February 2, 2005 ~ Groundhog Day ~ The Kick-Off
The first order of business was naming our groundhog. Many creative names were suggested and all were written on the board. Votes were cast, ballots were submitted, and after the tally, Willy C. ("Will he see") was our winning name. Sparky came in second, so that become Willy C's little friend's name.
we knew the bad news, as Willy C's and Sparky's
shadows spread across our tables!
We had made shadow puppets and were trying to find ways we could make
the longest and shortest shadows. Our long shadows were longer than our rulers!
Names and news of shadow sightings began to arrive from our teammates.
Many places were lucky enough to see NO shadows!
To see a Photo Gallery of our groundhog friends, click here.
Week 1 ~ Weather Data Collection Begins
Kelly Lynch, Mr. Prickles Brown, and her students from Brush, Colorado used a very creative way to document their weekly weather data. See how they used Kidpix to create weather charts here.
Week 2 ~ Happy Valentine's Day
Willy C. has helped us make a special Valentine activity for our teammates.
It's called Home is Where the Heart Is, and you can see it here and here.
All our teammates sent terrific valentines, as well!
Week 3 ~ Let's Get Creative
First up in the Creative Department was Pam Elliott and Spikes
from Windsor, Maine with their jigsaw puzzles.
Be sure to check for your own little groundhog as a puzzle!
Next came Roberta Gray and The Austinburg Groundhogs of Austinburg, Ohio
with dioramas, mobiles, and sculptures. You can view their creations here.
For these cinquains we listed a WORDBANK that described the groundhog |
Afraid Small Hibernated Claws Burrows Mammal Digger Rodent Brown Groundhog by Darren |
Mammal Burrows Brown Small Afraid Furry Claw Digger Rodent Groundhog by Aaron |
Afraid Small Brown Rodent Claws Mammal Hiberivore Hibernater Furry Groundhog by Mariah |
Furry Afraid Burrows Claws Herbivore Animal Rodent Digger Mammal Groundhog by Jeremy |
Furry Hibernate Brown Afraid Mammal Digs Claws Rodent Animal Groundhog by Katelyn |
| It's getting colder here rather than warmer for the week!
We had 24-27" of snow yesterday! Brownie pulled the shade up on his burrow window only to see the snow level with the window base. He had heard the wind howl and sensed a heavy snow. He shook his head and climbed back into bed. He hopes that soon winter will be over as March brings SPRING! ~ Rosemary Harris | |
Week 4 ~ Groundhog Research
Roberta Gray and the Austinburg Groundhogs are at it again! See all their research here.
Week 5 ~ How do we know when it's Spring?
The Austinburg Groundhogs may be adorable, but Roberta Gray and her second graders in Ohio are not too sure that they are great at predicting the weather! Like many of us in the North, they are ready to say "goodbye" to Winter! They put together a great list of Signs of Spring. Be sure to check it out!
Brownie and the students in Ms. Harris' class in Gowanda, NY, are certainly poetic!
Take a look at their wonderful poem welcoming Spring!
|
More budding poets in Brush, Colorado!
Read the acrostics from Mrs. Lynch's class here.
Week 6 ~ Final Voting
In Arlington, Massachusetts it wasn't difficult for us to vote about Willy C's and Sparky's
abilities as weather forecasters. Just take a look at our data:
(Graph created at Create-a-Graph.)
Other team members, however, did not feel our furry friends did such as good a job!
Special thanks to Project Groundhog
Letter to Parent
Introduces project
Weather Charts
For children to keep track of data
Groundhog Stick Puppets
To check for shadows on Groundhog Day
pdf format
Noble Web: Groundhog Day
Good background info and links
Calendar
We're using the calendar from
the original project, but
remember it's ONLY a guide!
Team Groundhog Data Page
Meet the Team, view our temperatures
Resources
Teacher Resources
From the original Project Groundhog
Groundhog Day at Enchanted Learning
Check out all the great new ideas here!