Green Schools – Biodiversity – Food Chains and Food Webs

We are working towards earning

a Green Schools flag for Biodiversity.

We learnt about food chains

using the games on this link.

We saw how food chains became food webs.

We looked at food webs in different habitats.

Some of the boys drew prehistoric food chains.

We learned how the balance in nature is upset

if a plant or animal is removed from the food chain.

Green Schools: Online Games that teach about Food Chains

What's the worry? Ecosystems are for kids.
Creative Commons License Photo Credit: woodleywonderworks via Compfight

We are working on earning our Biodiversity Flag for Green Schools.

We used this great game today to learn about Food Chains.

Sheppard Software Food Chain Game

We also learned about herbivores, omnivores and carnivores

Animal Diet Game

There are even more educational and interesting games here:

Sheppard Software Games for Kids

We like working up the levels on this one:

Build a Food Chain from Cserc.org

As usual BBC Bitesize has an excellent activity

to help us understand food chains.

BBC Bitesize Food Chain Game

Just remember that the video at the end

is only available in the UK.

Also from the BBC is this one:

BBC Science Clips on Interdependence Game

This one is also very interesting.

We scored 30.

Could you do better?

How could we improve?

Puzzling Caret – Balance the Food Chain

The above one is set in Sunny Meadows.

This one is set in the Rainforest

Revolution Caret – Rainforest Ecosystem

The following is a clever game

because you can see what happens

if an animal is taken out of the food chain.

Chain Reaction from Eco Kids

This one is much more challenging (for Senior Classes really)

but it shows you how complicated a food chain is.

No need to log in. Just click ‘skip’.

Food Chain Game from Cool Classroom.org

Student Blogging Challenge 2013 – The Third Challenge – 10 Recycling Socks Ideas!

We are doing the Student Blogging Challenge 2013

 

This is the third week and

We found this week’s Blogging Challenge ‘challenging’ 😉

We were asked to think of ten ways of recycling socks.

 

You can read about the 3rd Challenge here.
First some maths!

How many socks do you use in  a year?

 

Over a lifetime how many is that?

In a family of four how many would that be?

 

How about in a neighbourhood

In a school of five hundred?

 

In a country?

In the world?

 

So we are sure you would agree

we need to do more with our old socks

rather than putting them in the bin.

 

We think that there must be

at least three types of odd sock.

 

The Oldies but Goodies

There is the very old and threadbare

It deserves to be treated with respect.

It has done its job well.

They are used to hard work

and won’t mind working some more.

 

The Lovelies

They are the very new, fashionable ones

that we love and then disaster we lose one.

The new job we can give these ones

can be a lot more glamorous

 

The Cuties

They are the really cute ones

that perhaps look almost new.

that Baby has grown out of them.

 

Wash very very well and then…

Wash them again.

 

That the socks are clean

and that they don’t smell is

really

REALLY important

for the success of these recycling ideas.

 

So what to do to recycle socks?

 

You could use them to:

1. dust and polish

2. clean blackboards or white boards

3. protect shoes when we do painting and decorating

4.  You have heard about a soap on a rope. How about a soap in a sock?

Put a bar of soap into a long sock  rub it and it will lather up. 

5. The feet can be cut off the sock and they can be used as leg warmers

6. Tie a few together to use as a toy for your dog or your cat.

7. Stuffing: Cut old socks up into small pieces and use to stuff toys or pillows.

8. Make sock hand puppet

9. If you have babies just learning to crawl, take a long sock, cut the feet off and put the

footless sock over baby’s knees to help protect them and the clothes they are wearing.

10. Ice Pack: Fill with ice and put on the bump.

 

So where do socks disappear too.

It’s well known that washing machines and driers steal them.

 

Buy identical pairs of socks

and then you will be able to make a new pair with the odd ones.

 

We made a short comic using 

 

Make Beliefs Comix

 

We called it:

 

Where do all the odd socks go?

 

 

 

Green Schools: Gardening Club Posters

Q: What does Chris Hadfield and the Ladybird have in common?

 

Answer:

As you know Commander Chris Hadfield

is aboard the International Space Centre.

He is orbiting the Earth.


Lady Bug Note Generators
 

…in 1999 we four fine ladybirds were sent

into space in NASA’s space shuttle.

