Hello Explorers!  Today we are going to explore the deep ocean floor. So take a deep breath prepare to spend an hour undersea. There are step by step directions on the blog to guide you through today´s exploration. Please have your blog open throughout the exploration. 
        We will begin our exploration  here 

1.       Read the top of the page and then scroll down to the first box that says "Peice" and click on  "Pangea"
2.        Read the page 

     Follow me as we explore a new webiste, where we will see actual video footage:

1.       Click  here to enter this ocean exploration. 1.      http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/forfun/creatures/
2.   On the right side of the page in the right TV screen it says “Select a Creature/Feature.”
3. Scroll down to the. Click on "Hydrothermal Vents".
4.   Watch the video (it may not work)
5.   Read the information in the right TV screen
6. Go back on page to the page where “Select a Creature/Feature" is and click on “Underwater volcanoes.” 
7.  Watch the video (it may not work)
8. Read the information in the right TV screen
9.  Open a new tab on the top of you page
10. Copy and paste this link into the URL bar: http://www.mbari.org/staff/oreilly/schoolPresentation/seafloor/ridge.html
11.     Read through the page and watch a volcanic eruption by clicking on the little picture in the bottom left corner of the page.
12.   Open another new tab and copy and paste this link into the URL bar:http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/06fire/logs/april29/april29.html
13. Click on the second link with a little video camera next it ant the words  “Brimstone Pit erupts    with glowing red lava jetting out of the vent. (Quicktime, 2.5 Mb.)
14.   Go back to the main page one more time 
15.    Click on “Seamounts” under the “Select a Creature/Feature" side bar.
16.  Watch the video (it may not work)
17.  Read the information on the right TV screen

Welcome back to land sea explorer! Please take a moment to reflect on your time exploring the ocean floor. Enter there Wallwisher website. Once you are on the website please write one new thing you learned after your exploration today.
     ***If you didn´t get enough time undersea here are a few more links you can check out. Just click on the word and it will link you to the website.  

    SubmarineCanyons

     Under WaterVolcanoes

    Contential Shelf

Practice, Practice, Practice...Sentence Structure

Good afternoon fifth garders,

We are getting so close to Winter Vaction, only 8 more days of classes! Lets give our best effort until then.

Today we are going to spend our time practicing sentence structure. By the end of todays computer lab I bet you will all be experts in simple and compound sentences.

Activity 1
To start please click here. 
1. Read the instructions
2. Finish the activity
3. Check your answers at the bottom of the page where it says answers in blue.
4. Print your answers

Activity 2
To start please click here
1. Scroll to the bottom of the page to the 5th grade category
2. Stop at "Unit 1" and click on "the sentence"
3. Read the game rules and make sure you understand
4. Click play

Activity 3
To start click here
1. Scroll to the middle of the page where it says "Writing"
2. Click on the box that says "Types of Sentences"
3. **This game involves a type of sentence we have not learned yet. Use your process of illimations skills to help you! If you know the sentence is not a simple or a compound sentence then it must be a complex sentence (the sentence type we have not learned)
4. You may review what the rules of each sentence type are by clicking on the words on the left of the page in blue
5. Once you are ready read the instructions in side the picture
6. Click the word "Start" located on the tree
7. Click the circle with the dial to spin the dial.

Once you finish all three activities you may look through nationalgeographics for kids or play any of the games on this website.

Wallwisher

Good afternoon 5th graders! 

Today we will be exploring a new tool to use while we spend time at computer lab. Please click here.

Once the website has loaded here are the steps:

1. Double click. 
2. A text box will pop up in grey. 
3. Click on the top of the box where it says name.
4. Type your name, the font will appear in red. 
5. Click below your name, still inside the box, the font will appear in black.
6. Type what your favorite color is. 
7. Type what your favorite dessert is.
8. Answer this question, "If you could be anywhere right now, where would you be?"
9. Refresh your page. 
10. If your box is on top of someone elses click and drag it to a new location.
11. Stop and wait

Now that you understand how to work Wall Wisher you have an assignment to complete by the end of class today.

• Go to Kidrex.org
• Type in the search engine effects of earthquakes.
• Choose the second website.
• Read through the website, focusing on the effects of earthquakes, positive and negative.
• Record your results on the wall wisher in the text box you opened with your name and favorite color (be sure to delete the sample responses about your favorite color, dessert and where you'd like to be).  

13 September 2012

Hello 5th graders! 

When you are all finished with your writing assignment on the affect changes have on an ecosystem AND have received my approval to print, please begin to investigate deforestation.

I have listed four websites I would like you to use at to research about deforestation. Please stay on these 4 websites!

Please record at least five facts. Remember to tell  me the website you got your fact from too! At the end of the day I will ask you to share an interesting fact you have learned.

How to Record Your Facts:
1. Name and date in the upper right corner
2. Title centered and bold
3. 12 point font
4. Please number your facts 1-5
5. If you copy your facts word for word remember to use quotes!
5. After stating a fact please state the website you used.

For example:
       1. "12-15 million hectares of forest are lost each year, the equivalent of 36 football fields per minute" (http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/about_forests/deforestation/).


List of Websites:
WWF
Simple Wiki
Kids Connected to Conservation and Culture
Tropical Rainforests: kids.mongabay.com

Tuesday, September 9th

1.  Please choose one of the following stressful situations that can affect an ecosystem:

• overgrazing
• overpopulation
• natural disaster
• introduction of a non-native species
• human impact/urban development

2.  Write a paragraph explaining the stressful situation.  For example, you may talk about a fire or people moving in or a new animal that is introduced.  Give a lot of details!

