5,4,3,2,1 Woodchuck

5 comments

• Woodchucks are 5 to 10 pounds and 2 feet long, but that includes their 6 inch bushy tail.
• Woodchucks live in meadows, pastures, abandoned Fields, open lots, open woods, and backyards.
• Woodchucks can no t run any faster than 9 miles per and hour.
• They are herbivores and they eat grass, fruits, vegetables, clovers, and alfalfa.
• Some noises that the woodchuck makes are shrill whistles, growls, snarls, hisses, squeals, and chirps.

4 questions

• Are woodchucks and beavers anything alike?
• What do woodchucks do when humans come near or really close to them?
• Can woodchucks swim or do they drown?
• Do woodchucks resemble any other animals in the wild?

3 vocabulary

• alfalfa: a plant
• marmot: any bushy tailed stocky, rodent
• conspicuous: easily seen or noticed

2 literary

• "In a coma like state" (pg. 216)
• "Early Alarm Clock" (pg. 217)

1 overview

• This was about woodchucks what they eat, where they live, how they grow up, what they look like, and how they get around.

5,4,3,2,1 American Toad

5 comments

• There are about or more 200 types of species of toads living all through the world.
• Toads are about 4 1/2 inches long, they have black spots on their bellies, and warts on their backs, they are red, orange and yellow.
• They eat snails, slugs, insects, spiders, and earthworms.
• When they are in the wild they only live 3 to 4 years, and in captivity they live about 31 years.
• To get around toads hop to get around so they can get from place to place.

4 questions

• Do toads and frogs have anything in common or do they have nothing in common?
• Are all reptiles some what the same or are they all different?
• Do reptiles have any similarities with mammal?
• Are all toads the same even though they are branched off into different types?

3 vocabulary

• aestivate: to spend the summer
• parotoid: forming warty Masses
• trill: to sing or play

2 literary

• "Toad Music" (pg. 183)
• "In the silent world" (pg. 183)

1 overview

• American Toads were described in this chapter how they live, how big they are, how long they live, and what they look like.

5,4,3,2,1 flying squirrell

5 comments

• Flying squirrels are 9 inches from nose to tail , they weigh about 2 ounces.
• They live in hardwoods, mostly hickory, beech. maple, and oak.
• They eat nuts, fruits, berries, insects and tree buds.
• If they are kept squirrels in captivity they live for about 13 years, but in the wild they live no more than 5 years.
• Squirrels have a lot of noises that they use to talk to each other and to warn each other.

4 questions

• Are all squirrels kind of alike or are they all different in the sense of like the way that the live or where they live?
• Will squirrels improvise with what they eat if that resource is no longer available?
• Why do squirrels have extremely fluffy tails,is it used for something specific?
• Why do animals pick to eat what they eat?

3 vocabulary

• twitters: chirping or tremulous sounds
• patagia: a wing membrane
• airborne: carried by the air

2 literary

• "gray mouse that flies" (pg. 167)
• "miniature copies of their parents" (pg. 170)

1 overview

1. This was about flying squirrels and how they live, what they eat, where they live, what they look like, and what they are like when they are babies.

5,4,3,2,1 White-Tailed Deer

5 comments

• There was an over population of deer and they were eating everything so one year they brought 15 to 20 of them to the Department of Natural Resources, it caused $100 a deer.
• A white-tailed deer is 38 to 40 inches high, 4 to 6 feet from nose to base, it's tail is 7 to 11 inches, and it weighs from 125 to 175 pounds, but bucks (males) weigh more than does (females).
• Bucks grow antlers during the summer, but when the breeding season is over the bucks shed their antlers.
• The white-tailed deer uses it's tail as an alert or an alarm, when it is fleeing from something it sticks its tail straight up as a warning to other deer.
• The most important sense to a deer is its sense of smell, it is because they can smell each other and their enemies.

4 questions

• Do all animals have a signal to show their group that there is trouble ahead and not to go any further?
• Do deer make noises or do they just use signals to warn each other?
• Why do bucks shed their antlers during the winter and grow them during the summer?
• Why don't does get antlers?

3 vocabulary

• piebald: having patches of black and white
• vireo: any of several small birds
• cementum: bone like tissue that forms outer layer of tooth

2 literary

• "Before humans flooded the continent" (pg. 150)
• "Deer are browsers" (pg. 155)

1 overview

• This chapter was about the white-tailed deer and what they eat, how they grow, how big they are, some attributes they have, and a warning signals.

