Kindergarteners' Journey with the Whooping Cranes

Awarded another grant...for $10,000!

2011-08-15T06:56:00.000-07:00

Check out what we are doing with our $10,000 Toyota TAPESTRY grant awarded for the 2011 - 2012 school year on our Barrett Elementary School Wildlife Refuges and Nature blog http://tinyurl.com/BarrettNature

Keep up to date with our project via Facebook http://tinyurl.com/BarrettNatureFacebook

Follow the project on Twitter @BarrettNature

Watch our videos www.YouTube.com/BarrettNature

Big Whoop Part 6

2009-06-11T12:42:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday, Whooping Cranes!

2009-06-08T09:14:00.000-07:00

We have watched the Class of 2008 grow from chicks, to juveniles, to young adult whooping cranes. We had a little birthday party for the cranes to celebrate all they have learned to do in one year:

•Learned to feed themselves
•Learned to fly
•Grown five feet tall
•Got adult voices and colors
•Flown over 1,200 miles learning their migration route
•Migrated home again with no human help

Sadly, two of the whooping cranes died in April. The researchers believe crane #803 was eaten by a bobcat. Researchers are not sure how crane #826 was injured (broken leg) and later died. He may have flown into a powerline.

To celebrate all that the cranes have accomplished in one year, the students made paper birthday cakes and ate blue crabs (blue tortilla chips).

Hanging out in Wisconsin

2009-06-08T08:33:00.000-07:00

The whooping cranes that we have been following all year finished their migration back to Wisconsin. What are they doing now? We read a slideshow book by Journey North to find out. Then we acted out parts of the story. You can see the whooping cranes (children) roosting in our pretend wetlands and flying away from predators. You can also see the whooping cranes eating snakes, snails, and blue crabs. We watched a videoclip of the cranes dancing and some of our whooping crane children tried the dance moves.

Yummy blue crabs, snails, and snakes

Roosting in the water. Watch out for that predator!

This whooping crane child is roosting as one way to stay safe from predators. Some of the predators are coyotes, wolves, and bobcats.

Our new superintendent, Dr. Murphy, visited the Discovery Lab. The children told Dr. Murphy about the endangered whooping crane.

Whooping cranes will eat just about anything, including snakes.

Can you see the snake in the whooping crane's beak?

Whooping Word Wall

2009-06-06T07:17:00.000-07:00

The Whooping Word Wall has been an ongoing project all year. As a culmination to our Whooping Crane project and a method for reviewing all that we have learned, small groups of children had a chance to interact with the words. Students used the crane puppet to read the words. Students used the words in sentences, talked about their favorite words, and drew pictures for some of the words. In case you are wondering about the X word, Xylophone, children played the xylophone in our Whooping Crane Musical.

a quickr pickr post

What are the Whooping Cranes doing Now?

2009-06-05T11:37:00.001-07:00

The whooping cranes that we have been following all year finished their migration back to Wisconsin. What are they doing now? Read this slideshow book to find out.

Follow the Whooping Cranes Musical, Performance #2

2009-05-08T07:08:00.000-07:00

Follow the Whooping Cranes!

2009-05-08T06:04:00.000-07:00

A Musical Performed by Barrett Kindergarten Classes
Directed by Mrs. Klontz

Whoopie!! A Successful Spring Migration Journey North

2009-04-27T03:25:00.000-07:00

Whoopie!!!! All 14 of the ultralight-led whooping cranes from the Class of 2008 have migrated from their winter home in Florida to their summer home in Wisconsin! There are now 86 cranes in the Eastern Flock.

Big Whoop Part 5

2009-03-31T06:17:00.000-07:00

Whooping Crane Habitats in Florida

2009-02-09T12:54:00.000-08:00

The whooping cranes are settling into their new habitats in Florida. Half of the whooping cranes will be spending the winter at “Chass” Wildlife Refuge and half will be at St. Marks Wildlife Refuge. A refuge is a protected area where the whooping cranes will be safe.

a quickr pickr post

Let's Celebrate!

