Share The Long, Long Journey

I'm delighted to share the story of the bar-tailed godwits. Every year these birds make a marathon migration from their summer home in Alaska to their winter home in New Zealand. This bird's story is very special to me. For thirteen years, I lived near Christchurch, New Zealand.  Along with other New Zealanders, I eagerly awaited the godwits arrival each year in September.

Here I am the day the godwits arrived this year.
Check out the headline--"Godwits Are Back!"

That always signified winter was over and spring had arrived.  So, when scientists tracking the birds reported they were nearing land, bird watchers rushed to the shores.  Then as soon as the first group of godwits were spotted, the news was broadcast on the radio and television.  The big cathedral in Christchurch also rang its bells.  Everywhere banners were raised and crowds rushed to the estuaries to cheer the arriving birds.






Now open the book and enjoy the story. Then have fun digging deeper with these discovery activities.

Check out the aerial view of Cape Avinof, Alaska (the godwits' starting place) by visiting this website.  Next, do a Google search to find out how many miles it is between Alaska and New Zealand, the godwits' destination.  Now, think about how you would travel from Kipnuk Airport, the closet airport to Cape Avinof, Alaska to Christchurch, New Zealand, one of godwits destinations in New Zealand.  Check airline websites to answer the following questions:

Can you fly non-stop, the way the godwits do?  If not, how many stops do you have to make along the way?

How much will it cost you to fly between Alaska and New Zealand?
The trip isn't free for the godwits, either.  However, what it costs the birds isn't money.  Read page 15 of The Long, Long Journey to find out what it costs these birds to make such a long flight.

So you learned what it costs the godwits is energy--what they get from eating and storing body fat.  Adult godwits have to double their weight between June and September.  Chicks have to both grow up and put on weight.

Just for fun, figure out what you would weigh if you doubled your weight to make this long trip.

Look at the godwit's long legs.
Such long legs help it wade in the mud to find food.

Now, try this activity to find out how the godwit uses its long beak to find and pick up food.

First, cut the top off an empty gallon-sized milk jug. Fill it nearly full of wet sand. Next, have an adult partner bury five pennies in the sand and smooth the top flat to hide the coins.  Then use chopsticks or two pencils held like chopsticks to probe the sand for the pennies. Once you find them, use the chopsticks to pluck the pennies out of the sand.

Take a close look at this picture of godwits in flight.  Look at how they hold their wings and head.

How do you think holding their head and wings this way helps them fly?

Check out what the godwits are doing with their long legs while they fly.  Why do you think the birds hold their legs in this position rather than just letting them hang down below their body.

Now, spend some time watching your local birds take off and fly. Draw a picture of one of these birds in flight.  Be sure to show how they stretch out their wings, how they hold their head, and what they do with their legs.

Just for fun, play this game to find out how godwits stay together in a flock even while flying through thick clouds and heavy rain.  Ask six of your friends to stand in a circle around you. Close your eyes and ask them to make noises one at a time.  Try pointing to each person as they sound off.  Have your friends score a point for you each time you point at the person making the sound.  Now you know that being noisy helps birds keep track of each other and fly together.

The godwits take advantage of the fact that earth's northern and southern hemisphere's have summer at opposite times of the year. They always live where it's comfortably summer and there's plenty to eat year round.  To do that, though, means the godwits have to make a Long, Long Journey.

ARE YOU READY FOR SNOW SCHOOL?

My new book Snow School was inspired by my love of cats, especially wild cats. There are none more fascinating than snow leopards.  These wild cats are so rare there are believed to be as few as 3,500 left in the entire world. 

As always, when I want to learn more about a wild animal I go exploring. That’s how I came to spend a winter in Antarctica, the experience that inspired me to write A Mother’s Journey, a story about what female emperor penguins do while the males hatch out the eggs. 

Dr. Tom McCarthy with snow leopard cub
(courtesy of Panthera Snow Leopard Trust)

Sometimes, though, I just can’t get to the places I need to go to explore firsthand.  Then I track down experts who have been able to go to those places and studied the wild animals I want to write about.  That was the case with Snow School.  I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Tom McCarthy who has spent many years climbing the high, rugged mountains of Pakistan in order to learn about the life and behavior of snow leopards. 

