Snowflakes and Scissors

You can hear me read aloud this week's homework text here:

How to Make a Signature

Adverb Suffixes

We have a great week ahead of us! From learning about the phases of the moon to figuring out adverb suffixes to revising and editing our personal narratives...so much learning lies ahead.

We started working with water beads on Tuesday. These are
fascinating tools for scientific inquiry!

Adverb Suffixes

Our new spelling list focuses on the adverb suffix -ly. In many words, this suffix changes an adjective into an adverb.

Quizlet Adverb Suffixes, Tier 1

Quizlet Adverb Suffixes, Tier 2

Moon Phases

In science, we will be learning about the phases of the moon. You can explore moon phases with these interactives. 

Moon Phases Interactive

PBS Moon Phase Activity

Once you get the idea of the moon phases, you can try this moon phase challenge:

Moon Phase Challenge

Pearl Harbor

Our reading homework passage this week focuses on Pearl Harbor. You can learn more about this event in American history through this site, from the National World War 2 Museum:

Pearl Harbor Info

News and Updates

This week, we are reading about the Mayflower for homework. You can explore the Mayflower with this interactive:

Mayflower Interactive

You can practice vocabulary with these Quizlet links. Be sure to thank Mrs. Smith for setting them up for us!

Voyage to a New World
The Bell on the Cat

Animal Cams
Did you enjoy watching the birds last week? Here are some more animal cams to enjoy:

Elephant Watering Hole
Polar Bears in Canada

The Seasons

We have been learning about the causes of the seasons. You can find the seasons animation here:

Seasons Animation

You can also do this seasons game. Click on "Launch" at the bottom of the page.

Seasons Game

Here is a different animation. What do you notice?

Animation

What's New This Week!

Birds at the feeder

This week, we have had many birds at our feeder. Students have enjoyed watching the tufted titmouse, cardinal, and downy woodpecker. You can check out this site to find out more about birds.

Cornell All About Birds

If you want do some birdwatching on your own, you can see the Feeder Cam. (This requires Flash)

Feeder Cam

Spelling

We will be working on a new list with suffixes. These will be suffixes that make nouns.

Noun Forming Suffixes, Tier 1

Noun Forming Suffixes, Tier 2

You can review the important details about noun-forming details with this presentation:

United States Geography
We are learning about the states of the Northeast. Don't forget to study! You can practice naming the states with these games:

Lizard Point Geography Game

Northeast Region Quiz Game

Quizlet States Game

Adjective-Forming Suffixes and Fables

Look at this beautiful moth! Do you think it is colorful? The word colorful has a suffix. The suffix -ful means "full of". Something that is colorful is "full of color".

Here are some adjective-forming suffix activities.

Quizlet: Adjective Suffixes, Tier 1

Quizlet: Adjective Suffixes, Tier 2

Fables
We are also reading a fable for reading homework this week.

"The Wolf and the Dog" Vocabulary Activities

You can read more fables at these sites:
Aesop's Fables

Aesop's Fables Interactive

Folktales and Fables from Between the Lions

Latitude and Longitude

We've learned about latitude and longitude this week. Here are some activities to help you review.

Treasure Hunt Game: Use latitude and longitude to find gold on the map.

Locating Hannah: Poor Hannah sometimes gets lost on the map. Can you help her find her way?

NOVA Search for Latitude: This is a challenge! Learn about the search for longitude in history.

Latitude and Longitude Skill Builder: Find locations on the map.

Previewing Day and Night

Dark and Light, Day and Night: An animated story with information about day and night.

The Earth's Rotation: An interactive animation to show the Earth's rotation.

Prefixes, Part 2

Isn't autumn beautiful? As the leaves turn colors and fall from the trees, we will continue our study of prefixes.

Be sure to study the meanings of both sets of words.

Prefixes 2, Tier 1

Prefixes 2, Tier 2

Reading Links
Don't forget to keep studying your reading vocabulary words!

Pumpkins in the Past

Pumpkin Seeds

Prefixes

This week, we will learn about prefixes in spelling class. A prefix is a group of letters that we add to the beginning of a word. A prefix changes the meaning of a word.

