Monthly Archives: March 2014
Arrays for Year 4
Year 4 students at Barwon Heads PS were looking at arrays for use in multiplication...
Arrays All Around
Hello Year 4,
After reading your post, I wondered what arrays I could find amongst my photo collection. Here are some I found...
Windows on an old prison at Port Arthur, Tasmania.
4 rows of 8 windows
4 x 8 = ?
Artwork on a class wall
3 rows of 3 artworks
3 x 3 = ?
Pattern on a sofa
4 rows of 6 square patterns
4 x 6 = ?
Artwork on a class wall
4 rows of 7 artworks
4 x 7 = ?
Windows on Buckingham Palace
2 rows of 6 windows
2 x 6 = ?
Panels in a stained glass window
5 rows of 3 square stained glass panels
5 x 3 = ?
Tubes in an old steam boiler
5 rows of 6 steam boiler tubes
5 x 6 = ?
Of Bilbies and Chocolate for Battalion Bloggers
To see the Battalion Bloggers post...
A Surprise Package Inspires Action!
Hello Battalion Bloggers,
In your reply to my comment, there seems to have been interest in the chocolate treat available for Easter in Australia, namely the chocolate Easter Bilby. I thought I would find what I could buy to photograph for you to see. Below are two photos of an Easter Bilby. This one is packed with 150g of chocolate. You can see 30c from each sale goes to the Save the Bilby Fund.
The Save the Bilby Fund site also has information about bilbies as well as photos of bilbies. They are very cute little marsupials and, in my opinion, much cuter than rabbits. No, their site does not sell chocolate bilbies and it would be a long way for the Easter Bilby to travel to drop off chocolate bilbies in Canada. 🙂
April 9 - The secret is now out. With their fascination for the bilby, the Battalion Bloggers were sent three chocolate Easter Bilbies for Easter. As you can see in the pictures below, 30c from each was donated to the Save the Bilby Fund.
Here is a Wikipedia link for bilby information…http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macrotis.
A Visit to Mogo Zoo
I mentioned to Peng Peng I had visited Mogo Zoo recently so I thought I would share some photos I had taken on that day. Animals are fascinating and I am always looking out for more photos to add to my collection. All of the below photos were taken by me and I am giving permission for schools and students to use them graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.
White Lion
Snow Leopard
Silvery Gibbon
Pygmy Marmoset
Meerkat
Cotton Top Tamarin
Common Green Tree Frog
Black and White Ruffed Lemur
African Serval
For Heather’s Perfect Post about prefixes and suffixes
To see Heather's post about prefixes and suffixes...
Prefixes and Suffixes
Hello Heather,
When I first saw your topic for the post I was curious. Words and something about words known as etymology are two of many interests of mine. Words because the more we know and understand of them, the more powerfully we can share with others.
Etymology is the study of where and how words began. Etymology can explain why words with silent letters came about or why other spellings or meanings exist.
You can try to find the etymology of words by going to this link. You will see a “search” box on the screen where you enter the word you want to trace…
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php
(It doesn’t include spellable.)
Your post was interesting for me not only because you shared words to help others grow in word power, you also made me think about how words begin.
Let’s look firstly at the word, "spellable". Believe it or not, spellable is a word although not shown in all dictionaries. As you know, it means able to be spelt. If people think it isn’t a word, here is a link…
http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/spellable
A little research and I find the word “spell” seems to have been around in some form for about 700 years but “spellable” is very different. I suspect it is much more modern and comes from our era. By using it, you are helping to make it a stronger word.
Made up words become real words the more people use them. Words can also change meaning over time.
Have you heard of an iPad? I’m sure you have.
iPad is very modern and I think was invented by someone at Apple Computers but the way it’s said is what I find interesting. If we go back to the time I was your age and I heard someone say “iPad”, I would think they are saying “eye pad”, a medical dressing placed over an eye. Now, I have to listen to how it is used to know if people are talking about an “iPad” or an “eye pad”.