To see where snow leopards live and the story of Snow School takes place, go on-line to find out about Pakistan (in red on the globe).  Also search for information about the Hindu Kush Mountains, the setting for the story.  This habitat is one of the harshest on earth and requires the cats to be able to chase fast prey downhill over 

very rocky terrain.

Even during his many years studying snow leopards Dr. McCarthy shared that he only had a chance to watch a few downhill chases as snow leopards caught prey.  He said, “Once, I was lucky enough to see a mother have two cubs with her while she hunted.” 

Dr. McCarthy guessed these cubs were in training.  Snow leopard cubs spend two years with their mothers learning to survive on their own.  That inspired me to wonder what lessons snow leopard cubs need to learn in order to be successful in the extreme conditions of their home habitat. 

For one thing, as soon as they’re big enough, snow leopard cubs travel with their mother. That way they get a close look at the features of their environment.  And they learn the shortest, safest routes to take.

To get a feel for what the snow leopard cubs are learning, go to your local park or playground with a parent or adult partner.  Take along a pencil and a notepad.  Draw a map of the area.  Use symbols to mark any key landmarks, like fountains or statues, big trees, or benches.  Next, study the map with your partner and plan the fastest, safest path to use to travel across the mapped area.  Then use a watch to time how long it takes you to run across the area following your chosen path.  Afterwards, revisit the map and decide if another way might be easier or safer.  Time your new route.

The snow leopard’s habitat is really a high desert with very steep terrain.  When these cats hunt, they have to chase down prey animals, like ibex, capable of running down steep, rocky slopes without falling.  And they have to pounce at just the right moment to stop their prey without going over a cliff.

Snow leopards do have some natural built-in advantages. One is a very long tail.  Dr. McCarthy reports that a snow leopard’s tail is all muscle and that it’s heavy. He said, “It must even be heavy for the snow leopard.  In snow, I’d see a mark where  a cat would start to drag its tail after every two or three steps.  So holding up its long tail must be tiring.”

Having such a long tail is worth the effort, though, when the snow leopard starts to run.  It swings its tail back and forth and that helps it stay balance while twisting and turning.  To get a feel for how its tail helps a snow leopard stay balanced, try this.  Stand on one foot with your hands at your sides.  Then repeat standing on one foot but this time stretch out your arms and move them forward and backward. 

Snow leopards also have big feet that act like snowshoes, helping them walk on top of fluffy snow.  In fact, Dr. McCarthy reported a snow leopard’s feet leave very round footprints because their feet are about as wide as they are long (about four to five inches in both directions.) Measure the length and width of one of your feet.  How much longer is your foot that it is wide?  And, just for fun, figure out how much longer your foot is than a snow leopard’s.

These cats also have a lot of fur around their toes and the pads of their feet to shield them from the ice and snow.  Like housecats, snow leopards have retractable claws.  They put these out to help them climb and to stop themselves from skidding.

Dr. McCarthy reported that once a snow leopard catches prey it needs a safe place to eat—safer than on a steep mountainside.  Dr. McCarthy said, “I’ve watched a snow leopard drag a big goat that weighs as much, if not slightly more, than the cat does.  And it drags this prey uphill.”  

Imagine pulling something that weighs as much as you do.  Now, imagine doing it the way a snow leopard does.  This cat bites to grab its prey.  Then it drags this weight between its legs.  This is another behavior snow leopard cubs learn by being copycats, doing what their mother does.

 From an early age, the cubs learn the smell of what’s good to hunt because their mother brings home prey.  See if you’ve learned to identify your food by its scent.  Have an adult partner blindfold you. Then have them hold each of the following five food items, one at a time, under your nose for you to sniff.  Test your scent IQ on the following: peanut butter, orange juice, mustard, cheese, and ketchup.

