Learning About Bears

Last week we had a Master Naturalist meeting and the speaker (Tammy Wactor from DNR) spoke to us about bears. She did a fantastic job. Here are my notes from that meeting.

1.     Largest land mammal in SC

2.     Adult Males 250 lbs

3.     Adult Female 130 lbs

4.     Breeds at 3 years old 

5.     Breeds every other year 

6.     Gestation period 6 months 

7.     Average litter size 2-3 

8.     Denning December to early April 

9.     Male home range 7.2 square miles 

10.  Female home range - 6.3 square miles

11.  Omnivore 90% is vegetative 10% meat (insects, bees)

12.  Population exist in mountains and coastal 

13.  SC bear population 800-1000

14.  April - beehive gum

15.  Like white oak acorns better than red oak acorns 

16.  SC record 609 lb. 

17.  Age by tooth rings

18.  Can also show if they are pregnant due to the stains on the teeth ring

19.  North America bear population 600,000

20.  No documented bear attacks in SC

Meanwhile during our meeting, there was an elk loose nearby. This was the first elk sighting in SC in 300 years! Apparently he was part of a herd in NC and came down to SC to look for a mate. Eventually they tranquilized him and took him to the mountains. Hopefully he will head back to NC because he won’t find a girlfriend in SC. I also learned that because it is against the law to take a wild animal across state lines, they could only leave him at the state line and hope that he travels north.

Back of the Book Blurb #35 Challenge

From Sioux's Page, Sioux offers this challenge.

She posts a picture and you need to imagine it as a graphic for a book. You choose the genre and book title, and then write a blurb that might appear on the back of the book.

The blurb should be 150 words or less (not including the title).

The genre is wide-open.

Each blogger should include their blurb on their own blog, and link back to this post.

Have fun with it. Go to the other posts and comment on the other blurbs. 

You can do fancy techy things with the photo.

(Join in if you dare...! It sounds like fun! I think this would be a lot of fun to do with students especially since they would be expected to write 150 words or less!)

Hiding in Plain Sight

Butch barked at Millie that she could not have any more pets. He was dog tired of having animals underfoot and the expense of pet food was astronomical. After their last pet died, Butch said they would not have any more. One day he thought he heard a dog and thought he saw one running through the house but Millie said he was crazy. On one day when he thought he saw it, Millie just told him that she was making hot dogs but dinner wasn’t ready yet. Since his eyesight wasn’t that great, he looked at the hot dog and said it was in an interesting shape. What else did she do to disguise their new pet? Did Millie fool Butch? Read more to find out the whole scoop. (130 words)

Useful Information In and Out of the Classroom 11/18/16

Here are some interesting sites that I’ve found this week, thanks to my PLN. As a teacher, I feel we have to keep up to date concerning research in our field and current issues in the education system. I hope some of these inspire you, inform you, and even have you asking questions. Thank you for coming by and visiting!

Note: Each resource is labeled with a level and subject area to make it easier to use.

Levels:  E: Elementary; M: Middle; H: High; G: General, all levels; SN: Special Needs; T: Teachers

Subject Areas: LA: Language Arts, English, Reading, Writing; M: Math; S: Science; Health; SS: Social Studies, Current Events; FA: Fine Arts; Music, Art, Drama; FL: Foreign Language; PE: Physical Ed; C: Career; A: All

If It Were My Home – “The lottery of birth is responsible for much of who we are. If you were not born in the country you were, what would your life be like? Would you be the same person? IfItWereMyHome.com is your gateway to understanding life outside your home. Use our country comparison tool to compare living conditions in your own country to those of another. Start by selecting a region to compare on the map to the right, and begin your exploration. You can also use our visualization tool to help understand the impact of a disaster. The Pakistan Flood and BP Oil Spill are currently featured. Check out the individual pages to gain some perspective on these awful tragedies.” (L:H; SA:SS)

Our Stickys – “Add Persistent Notes anywhere on any webpage, they will reappear when you re-open the page” (L:G; SA:A)

Open Parks Network – “Since 2010, Clemson University and the National Park Service have collaborated on the Open Parks Network, an Institute of Museum and Library Services funded project that has resulted in the digitization of over 350,000 cultural heritage objects and 1.5 million pages of gray literature housed in the libraries, museums, and archives of our nation’s parks, historic sites, and other protected areas. More than 20 national parks and other protected sites are represented in these diverse collections, as well as 2 state park systems and 3 university libraries. The Open Parks Network provides public access to high-resolution, downloadable files.” (L:G; SA:A)

Quizizz – “Quizizz is a fun multiplayer classroom activity, that allows all your students to practice together.” (L:G; SA:A)

Overlap My Map – “An Overlap Map is a map of one part of the world that overlaps a different part of the world. Overlap Maps show relative size” (L:G; SA:SS)

Original photo by Pat Hensley

Thanksgiving Activities

Next Thursday, November 24, 2016 is Thanksgiving in the United States. I thought it would be a good time to think about some activities to do in the classroom. Usually it is a short week in classrooms and the students are usually wound up about the upcoming holiday.

Word Clouds – Have students make a list of all of the things they are thankful for. Then make a word cloud out of them. You can also make a class word cloud.

Thank You Bulletin Board – trace the student’s hands and cut them out. Have students write one thing that they are thankful for on each hand and draw a picture of it. Post these on a bulletin board.

Poll – have students ask faculty, staff, students what their favorite dish to eat on Thanksgiving. Make a graph or chart showing the results.

Write a Letter – Have students pretend to be one of the people celebrating the first Thanksgiving. Have them write a letter back home telling about what it was like.

Turkey Facts – Have students research 5 interesting facts about turkeys and then share it with the class.

Cooking a Turkey – Some people roast it in the oven, cook it in brine, smoke it, or deep fry it. Take a poll and see how people cook their turkey. Then make a chart or graph with the results.

Story Writing – Pretend you are a turkey and trying to avoid being caught and cooked on Thanksgiving. Tell about your adventure.

Animal Tracks – Have students identify the tracks of different animals. Then make a puzzle with the tracks and have them figure out which animal matches each track.

Thank You – Have students find out how to say Thank you in different languages. Ask students to share what language it is in and then try to say it.

Pilgrim’s Hat – Have students make their own Pilgrim’s Hat

Do you have any other fun activities to do at Thanksgiving time? Please share.