Words can be different in other countries. You walk on the sidewalk while we walk on the footpath. In USA, if you break the law you can go to jail yet here we go to gaol. Believe it or not, “jail” and “gaol” are said the same although many Australians are now using the US spelling.
Words can be very interesting and that leads me to what you have shared.
Your post on prefixes and suffixes is brilliant.
You have set it out clearly and in an easy way for younger readers to understand. You may be a student in school but you are now also a teacher for younger children. To have knowledge and share it is a wonderful gift.
Can I come up with some words that have prefixes or suffixes?
I know one of the most confusing problems for many young learners is knowing which prefix to use. Look at these words…
impossible, unpossible, ilpossible
imlegal, unlegal, illegal
imnecessary, unnecessary, ilnecessary
In each line, one word is correct and the others are wrong yet the im-, un- and il- prefixes can all make the words opposite. My choices for the correct words would be…
impossible, illegal, unnecessary
Here is a link sharing some prefixes and suffixes people might like to try using…
https://www.dlsweb.rmit.edu.au/lsu/content/4_WritingSkills/writing_tuts/spelling_LL/rules3.html
What is my favorite word that includes a prefix or a suffix?
My favourite word containing prefixes and suffixes is…
antidisestablishmentarianism
base word: establish
prefixes: anti- dis-
suffixes: -ment, -arian –ism
meaning: opposition to the disestablishment of the Church of England
Now that seems like a mouthful of a word but have a look at this one…
pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
It’s said to be a medical word for a lung disease but I can’t see it being used very often.
Here is a little fun with prefixes…
If we are given more money, we have an increase. If we are given less money, we have a decrease. Does that mean if our money stays the same we simply have a “crease”?
Can’t words be amazing?
Lane and the bearded dragon
Hello Lane,
After looking at the photo of the bearded dragon I shared with your class, I decided to rescan the original 35mm slides with a newer, better quality film scanner. Because you liked the bearded dragon, I thought I would share the new scans with you first. Slowly, I am scanning all of my old 35mm slides and photo negatives. I have already discovered long forgotten memories through these little windows to the past.
Below is the original scan of the bearded dragon slide made using a lower quality scanner...
and here is the new scan of the slide plus another I haven't yet shared...
The new scans give finer detail and are truer in colour. This little guy was on the road as I drove to my first full time teaching school where I was the only teacher. Below is a photo of my first full time teaching school. I think you can get the idea it was a long way from towns. Children at the school lived on sheep and cattle stations and the closest town was 100km from the school.
Kennedy and the Eastern Grey Kangaroo
Hi, Kennedy.
I wanted to share a photo of one of the tallest male eastern-grey kangaroos I have seen while out hiking...
This male was almost my height. We stood watching each other before I took this photo and he hopped away. The photo below shows a close up photo of a much smaller female. I think she has a pretty face.
Daniel wondered about the evolution of emus and other things
Daniel had some wonders about emus. A simple answer wouldn't have allowed me to share the information I had…
Hi Ross! I liked how you wrote each of us a comment. Thank you for sending us the animal cards because we got more wonders. What did the emus evolve from and what is the tallest bird? I wonder how the real name of the emu is pronounced. How can you tell the difference between a male emu and a female emu? If you didn’t send us the cards, I wouldn’t know that emus swim! Which continent is Polynesia on? We are so lucky that we blog with you, Ross!
Daniel, what wonderful wonders!
As can sometimes happen, a comment can lead to a post so let's see if I can answer your questions. I like challenges. 🙂
Let's work backwards through your questions.
1. Which continent is Polynesia on?
Polynesia isn't a continent. It is a collection of over 1000 islands in the Pacific Ocean. It includes Hawaii in the north, Rapa Nui (Easter Island) in the east, Tonga in the west and New Zealand in the south-west. The traditional people of the islands are known as Polynesian. Having heard the Maoris of New Zealand speaking their language, I have also visited Hawaii. Despite the two sets of islands being so far apart, I was able to recognise words similar to each area. Polynesians share similarities in culture and language.
