Antarctica Research Links

Here are some links that you can use to find out more for your Antarctica research. Please let me know in the comments section if there are links that are especially helpful.

Adelie penguins
An amazing site!

Adelie penguins from National Geographic

Adelie penguins from Penguin World

Chinstrap penguins
This site, from Penguin World, has many facts about the chinstrap penguin.

Animal Bytes: Chinstrap Penguins

More on chinstrap penguins
Scroll down to see some cute penguin chicks!

Crabeater seals
There are more crabeater seals than any other kind of seal. What are they like? And what do they really eat?

Elephant seals and crabeater seals
This page has information about both kinds of seals. Read carefully!

Crabeater seals
Fast Facts

Elephant seals
You must see this seal to believe it. Really.

More on elephant seals
Easy to read facts and information make this site a great source of information.

Emperor penguins
Find video, facts, and photos at this site from Arkive.

Emperor penguin Creature Feature
Read and learn about emperor penguins with this site from National Geographic.

Emperor penguins Animal Bytes

Gentoo penguins
Lots of information about gentoo penguins.

More on gentoo penguins
From coolantarctica.com. Be aware of the ads on this page.

Macaroni penguins
 A site from Arkive.

More macaroni penguins
This is a fact sheet from the Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium.

Krill
Information on the tiny creatures from National Geographic.

More on krill

Krill cam
From the Australian Antarctic Division. See krill swimming!

Krill facts
An entire website devoted to krill. After your research is done, you can try some of the games.

Leopard seals
This fantastic site includes photos, videos, and information.

Leopard seals from National Geographic

More on leopard seals
From a-z animals.com

Leopard seals
Information from New Zealand

The Arctic tern
This bird makes an amazing migration each year.

More on Arctic terns
Get a glimpse of the cute little tern chicks!

Arctic tern from Arkive

Weddell seals
Fact file from coolantarctica.com

Weddell seals
More information from Arkive

Weddell seal science
Read about current research in Antarctica.


The South Polar Skua
Learn more about this unloved bird.

More about the Skua
Read all about this bird at Cool Antarctica.


Orcas
The National Geographic site about orcas.

More orcas
This Arkive site includes photos, videos, and more.

Humpback whales
This site is from Animal Diversity Web

Blue whales
Lots of information about blue whales!

Mount Erebus profile
A quick overview of facts related to Antarctica's volcano.

More on Mount Erebus
This is a longer article.

Weather in Antarctica
This site has some ads, but it also includes lots of information about Antarctica's temperatures.

More on weather
This site is from IceCube!


Southern lights (otherwise known as aurora australis)
This site does include advertisements, so be careful where you click!

Silent Letters and Verb Tense

What do these two things have in common? Some irregular past tense verbs have silent letters. For example, brought and knew are tricky verbs. Both are in past tense. And both have silent letters!

As we work on silent letter patterns in spelling class, it makes sense to study verb tenses as well.

Here are some study tools for learning about words with silent letters and verb tenses.

Quizlet Set for Silent Letter Combinations



Matching Activity: Match present tense and past tense verbs.

Simple Present Tense: This site shows students how to form the simple present tense.

Verb Practice--with Bees!: This site helps students to practice using the correct forms of verbs.

Rocket Ship Past and Present: Match the correct forms of past and present verbs to make the rocket ship lift off!

Logic Games

This week, students have enjoyed playing the logic game Sugar, Sugar in the computer lab. Here are some other logic games for you to try:

Sugar, Sugar: Christmas version
This is a holiday themed version of the game.

Snail Bob
In this game, you help the snail to get across various obstacles to reach a goal. If you really like it, there is a Snail Bob app available.

Fidgits
In this game, you help tiny "Fidgits" get where they want to be. Add items like erasers, cubes, and tubes to a room to direct the Fidgits to their destinations. You can test and retest as many times as you need to.

Please note: There are advertisements on Math Playground. Fidgits is advertisement-free.

Study for Spelling: Greek and Latin Roots

You can try Quizlet to help you study for spelling. Here is a link to vocabulary flashcards. Let me know what you think!
 

Maps are Models!

This week we'll be learning about how maps are models. We'll also look at how people represent the same places differently on maps.

You can learn more about maps by exploring these games from National Geographic. (Click on the LINKS in purple, not on the pictures, to get to the site.)