2009-01-30T07:32:00.001-08:00

Today was a special day. The kindergarten classes celebrated the successful migration of the whooping cranes to Florida. The whooping cranes are settling into their new habitats. The students saw photos of the habitats (saltwater marshes) and learned what the cranes are eating in their habitats. They love blue crabs, and also eat insects, crane chow, corn, mice, snakes, fish, and more. Mrs. Sullivan said she brought some fish to share with the students as part of the celebration. The students didn't look too thrilled until they learned that the fish they would be eating were goldfish crackers. Then each student made a model of the habitat to take home. Due to the two hour snow delay, Mrs. Golden and Mrs. Rente's classes had to postpone the celebration until next Thursday and Friday. So, there will be another celebration next week...not that we mind :)

Blue Crabs - The Favorite Food of the Whooping Cranes

Creating Salt Water Marsh Habitats

Let's Celebrate a Successful Migration

Song for the Whooping Crane

Check out this Habitat!

Want some fish?

A Very Nice Habitat

Here is a Habitat made for Whooping Cranes

Lots of Mud in the Wetlands

a quickr pickr post

Whooping Cranes in Alabama

2009-01-13T04:44:00.001-08:00

The photo below was taken by Heather Ray yesterday in Alabama. She emailed us photos earlier in the year and I have been emailing information to her about our Kindergarten whooping crane activities at Barrett. Ms. Ray has been following the whooping crane migration since they started in October 2008 (although she and the cranes took a break over winter vacation). When do you think the whooping cranes will reach Florida? Follow the migration daily on the JOURNEY NORTH website.

All RIGHT! They added another 52 miles today as all 14 birds took off behind Joe Duff's ultralight for the flight to Pike County, Alabama. They got off to a late start (8:10 am) because they waited for the fog to go away. The migration is one stop closer to the goal, and tomorrow's weather forecast looks good for a flight. How many total miles have they gone?

Barrett Students Visit Whooping Crane Display

2008-12-13T15:08:00.001-08:00

After school this week, two Barrett families went to see the ultralight aircraft and whooping crane display at the Udvar-Hazy National Air and Space Museum. The students impressed one of the museum guards with all their knowledge about the whooping cranes and the ultralight. If you would like to visit the museum, please check out my previous blog entry for directions and hours of operation.

a quickr pickr post

Big Whoop Part 4

2008-12-11T10:09:00.000-08:00

Do you know how the whooping crane migrates? Watch this episode and learn!

Taylor's Birthday Present - Flying with the Cranes

2008-12-07T17:50:00.001-08:00

In the Discovery Lab this week we learned about Father Goose (see previous blog entry), we checked on the current migration of "our" whooping cranes, we made models of ultralights and whooping cranes flying in the sky, read books about migration, and watched a video clip of a journalist flying with the cranes.

We read the online story of Taylor's 10th birthday present of flying with the whooping cranes! Then each student put a photo of himself/herself in an ultralight glider and we went on a pretend migration around the school. I'd love to fly with the whooping cranes for real on my next birthday!

Following the Migration on the Map

Migrating from Wisconsin to Florida (Actually from the Discovery Lab to the Classroom, taking the long route around the School)

Video clip of Journalist Flying with the Cranes

Kindergarteners pretend to Fly with the Cranes in an Ultralight

Reading about Migration

Learning about the Migration Experiment of Father Goose

Reading about Whooping Cranes

Placing the Whooping Cranes in the Sky

Taylor's 10th Birthday Present was to Fly with the Cranes

Ready for our Migration

a quickr pickr post

Father Goose

2008-12-06T17:41:00.000-08:00

In the Discovery Lab this week we discussed Bill Lishman's experiment of leading Canada Geese on a migration to Virginia. Lishman, known as Father Goose, and his daughter raised the geese and used an ultralight aircraft to show them the migration route. After the experiment was a success, Operation Migration decided to use this technique with the endangered whooping cranes.

Below are a two video clips related to Father Goose and the movie Fly Away Home. The videos won't play on our school network, but work fine at home.

Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Museum near Dulles Airport

2008-12-06T04:58:00.000-08:00

I recommend a visit to see the ultralight aircraft that is on display at the Udvar-Hazy musuem. It is the actual ultralight that led one of the whooping crane migrations and was featured in the movie Fly Away Home.

It would be great if you took a photo of your child in front of the ultralight and emailed it to me to post on Barrett's Project Discovery Website . My email address is LaurieJSullivan@gmail.com

From Washington, D.C., and points south: I-66 West to Route 28 North (Exit 53B): Travel on Route 28 North for 5.3 miles. Exit at Air and Space Museum Parkway and follow the signs to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.

