Blog Posting for 2/13/2015
This week news4kids.org aired the following stories:
South African Penguins K-3
Prehistoric Skull Discovery 4-8
Red Pandas Play in the Snow K-3
Venice Carnival 4-8
Newscast: South African Penguins K-3
Essential Question: What is the issue facing African penguins?
Vocabulary: representative, colonies, mate, breeding, endangered, overfishing, pollution
Learning Objectives:
– Briefly describe African penguins’ diet, mating habits, and living arrangements.
– Explain why African penguins have become endangered.
Summary: The zoo’s two African penguins have been selected as representatives of their species. The two-year old penguins recently began bonding with zookeepers in order to prepare them for the very important job. The bond between zookeeper and penguin is an important process in training the two penguins and building trust. Once the penguins are a little older, they will be used as educational tools to teach young children about the African penguin species and some of the problems that the species faces today.
Newscast: Prehistoric Skull Discovery 4-8
Essential Question: What important discovery was made through the skull in Israel?
Vocabulary: prehistoric, carbon dating, isotope, migration, colonization, Homo sapien, Neanderthal, extinct
Learning Objectives:
– Explain that the skull recently found in Israel was determined through carbon dating to date back 55,000 years.
– Explain that the skull connects human migration from Africa to Europe.
– Identify the Homo sapien as an early human and the Neanderthal as the closest relative to early humans.
Summary: Paleontologists have made new discoveries regarding an ancient preserved skull that was found while bulldozing a sewer trench for an Israeli village. The bulldozer broke through the roof of an enormous cave. Experts believe the cave has been sealed off for about 30,000 years.
Newscast: Red Pandas Play in the Snow K-3
Essential Question: What characterizes Red Pandas?
Vocabulary: nocturnal, endangered, habitat
Learning Objectives:
– Identify some key characteristics of Red Pandas.
– Define nocturnal animals as ones that hunt at night and sleep during the day.
– Define endangered species as animals that are at risk of becoming extinct or no longer existing.
Summary: As the entire northeast endured a record-breaking snowstorm, the red pandas at the Millbrook Zoo enjoyed playing in the frosty snowfall.
Newscast: Venice Carnival 4-8
Essential Question: What is the Venetian Carnival?
Vocabulary: gondola, anonymous, carnival, masked ball, global climate change
Learning Objectives:
– Identify the Venetian Carnival as the oldest in the world.
– Identify Venice as a city that is completely surrounded by water.
Summary: Tourists from all over the world are making their way to Venice, Italy to attend the 17-day-long Venetian Carnival, the oldest carnival in the world. The carnival draws tens of thousands of tourists each year and is famous for its gondola parades, concerts, and masked balls. This year’s carnival’s theme is “The Most Delicious Feast in the World”, and the festival will celebrate Italy’s culinary traditions.