5,4,3,2,1 Striped Skunks

5 comments

• Skunks are carnivores and are most common to be found, they are also the most wide spread.
• Skunks are usually 24-30 inches from nose to tail, and weigh from 4 to 10 pounds, and make skunks are generally larger.
• The scientific name for skunks is mephitis mehitis and it means noxious gas in Latin.
• There are three very important steps before a skunk sprays you, one they stamp their front feet, two they raise tail with ti pointed down, and last they point their tail straight up and spread it out.
• When skunks are born they are only 1/2 ounce, they have rarely any fur, but they show the black and white coloring, and their eyes and ears are sealed.

4 questions

• Do skunks always spray when they get startled, or are there other things they do?
• Are all skunks born with the ability to spray people with the nasty smell?
• When all baby animals are born are both their eyes and their ears sealed so they are blind and deaf?
• Do all animals have the same patterns in the way they grow up, or close to it, or are they totally different?

3 vocabulary

• Amiable: having or showing pleasant qualities
• Crepe: a light weight fabric or silk
• Haphazardly: at random

2 literary

• "a mother skunk moves her young in the same way that a mother cat transports her kittens" (pg. 137)
• "notice a hungry skunk waddling across our patio, earnestly looking for a tidbit" (pg. 141)

1 overview

• This chapter was about skunks and what they eat, how they breed, where they live, what they look like, and of coarse a little story.

5,4,3,2,1 Grey Squirrel

5 comments

• "Sidling" is said to be when a squirrel slips around the trunk of a tree and keeps going around to the side where the gunner (person with the gun) is not located.
• Squirrels are aggressive, persistent, and destructive, but on the other hand they are intelligent, skillful, and inquisitive.
• In Wisconsin scientists were holding an excrement to see what seeds birds liked best and when they hung out the feeders squirrels came and they ate all the seeds and destroyed the experiment .
• Squirrels 18 to 20 inches long and weigh 1 to about 1 1/2 pounds.
• When squirrels are born they are about 4 1/2 inches long and weigh 1/2 an ounce.

4 questions

• Do scientist always or usually have an experiment to see what food an animal would prefer to eat?
• Is there a reason that some people see squirrels as these scary animals that are dangerous and going to hurt them?
• After babies are born they need their mother so if their mother leaves obviously they will most likely die but what happens more often they die naturally or another animal comes around and eats it?
• Is there ever a situation where the mother has a problem with the baby so she kills it?

3 vocabulary

• Paradox: a statement or phrase that sounds like your contradicting yourself
• Inquisitive: given to inquiry
• Anecdotes: a short account of an interesting or humorous situation

2 literary

• "tree squirrels are called tree rats" (pg. 105)
• "natures little tree planters" (pg. 118)

1 overview

• This chapter was about gray squirrels and where they live, what they eat, where they breed, what happens to the babies, and of coarse funny stories.

5,4,3,2,1 Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly

5 comments

• The Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly is 4 to 6 1/2 inches long.
• Tiger Swallowtail Butterflies are bright yellow, have a black V on the inner half of hind wings, 5 vertical bars on fore wings.
• If you touch a butterfly their color rubs off easily and this is due to it being made up of color scales.
• The Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly belongs to a large group of about 550 Swallowtail butterfly species.
• Tiger Swallowtail Butterflies are cold blooded and they like to be in the sun because that is where they get their heat.

4 questions

• Do all butterflies have colored scales so if you touch them their color will rub off onto your fingers?
• Are all butterflies kind of the same like in the way they eat, what they do, how they sleep and so on?
• Do all animals that are cold blooded have to keep moving in the sun to keep their their temperature regulated?
• Do all animals kind of have something like social gatherings where they meet up with animals from the same species?

3 vocabulary

• Sulphur: yellow with a greenish tinge
• Savannas: a flat grassland of tropical or subtropical regions
• Lepidoptera: the order of compromising

2 literary

• "they overlap like shingles on a roof" (pg. 89) simile
• "flying butter" (pg. 90)

1 overview

• This chapter was about Tiger Swallowtail Butterflies and what they look like, a story, 4 stages of their development, and also where they lay their eggs.