You might be surprised to learn that snow leopards usually only get a chance to catch big prey about once a week.  So when it does, the cat is likely to stay by its prey and eat as much as 25 pounds of meat a day for two to three days.  How much is that.  Weigh a plate.  Then put the food you’re going to eat for dinner on that plate and weigh it again. Subtract the weight of the plate to see how much your meal weighs.  How many of those meals would you have to eat to equal what a snow leopard eats when food is available?

Can you guess what snow leopards do after such big meals?  You’re right!  They sleep.  Like lions, tigers, and housecats, snow leopards sleep most of the day to save their energy for hunting. 

I hope you enjoy reading Snow School.  For more activities and to explore more of my books visit my blog Write On! Sandra Markle (http://sandra-markle.blogspot.com).

Dive Into SHARKS: BIGGEST! LITTLEST!

These fun activities will let you dive into my book SHARKS: BIGGEST! LITTLEST! to investigate some of the world's most fascinating sharks. You'll discover that big or little or having special big or little features is how sharks are just naturally adapted to being a success in their part of the ocean.

Size Matters!

Rearrange the list of sharks in order from the biggest to the very smallest.

Adult Whale Sharks, like this one, can be 45 feet (about 14 meters) long.

Start by looking at the photos and reading the text. For even more clues, check out the map on page 30.
Swell Shark
Cookie-Cutter Shark
Whale Shark
Basking Shark
Port Jackson Horned Shark
Thresher Shark
Ornate Wobbegong Shark
Longnose Sawshark
Spined Pygmy Shark
Great White Shark

Would You Believe?

Can shark skin be used as sandpaper?

Like your teeth and a shark's teeth, denticles have a soft center pulp and a hard enamel coat.

Read pages 12 and 13 to discover a shark's body is covered with little parts called denticles. Search on Google to find out if anyone ever used shark skin for sandpaper in the past.   

Check out this Myth Busters episode to see a test to find out if shark skin will work as sandpaper.

Thanks to all its denticles, this Swell Shark looks like a rough character.  You might be surprised to learn the denticles do more than act like a suit of armor. The shape helps a shark slip move more easily through the water. Sharks also regularly shed and replace denticles just the way they do the teeth in their jaws. As they grow bigger, some kinds of sharks add more little denticles to cover their body. Others replace smaller denticles with larger ones.

A Shark Gave Me The Idea

There are lots of special things about sharks. Check out the follow list.  Then think of something you might invent for people to use based on something special about sharks.

See the nictitating membrane partly covering this blue shark's eye.

• Some sharks have a special eye membrane, called a nictitating membrane. When the shark gets close to something, such as its prey, this moves over the eye to shield it. Great Whites have a set of muscles that roll the entire eye into its socket to protect it.

• A shark's nostrils are on the outside of its body and lead into nasal sacs. These aren't for breathing--only smelling.  The sacs are made up of lots of folds of tissues, all packed with scent sensors. No wonder a shark can detect as little as five drops of blood mixed into the amount of water it takes to fill an average swimming pool.

These spiracles are on a zebra shark.

• What look like freckles on some sharks are the openings of special electricity sensors.  These let the shark detect tiny charges produced by a prey's heartbeats or muscle movements. This lets the shark be particularly sensitive to wounded animals, the easiest prey to catch.

• A shark can move its upper jaw forward and out to bite. You can only move your lower jaw.

• A shark's skeleton is entirely cartilage, the rubbery kind of supporting structure you have in your external ear.  That helps sharks in a number of ways. Cartilage is lighter than bone, which helps sharks stay afloat. It's also more flexible than bone, letting sharks make really tight turns.

Shark Tale

Pick one of the sharks you read about in SHARKS: BIGGEST! LITTLEST!.  

This Ornate Wobegong Shark ambushes its prey using fanglike teeth to snag its prey.

Read the section about that shark again. Next, go on-line to learn more about the life history of the shark you picked.  Then write a short story about a day in the life of that shark. This will be a factional story, a made-up story packed full of real facts.

Look Again!

The pictures in SHARKS: BIGGEST! LITTLEST! have their own stories to tell.  Take another look at the pictures in the book to answer these questions.

Cookie Cutter Shark takes a bite on pages 10 and 11.

A Great White Shark's mouth has five or more rows of teeth. Do all the rows stand up straight or do some of the teeth lie flat?


