Journey North Whooping Crane Migration

Whooping Crane

Thank You!
Barrett Elementary School
(Arlington, Virginia)

Kindergarten Poject Discovery Teacher Laurie Sullivan, together with Project Interaction Teacher Renee Shaw, Instructional Technology Coordinator Fred Delventhal and Kindergarten Teachers Susan Golden, Elizabeth Rente, Cristina Torres, Wendy Ratcliffe have their own migration team!

Their project was called Flight for Survival: Kindergartners’ Journey with the Whooping Cranes. "We will use the plight of the whooping crane as our vehicle to make meaningful the science and literacy standards we are required to teach. The unit will also integrate art, music, social studies, mathematics, and career awareness." See many more photos and stories about their incredible learning adventures — from take off to arrival —on their 2010 photos and their 2009 Blog. Teachers: See the initial project proposal.

Their 2011 Wildlife Refuges and Nature project, funded by another $10.000 Toyota grant and a $2500 ING grant, is their most ambitious project yet, and involves the whole school. Keep up to date with their projects via Facebook and these links:

Barrett Elementary School Wildlife Refuges and Nature blog
Their videos on YouTube.
Two-minute video Interview with district Superintendent, focus on grant project (pdf)
Article in Refuge Update Magazine (pdf) about grant project
Article in local newspaper about Wildlife Refuges and Nature project
Feature on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Blog, as well as the National Wildlife Refuge Facebook page!

Adult volunteers helped sew crane costumes modeled after the ones worn by the Operation Migration team!

Kindergarteners made Whooping Crane Story Hats at a learning center in 2010. They viewed a video clip and then found the color photo that went with the video clip to put on the story hat. They wore the hats when a whooping crane expert from Patuxent visited their classroom. They used their Story Hats to teach their families about thee whooping cranes too. At another center the students played a part in a whooping Crane play. They were either crane researchers/scientists or whooping cranes. See more photos here.