Monday, December 13, 2010

"What You Can Do" Videos!


Exciting news!  The videos that our students filmed during last year's Earth Day celebration are up for viewing!  Each day this week a new video will be premiered.  Please use the link below to see what the budding PS 58 environmentalists had to say!
www.whatyoucando.ontheleesh.com

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Sedimentary Rocks

First, the children "eroded" the rocks
They were left with graham cracker sediments!


Finally, they applied pressure to form their sediments into rocks!
Second grade geologists are exploring the different ways that rocks are formed.  This week the students are studying sedimentary rocks.  The children acted out the formation of sedimentary rocks with graham crackers!  First, they eroded the "cracker rocks" into sediments.  Then, the children applied pressure to form a "Graham Rock!"

ZINGO!

Our class frog Zingo needs a home for the holiday!  If you are interested in watching him during winter break, please send me an email.  He is very simple to care for!  He spends most of the day hopping around and loves to eat live crickets!

December Newsletter


KINDERGARTEN
The children will continue their study of what animals do to prepare for winter during the month of December.  The children will explore the concepts of food gathering and storage, hibernation and migration by learning about different animals such as bats and arctic foxes!  The students will watch short video clips, view photographs and then finally act out the animal’s actions with paper puppets!  The children will also learn about the different threats that these animals are facing, such as White Nose Syndrome in bat populations of New York State. 
FIRST GRADE
First Grade entomologists will spend the month of December exploring the behavior of the different insect we have been studying.  The children will first form questions about the insects, such as “Do darkling beetles prefer dark or light?” or “What foods do the insects like best?”  The children will then act out experiments in order to test these questions.  Finally, the students will record what they find about the insects by drawing and writing in their science journals.
SECOND GRADE
Second Grade geologists will wrap up their study of Earth materials by learning about the rock cycle.  The children will act out the different ways that rocks are formed, by learning about erosion and deposition, as well as the Earth’s tectonic plates.  During this study, the children will become familiar with sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic rocks and how each is formed.  

Monday, December 6, 2010

Bats and White Nose Syndrome

Kindergarten Scientists have been studying how animals prepare for the season of Winter.  This week, the students are exploring the concept of hibernation by learning about bats.  Sadly, large numbers of hibernating bat populations in NY State are being wiped out by a mysterious fungus, being called, "White Nose Syndrome."  The students learned about this terrible disease and what it is doing to our New York bats.  Please follow the link to an article about this disease!
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2010/12/bat-crash/quammen-text/1