 

We were sent out there with a picnic of our favourite food.

Do you know what that is?

Yes you are correct,

it is greenfly otherwise known as aphids.

We were sent to outer space

because there is zero-gravity there

 

Scientists wanted to study how to aphids

could escape from their predators

without being able to jump using gravity.

 

On Earth we climb up a stalk to capture greenfly.

The greenfly fall off of the plant using gravity to escape.

With zero gravity, the greenfly couldn’t escape.

 

We had a good trip.

We feasted on greenfly in the zero gravity.

So in answer to the question, both Chris Hadfield

and ladybirds have been in space.

 

Impossible

 

We got this information about

ladybirds in space from

 ‘Ladybug’ on Enchanted Learning

Have YOU seen any ladybirds? ‘Signs of Spring’ Twitter Project


Lady Bug Note Generators
It has been quite cold

in Greystones so far this Spring

and we haven’t seen any ladybirds yet.

 

Next week we are going to learn what

Chris Hadfield and ladybirds have in common.

Can you guess?

‘Signs of Spring’ Twitter Project

Following the fun we had during the first week of October

when we took part in a Signs of Autumn Twitter Project

Click here to read about Signs of Autumn Twitter Project

 

this week we are taking part in a collaborative project about

the Signs of Spring on Twitter.

Read about it here on Seomra Ranga.com

 

We are tweeting photos and comments

about the signs of Spring that we see

using the hashtag  #antearrach

 

Teacher looks forward to this opportunity

to continue using  Twitter with 2nd Class, Room 6.

Click here for the link to our Twitter feed.

 

Boys and girls in 2nd Class Room 6

Can you see the Spring photo you took today? 

 

Would you like to vote for your favourite season?

Click on the page below to vote!

Update 8th March 2013

Signs of Spring Twitter Project chirpstory

‘I dream my painting and then paint my dream’. – Vincent Van Gogh

These are some of our pictures of trees.  

Before we did our project we often drew trees

that looked like lollipops 😉

 

We learnt about colour, shape and angle,

looking at masterpieces by a variety of artists.

These included Vincent Van Gogh

and Georgia O’Keeffe .

 

These are some of the trees we drew today

at the end of our project on the theme of trees.



‘I found I could say things with color and shapes

that I couldn’t say any other way

– things I had no words for’.

Georgia O’Keeffe

 

Thanks again to  Junior Art Gallery

whose link suggested this project to us.

 

We always appreciate feedback on our work 🙂

We would love you to comment!

‘Leaping Greenly Spirits of Trees’ – Art Project – Part 3

We spent the past few weeks looking at masterpieces of trees:

Van Gogh’s ‘The Mulberry Tree’

Mondrian’s ‘Gray Tree’

and Emily Carr’s  ‘Forest’

Georgia O’Keeffe’s ‘The Lawrence Tree’

and Klimt’s ‘Tree of Life’.

You can see more of this work on other posts 

You can see them here.

And also here.

Now having studied these works of art and trees ‘in real life’,

we will draw our own trees.

Before this project the most popular way

of drawing trees in the class was often like this:

However take a look at this slideshow

of the trees we drew since:

 

Perhaps after looking at our trees you might guess

which artist’s work we liked the best.

 

Was it Van Gogh’s colourful ‘Mulberry Tree?’

or Emily Carr’s ‘Forest’.

 

In fact as you can see from the graph below,

one artist’s work was a runaway success.

 

The children explained their choice by saying that

there seemed to be something ‘magical’

about Klimt’s ‘Tree of Life’

Spirits of Trees – An Art Project on the Theme of Trees

2nd Class Room 6 are continuing with

their art project on tree paintings.

Follow this link to see the first part of our project on trees.

 

We looked at some other famous pictures of trees.

We loved Georgia O’Keeffe’s  ‘The Lawrence Tree’

We loved the strong colour of the trunk,

the unusual angle of the painting

and the tiny stars in the sky.

 

We admired Emily Carr’s ‘Forest’

We were fascinated by

all the different colours of Emily Carr’s Forest.

We expected there might be green and brown.

But when we enlarged the painting on the whiteboard,

we could see blues, purples, yellows and lots of other colours.

Painting the sky and the grass is not like

painting a wall of our house or the kitchen door.

