Social Studies Plans for Friday

Hi Students!

I hope your Friday is going well! Your task today is to work with a partner to find out information on some endangered species.

Click on this link:

http://www.kidsplanet.org/factsheets/map.html

Explore the website and some of the animals featured in each of the sections.

Choose 2 endangered animals from different continents.

Compare and contrast these 2 animals using a venn diagram.

Turn in your venn diagrams by the end of the day. Spend some more time exploring the websites of these animals.

Family Literacy Night

On Tuesday, October 6, the Rose Hill community celebrated Family Literacy Night! Our fifth graders participated in a big way! Several students showed up in their pajamas and many entered the Rosebery Award Writing Contest. We had some big winners in our class, too. Congratulations to Irving for winning the Rosbery Writing Award and to Shanel for winning the Class Writing Medal! All of our fifth grade participants did a fantastic job! We had a great time listening to stories read by author and artist, Pat Loehr. The raffle was also lots of fun with many winners. Overall, it was a fantastic evening!

Picture Slide Show Coming Soon!

Surviving in the Wild

This week in Time for Kids Magazine, we read a story about endangered species and conservation efforts around the world.

We learned about the Sumatran rhinos, of which there are less than 300 left in the world! They have become so endangered because of illegal hunting and habitat loss. These large mammals have a very specific diet, including a sap-covered fruit, and zookeepers and conservationists are working hard to restore the rhino population in captive-breeding programs in zoos around the United States.

We also studied the California condors, which nearly went extinct in the 1980s. Condors are scavengers that feed off of the remains of dead animals. At the time, hunters used lead bullets to kill whatever animals they were hunting. Scientists and researchers began to realize that the birds were being poisoned by the lead used in the bullets that killed the animals the condors were eating! In 1982, only 22 California condors remained in the world. But with the help of dedicated specialists, the bird population has grown to more than 350. In 2007, Congress passed a law that banned the use of lead bullets where condors live, making it safer for the condors to survive in the wild.

The article goes on to say that it has to be the responsibility of everyone to take care of our planet, our animals, and their habitats. They use the expression, "it takes a village." We want to know what you think. Why is it important to save species from becoming extinct? If it takes a village to do so, what can we do to help? What will the benefits be?

Battling the Blazes

This week in Time Magazine for Kids we read about the wildfires in California that are causing all kinds of problems. The fires are worsened by the dry, hot temperatures that California typically experiences this time of year. In California, wildfire season lasts all the way into November. Firefighters work around the clock to control the problems, but the fires continue to spread. Over 12,000 structures have been threatened by the fires in Southern California. We want to know what you think: Should people be allowed to build homes near areas that are prone to fires? Why or Why not?

Tinikling in Gym

In gym, we are learning a dance from the Philippines called Tinikling. In the Philippines, they use sticks made from bamboo, but we used PVC pipes that we decorated in art class. Watch the videos to see how we do!

"My Education, My Future"

Today, President Obama gave a speech to school aged children about the importance of staying in school. Click on Comments if you want to leave a question or comment about what the president said today. To view the speech, go here.

Pythons in the Everglades

This week in Time Magazine for Kids we read about the Burmese Pythons that are causing all kinds of problems to the native species in the fragile ecosystem of Everglades National Park, in Florida. The problem is that people buy the Southeast Asian snakes as pets when then are only 20 inches long. But within one year, these snakes can grow to be over 8 feet long. Adult pythons grow to over 20 feet long and weigh up to 200 pounds! The owners can no longer care for these large reptiles, so they release them into the wild. The Everglades provide a perfect home for the pythons, because they have no natural predators here. This means that there is nothing to stop them from completely taking over from the top of the food chain! As of July 2009, specialists from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation (FWC) have permitted licensed hunters to come in and capture these pythons so they will stop destroying the native wildlife of the Everglades. There are over 150,000 non-native pythons in the Everglades, and as of last week, only 14 had been captured under the new hunting permits. What else can the FWC and all of us do to solve this problem and save the Everglades?