Fifth-Grade Family Science a Huge Success!

It was great seeing so many fifth-graders at Family Science Day on November 22nd. Students enjoyed many science investigations and made terrific observations. Kudos to Robert Kosinski and Juan Villacis from Ms. Bradley's class for creating great sculptures from trash! We also have some budding scientific illustrators at P.S. 230--so many of your bird illustrations were marvelous. Kids also got a chance to read tree cookies and find out the age of a tree and the conditions under which the tree grew. Students wracked their brains trying to solve toothpick puzzles and built some pretty tall skyscrapers using clay and toothpicks. The tallest skyscraper was built by Cassidy McAllister. Sabiha Afroz from Ms. Shapiro's class guessed correctly that there were 350 pencils in the Estimation Jar. Way to go Sabiha!

Whew! Parent-Teacher Conferences are over. It was so nice meeting so many of my students' parents. My apologies to anyone who tried to see me but couldn't because all the slots had been filled. Please feel free to email me at oogly2@yahoo.com if you still wish to speak to me.

FOOD CHAIN PROJECTS

Thanks to all the fourth-graders who handed their food chain projects in on time. I've really enjoyed reading them and want to compliment many of you on your fine work. We've even enjoyed a few food chain skits that were great, as well as a puppet show. Science grades will be handed in this week, so if you didn't hand in your project, this will be reflected in your grade. Please get your project to Ms. Seitz as soon as possible. We are doing some very important work and it is your responsibility to hand your work in on time. Thank you.

And next in the food chain........Anoles!

That's right. Our terrarium ecosystems have a new occupant, the green anole, also known as the American chameleon because they change color from brown to green. The anoles eat crickets and are considered SECONDARY CONSUMERS. And because they eat crickets, they are CARNIVORES or meat eaters. They are also PREDATORS because they hunt for their food. Anoles live in Florida and love to climb trees rather than crawl on the ground. When the males get angry or when they are looking for a mate, the hanging skin below their mouths puffs up, sort of like a frog. This loose skin is called a DEWLAP. Okay, so let's recap our FOOD CHAIN so far. The chain starts with the SUN. Plants use the sun's energy to make food. That's why plants are called PRODUCERS...they produce their own food. Plants and in the case of our terrarium, grass, then becomes food energy for CRICKETS (PRIMARY CONSUMERS), which in turn, become food for ANOLES (SECONDARY CONSUMERS).

REX GETS TERRITORIAL. NINJA IS REMOVED FROM TANK!

After a year and a half of living peacefully together, Rex has gotten territorial and began attacking little Ninja this week. To keep Ninja safe, Ms. Seitz has taken Ninja home and set him up in a tank in her kitchen. Rex seems to be sulking now that he is alone in his tank in Room 409. Ninja seems a bit lonely in his kitchen aquarium. Hopefully, Rex and Ninja can be reunited in the future, but for now, they need their own space.

The Crickets Have Arrived!

Fourth-graders are just finishing up their study of the first link in the food chain--plants--also known as PRODUCERS because they produce their own food (using sunlight, air and water). Now for the next link--CRICKETS--also called PRIMARY CONSUMERS. PRIMARY CONSUMERS are always HERBIVORES because they eat PRODUCERS, which are always plants. They are eating rye grass in our terrariums.
Crickets are insects. Only the males chirp, by rubbing their wings together. It is their love song. They live in fields, grasses and meadows and are nocturnal.
Students will be taking a close look at crickets to distinguish between males and females. They will also draw scientific illustrations to accurately depict the anatomy of a cricket.

WHAT DO OUR CLASS TABLES HAVE IN COMMON?

As the students know, our science classroom tables are each named for a particular creature. We have the Luna Moth, Horseshoe Crab, Flying Squirrel, Monk Parakeet, Large-Eyed Click Beetle, Spotted Salamander, Downy Woodpecker, and Moon Jelly tables. I have asked the students what they all have in common and have received some good guesses. So far, however, no one has hit the nail on the head. So put your thinking caps on and try hard to figure out what each of these creatures have in common. Either let Ms. Seitz know or drop a note in her question box near the front door. There's a prize for the first person who guesses correctly, so give it a go!