They are not all one colour blue or green.

 

Then we looked at Klimt’s wonderful ‘Tree of Life’.

We loved the bright colours, the branches

that curled round and round

and the little details among the branches.

 

To complete our project we are going to think about

colour, angle and shapes

and then draw our own trees.

 

“i thank You God for most this amazing day:

for the leaping greenly spirits of trees

and a blue true dream of sky;”

                         from a poem by ee cummings

Inspired by Van Gogh and Mondrian: ‘Trees’ by 2nd Class Room 6

When our friend at Junior Art Gallery posted this link on their blog…

encouraging us to do the interesting art, that is on this link in turn

2nd Class, Room 6 didn’t need to be asked twice.

We chose to begin with

Van Gogh’s ‘The Mulberry Tree’

and the very different ‘Gray Tree’ by Mondrian

and tried to create our own versions.

The Mulberry Tree is colourful

and not surprisingly The Gray Tree is very grey.

 

Over the next few weeks

we will take a look at the other trees on this link:

 

‘Lawrence Tree’ by Georgia O’Keeffe,

‘Forest’ by Emily Carr,

‘Pine Tree Screen’ by Hasegawa Tohaku

and ‘The Tree of Life’ by Gustav Klimt.

 

We are working towards then, drawing

our own trees experimenting with

colour, shape, and angle as these

artists have done.

‘Trees’ by 2nd Class Room 6 on PhotoPeach

Many thanks to Junior Art Gallery for pointing us in the direction of this great idea.

DLTK Kids Artwork Ideas (Arbor Day)

This is the link to the 2nd part of this project 🙂

Click on ‘Continue Reading’ below to comment.

Planet Avatar – Starting A Project on the Planets in our Solar System using Voki

We are doing a project on the Sun, and the planets in our solar system.

We thought it would be fun to do our project using avatars.

 

First we wrote down what we were going to say.

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First Avatar Abi will tell us about the Sun.

Avatar Alice talks to us about Mercury

Avatar Amy tells us

some interesting facts about Venus

Avatar Calum talks

about his home planet, Earth.

Avatar JC gives us

some information about the Moon.

Avatar Cian has some information about

The Red Planet, Mars.

Guess how many moons Jupiter has?

Avatar Clara will tell you the answer and more!

Breaking News!

Saturn has even more moons than Jupiter.

Our reporter Avatar Fiona will tell you about it 🙂

A report from the very special

and unusual Avatar Jack.

He is truly out of this world!

This is Isabella’s report on the planet Neptune.

Well done to all.

 

The experts tell us that Pluto is a dwarf planet

but we are fond of it and wouldn’t like

to see it disappear from school books

Finally Avatar Jake is going to tell us

about the early days of the Planet Earth.

We think we would have a lot more fun

if only we could get our own voices recorded properly on Voki.

At the moment we have to change ‘text’ into words instead.

It is fun, but we really don’t sound like this!

We are working on trying to solve this problem

and are going to try a different microphone.

Has anyone any advice?

 

We enjoy learning about the planets.

8cae35d4_o

Can you see the planets hanging from our classroom ceiling?

“Teacher calls it Science. I call it mean” – A Poem by Danielle Sensier !

Living things

Recently we did some experiments

about growing living things!

We put pea seeds in three separate jars.

 

To one we gave no water.

Another we gave water

but then put the jar in a dark cupboard.

 

The last jar got water and light.

 

Teacher asked us what

we thought might happen.

We guessed the jar with no water

would have seeds that didn’t grow at all.

 

We thought the ones in the dark

wouldn’t grow either.

 

We thought that the jar

with light and water would grow well.

 

We were surprised when

the pea seeds kept in the dark grew so much.

We were surprised that the plants were pale yellow.

 

Now that plant is on the window sill

and we move it round to see it grow towards the light.

 

Teacher said that this experiment reminded her of a poem

 

Experiment by Danielle Sensier 

 

At school we’re doing growing things  

with cress. 

Sprinkly seeds in plastic pots 

of cotton wool. 

 

Kate’s cress sits up on the sill 

she gives it water. 

Mine is shut inside the cupboard 

dark and dry. 

 

Now her pot has great big clumps  

of green 

mine hasn’t 

Teacher calls it Science 

I call it mean! 