As well as Polynesia, there are two other major Pacific island groups, Micronesia and Melanesia. Melanesia includes New Guinea to the north of Australia. Australia isn't part of these groups as it is both the world's largest island and smallest continent. The many cultures of the traditional people of Australia are very different to Micronesians, Melanesians and Polynesians.
A Maori in traditional clothing.
2. What is the tallest bird?
The heaviest and tallest living birds are ostriches, native to Africa. They can weigh over 156kg and the males can be as tall as 2.8m. Next on the list are southern cassowaries found in northern Australia. Emus come along in 3rd place. The northern cassowary found in New Guinea comes in fourth. I have seen emus in the wild. I have only seen cassowaries and ostriches in zoos. Here is a Wikipedia link…
List of Largest Birds
When the Maoris first arrived in New Zealand (aka Aotearoa), they found a very large flightless native bird known as the moa. Look at the photo below of a reconstruction of the moa based on evidence from bones and fossils...
I photographed this moa in New Zealand's Auckland Museum. There were nine species of moas, this being one of the largest two. They could reach about 3.6m in height and weigh about 230kg.With the emus reaching up to only about 2m, the largest moas would have towered over them.
But these weren’t the largest known birds to have ever lived. Does a bird thought to be more than 3m tall and weighing around 400kg sound big? Here a link to an extinct giant bird… Elephant Bird
3.How can you tell the difference between male and female emus?
emu (eem-you)
The most important answer to this question is the birds can but let's see what I can find to help us. By looking at the photo above, I can't tell the difference between the male and female emus. They look very alike but it seems they can sound different. Males can grunt a little like a pig and, if they're caring for chicks, can whistle to their chicks whereas females make a more booming sound.
When I look at emus, I try to imagine them featherless with teeth in their beaks. When I do this, I imagine something like a dinosaur. Look at the photo of a dinosaur skeleton I photographed when at a museum in London. It has a long tail and clawed upper arms whereas emus have a short tail and stumpy wings we don't notice because of their feathers but there are similarities such as in their feet and the way they moved. I suspect the dinosaur was a fast runner and I know emus can run at up to 50 kilometres per hour as I have been driving a car and slowed to see how fast nearby emus were running.
Of course, looking something alike doesn't mean they are alike. There can be similarities between very different animals simply because they need to do similar things so let's look at some ideas on the evolution of birds.
4. Where did emus evolve from?
The Evolution of Birds
For a long time people thought all of the dinosaurs died out with the great extinction caused by a large meteorite hitting Earth but we now believe this wasn’t completely so. We know the large dinosaurs couldn't survive the changes in the Earth but early mammals survived because they were small and fur covered. Fossils have shown this but what about the small dinosaurs?
I have seen information on two main types of dinosaurs...
No, I didn't take the dinosaur photo when I was young. In 1989, I visited a dinosaur display. 🙂
the sauropods (lizard-footed) including the largest dinosaurs (one is pictured above)… Sauropods
and the ornithopods (bird-footed)... Ornithopods
By their names, you might think we would be looking at ornithopods but it’s the sauropods I find most interesting, as it seems these dinosaurs include the ancestors of birds.
A type of sauropod dinosaur are the therapods (beast-footed)... Therapods
Could some dinosaurs fly?
Look at the photos I had taken when a "DInosaurs of China" collection visited Sydney in 1983...
This high quality fossil from China shows a winged reptile and the photo below shows a reconstruction of how they may have looked. These fliers weren't dinosaurs although many think of them as being dinosaurs. They were not the ancestors of birds.
We had no evidence dinosaurs had feathers until a very fine fossil was found in 1861, an archaeopteryx (are-key-op-ter-ix). Look closely at the photo below and you will see the fossil below is so fine you can see feathers yet it appears to have claws on its wings. This was not the fossil of a flying reptile. If the feathers hadn't been present, it would most likely to have been thought to be a small sauropod dinosaur. After the fossil was discovered, we could see a link between the dinosaurs and birds.