Adventure Island (easy): You can help the tour guide to lead people around Adventure Island with this game.

Explore a Pyramid: In this game, you can explore an Egyptian pyramid with a robot. Follow the map and the clues to find the hidden chamber!







Find the Sunken Treasure: Use special high tech tools and a grid map to find a sunken treasure.

Welcome to a new school year!

This is an exciting time of year to be a teacher. The new school supplies have arrived--piles of pencils, paper, and folders just waiting for your good ideas. I am unpacking all of my favorite books and materials. I am learning the names of the new fourth graders by typing labels and making class lists. Soon, the new school year will begin!

I am always interested in learning and love to find out about new things. On this blog, you'll find links that go along with what we are learning in school, as well as links to other interesting sites that you might enjoy.

Reading

We'll begin our school year by learning about story elements. You can review story elements by visiting this website to see how the elements of a story work together.

Math
Get ready for fourth grade math! You can practice basic facts at this site, "That's a Fact". You can practice each operation on its own, or mixed operations for more of a challenge.

Social Studies
Our first social studies unit will be about maps. We'll look at all of the different ways that people use maps. One of our activities will be hurricane tracking. You can visit this site to find out the latest information about hurricanes.

You may also enjoy looking at all of the resources available on this National Geographic map site for kids.

Science
The big science news of this week? The landing of the Mars Rover Curiosity! You can find out all about Curiosity, as well as check out an interactive 3D rover, at this NASA website.

Our first unit will be about scientific inquiry. If you want to try out an easy experiment at home, try "Tie-Dyed Milk" at Cool Science. Of course, be sure that your parents have given you permission! (We'll do a version of this activity once school begins, as well.)

Your comments needed
If you have visited any of the links or enjoyed reading the blog, please be sure to leave a comment. You may leave an anonymous comment or leave your first name only. All comments to this blog are moderated--that means that I check them before they are posted. :) 

Mrs. Kissner

Happy Summer!

Hello! I hope that everyone is having a wonderful summer. I miss the classroom and I'm dreaming up new things for next year. Remember to stop by and visit me on the way down the hall as you go to fifth grade.

Ocean Games: Whether you're planning a trip to the beach or you're just dreaming of going, you can visit this PBS site for some fun interactive ocean games.

Ocean Creatures: Visit NOAA's Ark (NOAA stands for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) to see galleries of creatures who live in or near water.

Aidan recommends: Aidan has been watching lots of Wild Kratts on PBS this summer! His favorite game is this Kickboxing Kangaroo game from their website. (Hmm...I never knew that this was a natural behavior of kangaroos! You can learn more facts about kangaroos as you play the game.)

WebRanger: Are you planning to visit a National Park this summer? Even if you don't go to a park in person, you can learn about our national parks by becoming a WebRanger online.

Finally...here is a picture from one of my adventures this summer! This pipevine swallowtail was fluttering around the creek as we were walking at Nixon Park, a free park near York. I had to jump through the creek to get a picture! We've also been to Pine Grove Furnace, Caledonia, and Nawakwa. What places have you visited this summer?

**To the student who left an anonymous comment that you didn't want me to post: I hope that you are having a wonderful summer! I will miss having you (and your great sense of humor) in class this year.

Roads to Freedom Activity

Looking for a fun summer activity? Try the "Roads to Freedom" challenge.

1. Pick up a Roads to Freedom booklet at any library in Adams County.

2. Follow the written clues to find the fifteen artifacts hidden around Adams County. At each location, you'll be able to make a rubbing of a picture or text to show that you have been there.

Sound like fun? Learn more at the Adams County Library System's blog post.

Summer Reading

I hope that your summer is going well! If you haven't signed up for summer reading yet, make sure that you visit this website to do so. It's easy and fun. And, while you're signing up, check out some of the fun programs at the libraries. You can find the events schedule here.

Summer Adventures

Summer is here and it's time for adventures. I love to travel to all of the free, fun places in our area. Then I take pictures to use in lessons and Powerpoints all year long! Here are some of my favorite spots. Share this with your parents to see if you can visit some of these places, too!

Nixon Park

A view of the nature center at Nixon Park.

This is about 1.5 hours away. I grew up near this park, and every summer I like to visit to go to the nature center, explore the creek, and hike on the trails. Be sure to check the calendar for Reptile Week events held in the first week of July.

