Biographical Bonanza!

 A biography is a true story about a person's life.

Mrs. Ranney's Class has been reading  biographies  about

people who have made significant contributions to our world!

 *********************

 

We  have  each read a 
biography on our own.
Artists, inventors, statesman, 
composers, doctors,

aviators, astronauts, and pioneers 
in many fields 

are  among the amazing historical figures 
about whom we have read!

We researched by reading library books, as well as doing research using World Book Online.

 

******************** 
Now that you are an expert  on your biography subject,
please leave  a comment as if you are that person!

Be sure to include at least 3 facts you learned. 

Watch the comments to see if you can converse with another  biography subject you may know!

(Family members: You may want to choose your own biography subject and join in the conversation!)

50,000 Visitors!

We finally reached 50,000 visitors!

Look closely at the six ClustrMap below. What do you notice about our visitors?

The top 15 countries that have visited our blog are:

**************

Please share some of your observations about our visitors! 

Do we have more coastal visitors or are they more inland?

Are any of our visitors from urban centers? 

What do you ♥ about blogging?

Astonishing Arbor Day - Then and Now!

THEN:

28 years ago in 1986, 

Mrs. Ranney's  first grade class planted a little tree on the hill next to the lower yard in honor of

Arbor Day!

Photo by Mrs. Ranney (then Mrs. Pope)

Arbor (from the Latin meaning tree) Day  

is a holiday in which people are encouraged 

to plant and care for trees.

Our tree was donated to us by The Los Angeles Arboretum.
An arboretum is a botanical garden devoted to trees, of course!

The very first Arbor Day took place on April 10, 1872, 

 in Nebraska.

Today Arbor Day is observed at different times by different states in the United States. If you follow the link below the map, you can check to see when it is in our state, as well as the other 49!

 Arbor Day Foundation Link

*********

NOW: 

That little tree that was lovingly planted  28 years ago,

has GROWN! 

This species of tree is a silk floss tree, a deciduous tree that is native to tropical forests in South America.

An interesting additional fact is that it is related to a 

kapok tree, a tree that is very special to our class because we've been reading The Great Kapok Tree recently!

 

 *********

 What do you think of our school's special tree?

Do you notice any interesting adaptations 
that this tree has?

What Arbor Day facts can you share? 

What facts about the silk floss tree or kapok tree can you share? 

Animals, Announce Your Adaptations!

This week, Mrs. Ranney's class is learning about animal adaptations.

An adaptation is a body part or behavior that helps a living thing survive in its environment.

For example, a giraffe's long neck helps it reach the leaves in high trees on the savannas of Africa.
The giraffe's neck is a physical adaptation.

An antelope squirrel stays cool during the hot desert day by staying in its underground burrow.
This is an example of a behavioral adaptation.

********


Many animals have physical or behavioral adaptations. For example, polar bears of the Arctic can 

run on the ice without slipping. 

To learn about the polar bear's physical adaptation, click here!

Here is a fun animal adaptation quiz!

********

 

 

Use the Online World Book Encyclopedia to research an animal of your choice.
Take notes about two to three adaptations.
Be sure to include the animal's habitat.

Write a comment as if you are that animal.   

Tell us about two or three of your adaptations!

What makes your adaptations so useful? 

Use HTML code to bold the facts!

April is Family Blogging Month!

Mrs. Ranney and her students ♥ to share what they are  learning and experiencing.

In an effort to include more family members in our online community, we are proclaiming:

 

April is Family Blogging Month!

Each student will make  a list of their family members. After looking through the archive, students will select specific posts tailored to the interest of a particular relative. We're inviting everyone to comment: moms, dads, brothers, sisters, grandmas, grandpas, uncles, aunts, and cousins. We welcome friends, too!

Students will be inviting their family and friends to participate in our two online spaces, this classroom blog and our Ranney's Record Photo of the Day! The top three bloggers will be proclaimed Family Blogging Month winners and receive honor and prizes. 

NEW: This year, awards will also be given for best commenters! The commenter awards will be by nomination at the end of April.

 We will look for who was able to bring about valuable conversations in the comment section.
 

Here is the key we used for our last Family Blogging Month~

************

Who will you invite to be a part of our online community?

Please leave a comment and introduce yourself!