Class Theme to start the year

I have debated between turtles and space all summer...I love my turtle and so do the kids. I had thought....Slow and Steady wins the race.... but today...I definitely settled on space.

 First of all...it is the first science unit we will teach this year.  It hooks the students and gets them excited about school.  We had even made up this cute bulletin board that I found last summer from Clutter Free Classroom.  She had found it from this link for bulletin board design.




We also have these blow up planets and Mrs. Fultz had a great idea I saw on Pinterest.. I could do that!





Second...I found a bunch of stuff at TARGET!

I was wasting time while waiting for a ZPak prescription (yes, I have an upper respiratory infection in the SUMMER...not fair!)...and I happened across this:

It was a bulletin board set with the planets and rockets..for $2.50.

Next I found....rocket & planet shapes (for $2) as well as window clings ($2).  They were all in primary colors which are the colors I use year round in my class.  I also found my $1 spot pocket charts in red, green, & blue as well as cute hanging pompoms and a banner in the party section.

Yesterday I had found a great picture on pinterest using these shapes for a Wonder Spot.  I found these at the $1 spot and bought four of them..I intend to use them for what do you wonder about math? reading? social studies? science?

Kids can write on them when they have a wonder and we can use them all year long!

So...space it is!  Looking forward to setting up my classroom in a few weeks.

What purposes can feathers serve?

Have you ever really thought about feathers?  What purpose do they serve for the animals that need them?  What purpose do humans use feather for? 

Two words come to mind - warmth and protection. (Well and a slight thought about Grandma's feather bed...also a great use of feathers!)

This science center involves comparing two types of feathers: Flight feathers vs. Downy feathers.



Both feathers serve a purpose...but they are also different enough that you can easily compare them.  Using a Box and T chart to list and compare what the students notice.  You can even provide man-made synthetic materials to observe and compare material that people use for warmth and protection in coats.

This is a science center that you can use to compare downy to flight feathers using man-made materials as well as feathers.  You can download it for free here.

Investigating Feathers

In keeping with my owl and eagle theme...here is another Science Center that you can download for FREE...investigating flight feathers.

With this center is a task card that explains what to do when they investigate. It gives background information as well as some tasks to try with the feathers.  You will need to have a collection of feathers ...either some you found (and cleaned!) or some you purchase.

Next is a sheet that students can record observations, measurements and reflections in a guided approach.

Enjoy!

Owl Pellets - an investigation!

Do you like to investigate owl pellets?  It is always one of my favorite activities!! For those of you who may not know what they are, let me explain.  Owls eat their prey whole - and then spit back up the bones in a fur ball.  You can purchase these lovely pellets and find out what they ate for dinner.
  It is a great hands-on activity to teach in a "real way" the idea of a food web or food chain.

For those of you who are squeamish...oh yes, I know you are out there!  You can also do this on-line.  There is a great website called KidWings.  This website shows owl pellets from a variety of owls...including, the barred owl. At this site, you can get teacher resources to include information about owls, bone charts, and photographs.  There is even a video that explains how to have a successful pellet investigation.

I have created a Science Center using Owl Pellets for the upper grades.  In it you will start with a focus question, some back ground information, data charts and a reflection piece. 

You can download this for FREE on my TPT store site.

Barred Owls Non-fiction Resources

     Did you look at the resources I posted yesterday?  They included many wonderful FREE YouTube clips, children's literature (available at your local library) as well as websites with more information. 

Today, I have two resources available for you.  One is cheap ($1) and one is FREE. 


Cheap resource: $1.00   I have put together 11 pages of non-fiction reading passages on the barred owl. They are written to cover topics:  food webs, food chain, habitat, human impact, comparing spotted owls to barred owls, structural adaptations and behavioral adaptations.  Each of these passages includes a place to reflect on what they learn - either through writing or drawing. 

Free Resource:  This is one of the resources that is included in the cheap resource.  It is a passage explaining some of the adaptations that the barred owl makes behaviorally.  It includes a space to draw what you learn from the passage. 

Next up???  Some hands-on activities using feathers and owl pellets.

Barred Owl

Ever since I read Owl in the Shower with my class this year, I have had a fascination with the Barred Owl.  This is a great realistic fiction novel that tells the tale of the struggle of the 1980's between the logging companies and the naturalists.  It is an endearing story and one that my children loved.

It is hard to find a specific book on barred owls.  You may have to read a general Owl book, but this one actually has a section specifically about barred owls.  

This book tells about several types of owls and includes facts and drawings.

Website: National Geographic  has a great section on barred owls including real photographs.

Video clip: 

The vocal calls of the barred owl.

Barred Owl fishing...

More resources to come!

Bald Eagles

Here it is!  My first installment for the summer of my Animal Resources.  This one is about Bald Eagles.  I chose the eagle for many reasons.  The first is because...duh...it is our national bird and this week is our celebration of our American Independance...the Fourth of July!  Second is because I have a home on the river (or rivah as we say in Virginia) where I daily observe a family of eagles fishing. The third reason is because it was my college mascot...go Mary Washington Eagles!

Here are some of my favorite resources to help your students learn more about the Bald Eagle.

Websites to find out more information and hear an eagle sound:  All About Birds

Eagle Cams: This site is no longer active but has many awesome clips that were taken this spring in Richmond, Virginia.


Children's Books to read aloud to your kids. You can purchase them on Amazon, or do like I do and check them out from the public library.

by Gordon Morrison

You Tube Clip

My FREE resource: Bald Eagles and the Food Chain

My Cheap Resource ($1.00) Includes the resource above along with resources to explore:  habitat, food webs, human impact, measurements, structural adaptations, behavioral adaptations and vocab cards.

Hope you enjoy learning about EAGLES....