Pine Grove Furnace State Park
What's summer without a trip to Fuller Lake? My favorite part of Pine Grove Furnace is walking to the little canal area behind the Furnace Stack Day Use area and checking out the turtles. We can always see one or two basking in the sun. It's also neat to visit the new Appalachian Trail Museum. Can you imagine hiking the Appalachian Trail all the way from  Maine to Georgia?

Kings Gap State Park

Kings Gap is the absolute best place to see frogs! The park has many programs throughout the summer. But we like to stop by the garden at the top of the mountain and look for frogs in the small pond. There are also skinks (a kind of lizard), snakes, and many different kinds of birds. Almost all of my frog pictures come from Kings Gap.

By the way, this is where we happened to see a garter snake eating a frog on Mothers Day.

What summer adventures are you looking forward to ? Feel free to post a comment!

Learning about Rocks

We're learning about the rock cycle! Here are some links to use to help you build your knowledge.

Rock Cycle Interactive
This interactive website will help you to learn about the three types of rocks.

More Rock Cycle Information
At this website, you can find lots of additional information about different kinds of rocks and the rock cycle.

More animations
At this site, you can see some different animations that show how rocks form.

Cave Formation
In our intervention class, we learned about how caverns form. At this site, you can see an animation to show the formation of a cavern.

Fiction Genres

Isn't it fun to think about genres? Here is the Powerpoint presentation that we have viewed in school. What genres have you read? Which would you like to read?

Fiction genres

View more PowerPoint from Emily Kissner

Using their, they're, and there

This week, we're working on homophones in spelling. These are words that sound the same, but are spelled differently. One set that is especially confusing is the set of there, their, and they're.

To practice, try out these interactive games and exercises! (Please note: Many of these games have links to advertisements on their pages. Remember to stay on the linked page only, especially if you are working in the computer lab.)

Online quiz: Try these sentences to see if you can choose the correct form of the word.

Taxi Review: Answer a question correctly to race in a taxi! (Once again, I'm not very good at this one!)

Another online quiz: Try this one to see how you do.

Tank game: You can play this game in one-player or two-player mode. Enjoy!

Fraction Activities

Today in math class we worked on finding equivalent fractions with Cuisenaire Rods. At this site from Math Playground, you can play with digital manipulatives. Can you find equivalent fractions? What can you discover?

In class, we talked about finding fractions of sets. At this site, you can practice matching fractions to sets.

Explore the relationships between fractions, decimals, and percents at this Illuminations Fraction Models site.

Get a head start on our study of percents by playing the game Decention, in which you match up percents, decimals, and fractions.

Learn about fractions while playing a spooky game in Escape from Fraction Manor.

Let me know which games you like the best! :)

Working with Fractions

We're about to start working with fractions. Here are some fun games to practice and review.

Fraction Monkeys

With this game, you can practice putting fractions on a numberline, matching equivalent fractions, and ordering fractions.

Fraction Flags
With this game, you can use fractions to create and color a flag.

Falling Numbers
In this game, you'll solve "fraction of" problems. You can play this in 1-player or 2-player modes. See if a parent or sibling is willing to play!

Great Author Websites

Looking for some fun books to read? Want to learn more about a favorite author? Here are some author websites that you might enjoy. Let us know with a comment if you have other favorites to share.

Judy Moody
Many fourth graders have been enjoying the adventures of Judy Moody and her little brother Stink. Why not check out Judy's room, explore some "way-not-boring things to do" and learn more about Judy?

Beverly Cleary
Your parents probably enjoyed the books of Beverly Cleary when they were in school--and you can, too! At this site, you can read an excerpt from Ramona and Beezus, play games at the Klickitat St. Arcade, and even take the ultimate Beverly Cleary quiz.

Dav Pilkey
Dav Pilkey is the author of the Captain Underpants series. This site is considered "too silly for grown-ups, small animals, and many varieties of houseplants." So be warned!

Andrew Clements
Some literature circle groups are reading Frindle or The School Story right now. Even if you're not, you might enjoy reading about the books of Andrew Clements. Be sure to check out "Fun Extras" for some interesting video!

Vicki Cobb
Vicki Cobb writes about different science experiments that you can try. (See Mrs. Kissner if you'd like to borrow one of her books.) At her website, you can even view some videos that Mrs. Cobb made with her grandkids, daring you to try some experiments of your own. But ask your parents first. Please!