Our prefixes this week will be the negative prefixes dis-, un-, in-, and non-.

Tier 1 Words
Quizlet link

Tier 2 Words
Quizlet link

Here is a fun video that can show you the difference between prefixes and suffixes:





This video explains more about prefixes:


Prefix Games
Here are some games on the topic of prefixes. Not all of them focus on the same prefixes that we are learning this week, but they are a great way to help you learn more about words and patterns.

Prefix Meaning Match

Big Brown Bear Game

Caramel Apple Float
Click here to practice the words from "Caramel Apple Float" on Quizlet.

Apple Harvest Fair
Click here to practice the words from "Apple Harvest Fair" on Quizlet.

Reading Links and More

What a great start to the school year! This website is a blog. A blog is a special kind of website that can be updated again and again. You will see the most recent (newest) posts at the top. You will need to scroll down to find older posts. Can you find the very first post on this blog?

This blog has many links that you will use during the school year. A link is a word that you can click on to navigate to a new webpage.  

You can also comment on blogs. Comments to this blog are moderated--that means that I have to read them before they will appear.

Spelling and Vocabulary Links

Spelling, Tier 1
Quizlet is a site that you can use to practice spelling and vocabulary. If you are studying Tier 1 words, use these activities to help you learn how to spell the words and match their meanings.

Spelling, Tier 2
If you are studying Tier 2 words, use both Scatter and Speller to match the definitions and spell the words. If you are studying Tier 1 words, use just Scatter to practice word meanings.

Green Darner Vocabulary Words
Use this page to practice the vocabulary words that go along with "The Green Darner" text.

Caramel Apple Float
Preview next week's words!

Reading Links

You can visit these sites to learn more about interesting topics.

Journey North
Learn about animal migration with this site. You may click on other links within the site.

Myth Brainstorming Machine
At this site, you can create your own myth.

Reading A Map
Learn about reading maps with this activity from the National Park Service.

You may also visit some of the author links in the right hand panel on the blog.

Expedition Text Structure!

If you are working on Expedition Text Structure, here is a copy of the Text Structure PowerPoint to use independently. Click through until you find the text structure that you are looking for! Then, read the slides to learn about the text structure and complete your Level 1 task for that structure.

Understanding text structures from Emily Kissner

Seasons Word Cloud

Here is the cloud that we made in class for our study of the seasons:

The Cedar Waxwing

Here is information about the cedar waxwings we have been seeing at our classroom!

Cedar waxwings from Audubon

Information from BirdSource

Cedar waxwing vs. Bohemian waxwing

More Antarctica Research Links

Leopard Seals
Leopard Seals: Australian Antarctic Division

Leopard Seals from KidCyber

Leopard Seal facts from SeaWorld

Leopard Seal information from NOAA (nice question and answer format)

Emperor Penguins
Emperor Penguins: Australian Antarctic Division

Emperor Penguins from KidCyber

More information from the British Antarctic Survey

Chinstrap Penguins
Information from the Australian Antarctic Division

Animal Bytes from SeaWorld (short facts)

Weddell Seals
Weddell Seals from KidCyber

Weddell Seals Fact Sheet from the National Zoo

Adelie Penguins
Adelie Penguins: Australian Antarctic Division

Kinds of Penguins from KidCyber


Elephant Seals
Elephant Seals from KidCyber

Icefish
Icefish from the Australian Antarctic Division

Blue Whale
Blue whale: from the Australian Antarctic Division

An encounter with a blue whale

Fin Whale
Fin whale: from the Australian Antarctic Division

Fin whales from the World Wildlife Fund

Orcas
Basic Facts about orcas

Orca information from Word Wildlife Fund

Orca information from Enchanted Learning

Robert Scott
Doomed Expedition: Eyewitness to History

Biography of Robert Scott

Robert Scott information from Enchanted Learning

Learning about Day and Night

Students have such great questions about day, night, and the movement of the Earth!

-How does the Earth spin?
-What would happen if the Earth stopped spinning?
-Why don't we feel the Earth spinning?

...and so forth! Here are some resources to explore to help you find answers to those questions.

Day and Night animation
Watch an animated Earth rotate. See how people experience night and day.

