Mrs. Peña's Class Blog Think Outside the Box 

Welcome to the Space Place!

Come on in and check out fun games, animations, projects, and fun facts about Earth, space and technology.   It’s out of this world

Check out this cool animation activity!  Can you place the correct phase into the calendar?

Click Processes_of_Life to open the Powerpoint presentation we used in class, including the BrainPop videos.

Check out these great sites for interactive review of the body systems we’ve learned about!

• Fact Monster
• How the Body Works

    

Choose a Study Mode Scatter Learn Flashcards

Study these flash cards

The Sunshine State Young Readers Award is sponsored by the Florida Department of Education and FAME, the Florida Association for Media in Education. SSYRA is one of the top reading motivational programs in the country, and an important part of FAME, the Florida school library media professional organization. Go online and get a preview of this year’s book selections. Here you will find some book trailers to whet your appetite

I am certain that you will all read, at least, 3 of these great books.  I’d love to have 100% participation on voting day   Wouldn’t it be awesome if each student in our class read all 15 titles?  I challenge you! 

These looked interesting to me – what do you think?  Which one(s) do you want to read?

Plant and Animal Adaptations Test will be on Friday, Dec. 9th.  Don’t wait until the last minute to begin studying

Graphs and charts are great because they communicate information visually.  Create A Graph is a very user friendly tool you can use to create colorful, informative graphs of your data.  Check it out!

All organisms have adaptations that help them survive and thrive. Some adaptations are structural. Structural adaptations are physical features of an organism like the bill on a bird or the fur on a bear. Other adaptations are behavioral. Behavioral adaptations are the things organisms do to survive.

Watch Adaptation on PBS. See more from NATUREWORKS.

Below take a look at populations and the limiting factors that can impact it.

Watch Population Dynamics on PBS. See more from NATUREWORKS.

It is time to put your knowledge of plant and animal adaptations to the test and design your very own “creature”.  You and a partner will work together to come up with an original plant, animal, or combination of the two.  This creature must be able to survive in the environment you chose (Plant and Animal Environment Task Cards) and have all of the necessary adaptations for that environment.  Below are a few resources to help you with your your task.

Before you begin your serious work, visit the BuildYourWildSelf website and let your creative juices flow.  Be sure to read up on the adaptations you use while building your crazy creatures.    Have FUN!!    Due Date: Thursday, Dec. 1st.

• Nature Works
• Plant Adaptations
• How Animals Adapt
• Animal Adaptations

It is that time of the year when you take part in TBEs Annual Science Fair, an exciting event that encourages you to think like a young scientist. This week you will receive a Science Fair Packet with specific directions.  During the next few weeks you will be designing a science project that uses the scientific method to solve a problem.  Below I have listed some great sites to assist you in choosing a topic and learning more about science fair projects.  Please start perusing the sites and choosing a topic that interests you.  You MUST have a topic by Tuesday, Oct. 25th.  I  recommend you have 3 choices to share with me.  Don’t wait until the last minute!  Leave me a post with any interesting ideas you find    *Research paper is due on Thursday, Nov. 1oth.  Please come in to see me if you need help with subtopics or directions.*

Science Fair Project Examples

Science Fair Labels

http://www.sciencebuddies.org (Science Buddies- excellent, detailed project ideas)

http://www.all-science-fair-projects.com

http://school.discovery.com/sciencefaircentral (Science Fair Central)

http://www.need.org/energyfair.php  (National Energy Educ. Devel)

http://www.elmers.com/sciencefair/index.asp (Elmers Science Site)

http://www.scifair.org (Dr. Shawn’s Support Center)

http://scienceclub.org//kidproj1.html (The Science Club)

http://www.cdli.ca/sciencefairs (Science Fairs Homepage)

http://www.isd77.k12.mn.us/resources/cf/welcome.html (Cyber-Fair)

http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/projects/ (Energy Quest)

http://www.ipl.org/div/kidspace/projectguide (Kidspace)

http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/category/science-fair (Steve Spangler- great ideas with video clips and easy material purchase opportunity)