All About the Weaver Bird

By Andrew

Do you want to learn about Weaver Birds and how they build their nests?  If you do, read on.

Adult Weaver Birds tend  to eat seeds and grain.  However, when Weaver Birds have young to feed they usually bring insects, bugs, and spiders to the nest to feed the baby Weaver Birds.  

Weaver Birds live in Africa and  Asia.  Weaver Birds build their nests in trees and on lampposts in towns.  Weaver Birds will sometimes build their nests over water.

Weaver Birds’ predators include the Honey Badger and the Pygmy Falcon.  Weaver Birds are related to Finches and Sparrows.

 

The following is a description of how a Weaver Bird builds its nest:  “The first thing the Weaver Bird did was to pluck all the leaves from the nearest branch.  Then he flew to the ground and yanked a foot-long blade of grass until he broke it, nearly falling over backward!  Standing on one end of the grass, the bird used his beak to tie the other end to the branch.  He repeated this until he had a rope.  The Weaver Bird perched inside the ring and built the walls and roof around himself by weaving long  blades of grass in and out,” wrote George W. Frame and Lory H. Frame.

This is how Weaver Birds live, they eat grain, one of their predators are Pygmy Falcons, and they build unusual nests.  I hope you  enjoyed learning about the Weaver Bird!

Works Cited

Frane, George W., Ph.D., and Lory Herbison Frame. "How the Weaverbird Build His Nest." Welcome to HighlightsKids.com - | HighlightsKids.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2016.

Lunis, Natalie. A Closer Look. New York: Newbridge Educational Pub., 1999. Print.

"Ploceidae." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2016.

"Weaver Birds." Animal Facts. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2016.

3rd Grade Informative / Explanatory Writing

Third Grade enrichment support students wrote informative essays that included a bibliography this week at East Pike.  Students chose an animal that interested them and that they wanted to learn more about.

Students researched the animal using three different resources: a book, a website, and an online article to gather their information.  Students utilized a graphic organizer to record the facts they learned.

Next, students wrote their informative essays in a Google Doc that they shared with Mrs. Woods.  After that, Mrs. Woods conferenced with the young writers and made suggestions for editing and revising their work. Students then completed their final drafts and added an image to their Doc.

Mrs. Woods introduced the students to the web tool www.easybib.com and together with Mrs. Woods each student created a bibliography of their works cited.

Please enjoy the students' informative essays! 

All about the Rhinoceros Viper  
By Caiden       
       

Do you know about Rhinoceroses?  Do you know about Vipers?  Well put them together and you will have the Rhinoceros Viper!  We are going to be learning about Rhinoceros Vipers. We will be learning about their habitat, characteristics, and the process humans use to create anti-venom for poisonous snakes like this one.

Rhinoceros Vipers are found in Europe, Asia, and Africa.  They live in forests.  These poisonous snakes have purple and blue skin with green triangles.  They can swallow a chicken whole by unhinging their jaws.  The Rhinoceros Viper is about 72 to 107 cm. long.  

If a human is bitten by a Rhinoceros Viper they will need to be administered a dose of anti-venom.  According to the article, Snakebike? Call the Dallas Zoo, anti-venom is created in the follow way “Healthy snakes are typically milked about every 2 weeks to collect venom.  The snake bites onto a glass funnel.  The venom runs down into a tube.  Then they make it into anti-venom.”

Now that you know about the Rhinoceros Viper, you can tell your friends about the snake’s habitat, characteristics, and the process humans use to create anti-venom for poisonous snakes like this one.

Bibliography

Lovett, Sarah, Beth Evans, and Mary Sundstrom. Snakes. Santa Fe, NM: John Muir Publications, 1993. Print.

"Bitis Nasicornis." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 12 Feb. 2016. Web. 17 Mar. 2016.

"Snakebite? Call the Dallas Zoo." Newsela | Nonfiction Literacy and Current Events. Dallas Morning News, 14 Apr. 2015. Web. 17 Mar. 2016.