Another animation
This animation also shows night and day. How is it different from the first? Who is it designed for?

Interactive
Try out this interactive. How do you do on the quiz?

Ask an Astronomer
Have a great question about day and night? Visit this site to see questions and answers from astronomers.

Migration Maps

Several students have asked for the links to the migration maps that we've been studying. It's fun to track animal migrations! By looking at where other people have spotted birds, we can be ready to view new species.

Hummingbird map

Barn swallow map

Monarch map

Milkweed map

Oriole map

When do you think we will see orioles? Will monarchs arrive before the end of the school year?

More Antarctica Research Links

Everyone is so excited to learn about Antarctica! Here are some links that can help you with your research.

Ice Core Science: This is a link to Mara Inoue's blog. She describes life in Antarctica, Christmas on the ice, and cutting and learning from ice cores.

Captain Robert Scott: This is a biography of Robert Scott.

Ernest Shackleton: A short biography of Shackleton.

Icefish: The Southern Ocean is home to some animals with white blood! These creatures, called icefish, have special adaptations for life in a cold environment. (Challenging read)

Easier text on icefish: This is from ARKive.org and includes basic information about the icefish.

"Just the Facts": This article includes glacier and iceberg facts. Be careful--some of the information refers to areas around Canada.

Iceberg Image of the Day: This image shows an iceberg cracking off of a glacier. When did this happen? Can you figure it out?

Jobs in Antarctica
This site has information about what kinds of jobs people can have in Antarctica.

More about jobs in Antarctica

History of Palmer Station: This site shows a timeline of Palmer Station's history.

Palmer Station: This site includes a number of links related to Palmer Station.

McMurdo Station Virtual Tour: Tour the largest research station in Antarctica!

Your Stay at McMurdo Station: This is a booklet intended for people who will be staying at McMurdo!

Other Research Links: This link takes you to a previous blog post with other links.

YouTube Playlist: This is the playlist that I have created with videos that we have seen in class. Can you figure out how to use the text features to get to the video that you want to see?

Animal Cams and Adaptations

Here are some links to different animal cams and videos. What physical adaptations can you observe?

-Can you find an animal that has a special body covering, like fur, scales, or feathers?
-Can you find an animal that has a special color?
-Can you find an animal with a certain body shape?

Polar Bear Cam
This link is to a camera at the San Diego Zoo. How is San Diego different from the natural habitat of the polar bear?

Snake Video

What do you notice about this snake?

Arctic Tern Cam
The arctic tern makes the longest migration of any bird. What do you notice about it?

Shark Lagoon
Watch the sharks swimming. What adaptations can you see? (Can you find out if this video is live or not?)

Long-eared Owl
So many physical adaptations! Can you find them all?

Animal Adaptations

Learn more about animal adaptations with these websites!

Mission Adaptation: Read about adaptations. Then, travel around the world to document animal adaptations!

How do animals meet their needs? Learn more about the adaptations of different animals.

Interdependence and adaptation: Find woodland creatures and sort them into food webs.

Slither Run: Join the Kratt brothers to help an animal that is a predator and prey.

Bird Beak Gallery: Look at this gallery of bird beaks to learn about how birds use their beaks to catch their food.

Camouflage Game: Choose backgrounds and colors to create camouflaged creatures.

Leave a comment to let me know which game you like the best!

Antarctica Research Links

Follow this link to see helpful research tools for Antarctica:

Research links

Niches in Ecosystems

Today we learned about niches in ecosystems. An animal's niche is like its job in the ecosystem. We watched two different sites to talk about niches.

Big Cat Diary: These animals live in the grasslands of Africa. Which animals are predators? Which are prey? How are the predators different from one another?




Cornell Feeder Cam: Here you can observe birds at a feeder in real time. What birds do you observe? How do they have different niches?

Here is a video showing two ruffed grouses visiting the feeder. The ruffed grouse is the state bird of Pennsylvania.

Snowflakes and Scissors

You can read along with our homework story for the week with this link:

Help Snow Leopards

You can help snow leopards! Use this citizen science tool to identify species. Be sure to read the directions carefully.

Snow leopard cam