The Third Grade has had a marvelous year empowering the students with the ability to identify more animals and animal signs in their own environment.  The enthusiasm the children exhibited during indoor and outdoor class periods was phenomenal.

The first few visits were to identify birds in their environment.  Working with their teachers and community bird people, students used binoculars to watch birds in their natural habitat.  A large golden eagle, falcon, and barn own were brought in to show the student how these birds are nursed back to health.  The owl even coughed up an owl pellet for us.  Another bird activity, where students observed the flight of birds, including a surprise visit from a great blue

heron, was a big hit.

Winter activities involved the tracking of animals.  Student learned that even though an animal isn’t present to the eye, they may leave signs of their existence.  These signs include fur, rubs, tracks, urine, scat and food droppings.  Students can tell you what scat is!  Interesting!  Classes even identified the remnants of a deer carcass  on Wolf Big Day.

Also on Wolf Day, we howled like wolves and used the GPS’s to track ourselves running through the woods.  Owl pellets were dissected in class, and we learned about the food chain of the common owl.

 

Third Grade Focuses on Birds and Animal Tracking: Fall and Winter

Spring found our unit of study looking at the life cycle of frogs. Two classes went out tadpoling, but to no avail.  Only a snake and one super quick polliwog was spotted.  Two others found swarms of tadpolls.  Do you know the difference between frog and toad eggs? Ask our experts!

Two more activities found the third graders recording frog and toad sightings for a state website.  Dr. Sheldon Cooper  lead us in some common bird songs.  He  taught us to tune our ears to the sound of our feathered friends.  We called

in three cardinals, a warbler, and we say three mallard ducks.        The students have learned that the Sheldon Nature Center is just an extension of our indoor classroom.  Our visits have given them ownership in the nature area, and an appreciation for the wildlife that can be found there.

 

Spring Peepers and the Sound of Birds

Grade Five

School Year 2004-05

Volume 1, Issue 1