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Why do woodpeckers peck wood?
Animal Secrets Unit | Lesson 1 of 4
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Why do woodpeckers peck wood?

Animal Secrets Unit | Lesson 1 of 4
Lesson narration:
English Spanish
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animal


1 of 12

a living thing that needs to eat other living things
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beak


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the part of a bird that it uses to eat

wing


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a body part used for flying
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forest


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a place with lots of trees
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footprint


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a mark left behind when a foot presses into soft ground
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food


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something that animals eat
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needs


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things an animal or plant must have in order to live

survive


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to stay alive
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behavior


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what an animal does
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different


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not the same
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similar


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somewhat the same
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pattern


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something that happens again and again and again in a way that can be predicted
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Image & Video Credits

Mystery Science respects the intellectual property rights of the owners of visual assets. We make every effort to use images and videos under appropriate licenses from the owner or by reaching out to the owner to get explicit permission. If you are the owner of a visual and believe we are using it without permission, please contact us—we will reply promptly and make things right.

Other
portrait of boy by Hogan Imaging
quail head by Nico Giuliani
video of quail scratching for seeds by Don Desjardin
video walking through forest by Zenvision TV
woodpecker on tree branch by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Mircea C
baby raccoon head on top of Pat's body by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Seregraff
raccoon by pool of water by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: eddtoro
treehouse by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: AfriramPOE
video walking through forest by Zenvision TV
hand by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: aloneman13d
quail head by Nico Giuliani
video of quail scratching for seeds by Don Desjardin
video of woodpecker pecking wood and demonstration by Benjamin Slade
video walking through forest by Zenvision TV
video walking through forest by Zenvision TV
boy standing (1) by Hogan Imaging
boy standing (2) by Sergey Novikov
close-up video of quail in wilderness by Phooj Vaj
girl standing by Sergey Novikov
raccoon walking in pool of water and staff demonstration by darlaz2b
seeds in palm of hand by Jcomeau ictx
video of woodpecker pecking wood and demonstration by Benjamin Slade
quail scratching for seeds by Don Desjardin
video of foraging raccoons and staff demonstration by Mossy Oak
video of quail flapping wings and Pat demonstrating by Texas Parks and Wildlife
video of quail scratching for seeds by Don Desjardin
video of woodpecker pecking wood and demonstration by Benjamin Slade
video of foraging raccoons and staff demonstration by Mossy Oak
video of quail scratching for seeds and Pat demonstrating by Don Desjardin
video close-up of foraging raccoons by Mossy Oak
video of foraging raccoons and staff demonstration by Mossy Oak
video of quail pecking for seeds and Pat demonstrating by Barbara Weaver
baby raccoon by Sonsedska Yuliia
pond snails in palm of hand by Water Garden Plants
video of quail sprinting and Pat demonstrating by Texas Parks and Wildlife
California quial by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: cynoclub
video of woodpecker pecking wood by Benjamin Slade
video of woodpecker pecking wood by Benjamin Slade
wood-boring insects by Charlotte Simmonds
video of woodpecker pecking wood by Benjamin Slade
squirrel eating acorn by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Mircea C
squirrel eating acorn by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Mircea C
squirrel eating acorn by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Mircea C
squirrel eating acorn by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Mircea C
Credits