 

We also saw how water travels up to the leaves of a plant.

We did this using food colouring.

After two hours traces of the blue food dye

that the celery sticks were in

started to show on the leaves of the plant.

 

After two days this was the result:

Blue Celery !

We think that is probably mean too!

If you would like to tell us what you think,

double click ‘Continue Reading’ below

and a comment box will appear.

Signs of Autumn Twitter Project

We are taking part in a collaborative project about

the signs of Autumn

on Twitter

during this first week of October.


Get your own Poll!

We are tweeting photos and comments

about signs of Autumn that we see #anfomhar.

You can see more details about this project

on the following link:
All about the Signs of Autumn Twitter Project on Seomra Ranga.com

Teacher looks forward to this great opportunity to introduce the class to the uses of Twitter.

Click here for the link.

As always I am very conscious of online safety.

No photographs of the children will be used

and I will only use the children’s first names.

This is the project so far, at the half way point:

 

Can you see the Autumn photo you took today? (PhotoPeach)

Please supervise your child when they are online.
Create your own Animation

Seaside Scavenger Hunt

Today we went on a Seaside Scavenger Hunt.

 

This is what we collected:
New And Improved Seaside Scavenger Hunt

Choose only things that you can collect

and return safely and without damage

1. A small black pebble

2. A feather

3. A pebble with a hole in it

4. A mermaid’s purse

(dog fish egg case or whelk egg case)

5. A limpet (or part of)

6. A mussel (or part of)

7. A whelk (or part of)

8. Something beautiful

9. Some sea lettuce

10. A sea belt

11. Some bladder wrack

12. Something that makes a noise

13. A small white pebble

14. A pink flower

15. Something soft

16. A yellow flower

17. Something important in nature

(Everything in nature is important!)

18. A small grey pebble

19. Any part of a crab

20. Something that reminds you of yourself

21. A white flower

22. A sun trap (This is anything that captures the sun’s heat)

23. More than 100 of something!

24. Something that the sea has changed

25. A creature’s home

26. Something round

27. A big smile

At the very end, after we have showed each other what we found ,

we left what we found on the beach.

Leave only footprints.

Take away only memories!

Taya found a cowrie 🙂

which is a very unusual find on our local beach.

Well done Taya.

We sent away a ‘message in a bottle’. Maks threw it into the sea and we waved it goodbye.

 

 “For whatever we lose (like a you or a me) 
it’s always ourselves we find in the sea”  

ee cummings

Good Dads in the Animal Kingdom

 

We were learning about good Dads in the Animal Kingdom. Here are some we found out about:

Dinosaur
The experts say that there is evidence
that dinosaur dads minded their children
and protected the nest.

Marmoset
The marmoset grooms the baby monkeys,
feeds them and carries them round on his back.

Seahorse
The seahorse is the only male creature that gives birth

Darwin frog
Carries the eggs in a special pocket
in his throat until they hatch into tadpoles.

Siamese fighting fish
Protects the eggs until they hatch.

Emperor penguin
The Emperor penguin keeps his egg warm under his feathers, balanced on his toes. He doesn’t eat for two months while he is waiting for the egg to hatch.

Silverback gorilla
The silverback gorilla protects his children and plays with them.

 

Senses Poems written by the children in 2nd Class, Room 6

ImageChef Word Mosaic - ImageChef.com

Kate

I see the misty mountains, I spoke

I hear the tall trees blowing, I listened

I smell a flickering fire cooking something tasty

I touch the pointed rocks that annoy my hooves

I taste the breezy air that’s very good for me and that I hope I never leave here.

 

Micaela

I would see fish in the sea, the bird said.

I would hear the other birds, the bird said

I would smell saltiness, the bird said

I would hear wild waves, the bird said

I would taste the salty sea, the bird said.

 

Sinead

I see flocks of birds flying over the mountain,

I hear the wild wind,

I smell the misty mountain,

I touch the silver stones,

I taste the fresh air.

 

Jack

The waves splashed, dolphins play,

The waves splashed, I hear the waves crashing,

The waves splashed, I smell the sea water,

The waves splashed, I touched the silent rocks,

The waves splashed, I taste salt on my tongue.

 

Ryan

I see the cotton clouds floating past,

I hear a giant roar,

I smell the perfume of flowers,

I touch the grassy grass,

I taste snow on my tongue.

