Mrs. Goucher's Class Blog

Project feederwatch started at our school last year. This year was Mrs. Goucher’s and Mrs. fraher’s 2nd year of doing Project feederwatch. Project Feederwatch is a project with Cornell University. Both of our classes watch birds and keep track of which birds we see. Throughout the whole project we would hang up different bird feeders in different areas. Sometimes we can go outside and take pictures of the birds on our feeders. Now, Here’s what happened at our bird bash.

Talking about birdy things, we recently had a Bird Bash in the 3rd and 4th grade halls of Peralta Trails Elementary School. It had 13 different centers.  Mrs.Goucher and 3rd grade teacher Mrs. Fraher thought it would be a good way to introduce the Cornell University project called Project Feederwatch.  Everything had to do with birds, art, creativity, a nature walk, and a kick from brain power.  We even got to get videotaped and ask a question about birds, those questions would be sent to A.S.U students to answer.

One station is pinecone birdfeeders.  What we did was spread peanut butter on a pine cone, then we spread it around in a little put it in a pan of bird seed and it sticks on.  When it is all done we put them out by the bird feeders, which are in the wash that we can see out of our classroom windows.

Another station is making a collage. Mrs. fraher drew some birds and cacti on a large piece of  paper. She also cut up some magazines. We glued pieces of the magazine on the piece of paper.

Another station is drawing bird sketches. There are pieces of paper on a desk for students to use to create their sketches. There were also examples of professional bird sketches. We could draw a landscape but mostly just a bird. That was the bird sketching.

Another station is Ask A Biologist. Somebody would hold an ipod and record a question that you would like to say about birds. Your question would have to be specific. It was kind of like an interview.

Another station is Bird Sounds, There is a big book of bird sounds. It is called a bird bible. You can type a number one through nine hundred ninety nine. when you press it, you hear a bird sound. When you hear the bird sound, you have to guess what the bird is.

One of the other stations at the bird bash was clay heads.  At clay heads you had to chose from different  birds to make them into a clay head.  Then you choose a clay color and start sculpting. And when you were done you could take it home.

One of the stations at the bird bash was where you dissect an owl pellet. An owl pellet is owl puke. When we dissected them we had to pull out all the bones and other stuff to see what the owl had eaten.

Another station at the bird bash was Guess That Bird. Guess that bird is an app you can get on your iPad. The app shows different bird pictures and  4 different bird names. Out of those 4  bird names you have to guess which one is the correct name of the bird in the picture.

At feather painting what you did was you took a feather  and you dipped it in the paint if the paint was wet. Then you took a piece of paper and drew a desert scene with the feather you had.

There was also a station where you make bird tracks. You tie 2 pieces of pipe cleaner together making a shape like bird feet. Then we dipped the pipe cleaners in paint and dotted them on strips of paper.

When you were at the nest station you took raffia and string and made a nest using tweezers.  The whole point of this station was to act like a bird making a nest with a beak like a bird, so you couldn’t use your hands.

The next station is paint. Most of you should know the app “paint” on the computer. Well, we used that app. We had to draw a bird and you had to make it colorful. You could also draw the desert habitat we live in.

The last station was the nature walk. While doing the nature walk you went out on a walk with a group and a grownup and took pictures of birds.  You walked out into the wash outside our school where most of the birds are.

The Bird Bash was a great way to get students ready for our FeederWatch Project! :0)  Please watch the Animoto created by the authors of this article: Justin, Cody, Lilly, and Claire.

What kind of birds are found in your area?

If you could have joined us for the bird bash, which station would you like to go to?

Nicky and Andrew did some research on the Olympics to start the 2012 school year. They recorded their findings on educreations. Check it out!!!

http://www.educreations.com/lesson/view/olmpics/1331839/?s=V9alnq&ref=app

Xander and Lilly also created a Show Me about the Olympics.

What is your favorite Olympic sport?

In February, 2012 our class did a video conference with an Art Center, in Georgia.  One good reason why you should video conference, is because you get to meet special people around the world and learn about there culture, which gives the class different ideas for projects.  For example, our class learned about Native Americans, and we made Kachina puppets.  The second good reason why, is it will give the students a chance to ask questions, and the opportunity to learn something new.  If you don’t want your students to have a video conference because you think that it is a waste of classroom time when you could be teaching something else, you are wrong.  Your students can be learning something other than classroom work.  That is why you should video conference in your classroom.

The Fishing Trip                                                                                        By:Sarah,Hannah,Melissa, Jack, and Heath

Our  class went on a  field trip to the Game and Fish.   We went fishing and some people caught fish.  The people who caught the fish are Sarah, Hannah, Jack, and Heath.  They all caught rainbow trout.  It took us a long time to catch it we had to sit and do nothing for a long time.  We just had to be patient, and hope we’d catch something.

The first thing we did when we got there was learn the rules then get our fishing poles.  Some of us put our own bait on, and some of us got the parents and teachers to help us.  There were four kinds of bait – meal worms, power bait (corn), salmon eggs.

