The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins

The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins

by Barbara Kerley

With drawings by Brian Selznick

This is the true and unforgettable story of Victorian artist Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins who was a dedicated and passionate artist. He had a goal of building life-size models of dinosaurs envisioned from scientific fossils in the hope of educating the world about these awe-inspiring ancient animals. This was during a time when no one knew what dinosaurs were like.

We read this intriguing and captivating story aloud during Readers Workshop, and our students had much to take away from it. They learned to have courage and never give up on their dreams, because Waterhouse Hawkins never did, despite a corrupt politician who thwarted two years of his life's work in Central Park, New York City. They also learned that hard work and determination is the road to reaching your dreams and goals. Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins taught us all about the importance of believing in oneself and following your dreams.
He is a creative man who stretched the boundaries of what has been done before, and his legacy lives on today.

Watch this clip on Youtube and have your child recount the story as you flip through the incredible artwork together, page by page.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/He_qLTgKKQk?rel=0

Students, we would love for you to write a comment and share your thoughts and feelings about this amazing picture book.

Kazoos

This week our class had fun making straw kazoos in science class. The class had a blast trying to make sounds from a homemade instrument. We took drinking straws and cut out flaps which would vibrate as children blew through the straw. The class discovered that the pitch of the sound could be changed by changing the length of the kazoo. The longer the straw the lower the pitch. Ask Mrs. Phillips how her kazoo turned out. Enjoy watching Heather play her kazoo.

REMEMBER THIS?

Watch the video segment below of one of our experiences while visiting the Museum of Science and History back in September.

How does this "hands-on" experience relate to what we are beginning to explore more deeply in science this week? Post a comment to share your thoughts. Be specific as to which science concept is showcased in the video segment and share what you learned from the MOSH experience!

Our Solar System

Wow! Today we asked our students to draw a picture of our solar system before we began our new unit. In their picture they should have included anything they knew about the system around us. We were expecting that a fair amount of students would be able to list the planets in order, understanding the sun was in the center. Maybe a few would know the planets were not all the same size and have some idea of their characteristics. Boy, did we underestimate their knowledge. Here is a list of responses we recieved:

• Saturn and Neptune have rings


• Saturn's rings go around its equator while Neptune's go around its poles


• Pluto is a dwarf planet


• We have 4 inner and 4 or 5 outer planets


• An asteroid belt serparates the inner and outer planets


• Jupiter is the largest planet


• Jupiter's volume is large enough to fit all the other planets inside


• We live in the Milky Way Galaxy


• Pluto is in or near the Kuiper Belt


• Our moon causes our tides


• Planets revole and rotate


• Mercury has a very hot side and a very cold side


• Jupiter is a gas giant

I think we will need to revise our lessons!

Fay Cuts First Week Short

Tropical Storm Fay put an abrupt halt to our first week of school. Just as we were learning students' names and collecting data through our diagnostic, we had to take three days off for Fay to pass. Although much work has been done through email and phone calls, I for one would have rather been at school. We hope everyone is safe and look forward to seeing all of our students once again on Monday.