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| Are Vacant Lots Vacant? Ask your student about this inquiry science lab we did today in the vacant lot above the Grand Ridge parking lot. What biotic and abiotic factors did they observe? What elements there supported plants and animals? What would happen if one of those elements were taken away? |
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| One of the creatures we observed in the vacant lot--a Mantis! |
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| Athena the Barred owl from West Sound Wildlife shelter paid a visit to 4th graders. Ask your student what they learned about owls. How did her visit tie in to what we've been studying about ecosystems? Be sure to check out the comment your student wrote in response to the blog question below. |
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| Students dissected barn owl pellets during our Owloween on Thursday. We studied two different questions by examining the bones. First: what do barn owls predominantly eat--rodents, insectivores, or birds? Second, we measured the length of the femur bones contained in owl pellets. From there we did a mathematical calculation to approximate overall body size of the prey so we could answer this question: what is the average size of prey that a barn owl eats? Be sure to ask your child for the answers. |
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| Students laid out the bones they found in the owl pellets on paper towels. This group labeled the different bones they found. |
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| We began our new unit in writing, focused again on personal narratives, but on expanding, deepening, and improving their quality. We've created a couple new charts to help us generate great ideas for what to write about. Have your student explain these to you. |
Please check our class photos tab for more photos from Owloween of Athena the Owl and our owl pellet dissection.
