Rainforest Riddles

We have been learning about the rainforest as a habitat for animals. We have learned that animals have physical and behavioral adaptations to help them adapt to their environment. Many populations for the community that live in a rainforest. If you leave off the titles you have riddles to tell your friends!

Howler Monkey
by Silas Brown

I have a hollow bone in my neck,
I use the sound in case of danger,
I use strong arms to hold myself up.
Who am I?

Toucan
by Robert Parker

I have a long colorful beak,
I have black feathers,
I use my beak like tweezers.
Who am I?

The Toucan

by Arianna Harbert

I am colorful,

I eat berries,

My jagged beak helps me pick berries.

Who am I?

The Gorilla
by Sam Tarasovic

I have black fur,
I am too big to live in trees,
I hit my chest for protection,
Who am I?

The Jaguar
by Erykah Price

I can swim very well,
I have very sharp teeth,
My fur is fuzzy, yellow and black,
Who am I?

The Jaguar
by Cece Dauer

I am spotted for camouflage,
I have a long tail for speed and balance,
Birds and other animals are my prey,
Who am I?

The Jaguar

by Christian Sherod

I have black and gold fur,

My fur blends with the understory,

I stay still for a long time...

CHOMP! I surprise my prey.

Who am I?

The Jaguar

by Josie Martin

My fur is my camouflage,

My legs help me swim,

I leap from branch to branch,

Who am I?

The Jaguar

by Ravenel Davis

I climb up trees,

I have spots all over,

I have fur that comouflages,

Who am I?

The Iguana

by Autumn Baumgart

I am a reptile,

My skin is scaly,

I am camouflaged,

Who am I?

The Sloth

by Eva Gravely

I have razor-sharp claws,

I have a white snow blanket on my body,

I am very slow...

Who am I?

Free Verse in the Forest

The Fox
by Silas

Pat, pat; pat, pat;
Yellow Eyes
Running, Shhh!
Snout
Leaping, Woosh
Long legs
Jumping...
Fox







The Bear
by Josie

Slip, slap, zzzzzzz
roar, slap, zzzzzz.
claws, snout, ears,
crawling, pouncing, running, roaring...
Bear.

The Bear
by Li'l Monte

Hibernating, hunting
Black and brown and furry,
Chasing fish,
Black claws, Sharp nails...
Bear.

The Bear
by Robert

Teeth, paws, fur,
growl, rub, scrape, bite...
Bear.


The Robin
by
Arianna

Singing, twittering, flying, laying eggs,
sleeping, looking for food,
sharp feet...
Robin.

The Woodpecker
by Christian

Tap, flutter, swoosh,
tweet, gulp, beak, wings,
long legs, small eyes,
pecking, boaring, flying, gliding...
Woodpecker.


The Owl
by Ravenel Davis

Talons, feathers, yellow eyes,
Hunting, hooting, reaching, screaching...
Owls.

The Rabbit
by Eva

Scurrying, twittering,
leaping, running, bouncing,
shy...
Rabbit.

The Falcon
by
John

Swoosh,
beak, wings, talons,
cutting, clawing,
hunting, swooping...
Predator...
Falcon.

The Raccoon
by Lenny

Black mask,
striped tail,
sharp ears,
rummaging, searching,
nocturnal...
raccoon.

Arctic Analogies

Today we read Animalogies: a Collection of Animal Analogies. A group has also been working on Who Lives Here? Polar Animals. We combined both books by writing analogies about Polar Animals.

Antler is to caribou as tusk is to Walrus

Whale is to fish as polar bear is to seal.

Fur is to artic fox as waterproof feather is to penguin.

Blubber is to beluga as shaggy fur is to the musk ox.

Fur is to polar bear as feather is to snowy owl.

Hoof is to musk ox as talon is to snowy owl.

Tundra is to caribou as beluga is to Ocean.

Beak is to snowy owl and tusk is to Walrus.

Chick is to penguin and calf is to walrus.

Wing is to penguin and flipper is to walrus.

Poetry in Science

There are patterns in nature and patterns in poetry. How do patterns help animals adapt? Watch this movie to find out.

We've been reading science with our ears tuned to poetry. On Friday morning, a group of children went through nonfiction books and searched for poetic writing. We recorded what we found on post its. When you mix up ten lines of poetry that come from different places it is called a cento. Here is our Science Cento.

Wood boring beetles burrow under the bark..

Many fatten themselves

They don't see the harvest mice scampering under the branches...

The summer moon rises over the hill. A lone coyote howls.

Branches break, limbs splinter, leaves scatter.

A shadow passes over the frog.

A little brown bat dips and dives to snatch moths and mosquitos.

Slowly, a lush green blanket of moss carpets the rotting log

Fruits and nuts abound

Small ants trailing over the ground, bulldozing dry earth into cave and mound.

All About Wetlands

by Keyvonna, Thomas, Mahmoud, and Kevin

Marshes, swamps, bogs, and ponds are all wetlands. Wetlands are places that are covered with shallow water that is not too deep. Special tall grasses and cattails grow in wetlands because they like wet muddy soil and water. They are important to the animals that live there. These special plants provide food and shelter.

Animals that live in wetlands have physical adaptations that help them survive. Ducks have wide webbed feet that help them swim and waterproof feathers that help them stay warm and dry.

Beavers have wide flat tails to help them steer as they swim. They also very large strong teeth to cut down thick grasses for food and trees for building.

Frogs have strong, strong legs for swimming. The marsh is a perfect environment for the frog, because he can find insects, worms, and even snakes to eat.

A wetland is a habitat for many plants and animals. The next time you are near a pond, walk carefully. You are may be in a community that is home to many populations.

History and Habitat in our Own Backyard!

The Chesapeake Bay is an aquatic habitat for many animals. You might see turtles, herons, geese, ducks, oysters, eels, and jelly fish. You might even spot a sandbar shark.

One of the most famous creatures in the Chesapeake Bay is the blue crab.

If you look at a map of Virginia, you will see a blue line that runs like a vein from the Bay to the Appalachian Mountains. This is the river that we now call the James. It is six million years old. If you follow the blue line you will see where the river has its slow trickling start in the mountains.

For thousands of years, the male blue crab has tried to follow that blue line; he loves to swim from the Chesapeake Bay up the James River. He does this to get food. His back legs are shaped like paddles to help swim and he uses his two front claws to catch his prey as he travels. He is a good swimmer, but he can’t swim all the way. When he comes to the part of the river where there are lots of rocks, rushing waters, and currents he has to turn around. The currents are very rough and are hard to get through.

In 1607, an explorer and sea captain named Christopher Newport first came to Virginia. He was sent by the King James of England to find riches and to transport settlers who would create a settlement that would claim part of the New World for England. When Christopher Newport and Captain John Smith explored the James River, they did not know what the blue crab knew. They found that, like the crab, their ship could not get past the falls. Like the crab, they turned around and went back towards the Chesapeake Bay. They went back to a place where the James River was much wider than it was at the falls of the James. They created a settlement there and called it Jamestown.

Many years later, a city would be built at the Falls of the James. Can you guess the name of that city? If you are downtown and you look at the James River, you will see lots of rocks and rough currents. You are looking at “The Falls of the James.” Think how different it must have looked to Christopher Newport and John Smith!