In the photo below, you will see how the archaeopteryx might have looked. Fossils don't preserve colour so the colours are only guesses but sometimes ancient feathers have been discovered in amber and can show colour. Because feathers trapped in amber are rare, scientists can't test them without destroying them to find out more but they have been found to be very old feathers.
Since the discovery of the archaeopteryx, more examples of fossils appearing to have feathers have been found...
Feathered dinosaurs
Scroll down the link and you will see a diagram known as a cladogram. The diagram shows a clade. Clades show an ancestor and all of its descendants sort of like a family tree humans use to show their family. Notice the ancient ancestor starts with therapods and leads to birds?
All dinosaurs didn’t become extinct, some evolved into the birds we see today.
Do any modern birds have claws?
I once wondered if any modern birds had clawed wings and the answer was no until I read about the hoatzin of South America. The hoatzin is also known as the "stinkbird" which gives us the idea it is a little smelly.
What interested me was its chicks. The chicks have two claws on each wing to help them climb around the trees where they live but they are true birds and not left over from the dinosaur days. The young lose the claws as they become adults. Below is a photo of a hoatzin chick I found on Wikimedia Commons where it is listed as in the public domain.
The Evolution of the Emu
Science tends to classify birds into orders and into further groups within orders. For the emu, it is grouped with other ratites, or flightless birds including the ostrich, cassowary and New Zealand's moa and kiwi. In the link below, you will see another cladogram, this time of birds. The ratites come off very early on and are separate from all other birds so you could say they are closer to the first birds to have evolved.
Classification of Modern Bird Orders
One last photo, this time a close up look at the emu's legs...
Emus are modern birds and not dinosaurs but, when I watch them walk, I can imagine them being dinosaurs striding or running across the land perhaps being chased by a carnivorous dinosaur. What do you think?
Windows into History for Eevie
Eevie left a reply to a comment I left on her class blog. She shared history can be hard to understand. I suggested using our imagination to picture events in history. I also suggested drawings and pictures can help us better understand.
At present I am involved in the long task of scanning 35mm slides, negatives and photos into my computer. I thought I would share some of my "windows into history" and what I know about them. Let's go back in history...
The Year: 1998
We are looking south along ANZAC Parade. I am on the stairs leading to the Australian Way Memorial. In the distance we see the white Old Parliament House and behind it is the new Parliament House. In 1998, John Howard was Prime Minister (1996-2007). The scene today is still much the same but what happens if we look at an older photo from 1984, fifteen years earlier...
The scene looks almost the same but, if you look carefully, you can see the new Parliament House is being built. The photos show me the new Parliament House was being built in the 1980s but was open by the 1990s. When Australia became a nation back in 1901, Canberra was sheep grazing country. Can you imagine the above photos without the lake, roads and buildings when sheep were grazing on the grass?
In 1984, Bob Hawke was Prime Minister (1983-1991). It was during the time of Bob Hawke most Australians celebrated the bicentenary (200th) anniversary of the first settlement of Europeans in Australia in Sydney. Part of the celebrations involved ships from around the world re-enacting the First Fleet journey with convicts to Australia.
The year: 1987. Prime Minister Bob Hawke visited the First Fleet ships in Hobart, Tasmania.
In January, 1988, the First Fleet re-enactment fleet arrived in Sydney Harbour and was greeted by thousands of people lining the harbour's shores for Australia Day (January 26).
Can you imagine what it might have been like for the convicts and soldiers arriving on the First Fleet back in 1788?
How do you think the Aboriginal people living around the harbour back then might have felt seeing the ships arrive?
You have probably heard about the voyages of Captain Cook and how, back in 1770, he was the first European known to have sailed along the east coast of Australia. There were drawings back then but cameras hadn't been invented. Look at the photo below. I would love to be able to say I could travel back in time to see the Endeavour sailing along our coast in 1770 but this photo was taken in 2012. It is a replica of Cook's Endeavour. Young people today can experience being part of the crew aboard this sailing ship. As well as photos and drawings, there are places we can visit to experience history. Perhaps you have visited Ballarat's Sovereign Hill? I will soon be scanning some slides taken there in 1984.