Featured Reviews

“The physical movement piece was just what my kindergarteners needed!”
· Leslie · Teacher
“The giggles from the kids during the activity, and at the end of the day the kids were leaving the school pretending to be like a quail! OH OH and at the end of the lesson, they were so enthusiastic about answering the question, "What do animals need to live?" "FOOD!"”
· Rachel · Teacher
“Please keep adding lessons! I love your program. It is wonderful for children with special needs because you incorporate different learning styles. I like that fact the books are read aloud for students who cannot yet read. The videos are fabulous. Thanks for adding standards and an assessment section. ”
· Amanda · Teacher
“This was our first Mystery Science lesson. I LOVE how the it incorporated getting up to act out the characteristics of the animal and addressed the phonics skills to sound out the word (qu- ail). I also enjoyed the video repeating the quail's action while we stopped to discuss what the bird was doing. Still frames are difficult for students with disabilities to infer the actions. We love Mystery Doug, but this was way more interactive! Thank you!”
· Amanda · Teacher
“My students loved the kinesthetic opportunity to pretend to be the animals! I loved that you put the words on the screen for them to read and say with you. My kids really need to practice reading and integrating it into Science is awesome!”
· Susan · Teacher
“I teach a multi-disabled, multi grade classroom and this lesson was great! We broke it up into 4 days and I made a cut and paste activity to go with it as their assessment. The students loved following Miss Pat as they pretended to be birds. I recommend this to any teacher trying to engage their students in science! ”
· · Teacher
“I loved the flow of the lesson. Students had opportunities to observe, talk with partners, and move. I also appreciate the notes provided for the teacher on how long the lesson would take and extensions. ”
· Daysha · Teacher
“Seeing my 3 yr old scratching and pecking the sand at the park hours later, pretending to be a quail! Something stuck :)”
· Carrie · Homeschooler
“the student participation is awesome! The kindergarden really enjoyed the animal interaction”
· Lissbia · Teacher
“My kindergarten class watched 1/2 of the forest floor show before lunch. I was planning on watching the second half the next day. When we got back from lunch they asked if they could finish it. I’m sure that’s one we’ll watch again ”
· Marcie · Teacher
“it was awesome that the kiddos got to get up and move, they loved acting like animals!! and by the time they were comparing all three animals at the end, most of they kids thought all of the animals were eating, because they were all using their mouths. ”
· Patricia · Teacher
“Engaging- encouraged good discussion from students. They made great connections. Of course I loved that there was NO prep on my part. Thank you for pointing that out on the description. It was great that I knew I'd be good to go and didn't have to spend time previewing the lesson. ”
· Angela · Teacher
“I just did the lesson with a special needs class - some students are functioning at a pre-school level, some are non-verbal, autistic, global developmental delay and so on. This lesson REALLY engaged them. Everyone was able to participate, even those students who needed assistance. They loved being able to get up and copy the animal movements. They were almost all totally engaged watching the videos. And they LOVED watching the videos of animals eating.”
· Lynn · Teacher
“the video was awesome. I did this as a buddy activity with my fourth graders and their kindergarten buddy class. It worked well to have the older students model the expected behavior and thinking like a scientist. ”
· Katie · Teacher
“The kids loved acting out the different animals. They thought it was fun and very funny! They also really seemed to grasp the concept of the animals searching for food and are very excited for the next mystery.”
· Nicole · Teacher
“My Special education class had a great time with this lesson and picked up on all the concepts. The movements were a great motivator for them and they did some great drawings of animals eating lunch.”
· Lynn · Teacher
“This was our best lesson yet! I set clear procedures that we were scientists making observations, therefore, horseplay would not be a part of what we were doing and the students complied 100%! I was so impressed. They really learned a lot about using their senses and making observations. They also really enjoyed the extra activities watching animals eat and writing about how a certain animal would eat lunch!”
· Amy · Teacher
“The kids loved doing there actions of the animals! And I did it with 1st graders, and they loved it. They begged to do the second mystery, even though school was nearly out!”
· Kristen · Teacher
“The activity component, science and movement together. The children really started to think about animals differently, even though we had already talked about their need for food. We're looking forward to the next one.”
· Karen · Admin
“The kids love to be able to move their bodies! It was a nice intermittent flow of movement. They could listen and also know that they would get their chance to act and wiggle. They also really understood the content!”
· Maura · Teacher
“Student interest and interaction. Kids were interested the whole time and eager to discuss what they were thinking and learning.”
· Cindy · Teacher
“I loved this lesson! It is a perfect mix of activities. The students loved learning about the different animals and had a blast with the movement pieces! The pacing was great, lessons easy to follow. Pat is priceless!”
· Karen · Teacher
“My kiddos love the video component. They ask for mystery science all the time.”
· Colleen · Teacher
“The kids loved this lesson! Everything I needed was right there so I did not have to spend time prepping and the kids loved moving around like the animals! AWESOME!”
· Samantha · Teacher
“I did not teach it...reviewed it and LOVE the interactive component of pretending to be a quail, racoon, and woodpecker. Students will love it too. Like the penmanship type font for the vocab words too. Thanks! Marge”
· Marge · Admin
“Kids now pays closer attention to animal movements.”
· Gwen · Homeschooler
“The kids were very engaged and the pacing of the video was perfect.”
· Devon · Teacher
“This was super fun and engaging for my students! They loved behaving like the animals and they totally got the idea of the lesson that an animal's behavior often tells you something about how they find their food. Really a huge success!”
· Kaia · Teacher
“My students loved getting to move and act like the different animals! I loved that there was no extra supplies or prep needed for the activity. ”
· Megan · Teacher
“The kids loved the videos, and the great connections to each animal behaviors!”
· Jennifer · Teacher
“The students really got into acting out animals. It was great to see them think about what the raccoon, woodpecker and quail had in common.”
· Cassandra · Admin
“Having students make their own observations about the patterns in natural phenomena. Using videos to help them be a part of the "walk". Having actions to have them really think about the animal behaviors. Great connections! Thank you. I will continue with the other videos asking them what other animals eat. I added in the discussion of what types of animals (birds, mammal), how they move, and skin coverings too. ”
· Lynn · Teacher
“The physical aspects excited my students the most. They added just the right amount of interaction and movement! All of my students LOVED it and can't wait to do another.”
· Kara · Teacher
“I LOVED that is was a no prep lesson and we could just go! The kids loved moving like animals. A great way to spend an afternoon of rain!”
· Karen · Teacher
Lesson narration:
English Spanish

Grade K

Animal Needs

Animal Needs: Food

K-LS1-1

Activity Prep

Print Prep
In this lesson, students observe animal behaviors and work to discover a pattern: all animals seek food in order to survive. The activity, Eat Like an Animal, includes physical movement in which students act out animal behaviors, pretending to be quail scratching in the dirt, raccoons wading in the water, and woodpeckers pecking a log.
Preview activity
Prep Instructions

This activity does not require supplies.

Make sure students have enough space to move around as they pretend to be different animals in the forest.

Since there’s so little prep for this activity, we recommend you also do one of the activities in the Extensions section. To understand what animals need, it’s important that children have a chance to observe them. You can provide that opportunity by attracting birds with a bird feeder, taking your class on a nature walk or field trip, or having your students observe animals through videos.

Exploration

8 mins

Hands-On Activity

25 mins

Wrap-Up

7 mins

Grade K

Animal Needs

Animal Needs: Food

K-LS1-1

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Credits
 
Animal Secrets Lesson 1: Why do woodpeckers peck wood?

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