3.  Write a second paragraph explaining how the stressful situation affects your ecosystem.  Please be detailed!
 

Please type your story in WORD! 

• Use 12-point font.
• Put your title in the CENTER.
• Put your title in BOLD.
• Put your name at the top. 

Thursday, August 23rd

In class on Tuesday we learned about consumers, producers, and decomposers.  We also learned about herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores. 

Today, you are going to use that knowledge to create at least TWO food chains for your ecosystem.  A food chain is a series of organisms that pass on energy by eating each other.  Your food chain should begin with the sun and soil and end with a decomposer.

Here is my example from Zamorano:





Notice that my food chain has

• the name of each organism
• its identification as a producer, consumer, or decomposer, and
• if it's a consumer, its classification as herbivore, carnivore, or omnivore
• a picture of each organism

You can find all the information you need for your food chain on the website for your ecosystem.

I will show you how to use Word to make your food chain.  However, before you create your food chain on the computer, you will need to make a draft of your food chain in your notebook and have me check it!

For Today--Tuesday, August 21st

1. Read the post below called "New Requirements for Ecosystem Project--Please Read!"
2. Work with your group to take notes on the biotic and abiotic elements of your ecosystem.  To do this, you will create a table in Word.  Ms. Julie will show you how!

New Requirements for Ecosystem Project--Please Read!

Requirement 1:  EVERYONE in your team must work together to make your presentation.  

Requirement 2:  Your presentation must demonstrate and understanding of following elements of the ecosystem:

• biotic and abiotic components
• producers, consumers, and decomposers
• predators and prey
• herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores

Requirement 3:  Your presentation must include a food web that contains at least two food chains.

Requirement 4:  presentation must show a symbiotic relationship within your ecosystem (commensalism, mutualism, or parasitism) and show

• who benefits
• who is harmed

Requirement 5:  Your presentation must introduce at least one stressful situation (overgrazing, overpopulation, natural disaster, introduction of a non-native species) into your ecosystem and predict the possible effects.  You may choose one of the following situations or invent your own:

• overgrazing
• overpopulation
• natural disaster
• introduction of a non-native species
• human impact/urban development
  
  

 

Ecosystems Webquest

Welcome to 3000 A.D.!  You are now living on a distant planet in a neighboring galaxy.  Earth was destroyed long ago, and now you have been asked to help educate people about what the Earth looked like in 2000 A.D.  

In the year 2000 A.D., there were many ecosystems on earth including estuaries, lakes and ponds, oceans, forest, and grasslands.

Showing all of Earth's ecosystems is a huge task, so you will work with a small group to research only one of them.  Follow the steps below to complete your project!

 Step 1: Find your group!

• Ponds & Lakes: Daniel, Adriana, & Ángel 
• Tropical Oceans: Albanize, Shannon, & Ricardo 
• Estuaries: Sofia, José Andrés, & André 
• Grasslands: Cecilia, Giorgio, & José Daniel 
• Temperate Forest: Miguel, Gaby, & Alejandra  
• Tropical Rainforest: Demi, Chávez, & María José 

Step 2:  Choose your specialty!

Each member of your group will specialize in one area:  plants, animals, or environment.  Talk to your partners to decide who will do what! 


Step 3:  Prepare!

Brainstorm four key questions you can answer about the plants, animals, or environment in your ecosystem.  Sample questions could be:

• What types of trees are found in my ecosystem?
• What types of vegetables are found in my ecosystem?
• What are the most common animals in my ecosystem?
• What types of carnivores (meat-eaters) are found in my ecosytem?
• How much does it rain in my ecosystem?
• What types of landforms are found in my ecosystem?

Type your questions in Word.  To do that

• OPEN Word.
• Make sure you are using a 12 POINT FONT that is EASY TO READ.
• At the top, CENTER your title.  Your title should contain your ecosystem, your expert topic, and your name, like this

Rainforest Plants

Ms. Julie

• Put your title in BOLD.
• Put a SPACE between your title and the first line.
• NUMBER your questions.
• SAVE your document to your personal folder.  Your document title should be the same as the title on your sheet, for example "Rainforest Plants."

Step 4:  Do your research!

• Use the LINKS in step one to find answers to your questions.  
• Type your answers in words or phrases (not complete sentences) under each question.
• Use BULLET points to make it easier to read.

Step 5:  Print your notes and have Ms. Julie check them!  

 If your partners aren't done yet, help them finish.


Step 6:  Find out where you were!

• Click this link to find a blank world map.  
• Print one copy of the map for your group.
• As a group, use this link to find at least three places on Earth where your ecosystem was located.  You may also need to refer to these maps of North America, South America, Africa, Asia, Europe, and Australia to help you.   
• Record your locates on your blank map. 

Step 7:  Plan your presentation!

Your presentation must contain the following elements:

• A description of the physical environment (e.g. mountains, rivers, valleys, etc.)
• A description of the climate (e.g. temperature, amount of rain, etc.)
• At least three places n the world where this climate is located.  (You can use this link for help.)
• A list of the key plants.
• A list of the key animals.
• A food chain showing how the plants and animals form a system. 

You can make a poster or do a PowerPoint.  Either way, you need to complete a planning sheet that Ms. Julie will provide.  Have Ms. Julie check your planning sheet before you go on to the next step!


Step 8:  Create your presentation!

Work together to create your poster or PowerPoint.