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!

The Monarchs are Migrating

While you walk around your neighborhood, look to the skies and the gardens for these brilliant orange and black butterflies. They are gathering nectar so they can make the long flight south for the winter. Many of our monarchs will be wintering in Mexico and, in the spring, make the return journey to Brooklyn!

SCHOOL IS IN FULL SWING!

We're just about starting week three of school and so far I am very pleased with the enthusiasm and curiosity of many of my students. Thanks for being prepared with your binders and thank you for participating during class and working cooperatively with your group members at your tables.

We started the year off with a Lemon of a Lesson, during which students had to describe and draw their individual lemons, so they could pick them out of a crowd of lemons. This exercise helped students hone observation skills, which are necessary in order to conduct accurate scientific investigations. It also required students to use their data (as evidence) that the lemon they picked out of the crowd was indeed their own--just as scientists have to prove their conclusions with scientific evidence.

Everyone was happy to see the return of Ninja and Rex to the classroom. The two turtles spent their summer in my kitchen. Sometimes I took them out into the yard to catch some sun. But I can tell they were aching for their bigger aquarium in the classroom, where they can swim around to their hearts' content. While my sons were sad to see Ninja and Rex leave the kitchen, my students were thrilled that they had come back to PS 230. For the record: Ninja is the small one and he is a painted turtle. Rex is the big guy and he is a red-eared slider. They are both pond turtles, which means they live in fresh water.

The fourth grade started their unit on Food Chains and Webs by studying the composition of three different soil types: potting soil, local soil (from Ms. Seitz's backyard) and peat soil. They learned that soil is composed of living and non-living things and were asked to determine whether each of the soils was more sand, silt or clay. They did this by studying the soil particles while dry and then wetting the soil and making soil snakes. If the soil wouldn't form a snake, it was mostly sand; if it made a snake that broke when bent, it was silt; and if it made a snake and stayed when bent, it was mostly clay.

Fifth-graders started their unit on Variables. A variable is anything that can be changed or manipulated in an experiment. Students were asked to hang washers one-by-one from a rubber band and then record how the length of the rubber band changed with the addition of each consecutive washer. The washers are what's called an independent variable, the variable changed by the scientist. The dependent variable is the rubber band, because it responds to the changes of the independent variable. All other variables remain constant and are called controlled variables.