Something is Fishy about this Expedition!

We are learning about fish! 


We are learning about the different body parts of a fish and why they are important. 


The parts your child should begin to know are 
eyes, gills, pectoral fins, pelvic fins, dorsal fin, caudal fin, anal fin, and adipose fin. 


We also talked about why scales and the slime found on the fish are important to the fishes health. 


We are currently discussing the life cycle of a Steelhead Trout which is the same species as the Rainbow Trout, except Steelhead Trout find their way to the ocean and back. They can adjust and adapt to two different environments just like a frog lives in two environments. 


We will be finishing up the week learning about what fish eat and who preys on fish.


Here is a video that explains the life cycle of a Salmon, which is closely related to the Steelhead Trout.







Here is a song about the Life Cycle of a Salmon, which is done to the tune of "I Will Survive." I thought it was kind of catchy and the photographs and real life images were done really well. 

Trout!

For the next week we will be learning about Trout. We will be looking at what they eat, the life cycle, parts of the body, where they live and what makes trout special. 

This website will give some information regarding trout... http://www.streamexplorers.org/fish-facts/trout-life-cycle

Animal Classification Galore!

I thought I would take this time to share a great website that has some animal classification games.

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/content/animals/kidscorner/kidscorner_games.htm

Enjoy!

Animal Classification

For the last week and half we have been working on animal classification. Your kids knowledge and insight about classification and sorting has amazed me. They are such curious and deep thinkers.

As we were sharing what we knew about reptiles, amphibians, mammals, fish and birds they noticed many similarities and differences.

Here are some of the things your kiddos had to say...

"Fish are the only animals that breathe with gills, all the other animals breathe with lungs."

"Mammals are the only animals that give milk to their young."

"Mammals and birds are warm-blooded and reptiles, amphibians and fish are cold-blooded."

"Amphibians, fish and birds lay eggs."

"Amphibians, reptiles, fish, birds and mammals all have different body coverings."

I am already so impressed about how much your child has learned so far this year!

Some of the words we are learning are:
Taxonomy- which is the classification process that scientists use to help sort animals.
Kingdom- every living thing is sorted into one of five kingdoms. (We have talked about the plant kingdom and we are focusing on the animal kingdom.)

Within the animal kingdom, we are talking about animals that have a backbone or spine, which fall into the Phylum: Chordata.

Within the Chordata animals they are 5 Classes of animals. The Classes are reptiles, amphibians, fish, mammals and birds.

Are expedition will be mainly focused on frogs, however, we will be exploring fish and reptiles more in depth. To understand how frogs (amphibians) are different then fish and reptiles.