What do you think it was like to be a sailor on the Endeavour? If you are interested, the link below will take you to another of my blogs where you can see more photos and some video of the Endeavour replica when it visited Twofold Bay at Eden in N.S.W. in May, 2012.
HMB Endeavour at Twofold Bay
What was Sydney like early in its history? There weren't any cameras to take photos back when the First Fleet arrived in 1788 but there were drawings made of the early settlement. Using these drawings, the early 1980s saw the building of Old Sydney Town set in the early 1800s. Children could visit Old Sydney Town to see what Sydney was like nearly 200 years ago. Old Sydney Town was living history...
Can you imagine what it might have been like to be a child living in Sydney back in the early 1800s?
What about the Aboriginal people who lived around the new settlement way back then? Much of the culture of the original people of the Sydney region has been lost but there are still reminders of their history. In 1991, I visited an area of Sydney's Royal National Park in order to photograph rock carvings left by the original people of Sydney. They will eventually be lost to erosion but my photos have kept a window to the past open. Can you see what animal is shown in the carving?
Did you guess a stingray?
Photos can also give us more direct glimpses into the past. The photo below was taken in 1987 and shows the gravestone of Mary Agnes Hurley who died in 1871 at Hill End, N.S.W. when she was 25 years old. Do you think she might have been married and have had children?
Old photos and drawings can let us better know people from the past. Let's go back to 1940 for the photo below. It shows a signaller soldier, my father, when he was 21. With the outbreak of World War II, he joined the army and was sent to Singapore. With the fall of Singapore to the Japanese in 1942, he spent the remainder of the war as a prisoner of war. Without photos, I would never have seen him as a young man.
Going back to 1915 and the First World War, I have the photo below...
I never knew or met this young man from the past yet he is my Great Uncle Ernie (my father's uncle). He went to fight in France and never returned.
History can seem hard to understand but using our imaginations and what we can learn by reading, visiting historical sites, seeing replicas or dioramas, watching videos or looking at photos and graphics from the past, history can become alive.
Some links for a class looking at Australia & the world’s oceans…
Class 4B is learning about the world's oceans and has started their studies by recalling information about Australia. Due to restrictions in links in the comments section of their blog, I have written this quick post to share links to some of the relevant posts. Below is a link to their blog post...
Our Country, Australia
Hello 4B,
I found your post about Australia interesting. A number of times I have written posts about Australia, its geography and its animals. I thought I would share some links if you are interested.
You will see a number of photos on the posts have the following message under them...
"Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes."
This means I have given you permission to use the photos for school use so you are able to use the photos with the message in projects or presentations. Here are the links...
Australian Animals
https://rossmannellcomments.edublogs.org/2014/02/14/more-about-australian-animals-for-the-battalion-bloggers/
https://rossmannellcomments.edublogs.org/2013/11/29/more-on-australia-the-outback-and-its-animals-for-battalion-bloggers/
https://rossmannellcomments.edublogs.org/2013/07/05/some-australian-mini-beasts/
https://rossmannellcomments.edublogs.org/2013/05/17/desert-dwellers-and-adaptation-in-australia/
Geography
https://rossmannellcomments.edublogs.org/2014/01/16/australian-red-centre-for-declan-and-connor/
https://rossmannellcomments.edublogs.org/2013/10/24/about-australia-for-a-student-with-some-questions/
https://rossmannellcomments.edublogs.org/2013/05/08/comparing-population-densities-of-australia-canada-great-britain-new-zealand-and-u-s-a/
There are also posts on humpback whales migrating from the Southern Ocean...
https://rossmannellcomments.edublogs.org/2013/10/20/humpback-whale-migration/
http://rossmannell.edublogs.org/2013/10/19/whale-watching-from-merimbula/