  

Turquoise Poison Dart Frog

By Kate

Did you know that the Turquoise Poison Dart Frog has a bright color to warn emies? Well if you did not know that, you should keep reading and discover even more facts all about the Turquoise Poison Dart Frog.

The Turquoise Poison Dart Frog lives deep in the tropical rain forests of Central and South America.  The Turquoise Poison Dart Frog  lives from three to 15 years.  The Turquoise Poison Dart Frog’s size is about one inch  long.  

The Turquoise Poison Dart Frog has slimy poisonous mucus on its skin.  People who live and hunt in the rainforest use the poisonous mucus to make weapons.    

The Turquoise Poison Dart Frog has a bright color to scare off enemies.  Their only natural predator is the family of snakes called leimadophis epinephelus.  

Poison Dart Frogs eat ants, termites, and beetles.  These frogs can also eat things three times their own weight.  Poison Dart Frogs carry their eggs on their backs.  This is called backpacking.  

If you were unfamiliar with the Turquoise Poison Dart Frog, hopefully you know a lot of facts about them now and had fun learning about the Turquoise Poison Dart Frog.

Bibliography

Lovett, Sarah. Extremely Weird Frogs. Santa Fe, NM: John Muir Publications, 1992. Print.

"Animals - Animal Pictures - Wild Animal Facts - Nat Geo Wild - National Geographic." National Geographic. National Geographic, n.d. Web. 17 Mar. 2016.

"Newsela | Nonfiction Literacy and Current Events." Newsela | Nonfiction Literacy and Current Events. Los Angeles Times, 23 June 2014. Web. 17 Mar. 2016.

All About the Helmeted Lizard

By Andrew

Did you know that there are a lot of Helmeted Lizards?  This is because Helmeted Lizards are hard to catch.  There are  lots of other interesting facts about these creatures.  Keep reading to learn more about these special lizards!

Helmeted Lizards live in Costa Rica.  These lizards like warm weather because lizards like to lay in the sun.  Helmeted lizards have four legs, they are brown, and they have scales all over their bodies.  Helmeted Lizards get away from predators by puffing themselves up to look bigger than they really are.

The lizard  would beat you in  a breathing contest because according to the article, A Lizard Would Beat You in a Breathing Contest and so Would a Bird, “After the air moves into their lungs, it follows a long  system of tubes.  The air moves through the tubes but does not come back out the same way, moving in a circle instead.”

Did you know the Helmeted Lizards would beat you in a breathing contest?  Hopefully you learned a lot  about the Helmeted Lizard.

Bibliography

Lovett, Sarah. Extremely Weird Reptiles. N.p.: John Muir Pubns, n.d. Print.

"List of Reptiles Costa Rica3." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 30 Nov. 2015. Web. 17 Mar. 2016.

"Newsela | Nonfiction Literacy and Current Events." Newsela | Nonfiction Literacy and Current Events. Los Angeles Times, 03 Jan. 2014. Web. 17 Mar. 2016.

Congratulations!

March 14, 2016 

~ STEM Challenge ~ 

K'Nex at Arin IU 28

Yesterday, two teams from Horace Mann attended the K'Nex STEM Challenge.  This year, teams were asked to design a building that stood at least one meter high, could hold weight, and was environmentally friendly. 

A group of Horace Mann's boys including, Mohammad, Lee, James, and Tristan presented their green building design entitled: The Phoenix.  

A group of Horace Mann's girls including Emma, Tori, Maura, and Bella presented their green building design entitled: The Leaning Tower of Carrots. 

We are thrilled to report that out of 19 teams that competed, Emma, Tori, Maura, and Bella were awarded Third Place in the 4-6th grade category for their project.  The girls performed an original skit that shared the background story about their building.  Their creativity was evident in their skit and the props they used to enhance their presentation: carrots, bunny ears, an award ribbon, a Pi day tie, and paper money to mention just a few!

Congratulations to the creators of The Leaning Tower of Carrots!