 

Noah

I touch the autumn leaves, said the precious sun,

I see drowsy donkey, said the precious sun,

I hear lively birds, said the precious sun,

I smell floating flowers, said the precious sun,

I taste the stony rain, said the precious sun.

 

Conor

I see fish in the sea,

I smell paint,

I hear sun,

I touch the water,

I taste bird.

 

Cian

I see a white blanket on a mountain, said the mountain goat,

I hear snow falling, from the sky, said another mountain goat,

I smell fresh air from the sky, said a bird,

I touch the beautiful snowflake on my wing, said another bird,

I taste the cold worms, said the baby bird.

 

Sarah

I see the silver sea,

I hear the whispering wind,

I smell the salty sea,

I touch the crashing waves,

I taste the fierce fish.

 

Paris

I see the rocky mountain,

I hear the rough wind,

I smell the fresh air,

I taste the soft snow,

I touch the sharp icicles.

 

Vagif

I see the screeching seagulls,

I hear howling owls,

I smell the smelly sea,

I touch the slimy wet rocks,

I taste the refreshing air.

 

 

 

Green School Song

The children in 2nd Class, Room 6 wrote a song

about the disadvantages of travelling by car.

 

We like sun, we like buns, we have lots and lots of fun.

We have spades we have shades and rollerblades

but that’s not all…

 

We have friends, we have trends

We have phones with ice cream cones

We have pools cos we’re cool

But that’s not all…

 

We like sun, we like buns, we have lots and lots of fun.

We have spades we have shades and rollerblades

but that’s not all…

 

We run around scream out loud saying we are happy hounds

We have fun, lots of fun, but that’s not all…

 

Zooming zooming, zooming, zooming in the car x3

Ha, ha, ha, ha you can’t catch us

 

Zooming, zooming, zooming, zooming

Faster than a lightening bolt

Ha, ha, ha, ha you can’t catch us.

 

Oh no oh no we’re stuck in a traffic jam x3

Waiting waiting, waiting, in the car x3

Oh no, oh no we’re stuck in a traffic jam x2.

 

Yippee, yippee the traffic is moving

But oh no oh no

We’ve run out of fuel…

 

 


Green Schools: Transport: Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages

Disadvantages

Walking It stops pollution.You get fresh air.It helps to keep us fit.It doesn’t use petrol or diesel.Good for the environment.See nature all around you.It feels good.You don’t get stuck in traffic. Your feet get tired and start to hurt.Dependant on the weather.Your bag can hurt your back.You can get thirsty and go into shops and buy stuff.It’s slow.It wears down your shoes.It uses energy that we made need.It’s not comfortable.It can be boring.
Cycling You get to places faster than walking.You get exercise and keeps you fit.It feels good.It’s fun.Doesn’t use petrol or gas.You can go fast or slow.Anyone can have a bike.You have a nice breeze on your face.You feel free.You get fresh air. You could fall off and you could be injured.You could break your bike.It can be dangerous.Bikes need maintenance.Weather dependant.You need to learn to ride a bike.You could get a puncture.Takes a lot of pedaling.Your legs get sore.
Car You can get to places very fast.It is fun.It has heating.You can sit down.Your feet don’t hurt.Electric cars are better for the environment.Useful when it’s raining.Good for long journeys.Fit lots of people in cars.Its comfortable.

If you’re late, you can recover.

Don’t get tired.

You waste petrol.You don’t get any exercise.It can be dangerous.Bad for the environment.You could get car sick.It is boring.You don’t have fun.You could get caught in traffic.You go so fast you can’t stop and look at anything.Cost a lot of money.

Sometimes you have to squeeze in.

You could be on a road with no toilets nearby.

You have to wear a seatbelt.

You have to follow the roads.

It can get too warm.

 

Green Schools: Advantages of Cycling and Walking.

Advantages of Cycling

You get to places faster than walking.

You get exercise & it keeps you fit.

It feels good & it’s fun. Doesn’t use petrol or gas. You can go fast or slow.

Anyone can have a bike. You have a nice breeze on your face.

You feel free and you get fresh air.

It stops pollution and is good for the environment.

 

Advantages of Walking

You get fresh air.

