prevents eggs from breaking and helps keep eggs and eaglets warm in winter weather.
  • They take turns incubating and brooding, which means that one parent can hunt while the other incubates or broods and protects the nest.
  • They tear food into tiny pieces for young eaglets, who cannot tear their own prey or swallow large chunks of meat, scales, fur, bones, or feathers.
  • They care for their newly flighted eaglets, aka fledglings, as they learn to fly, hunt, and navigate. Newly fledged eaglets don’t fly or hunt very well!
Lesson Plans
  • Soaring Survivors: Students will use videos, photos, and discussion to explore, identify, and express patterns of parental care that help young bald eagles survive. Standard: 1-LS1-2: Read texts and use media to find patterns in behavior of parents and offspring that help offspring survive. The full download includes pictures to use with the lesson. PDF | Full Download
  • Alike and Different: Male and Female Bald Eagles. Students will compare and contrast male and female bald eagles using a Venn diagram to understand how different traits support survival. Standard: 3-LS4: Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity. The full download includes pictures to use with the lesson. PDF | Full Download
  • Hatching a Plan: Compare and Contrast Eggs. Students will compare the eggs of birds, snakes, and frogs, exploring how their characteristics reflect adaptations for survival and reproduction in different environments. Standard: 5-LS4-1 Structure and Function. Conduct an investigation to determine how the structures and functions of various plants and animals enable them to survive and reproduce in different environments. The full download includes pictures to use with the lesson. PDF | Full Download