Monday, March 31, 2014

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.

Thursday, March 27, 2014

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?

Thursday, February 27, 2014

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?


Sunday, February 23, 2014

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?


Tuesday, February 18, 2014

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!


Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Antarctica Research Links

Follow this link to see helpful research tools for Antarctica:

Research links