Directions to Udvar-Hazy National Air and Space Museum

Admission to the museum is free. Please note that a parking fee of $12.00 applies until 4pm. On my last visit to the museum I arrived a little after 4:00 and stayed until closing (5:30) so the entire outing was free.

Museum hours are 10:00 am - 5:30 pm
Open every day except December 25.

Photos of Barrett students with the ultralight trike:

Ultralight at work:

Ultralight models in the Discovery Lab:

Big Whoop Part 3

2008-11-25T04:56:00.000-08:00

Two Students from Ms. Torres' class explain the Whooping Crane Necklace in English and Spanish!

Speaker from U.S. Fish & Wildlife, Endangered Species Division

2008-11-24T06:52:00.000-08:00

Mrs. Green is a wildlife biologist with the United States Fish and Wildlife. She spent most of the day at Barrett presenting to Kindergarten and Fourth grade students. Mrs. Green showed how biologists attach radio transmitters to animals to learn more about them. This information helps the biologists protect the endangered species. She explained that what she learned in school is very important to her job. She must read scientific articles and write reports. She also has to keep notes when she is out in the field. Mrs. Green showed us items that had been made from endangered species that had been taken away from people. Mrs. Green brought bookmarks, stickers, and temporary tatoos for the students. Thanks Mrs. Green!

Guest Speaker from Patuxent Research Refuge

2008-11-19T10:33:00.000-08:00

Today Mr. Dennis Hartnett presented to our four Kindergarten classes and two fourth grade classes. Mr. Hartnett works at Patuxent in Maryland where the whooping crane chicks are hatched. We learned about this endangered species and what people are doing to keep this bird from becoming extinct. Maybe your future career will be related to protecting endangered species!
You may click the photo below to enlarge it.

Student Sharing

2008-11-18T02:11:00.000-08:00

One of our students shared that he visited the Udvar-Hazy Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum out near the Dulles airport and saw an Ultralight aircraft. It is the actual ultralight used by Operation Migration on one of the whooping crane migrations!

Another student shared a book he read at home about endangered animals. He noticed that one of the animals in the book is the whooping crane. To learn more about the two flocks of whooping cranes, read the online storybooks about the Western Flock and the Eastern Flock. We are following the migration of the Eastern flock.

It was fun that students from New Jersey sent Flat Stanley to Barrett Elementary. While Stanley was here, he learned about the whooping crane migration.

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Crane Reports from the Barrett TV Studio

2008-11-17T14:01:00.000-08:00

On October 17th we posted our first Tiger TV and Internet show BIG WHOOP. We posted our second BIG WHOOP show on November 7th. We plan to post several other BIG WHOOP shows in the coming weeks.

We thought you might enjoy the slideshow below showing the behind the scenes in the Barrett TV Studio with Mrs. Shaw and Mr. Delventhal.

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Whooping Crane Migration Skit Featuring Flat Stanley

2008-11-17T13:33:00.000-08:00

We were thrilled when Flat Stanley from New Jersey visited Barrett on the day the Kindergarteners were acting in the Whooping Crane Migration Skit. Look for Flat Stanley in several frames in the video below.

Photographs from Heather Ray of Operation Migration

2008-11-17T10:09:00.000-08:00

Heather Ray from Operation Migration is traveling with the whooping cranes on the migration from Wisconsin to Florida. Ms. Ray has been following the activities of the Barrett Kindergarteners and sent the photos below to the students. Enjoy!

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Counting and Patterns with the Whooping Crane Necklace

2008-11-17T09:57:00.001-08:00

Some of the words and parts of the photos were cut off in the post below. To see the original post with complete pictures, please visit the Project Discovery Blog.

Blue Green Blue Green

Counting

Kindergarten students practiced counting by fives and making patterns as they created necklaces. The necklaces were created with student-made beads to represent the whooping crane life cycle and the people who help the whooping cranes. The students also used blue and green store-bought beads to make patterns. Can you count the beads and read the pattern?

I recommend FIREFOX browser to view the slideshow below. Internet Explorer does not show the slideshow on my computer. Click on any photo to pause the slideshow.

