Showing posts with label Everglades. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Everglades. Show all posts

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Art and Science: What you can do with Crayons

Some students learn best by drawing.  It is amazing what can be done with crayons.  Try letting students draw what they see.  Many students will do better than I have done.  Here are my examples.

Everglades


Thank you Rachel Carson


Bluebird in Apple Tree


Mallard Pair


All drawings (c) 1992-2012 J S Shipman

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Poetry and Science: Anhinga

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Melding the study of poetry with the study of science can enhance both science education and science literacy.

When anhinga dive for food, their wings get wet and they pose in the sun to dry their feathers. Viewing several anhinga drying their wings led to a haiku:

Anhinga Haiku
by J S Shipman

The anhinga are
Hanging their wings out to dry
In the Everglades

Here is a photo of a female anhinga.

The audobon society has posted this information on anhinga wing-drying:

"Anhingas [...] have unusually low metabolic rates and unusually high rates of heat loss from their bodies. Whether wet or dry, they exhibit spread-wing postures mostly under conditions of bright sunlight and cool ambient temperatures, and characteristically orient themselves with their backs to the sun. Thus, it appears that Anhingas adopt a spread-wing posture primarily for thermoregulation -- to absorb solar energy to supplement their low metabolic heat production and to offset partly their inordinately high rate of heat loss due to convection and (when wet) evaporation from their plumage."
Source: http://www.corkscrew.audubon.org/Wildlife/Birds/Wing_spreading.html; Accessed February 14, 2010.

Here's another photo from today's visit. Perhaps the male, can you tell?:

More anhinga information and photos:

(c)2010 J S Shipman

Alligators are Nocturnal (The bird is hoping!)

The bird may be a tri-color heron. I have to verify. Let's see.... I am on the computer. This post is on a blog about improving science literacy. How could a student answer this question? Keys to herons? Photos? While you look at the photo, we'll open up another tab and check out some information.


Aha! It is a tricolored heron (and used to be called a Louisiana Heron(Egretta tricolor)). See, hear, and read more:

(c)2010 J S Shipman. All rights reserved. (photo and text)

Today in the Everglades...



(c) 2010 J S Shipman. All rights reserved. (Photo and text)

Here's Marjory Stoneman Douglas:


Edit on April 23, 2010:
One reader suggested the following link.
http://www.filepie.us/?title=Marjory_Stoneman_Douglas