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Learning Construction by Making Bird Houses

Learning Construction by Making Bird Houses photo thumbnail118018
Bellport Middle School eighth-grade students enrolled in Jeremy Freeman’s principles of engineering class learned the fundamentals of construction by making bird houses. During a unit on construction, the students learned about how a home is built and the materials used during construction.

After designing their birdhouse, the students were given the constraint of using only 36 inches of wood. They used hand saws and scroll saws to cut out each piece, labelled each section and laid the wood out for assembly much like a construction crew. They used glue, nails and hammers to assemble the birdhouses and tar paper and roofing material to waterproof the birdhouse. Some students chose to embellish their project.  

“What better way for students to learn about building a house than to make one for a bird,” Mr. Freeman said. “Overall, this was an excellent way for students to understand how a house is put together.”