It helps to keep us fit.

It doesn’t use petrol or diesel.

Good for the environment.

You can see nature all around you.

It feels good.

You don’t get stuck in traffic.


Disadvantages of the car

You waste petrol.

You don’t get any exercise.

It can be dangerous.

Bad for the environment.

You could get car sick.

You could get caught in traffic.

You go so fast you can’t stop and look at anything.

Costs a lot of money.

Sometimes you have to squeeze in.

You have to wear a seatbelt.

You have to follow the roads.

It can get too warm.

Being Green – I can make a difference!

What gives the planet earth
its energy?

The Sun.
Plants get their energy
from the sun.


Hollie drew this!

Animals eat these plants.

I eat plant and animal food,

Like chips and chicken nuggets!

Food gives me energy to run around and play.

 

Some energy is renewable

The energy of the sun and the wind is renewable.

I didn’t know what this word meant when I heard it first.

Now I know that renewable energy

can be used again and again

and again and again

and again

and again …

 

Some energy is non-renewable

The energy from fossil fuels is non-renewable.

Coal and oil and turf burn up and cannot be used again.

 

The Wind is a renewable energy

Wind power can generate electricity.

Wind can dry clothes.

I can help Mum or Dad put the clothes on the line.

I can make a difference!

 

A windmill takes the energy from the wind.

A wind turbine will take the energy from the wind

and turns it into electricity.

Sailing boats get their energy from the wind too.

Renewable energy like the sun and the wind will last

much much much much much much much

longer than non renewable energy such as coal and oil and turf.

 

What uses electricity in my house?

The radio clock alarm that wakes me up.

The electric lights.

The immersion that heats the water for a shower or bath.

The kettle that heats the water for tea or coffee.

The microwave.

The cooker.

The fridge.

The heater.

The television.

The radio.

The CD player.

The washing machine.

The spin dryer.

 

Where would I find a lagging jacket?

On the immersion tank that heats hot water.

I can remind the grown ups in my house

to get a lagging jacket.

I can make a difference!

 

Where would I find insulation

in a house?

In the attic, under the roof.

I can make a difference!

I can remind the grown ups in my house

to insulate the attic.

You can buy sheeps wool to insulate the attic.

 

Where would I find double glazing in my house?

In the windows and doors.

When the heating is on in the house,

heat can escape through ordinary windows and doors

and through a roof with no insulation.

 

I can make a difference!

I can shut doors and draw the curtains early to keep the heat in.

 

I can check if any furniture is blocking the heaters.

Taking a shower uses less energy than taking a bath.

 

I can take a shower instead of a bath.

I can make a difference.

 

If you are using the washing machine,

it should be full of clothes.

You shouldn’t put on the washing machine

to wash one pair of socks.

I don’t do the washing yet

but I can remind the grown ups in my house

and I can make a difference!

 

Wordle: Untitled

If you are making a cup of tea

you should boil about a cup

of water instead of

a full kettle of water.

Boiling a full kettle of water wastes energy and money.

I don’t make tea yet but I can remind the grown ups

in my house

and I can make a difference!

 

Wasting water is wasting energy

I can make a difference!

I won’t let the tap run when I am washing my teeth.

 

I can remind any little people in my house about this too.

I can make a difference!

 

If I am a little cold in my house,

I am better to put on extra clothes

Saving energy saves money.

Saving energy in my house

will mean our

electricity bill will be lower.

 

I can make a difference!

 

We can use the money for more interesting things!

That will make a difference!

 

Walking to school,  if I can

is better than travelling by car.

I can make a difference!

 

Walking to school or

cycling my bicycle

Taking the bus

is better than travelling by car.

 

I can make a difference!

 

What could I recycle that I usually throw away?

A plastic bottle –

I could use one for my drink for lunch again and again.

I could turn the plastic bottle into a musical instrument.

If I add rice or pasta to the bottle, I could turn it into a percussion shaker.

 

I can make a difference!

 

What can I put in

the compost bin?

Fruit peels,

vegetable peels,

pencil paring.

Any thing that will rot.

 

I can make a difference!

 

Reusing plastic bags

saves energy.

 

I can make a difference!

 

I can remind Mum to bring shopping bags

to the supermarket.

 

Let’s make the difference.


Jack drew this 🙂