Do Cooke-Cutter Sharks have lower teeth that are different sizes and shapes or are they all the same size?


Are sharks as big today as during prehistoric times? How do you know?

Which sharks that appear in the book have their mouths at the front end of their head? Which have their mouths under a nose?

Sharks For Good Measure

An adult Great White Shark never stops growing.  So it gets a little longer every year of its life.  They're born alive and about four feet (1.2 meters) long at birth.  One of the biggest kinds of sharks, adults often grow to be 20 feet (6 meters) long. Measure off a piece of string that length. Stretch it out on the floor and lie down next to it with your feet at one end of the string. Set something, like a pencil, across the string next to your head. Now, use a measuring tape to find out how many feet/meters shorter you are than a Great White Shark.

Now, find at least 3 things about the same length as a Great White Shark.  What are they?  Now find out how much longer or shorter each of the following things is compared to a Great White Shark.

• The class's two tallest students lying head to feet on the floor
• Your school's librarian
• The length of the school principal's car.

While you're measuring, here's some cool facts you'll enjoy learning about Great White Sharks:

Mother sharks give birth to as many as 60 babies at one time. The babies are on their own immediately after they're born.

Great White Sharks swim very fast compared to other sharks. They've been clocked swimming as fast as 40 miles per hour. But they can never stop swimming. They sink if they stop moving. Their bodies also aren't designed to let them swim backwards. So they can't backed up.

More Action

Read page 24 to learn more about this hatching baby Swell Shark.

Visit the following websites to keep on investigating sharks.

• Shark Trust Activity Zone
• Monterey Bay Aquarium Activities
• Discovery Channel Shark Week Games & Interactives

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

There's nothing more fun than figuring out the answer to this question. "What will happen next?"

To do that you need to be on the lookout for clues, including ones that are not obvious at first glance.  You also need to check for patterns--something that's happening just the way you've experienced in the past.
Then you can imagine all of the possible things that could happen next and predict what's most likely to happen.

So what happens next?  Here are three different problems for you to tackle. As you do you'll also discover some amazing things about animals, the world--you're even likely to discover some surprising things about yourself.

Who's Faster?

Check out this grizzly bear going nose to nose with a salmon. What do you think will happen next.

What could the bear do to catch the fish?

How could the fish escape?

Brainstorm.  Think of at least three things that could happen next based on what you've seen or read about grizzlies and salmon.

When you decide what is most likely to happen next, go down to ANSWER 1. There you'll see what did happen next.

What Change Will This Cause?

See the jet of fire.

It's shooting into the mouth of a huge cloth bag, heating the air that's trapped inside.

Will the heated air sink, blowing out the fire?

Or will the heated air rise, lifting the cloth bag?

You may not know what happens to air when it's heated. If that's the case, you need to observe that to be able to predict what happens next.












Of course, you could ask someone what happens to air when it's heated. Or you could look it up on-line.  It's more fun to see for yourself, though.

So put a rubber balloon over the top of a clean, empty glass soda bottle.  

Set the bottle in a saucepan and add a measuring cup full of water.  

Have an adult partner turn the heat on the stove to medium. 

Watch what happens as the water around the bottle gets hot and the air inside the bottle heats up, too.

The balloon fills and lifts. That's because everything is made up of tiny building blocks called molecules. In cool air, the molecules are slow-moving and close together. As the air warms up, the molecules move faster, bump into each other, and spread apart. As the warm air takes up more room inside the bottle, it rises where it's trapped by the balloon. Then the balloon partly inflates.

Now, use what you've observed to predict what's likely to happen to the huge cloth bag when fire shoots into it.  To check what does happen next, scroll down to ANSWER 2.

What's Likely To Happen?

Mother raccoon walked out on a branch, looking for food in the lake. Her baby stayed on the log. Then eager to grab a tasty treat, the young raccoon leaned forward and stretched out a paw. 

What do you think will happen to the young raccoon? 

A good way to to figure that out is to imagine yourself in a similar situation.  When you decide what is most likely to happen go to ANSWER 3. You'll see what did happen next.

