Hibernation: A Blanket of Snow

Seasonal changes are something we explore year-round in Science. Recently, we've begun learning how animals hibernate, migrate, and adapt to the cold winter months. 

Animals who hibernate often burrow under the snow. But how can you be warm under something so cold? 

Our experiment was simple: bury one thermometer in a snowbank, and leave the other sitting on top of the snow. To protect the thermometers, each was safe in a box.

We left the thermometers all morning and checked their temperatures after lunch. We discovered that it actually warmer under the snow! Many animals have a better chance of surviving the cold winter when there is a lot of snow. This snow acts like a blanket. It traps heat from the earth, as well as an animal's body heat when an animal burrows deep. 

Bundle up and enjoy the heaps of snow, everyone!

Cozy Snow?

Cozy snow? Has Mrs. Beliveau lost her marbles?

Our current Science focus is on seasonal changes in Winter! We've been learning how some animals migrate, some animals hibernate, and others adapt. Today we were exploring how some animals survive the cold. 

Do you think it is warmer under the snow or on top? This generated an enormous amount of really thoughtful discussion and the students made predictions. Then, off to experiment!

Waiting for Mrs. Beliveau to start the experiment outside ...
while staying warm inside!

The experiment was simple: bury one thermometer in a snowbank, and leave the other sitting on top of the snow. To protect the thermometers, each was encased in a cracker box. (Honorable mention to the Beliveau children for eating so many crackers for the sake of Science).

Before lunch, we hustled back to check on our experiment:

Mrs. Beliveau checked the box sitting on top of the snow .....

The thermometer read -21 degrees C. Chilly!

Then Mrs. Beliveau dug out the buried box ...

The thermometer read -9 degrees C.

What?!?! 

It was much warmer under the snow!

We hurried back to class, and working with a giant paper thermometer, spent time exploring what this meant. 

Many animals have a better chance of surviving the cold winter when there is a lot of snow. This snow acts like a blanket. It traps heat from the earth, as well as an animal's body heat when an animal burrows deep. Turns out that winters with little snow are harder for plants and animals to survive!

Wacky Winter Fun

Our Winter unit in Science has been lots of fun this week!

Not only are we learning about animals in Winter, but we are also exploring what people do in Winter. 

We got our creative juices flowing when Mrs. Beliveau read Snow Day. In the book, a "snow day" is declared and kids must stay home from school! The children in the book do loads of fun seasonal activities, which became an excellent conversation starter for our class!

Then, Mrs. Beliveau promised we could do those Winter activities we just read about! Ski, sled, build a snowman, skate ... but how?

The boys and girls dressed in their warm woollies and posed as if they were doing a snowy activity. Can you guess what winter activity these kids are acting out?

Then students focused their efforts on writing a complete sentence about their activity, 

chose a whimsical Winter background, 

and glued their cutout with a few details in white to complete the picture!

Look at what we made! 

In winter I like to ...
 (a) play hockey (b) make snow angels
(c) catch snow on my tongue (d) throw snowballs

We sure do know what people do in Winter!

Project idea adapted from a project featured by Christina Bainbridge. 
Visit her blog at Bunting, Books and Bright Ideas.

Dream Snow

Our playground and field are covered in snow, so it was fitting this week to read Eric Carle's book Dream Snow.

In the story, a farmer falls asleep and dreams that snow covers his farm animals. This book is very clever! Clear plastic sheets, with "snow" on them, can be lifted to reveal the animal underneath! The students loved this!

Inspired by a similar project on Mrs. Bainbridge's blog, we began creating our own version of Mr. Carle's book, but with a twist! Students were each going to write several clues about an animal of their choosing. An illustration of the animal would accompany the clues. Just like in Mr. Carle's book, a clear page with painted "snow" would cover the animal, so it would be lifted up to reveal the animal hidden under the snowbank!

Here is the criteria the students followed for the project:

Children got right to work writing clues for an animal of their choosing. They were very secretive about their animal, and worked nearly silently on their clues.

Students were challenged to write four clues, each beginning with a capital letter and ending with a period. As well, students were required to spell Word Wall Words correctly (weekly spelling words posted on the wall).

Once we completed our clues, we moved on to our illustrations. Students drew their animal, as secretly as possible, on a snowy landscape.

The very best part of the project was adding "snow" to a transparency placed over each student's illustration.

We all had a laugh when it wasn't just our animals getting covered in snow!

Because of their fantastic work, the hallway near our classroom is packed with curious students, reading the clues and peeking under the snowbanks! Well done, Grade One!

Now that the projects are complete, the students will self-assess their projects based upon the initial criteria provided. This is the time when they celebrate their work and find a way to improve as they grow as writers and illustrators.

We enjoyed some time on Friday afternoon making Christmas wreaths with our buddies! The students made so many wreaths that we will not only hang them here at school, but hope to have some hung at the Ardrossan Rec Complex! Be sure to visit there soon to see our artwork!

Our wreaths were inspired by this project,
shared on Small-Town Life.