What a zoo!

We have started to dig in to our new project, creating a scale model of a zoo complete with animals and detailed enclosures.

Here are the websites we talked about for your research. Click on the hyperlink below the image for direct access to each site.

San Diego Zoo

National Geographic Kids ~ Animals

Animal Fact Guide

A-Z Animals 

Endangered Species Fact Sheets

Enchanted Learning

(You will not have access to everything on this site because it requires a subscription.)

Mini-Project: Get Your Recycle On!

So... we were going to do a bit of research about recycling and create posters that encouraged others to recycle but the kids had other plans! The idea grew into a mini-project that took about a week to complete. Some did make posters but others created Boards in Discovery Education's Board Builder, others created technology projects, and we even had a short play. Some of the projects are featured below:

MA, LM and LS created this Prezi about recycling as a part of our mini-project.



And here's another from JW, BS and KM:


And another from GT and DG:

2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi

The Winter Olympics begin soon so these are some links we'll use in the classroom to 

help us learn more about the games, the history behind them, the Olympians, the countries they represent and the location of the games this month. Go USA!

Here's the main website for the Olympics... olympic.org
There you can find schedules, information about athletes, countries that participate and more!



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"The 2014 Winter Olympics will take place in Sochi, Russia, from February 7 through February 23. Events are divided into 14 sports—15 if skeleton is counted as a separate sport from bobsleigh. (Here, we’re counting them as a single sport.) Some sports have multiple disciplines—men’s and women’s competitions, relay competitions, and races of different distances. Each discipline will have three medalists—gold, silver, and bronze." ~ from National Geographic Education

For information about the sports played in the winter games, check out Sports of the 2014 Winter Olympics on National Geographic Education.

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From NBCLearn:

Science and Engineering of the 2014 Olympic Winter Games
This 10-part video series, produced by NBC Learn and NBC Sports, in partnership with the National Science Foundation, explores the science, technology, engineering and math of the 2014 Olympic Winter Games.

Science of the Olympic Winter Games
This original video collection explores the physics, biology, chemistry, and math behind the Olympic Winter Games.

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http://cybraryman.com/olympics.html

This is a great collection of things you might want to know about the Game as well as teaching materials from Cybraryman, former teacher Jerry Blumengarten.

Everyday Mysteries

We are starting to dig into our Wonder projects! At my Library of Congress website training this week, one of the other participants came across this cool resource in the Kids & Families section.

 

Here's a bit about what you'll find there:

"Did you ever wonder why a camel has a hump? If you can really tell the weather by listening to the chirp of a cricket? Or why our joints make popping sounds? These questions deal with everyday phenomena that we often take for granted, but each can be explained scientifically.

Everyday Mysteries will help you get the answers to these and many other of life's most interesting questions through scientific inquiry. In addition, we will introduce you to the Library of Congress' rich collections in science and technology.

All of the questions presented on this Web site were asked by researchers and answered by librarians from the Library's Science Reference Services."

Frequently Used Websites

In the classroom, there are some websites we use a lot. These sites are available to students for quick access from our school computers, but they may want to visit them at home as well.

http://everydaymathonline.com
This is the online component of our math program. Your child will have login and password information in his/her binder, attached to the Math Letters sleeve.

http://www.worldbookonline.com/kids/home
LdVCS students have access to World Book Online. There are five different options to allow access by all levels of learners. We primarily use World Book Kids but World Book Student is another great option for more advanced readers.
Login: sdcoeldv
Password: library

http://wonderopolis.org/
Learning is happening everywhere, all the time! We have bottled a little bit of that learning in each Wonder of the Day®. Experience a daily dose of time with your child to make the most of each and every moment together — learn something new, try out an idea, create a masterpiece, imagine possibilities. It’s easy. It’s fun. But the learning is big!

 http://www.starfall.com/
Starfall.com opened in September of 2002 as a free public service to teach children to read with phonics. Our systematic phonics approach, in conjunction with phonemic awareness practice, is perfect for preschool, kindergarten, first grade, second grade, special education, homeschool, and English language development (ELD, ELL, ESL). Starfall is an educational alternative to other entertainment choices for children.

http://www.abcya.com/
ABCya.com is the leader in free educational kids computer games and activities for elementary students to learn on the web. All children's educational computer activities were created or approved by certified school teachers. All educational games are free and are modeled from primary grade lessons and enhanced to provide an interactive way for children to learn.

http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/
The kids version of the amazing National Geographic website.

http://www.funbrain.com/
Since 1997, kids, teachers, librarians, and parents have enthusiastically turned to Funbrain for its free educational games, online books, and comics. Funbrain, created for kids ages preschool through grade 8, offers more than 100 fun, interactive games that develop skills in math, reading, and literacy. Plus, kids can read a variety of popular books and comics on the site, including Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Amelia Writes Again, and Brewster Rocket.

Teachers and librarians can confidently encourage students to use Funbrain during their free time in class, assured that kids will enjoy an educational, safe online learning experience. Funbrain's games help students build on what they have learned in class and acquire new skills in reading, math, and problem solving.

Tide Pools

We are currently working on a habitat project and these are some links for one of my groups... :)

http://42explore.com/tidepool.htm
http://www.seaworld.org/wild-world/ecosystems/info-books/tide-pools/intertidal-ecology.htm
Explorations
http://www.ohv.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=23926

The Owl Box

You may have heard that we've been keeping an eye on a mother barn owl and her 5 eggs for the past several days. They are in an owl box in someone's backyard in San Marcos and have become quite an Internet sensation. The eggs will be hatching any day and it's been fascinating to see the birds in their home and to witness what they do on a daily basis. We've even been able to see her eat a few times! Here's the link so you can check it out from home: http://www.ustream.tv/theowlbox

*A warning - the chat section can be a bit inappropriate at times for children. We always watch using the full screen version, where the chat window is not visible. This can be accessed just below the video window next to the sound.*

We've made many observations and hypotheses about owl behavior while watching Molly, the female. (McGee, the father, comes in very early in the morning and in the evening so we haven't seen him while at school.) We did a bit of research on barn owls yesterday so that we could learn more about what we were seeing (and it ties nicely in with our science standards.) Here are a couple of links in case you are interested in learning more too.

EEK! Critter Corner - The Barn Owl
Backyard Barn Owls
Barn Owl Facts (state of Washington)

We learned that the owls stay home for about 60 days before learning to fly. That means we'll be able to see them as they develop from inside the box. Too cool!