Bridging the Americas: Program Overview

What is Bridging the Americas?

Bridging the Americas/Unidos por las Aves is a cross-cultural conservation education program that uses long-distance migratory birds as a theme for interdisciplinary learning. It is intended for grades 2 to 4.

Coordinated by the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, the centerpiece of the program are birds that migrate between the U.S. and Latin America, nesting and raising their young each summer in North America and overwintering in the tropics. These birds with two homes naturally connect us with people and places in other countries in our hemisphere.

Each participating class in the U.S. is partnered with a class in Latin America. Students in the partnered classes learn and exchange information about each other and about their shared migratory birds. Since 1993, close to 50,000 students in 11 
countries in the Western Hemisphere have participated.

How does the program work?

Each class in the U.S. is partnered with a class in Latin America for the school year. Teachers are provided with a flexible guide to using migratory birds as an interdisciplinary theme for teaching and reinforcing required standards. Students in the partnered classes learn about the migratory birds that connect their communities and about each other through the preparation and exchange of one set of materials. 

Classes in the U.S. create their packet of materials to send to their partner class in the fall, with a due date in late December. They receive a packet from their Latin American partner class in the spring. Partnered classes may also be able to communicate through WhatsApp and video calls. 

Is the program aligned with standards of learning?

The program currently offers two guides for participating teachers in the United States: a “Month by Month Teacher’s Guide” designed in consultation with teachers at Title 1 schools in Virginia in 2023 and the “Interdisciplinary Unit on Migratory Birds for Grades 2 to 4” which was introduced in 2016 for teachers in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia.

The lessons and activities within both guides are aligned with Virginia State Standards of Learning in English Language Arts, Science, History and Social Studies. The guide for teachers in Washington, DC, Maryland, and Virginia is also aligned with Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts and Next Generation Science Standards.

The program is not intended to replace any units or curricula used in the school systems of participating teachers, but rather to supplement and enrich them. 

What are the goals of the program?

In addition to providing an authentic learning experience that correlates with standards in multiple subjects, the program is designed to connect students with an accessible and inspirational part of nature, link them with peers in another country, and empower them to be good stewards of the environment. It’s also intended to stimulate an interest in learning about other countries and their cultures. Students gain an appreciation for birds and the need to protect their habitats, an awareness of the threats birds face and actions people can take to help ensure their survival, and an enhanced understanding of their partner class’s country and culture.

What do the program goals have to do with academic achievement and student well-being?

Numerous peer-reviewed studies have demonstrated that both nature-based and interdisciplinary learning approaches improve academic achievement across diverse student populations. Studies have also shown that connecting with nature benefits children socially, emotionally, and physically. 

Learning about and communicating with peers in Latin America is an authentic experience that builds skills, values and attitudes related to global competency, preparing young people to thrive in our diverse, interconnected world. Empowering children to believe they can make a positive difference in the world today and in the future by taking simple actions that benefit birds and our environment gives them a sense of agency that cultivates optimism and helps to counterbalance negative messages about the state of the world.

Is there a fee to participate?

There is a $35 fee for a teacher in the U.S. to participate. This fee covers one teacher with a class of up to 30 students. An additional $10 covers each additional class. Because the program is subsidized by other funding sources, we can keep this fee to a small fraction of the actual costs which include the supports and instructional materials provided to teachers, international courier fees for the exchanges between partnered classes, and the time and resources involved in managing the participation of classes in multiple countries. 

We hope this fee will not prohibit any interested teacher from participating and that it is viewed as a small price to pay relative to what the program offers. Any teacher who wants to participate but cannot pay the fee is encouraged to submit a request for a fee waiver.