Kristine O'Connell George
Ask Mrs. Kissner to borrow "The Great Frog Race" to read some beautiful poems. Then visit the author's website, where you can read some more poems, learn some tips for writing poetry, and listen to poetry read aloud.

Measuring Angles

In math class, we're learning about how to use a protractor to measure angles. Here are some interactive tools that you can use.

Math Playground: Measuring Angles
Line up the protractor with the angles in this activity. Be precise--and know which set of numbers on the protractor to use!

Banana Hunt
Can you estimate the measure of different angles? In this game, move a monkey to an estimated angle location, and then "search" for bananas. Try to get as close as possible.

Carnival Game
Try this cannon game to keep on working with measuring angles! You'll need to use the right angle measurement to fire the cannon at the target.

Alien Angles
Rescue aliens by estimating angles.

Landforms of the Midwest

We're learning about the Midwest! Use these links to find information about the important landforms. (Remember, click on the links, not the picture.)

Geography and Landforms: This site has a collection of links about different landforms.

Great Lakes for Kids: Use this site to find out all about the Great Lakes.

Mississippi River: Basic facts about this important river.

Mississippi River, National Park Service: A nice overview of the Mississippi.

United States Landforms Map: Click on the Great Plains image on the map to see where to find the Great Plains.

Tallgrass Prairie: Learn about this interesting kind of ecosystem.

Learning about Water

This week, we'll continue to learn about water. Here are some interesting websites to explore!

Benthic Macroinvertebrate Sampling

This is a mayfly nymph that I found in a stream

.

Uh--what is that again? Actually, it's a long word for a simple idea. A benthic macroinvertebrate is a stream-dwelling creature. By looking for these creatures in a stream, you can learn whether the stream has good water quality or poor water quality. Explore the different kinds of creatures that you can find in this interactive. Then try looking for creatures in a stream near you. (Ask your parents first, of course.)

What Is A Watershed?
This movie explains what a watershed is.

Virtual Classroom
Visit this interactive classroom to learn more about watersheds. Be sure to check out the Watershed Creator on the blackboard.

Understanding Water Resources

Our next science unit is about water and water resources! You can review the water cycle with the interactive diagram at this website.

Water cycle interactive

 Learn more about the water cycle with the video and quiz on this site.

Water cycle video

We'll be learning about the water cycle, bodies of water, and even how people use water resources. What bodies of water have you visited? How do you use water in a day? Leave a comment to tell about your experiences with water.

Here is a slideshow about water resources to help you study.

Water resources

View more PowerPoint from Emily Kissner

Learning about Division

In math, we're about to head into division. Division sounds scary, but is really fun! Students are learning about how to deal with remainders, how to turn around multiplication facts into division facts, and how to use estimate the solutions to division problems.

Ready to play some games? Here are some fun activities to help you become fast and fluent with your division facts.

Math Magician
This game is a great place to start. You can choose your divisor to work on bits of division at a time. Try to beat the clock!

Division Mine
Use division to help miners figure out how many cars to use to transport their gems. (Note: If you're playing this in the computer lab, make sure to turn the sound off!)

Demolition Division

Okay, I had trouble with this one! Maybe you can learn how to use the arrow keys and get a better score than mine. If you like online skill games, you will enjoy this mix of quick aiming and division.

Sum Sense
A great game! Drag the cards into the blanks to create a correct number sentence.

Learning about the states

We're learning about regions of the United States! Over the next few weeks, students will be finding out more about the Southeast and Midwest. As part of our unit, students will need to be able to recognize and label states. Students will also study landmarks from each region, important historical events from each region, and tourist attractions.

Here are some resources that students can use to study the states.

Postcards from Buster
This Connect the States game will help students to learn about different states.

State Drag and Drop
Try to put the states into their proper locations with this activity.

State Explorer
Click on the states in this activity to find out their names. This is a perfect way to review for a map test!

Geonet
This site includes information about different regions of the United States.

USA Quiz
Here, you can play a game to identify the different states.

Landforms of the United States
Click on the pictures in the map key to see where these landforms are located in the United States!

From Sea to Shining Sea
Explore this site to learn about different regions of the United States, maps, and US history.

Enjoy! Leave a comment to share which activities you enjoyed.