Answer 1--Who's Faster?

Did you figure out that to catch the fish the bear has to open its mouth and thrust it head forward?

To keep from being caught, the fish has to wiggle sideways and dive back into the water.

 This time the bear reacted faster and caught a fish dinner.







So how's your reaction time?

To test it, have a partner hold a ruler at the top with zero end down.

Hold onto the ruler so your thumb is close to the zero.

Next, open your grip so your fingers are no longer touching the ruler and stay alert.

Your partner will suddenly release the ruler.

Grab it.

Then look to see which number is under your thumb. The lower the number, the faster you were able to react.

Repeat this test two more time.

Does your reaction time improve with practice?  Switch and test your partner's reaction time.

Now, design another activity to measure your reaction time. Check with an adult to be sure what you've planned will be safe for you to do.

Answer 2--What's the Result?

When the air inside the big cloth bag heats up and rises, the bag inflates. Now it's a hot air balloon  Because the hot air inside the balloon is lighter than the cool air around it, the balloon floats up into the sky.  The balloon's pilot must keep on firing the jet every few minutes, though.

If the pilot doesn't do this what do you think will happen as the air inside the big cloth bag cools?  If you aren't sure pour some cool water into the pan.  Then watch what happens to the inflated balloon as the air inside the bottle cools.

Answer 3--What's Likely to Happen?

Did remembering your past experience let you guess the young raccoon lost its balance?

Objects, animals, and you stay balanced as long as they can maintain their position without tipping.  When so much of the young raccoon's weight was shifted ahead of the log, it slipped into the lake.

This experience will help the youngster do a better job of tackling similar situations in the future.



So do you have any special body part to help you judge when you're balanced? Yes, you do.

These are the semicircular canals in your inner ear.

When you move or tip your head, the fluid inside the canals moves.  At one point in the tube, there is a gelatin-like dam with tiny sensors. When the moving fluid pushes on the dam, the sensors send signals to your brain. And when your brain figures out these messages--something that happens almost instantly--you realize you're moving.

If, like this girl, you spin around and stop suddenly you feel like you're still spinning. That's because for an instant after you stop, the fluid in the tubes in your ear keeps on moving and sending signals to your brain. That can make you feel unbalanced.

ONE MORE CHALLENGE

 

Will the fish be able to gulp in the frog? Or is a frog quick enough in the water to be likely to escape? Take a close look at what's going on in the photo.  Think about patterns of behavior.  What's the fish likely to be capable of doing?  What's the frog likely to be able to do?  What's probably happened in such a situation in the past.  Imagine yourself in the frog's place and think what your next move might be.  Now imagine yourself in the fish's place.  

Predict what's most likely to happen next.  Tell why you made that decision.

  

BRAINSTORMING Basic Training

Learning isn't just memorizing facts. It's discovering how to brainstorm and how to use that skill to solve problems.  So before kids tackle anything else they need brainstorming basic training.  Here it is in five fun, action-packed steps. 

*Teachers, this is just what your students need to get ready for "Next Generation of Science Standards"(NGSS) based skill-building. 

1.  Creative Observing  Children will power up their observational skills to collect as much information as possible.  It's what they'll need to do when getting ready to creatively tackle any problem.

Follow the recipe below to mix up a batch of some really cool stuff. I call it "Goop".  Then check it out!

Recipe for Goop 

Pour one cup of cornstarch into a shallow container, like a plastic storage box.

Add two to four drops of green food coloring.

Use a metal spoon to slowly stir in water, adding just a few tablespoons at a time, until the Goop feels solid when poke.



Now, find out everything you can about Goop.  Examine it in every way you can think of.

Then test Goop in each of these ways and observe closely:

• Try to pour it into an empty container.
• Try to make it change its shape. Try to mold it into a ball. Try to shape it into a cube.
• Poke it with a finger. Decide how it feels.
• Try to break it into two chunks. Can you? How does this change it? Take a close look at the edges of the broken pieces.
• Try to put the two chunks back together. Was it easy to do?

NOTE: When you're finished, throw the Goop away in the trash basket. Do not wash it down the sink as it can clog pipes.

