Experiencing the Culture of New Orleans

Did you know New Orleans has a rich heritage with a mixture of many different cultures? Much like Maui. One of the things New Orleans is known for is the JazzFest they hold every year.

Here is a picture of me entering JazzFest Sunday afternoon.

Click on the following link to learn more about New Orleans History and Heritage.

Take about 15 minutes to look around and read about this amazing city.

Click on one of the History and Heritage Stories to read about New Orleans.

Assignment for today:

1) Summarize the most interesting thing you learned in one of the articles. Why was this interesting to you and your partner?

2) Check out the other teacher blogs to see what else we did on the trip.

3) Go to this website and try to make some of your own jazz music using the Super Duper Music Looper . You can not save the music, but have some fun experimenting for 10 minutes or so. You can also try this website to design another musical composition.

Have a great Monday and Tuesday. I can't wait to see you in school on Thursday! Which class was the best behaved???

Sincerely,

Ms Stockwell

Out of the Bayou

Dear Students,

I love reading all of your wonderful comments!

Today was the last day in the bayou. We had to pack up the bunkhouse and now we need to enter data about the caterpillars at Tulane University in New Orleans.

On one of the last days doing field research we got to see a bunch of alligators. We actually watched a family of baby alligators floating around a pool of water. After watching for 10 minutes, a pair of larger eyes looked up from the water!!

We also ran into another interesting creature near the river...can you spot it in this picture???

What defenses or adaptations do each of these animals have to help them survive?

Happy Earth Day!!

Dear Students,

Thank you for your kind messages. I miss you too and hope that you are having a great week. Today is Earth Day- make a positive change for the environment and stick with it. Do you know that keeping things plugged in like your cell phone wastes electricity even when it is fully charged???

In yesterdays blog you will find an activity relating to Earth Day. Remember to answer the questions in the second blog titled:

"How do YOU Impact Climate Change?"

Enjoy the following videos and pictures from the caterpillar research I was doing today!!!

Here is a picture of me in the bayou!!! When we were out in the field I saw a cottonmouth snake peeking out from a tree stump. It is a very deadly snake and it was only 2 feet away! I screamed!

How Do YOU Impact Climate Change???

Aloha Students,

Today we did more field research! Yesterday when we went into the swamp we had to collect caterpillars and put them into Ziploc bags along with the plant we found them on. This morning we had to open the bags and identify all of the caterpillars and plants! We had 100 bags to work on! All of this information had to be entered into a computer database.

In these pictures you can see some of the teachers and scientists hard at work, with the caterpillar bags piled in front of them! My job was to identify the caterpillars!

In the afternoon we were back out in the swamp. We had to measure a 10m x 10m plot. Inside this plot we had to find ALL of the caterpillars we could reach AND count the leaves on all of the plants.

Here are some more tent caterpillars we found on a tree today. When we made noise next to them they would life up their heads and wiggle around.

We are studying caterpillars in New Orleans to learn more about climate change. Did you know that you can have a huge impact on climate change??? The climate has been changing since the start of time, but humans have been causing the climate change to happen at a faster pace.

Your Assignment for Today:

1) Log onto Plant Green Game and play the game with your partner for 25 minutes. Keep in mind that you want to make smart choices for the environment in order to earn the most points.

2) When you have played the game for 25 minutes, stop and write down your score.

3) Answer the following questions, as a group:

A. What was your group score? (make sure to list your names!)

B. What types of choices did you make in the game which gave you the most points?

C. Describe one thing you can do when you go home today to help slow down human caused climate change.

Good luck! I look forward to reading your answers. Make sure to be on your best behavior for Ms. Haag.

Dear Students,

Here are a few pictures from the trip so far. Enjoy! Please remember to read the second blog below title "In the Bayou" in order to find the activity for today and your assignment.

Sincerely,

Ms Stockwell

Here is a close up of the tent caterpillar- M. disstria is the scientific name.
I caught my first caterpillar today. If you look closely at leaves and see them curled up at the edge, sometimes there is a caterpillar inside- very cool.
This is where I sleep while doing the field research! I am on the top bunk- the messy one!
Mrs. Lombardi and Mrs. Lee stand in front of the Mississippi River.
Mrs. Larson enjoys some beignets at a New Orleans coffee shop....they are kind of like malsads, but square.
Josh and Sean work hard on their blogging assignment!

In the Bayou

Aloha Students,

I hope you had a wonderful weekend! New Orleans is a very interesting city with lots of great food and wonderful music. Right now I am in Pearl River Wildlife Management Area- in the bayou. There are 10 of us sleeping in a bunk house, it is like science camp for adults. Today I go to collect my first caterpillars!

Louisiana has many invasive species, just like Maui. One of the invasive species is called the nutria. Read the following link to learn more about this animal.

http://www.nationaltrappers.com/nutria.html

When you are finished, answer the following questions as a group. (Remember to include all group member names in order to receive credit)

1) Where is the nutria from?

2) How does it damage the ecosystem in Louisiana?

3) Describe an invasive species found in Maui and explain how it damages the Hawaiian environment.

Build a Caterpillar!!!

Dear Students,

Thank you for all of your wonderful comments!!!

Today you are going to build several caterpillars online to see what adaptations help them to best survive in their environment. Please click on the following link start the activity.

caption: block 5 gets excited learning about New Orleans and caterpillars!

http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/explorer/ecosystems/be_an_explorer/map/form_caterpillars.htm#

After building the caterpillar answer the following questions in your group and please send the comment t me. (Please remember to include your group number, block, and the names of everyone in your group)

1) What adaptations seem to help a caterpillar survive on the game.

2) Choose an speciec endemic in Hawaii...what adaptations does this species have to help it survive?