Rice is made of starches that absorb moisture, but is it enough to be harmful to birds? In true myth-buster form, a video lesson explains the science that disproves the thought that rice is bad for birds. The episode compares the expanding capabilities of rice with common birdseed to explain their conclusions.

Concepts

birds, digestion, starch

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Additional Tags

science

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Instructional Ideas

• Ask individuals to construct a letter outlining the evidence that rice is not harmful to wildlife
• Recreate one or more of the experiments in the video as a follow up to the lesson

Classroom Considerations

• Consider monitoring the comments if making available for independent viewing

• This video is hosted on YouTube

Pros

• Uses experimental evidence to support claims
• Considers different variations of rice before making a conclusion

Cons

• None

Common Core

SL.9-10.2 SL.11-12.2 RST.9-10.7 RST.11-12.7