Pioneer Fourth Grade

Reverse Type/Reverse the Field - Choose the word "learning" and select the letters as quickly as possible.

Current weather conditions recorded by Pioneer's weather equipment.

Keep your skills sharp with Brain Games, Math Brain Games, and Brain Teasers!

Only One Space! - Use only one space after any punctuation that separates two sentences.

Please take a look at our 2006-07 Year in Review!

We ended the year with a Whizzball Challenge.

Physical Science - Energy and Matter Activities ||Whizzball

	What is it??? Look at our "Mystery Object" Projects Students brought a Mystery Object and used digital microscopes to create challenges for you! more Student Projects

Bird Nest, Egg Shell & Feather Information Did you know the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act specifies that it is illegal to harm, capture, or possess any migratory bird, feather, nest or egg? Since 99% of all birds migrate, this includes nearly all birds. The following articles explain in detail:

Past Investigation: Mars Exploration 2004!

Habitat Camouflage Challenge

Past Investigation: Physical Science

Whizzball! - We have been studying motion, problem solving, and invention using Whizzball. The purpose of this investigation is to provide experiences that develop the concept of a scientific model and engage students in design and construction of a working system. Open discussion, risk-taking, and free exchange of ideas are critical during the development of the models. Students, your challenges are as follows:

Beginner: Make a puzzle using ONE and ONLY one of each Building Brick.

Intermediate: Make a puzzle using only the outside grid to place Building Bricks. You many use as many or as few Building Bricks as you wish for this challenge.

Advanced 1: Make a puzzle using ONE of each Building Brick - this includes using ALL FOUR directional bricks for each.

Advanced 2: Make a puzzle using ONLY tubes and one spring. The challenge to is use the maximum number of tubes possible. Who can get the most on their grid???

Mrs. B's new buddy, Toby, is a tri-colored long-hair Chihuahua
See pictures of him at 8-weeks and 9-weeks.

Past Investigation: Insects and Arthropods. Mystery Bug Investigation

Check out our Habitat Project and accept the Habitat Camouflage Challenge!

Key Learnings - Students, use this page for your insect question project.Bee Anatomy

B-EYE: The world through the eyes of a bee - written by a neuroscientist working on bee vision.

NATURE: Alien Empire - Bee Anatomy - look at both views of the bee's body

NATURE: Alien Empire - Enter the Hive - Learn all about the daily life of a honeybee, from pollinating flowers to making and storing honey, by entering their elaborate home.

General Bee Information

Dances with Bees - Bees can communicate to other bees the distance, direction, quality, and quantity of a food source with a unique dance. Learn about bee dances (waggles) , then try to interpret them yourself.

Anatomy of a Hive - Designed for use with PBS special, NOVA: Tales from the Hive. Don't miss: The Buzz About Bees, Dances with Bees, and the making of the bee video. Learn lots of bee facts as well as conducting bee science experiments.

How Do Honeybees Make Honey? - How do honeybees make honey? What exactly is honey?

Nature: Triumph of Life: Brain Power - Bees are capable of amazing feats of memory. In their short two-month lives, worker bees must learn to remember where nectar-producing flowers are located in relation to the hive, and exactly what time of day they produce the sweet liquid. The life-or-death memorization is aided by an amazing change in the bee's brain: as it needs to retain more information, the brain grows, adding tens of thousands of cells on an as-needed basis! You need the free RealPlayer to view this clip: Honey Bee: Brain Power)

Check Your Knowledge

Bee Trivia and Honey Trivia - Amazing facts!
Beginner Level - First, study Insects: Beginner, then take the Beginner Level Insect Quiz.
Intermediate Level - First, study Insects: Intermediate, then take the Intermediate Insect Quiz.
Advanced Level - First, study Insects: Advanced, then take the Advanced Insect Quiz.

Simulation

WebBeePop - simulation model to study how honey bee population dynamics depends on the weather

For Fun

Honey Bee Puzzle (from NATURE: Alien Empire)
Online Puzzles for Other Insects - Dog Face Butterfly || Dragonfly Eyes || Tiger Beetle Mandibles || NATURE: Alien Empire - Insect Scrambles
Draper BeeCam -

Let's Talk About Bugs is an outstanding interactive site developed by the University of Illinois Extension. It is available in both English and Spanish.

Introduction: Intermediate (through 18.html) - Primary (through 11.html)
Body Parts Review (through 34.html)
Head & Eyes (through 17.html)
Insect Role in Environment
Metamorphosis

Independent student activities to reinforce learning:

Am I an Insect? - Play the game to see insects in the net.
A New Bug - Create a new insect!
Insect Hunt
Insect PhotoGallery
Name that Bug - Use the clues to name the mystery bug behind the screen! The faster you guess correctly,the more points you get!

Bees!!!

"Bee" sings have kept you inside during recess. What insects do we call "bees"? Why do they sting? How can you avoid getting stung?

It's Not Bees that Sting You in the Fall - Outstanding news story (movie) about fall stings (large download - 18.7 MB movie)
Bee-Careful of Stings!
Avoid Bee Stings - Excerpt from Steve Tvedten's book "The Best Control"
On Six Legs - A Bee or Not a Bee, That is the Stinging Question!
What to Do When You're Bugged by Bugs

We started the year with an interactive Black Box investigation. Black box is a general term used by scientists and engineers to describe a system that works in mysterious or unknown ways. A black box can be anything that is a mystery to us. Our Black Box was Foss: Black Box Laser.

Check out Brain Games for fun educational activities.

Exploring the Secret Life of Trees

Outstanding interactive tutorial developed by the University of Illinois Extension. I have broken it into the following sections for use in my instruction. Check out their other Just for Kids learning activities.

Specific Lessons
from Exploring the Secret Life of Trees

Roots || Trunk || Photosynthesis || Four Seasons of Tree Growth || Appreciating & Caring for Trees

Specific Pages for Extension Lessons/Assignments
from Exploring the Secret Life of Trees

Roots: 3 Functions || Oxygen || Hair Roots || 3 Choices
Trunk: Interactive Tutorial/Diagram || Interactive "Do It Yourself" Diagram || Tree rings
Photosynthesis: Diagram

Learn about leaves at Leaves of Native Vines, Shrubs and Trees and then try the Review of Leaf Shapes to see how much you remember!

Plant Identification

Plant and Tree Studies

Mystery Plants - Pioneer Intermediate Student Project Pages

Science/Tech: Plant and Tree Studies - Courtyard Watch - Why Do Leaves Change Color in the Fall? - Images from Science: An Exhibition of Scientific Photography (click on "The Photographs) from the School of Photographic Arts and Sciences at Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY.

Other Resources

Basic Internet Information
Internet Information for both experienced and new users. I use it in workshops with teachers, parents, and in my classroom.

Be sure to check out:
Internet Hoaxes & Urban Legends

(Throughout the site a indicates an independent K-2 activity - either no reading required, most students could figure out without help, or an activity specific to that age.)