2.  Brainstorming  Kids will be revving their brains with this one and learning what problem solving is like in real life.

Read the following story aloud. Then have children work individually or in small groups to think of all the possible solutions to the problem. Add to the fun by challenging them to come up with a solution in just one minute.






Story: The angry native are hot on Smitty's trail.  A heavy, sharp-tipped spear zips past his head and thumps into a tree trunk. He ducks and swerves off the trail and into the thick underbrush. Shoving leaves out of his way, Smitty charges through the jungle.  Suddenly, Smitty jerks to a stop on the bank of a river. Water is roaring and churning around huge boulders that poke up like humps on a sea serpent's back. He's also pretty sure there's a crocodile lurking on the far bank. However, if he could just get across the river, the natives would probably let him go.  How can Smitty get across the river?







After one minute, challenge kids to brainstorm even harder by thinking about things that might keep some of these possible escapes from working. Then challenge them to pick Smitty's best possible escape option and tell why they believe it will work.

3.  Creative Predicting  Now it's time to make use of patterns. Children will discover how important it is to look for patterns and remember them.  

Mystery Bag

Prepare for this by placing something familiar such as popped popcorn, paperclips, or M&M candies in a paper bag and staple the top shut.

Next, divide the class into small groups.  Give each group a bag. Challenge them to use their senses one at a time to collect information about what's in the bag. After each observation, challenge them to use their past experiences and these observations to try and identify the mystery object.

Have the children use their sense of hearing first.  Have them shake the bag and listen.

Next, have children gently poke and squeeze the bag. What do they observe this time? Does that make them want to change their earlier prediction about what's inside the bag? If so, what do they now think the mystery item might be?

Challenge children to use their sense of smell this time and repeat the process.  They'll need to make observations, consider what they may have smelled in the past that had that scent, and decide if they want to change their prediction.

Finally, allow children to open the bag and use their sense of sight to collect observations and identify the mystery object.

A Kitchen Mystery

This is another fun active to get kids observing, inferring, and predicting.  Give each group a different kitchen tool and challenge them to figure out what problem that tool was designed to solve.  The weirder the tool the better for this activity.  Allow time for the groups to combine their brainpower on this.  Then let each group display their kitchen tool, tell what use they predict it has, and explain why they came to this conclusion.  Encourage all of the groups to discuss whether or not this is the most likely function of each tool before you share the real use.

4.  Experimenting  Kids will be challenged to predict and test.  It's fun now and will be a survival skill for the life.

Prepare for this activity by having partner groups fold paper airplanes. Have each group complete their plane by slipping a paperclip over the nose (narrow) end.

Use tape on the floor on a long hall or a piece of rope outdoors on the playground to be a starting line. Have the partner groups toss their plane and measure how far it flies.

Then challenge the partners to change their plane so it will fly even farther.

Before they leap into action, have the partners list all the changes they could make.

Next, have them list the three changes that (based on past experiences and observing patterns) they think are most likely to be successful. Have them narrow this down to the one change they believe is likely to work best.  Be sure they list why they think this will work.

Have the partners also think about what variables (things that could change the outcome) they need to keep exactly the same as they test their modified plane.

Finally, have the partners change their plane per their idea and test it three times.

Did it work?  Could something be changed to make fly even farther? If so, what?

Have all of the groups compare their results and decide which modification worked best. Why did it?

5.  Creative Evaluating  Children will analyze results and think of other possibilities. They'll be pushing their brains into maximum action now!

New Shoe

It's time for an activity that will take kids from creative thinking to inventing.  Divide the class into partner groups again.  This time have them examine a tennis shoe.

Challenge them to list everything about the shoe that makes it good for the job it was made to do.

Have them think how this tennis shoe could be changed to function even better.

Next, have the partners come up with new features that might be added to the shoe to make it perform even better or do something that's totally new and wonderful.  Encourage them to make diagrams of the shoe showing their proposed changes.

Have each partner group describe the new and improved features they're proposing.  If you have old tennis shoes available, you could let the partners collect materials and create a prototype model of their proposed improved shoe.