After we got the bait on we went by the lake when, and at the back of the fishing pole by the reel there is a  button. You put the fishing pole behind you, press the button, and remember to push the button unless you might get hooked like Jack, a guy in our class.  Then you throw it over, and when it’s up on top of you’re head, you let go of the button. It flies out into the water and if  it has some loose string, you should reel in the line a little so it’s nice and tight, otherwise when a fish tugs on the line, you won’t be able to feel the tug, and the fish will get away.

There are different ways to hold the fish when they are out of the water.  You don’t want to hold them by their fins because they are sharp and spiny, and you don’t want that to cut into your finger.  The Game and fish guy told us that he saw a person get five holes in his hands and it was not pretty.  Remember when we talked about Jack – well he did get hooked and that’s why you pay attention at what your doing and by the way, he is okay.

Quiz

1# What did Hannah, Sarah, Heath, and Jack catch?

A. Jack fish

B. Catfish

C. Rainbow trout

2# Who got hooked?

A. Sarah

B. Melissa

C. Heath

D.  Jack

3# Where did we go fishing?

A.Game and Fish

B. Rodeo

C. Antarctica

4# Where do you not want to hold a fish?

A. belly
B. fins
C. head

5# What was by the reel?
A. stuffed animal
B. hat
C. button
D. fish

Answers:

1.c

2.d

3.a

4.b

5.c

This post is written by the students of Mrs. Goucher’s class for Student Blogging Challenge #6 about global issues. The global issue that we are most affected by is about natural resources.

In Arizona we have 5 main resources that the state is known for called the 5 C’s.  They are cotton, cattle, citrus, climate, and copper.  Students researched each resource to find information about the topic.  We then discussed the importance of conserving our resources.  Here’s what each group had to say about their “C”.

Olivia’s group researched cattle.  Here’s what they found about cattle in Arizona:

The first cattle that were discovered were probably a few Andalusian heifers and a young bull  brought into America by a man named Gregorio De Villalobos in 1521.

Gregario De Villalobos originally got the in Santo Domingo, west, indies, where they had been bred from the original  Spanish herds.

Apache raids and the out break of the civil war put an end to early cattle ventures.

Hannah’s group researched cotton.  Sarah brought in some cotton she picked from a field! 

Cotton

Cotton is a versatile crop that has long been in demand for its unique qualities.  Arizona grows a variety called Pima Long Staple cotton witch was named as Native Americans of central Arizona.  Cotton can be made in to variety and fabric.  Cotton is the third c of Arizona.  The United State is the biggest exporter of cotton in the world.  More than one quarter of the cotton international commerce comes from the United States.  Cotton as far back a 100 A. D.  Arizona farmers grow enough cotton to make clothes for every man and women and child in the United States.

Here’s what Bailey’s group said about citrus:

Did you now citrus was the last of  the 5 C’s that contributed to growth in Arizona?

Columbus planted the the first citrus in the now world on his second voyage in 1493 to Haiti.

The west was the next region of the continental United States to grow citrus.

Did you now that AZ grows 170 oranges and lemons for every AZ residents ever year.

Did you now citrus in 1929 and 1930 made over $100,000 dollars?
The salt river valley was a good  location to grow citrus.

The first C of Arizona is cattle.  As you learned above it was introduced to Arizona along time ago.  It is an important resource that we must conserve.  As we grow as a state the cattle grounds are depleted.  We also have to worry about disease.  It’s a hard job to raise cattle.

The students discussed the importance of conserving copper, the second C of Arizona, and they said that  they felt that it is important to conserve copper because it  is used in everyday life.  The average human uses 1500 pounds of it in their lifetime.  We also discussed the importance of copper as an income source for many miners.  It’s important to conserve resources  so we have jobs for the people who work at the mine.

by Kimberly and Will

Our Edublogs Student Challenge #4 is to share what we want to learn more about and why. We chose to learn more about the Pueblo culture because we might learn about our own culture, and who inhabited our country before we became the United States.

The Pueblo lived in the “four corners” of New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. The Pueblos were good at bonding with others, especially in hard times.

They went to war with the Spaniards who moved into their land and were ruling the area. In 1680, the Pueblo decided to join up with other Native American tribes to battle the Spaniards. It didn’t work because the Spaniards took over all of the Pecos Pueblo land, in 1692.

The Spaniards burned down all the statues of their gods and buildings. Many Native Americans were taken prisoners and later executed.

What did you learn about the Pueblos?

How do you think they influenced our culture?

the juicer to create prickly pear juice

Fourth grade kicked off a new unit on Arizona Native tribes on September 16, 2011 by making prickly pear jelly!  Here are some pictures of the students working.  We paired with Mrs. Martinez’s class to do this project.

Enjoy!

Mixing the juice with lemon juice and pectin

Do you have any questions for us about our prickly pear jelly?