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Whooping Crane Life Cycle

2008-11-17T09:55:00.001-08:00

We had such a marvelous time learning about the whooping crane life cycle and making whooping crane necklaces. Thanks to everyone for helping out on this project! Mrs. Shaw from Project Interaction/Communication Arts cut the clay pieces. She also helped the students learn how to make beads from clay. Thanks to the Friday Volunteers and Barrett parents for preparing the chick and adult medallions for the center of the necklace and cutting the cords. It was great that many people popped in to the Discovery Lab to help with the project; our principal Mrs. Bratt, assistant principal Mrs. Smingler, and many Barrett teachers and parents and even grandparents!

We appreciate Karen Sonnenblick from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources for photos and information that helped us build our life-sized models of the egg, chick, juvenile, and adult whooping crane. We are so lucky to have an artist/educator/bird-lover working at Barrett who was willing to create the models. Hats off to our talented Melissa Poore!

The first video below shows the students learning about the whooping crane life cycle and the actual size of the whooping crane. You can see the students holding out their arms to make a prediction of how big the whooping crane actually is. The life-sized model was hiding behind a curtain. The students were surprised when they saw how large the crane actually is (5 feet tall, wing span about 7 feet). Later, each child had a photo taken with the whooping crane. The video includes art work by Vicky Henderson, who has given us permission to post her work. You may see her paintings and photographs of the whooping cranes at http://vickiehenderson.blogspot.com

The video also highlights two students recording our first BIG WHOOP show in the Barrett Communication Arts TV Studio. There are photos of the students watching the show the following day on Tiger TV, the daily Barrett news show. Special thanks to our Instructional Technology Coordinator (ITC) Fred Delventhal for hosting the show.

We also started the Kindergarten Whooping Word Wall. Can you guess which words we chose for the wall? Watch the video to find out!

The second video shows us preparing the materials for the whooping crane necklaces and the students making the beads and necklaces.

Photos from the Animoto videos may be viewed as a slideshow or downloaded from Mrs. Sullivan’s Picasa Web Album http://picasaweb.google.com/LaurieJSullivan You can watch the BIG WHOOP show at http://whoopingcranes.blogspot.com(Posted on October 17, 2008)

To follow the whooping crane migration, which is occurring right now, go to http://www.learner.org/jnorth/tm/crane/08/WCEPHighlights.html

Kindergarten Flips

2008-11-17T09:46:00.000-08:00

Kindergarteners cut and sort photographs to create a Flipbook about Whooping Cranes. You can read an interesting story online about the endangered whooping cranes. Click here to read the story.

a quickr pickr post

Whooping Word Wall

2008-11-17T04:11:00.001-08:00

Whooping Crane Word Wall
Watch the video below to learn about the first words posted on the Kindergarten Whooping Word Wall (WWW). We will be posting more words as we discover more about the whooping cranes. After the last lesson in the Discovery Lab, children suggested we add the words Florida, Wisconsin, Ultralight, People (who help), and Whooping Crane. Do you know why they suggested these words? Check out this true online storybook http://www.learner.org/jnorth/tm/crane/jr/CraneComeback4.html

a quickr pickr post

From Wisconsin to Florida

2008-11-17T04:06:00.001-08:00

MOV03981
Originally uploaded by BarrettDiscovery

The whooping cranes are taught to migrate from Wisconsin to Florida. People (wearing costumes) show the cranes the way by flying Ultralight aircraft. We are following the current migration and have discovered that the weather is affecting the migration. You can follow the daily migration at http://www.learner.org/jnorth/tm/crane/08/WCEPHighlights.html

Crane Scientists

2008-11-17T03:58:00.001-08:00

DSC03989
Originally uploaded by BarrettDiscovery

The whooping crane handlers and scientists at Patuxent teach the chicks to eat using a puppet that looks like a whooping crane.

Big Whoop Part Two

2008-11-07T06:56:00.000-08:00

Big Whoop

2008-10-17T10:52:00.000-07:00

Whooping Crane Handler Costumes

2008-09-03T12:52:00.000-07:00

Mrs. Steele, mother of K teacher Mrs. Golden, made eight whooping crane researcher costumes for the students to wear this year as they learn about the cranes. Thanks Mrs. Steele!! We are impressed!!