Tulip Garden Update: March 24, 2000 Today's Report Includes: Gardens in the News Move Over Waldo! Play the "Where are Our Tulip Friends?" Game Challenge Question #11 Art Project - Look at My Tulip Now - Book How to Respond to Today's Challenge Question Gardens in the News Tulips Emerged Tulips Blooming "The tulips couldn't even wait until the Equinox this year! They emerged 4 days earlier than last year: (03/20/99). And 10 days earlier than the year before: (03/26/98). This has been another warmer than usual winter!" (J. Brophy, Victoria, MN) We're hearing about lots of tulip gardens starting to show their first signs of green poking up through the dark earth! Some of you returned from your March school break to a real Vernal Equinox treat: "Today is the first day of Spring and our first day back from our March Break. We were greeted by the sight of our tulips just beginning to emerge from the earth. They have a long way to go before they bloom. Let's hope we don't have any more cold weather to freeze them before they bloom."(W.E.Breckon Public School, Burlington, ON) "Emerged during our March Break.Yippee!" (Teetervill P.S., Teeterville, ON.) Others reported that there will be a surprise waiting for their students when they return next week from their March school break: "After a light rain last night, we have about 10 more little tulip shoots just poking through the ground today! I guess our official Journey North site has official started to emerge...too bad the students are on spring vacation!"(Breck School in Minneapolis, MN) During the past week, gardeners at 26 schools reported that their tulips had emerged, for a grand total of 219 gardens emerged. So far, 27 garden sites have started blooming! Spring has really begun! Move Over Waldo! Play the "Where are Our Tulip Friends?" Game Glen Hills Elementary Game Website We were sent a fantastic game to share with you from our friends at Glen Hills Elementary School. While they have been waiting for their tulips to bloom they've been side-tracked playing, "Where are Our Tulip Friends?". They thought you would enjoy solving the mystery, too! Take a look at their game and see if you can find out where the Hawes, Nelson, Murphy, Dempsy, Bridgers, Jamieson, Forbes, Large and Parsons Second Grade classrooms are located. First look at some sample questions: Questions Classes . Hawes Nelson Murphy Dempsy Bridgers Jamieson Forbes Large Parsons 1. Are you located in the United States? yes yes yes yes yes no yes yes yes 2. Is your state or province on the Atlantic Ocean? yes no yes yes yes no no no yes Then answer this: Challenge Question # 11: "Using the chart full of information about the locations of 9 second grader's tulip gardens, find out where the Hawes, Nelson, Murphy, Dempsy, Bridgers, Jamieson, Forbes, Large and Parsons Second Grade classrooms are located." (To respond to this question, please follow the instructions below.) Art Project -Look at My Tulip Now -Book Students become artists, scientists and writers in the process of capturing a season's growth of their tulips in a beautiful hand-made time line book. For this project you will be required to observe and draw your tulips once or twice a week until it blooms. 1. Each student begins by creating their own time line book. See instructions: Book Time Line 2. Before going out to sketch, teachers demonstrate how to look closely and then draw the plant. Show students how to focus just on the plant and its environment; look at the shape, color and size of the plant. Draw the plant as well as you can including the details of color, shape and texture. 3. Next, students will take their books and sketching materials out into the tulip garden with them and sketch their plants. Each page will contain one day's observations. Place the date and time, and anything else of interest (temperatures, sky conditions, other nature events)with the drawing. 4. Continue to observe and sketch the plants as they emerge and bloom. 5. Decorate book covers and celebrate with a publishing party! **Extensions: A. Use Analogies for Writing Projects: 1. After sketching, ask students to brainstorm and list what their drawing reminds them of (thinking: analogy). Encourage students to think creatively. 2. Back in the classroom, share their analogies and use their ideas to build poems. Ask students, "What does it remind you of?"(ex. The tip of an iceberg sticking out of the cold ocean water·) List some of their answers on the board. Play with their analogies and shape them into poems. B. Make other observations and include them in the tulip books 1. Are the earthworms out? Can you see or hear any animals? Are there any other plants showing their flowers? 2. Are all the tulips in the garden growing at the same rate? How are they different? How to Respond to Today's Challenge Question Important: Answer only ONE question in each e-mail message. 1. Address an e-mail message to: jn-challenge-tulip@learner.org 2. In the Subject Line of your message write: Challenge Question #11. 3. In the body of the message, answer ONE of the questions above. The Next "Data Only" Tulip Garden Update Will be Posted on March 31, 2000. Copyright 2000 Journey North. All Rights Reserved. Please send all questions, comments, and suggestions to our feedback form