South O’Brien Elementary School,  Primghar, Iowa

Greetings, fellow Square of Life participants!  Each of my students completed a final report.  Each student compared his data to his chosen school.  We completed Venn diagrams for the comparison and completed Frayer Models to learn more about the animals, plants, and non-living things that were observed.  We’re anxious to read the final reports to see if anyone chose us!

If you missed reading our letter of introduction, our school is South O’Brien Elementary School in Primghar, Iowa.  Our school has about 300 students in grades TK-6.  We are two classes of third grade TAG (gifted) students.  We have a total of 5 students in third grade TAG.  We each observed an area in our outdoor classroom.  Primghar, Iowa is located in the northwestern corner of Iowa in O’Brien county.  Primghar is the O’Brien county seat.  We are located two blocks west of Highway 59.  Primghar, Iowa's latitude and longitude: 43.1 degrees North latitude and95.6 degrees West longitude.  When we observed our squares in late September, it was cooler than normal.  Since then we have had our first frost, snow, and our first snow day! 

Final Report #1:

My school is South O’Brien Elementary.  My school is in Primghar, Iowa, U.S.A.  My school is in southern O’Brien county.  The school I chose is Hermann Middle School in Hermann, MO, U.S.A.  Hermann’s latitude is 38.7 degrees north and latitude is 91.4 degrees west.

            The things we had in common are:  black ants and locust shells.  We both have these things because ants live almost anywhere. Locusts are almost the same as ants, but locusts come out in the summer.  We are both in the Midwest.

            We also had some differences.  I had a bumblebee.  It stores honey in honey pots.  A bumblebee sting is smooth and slides out of wounds.  I also had walnuts.  They come back every year because it’s a part of a tree.

            Hermann Middle School had a spotted salamander.  It may re-grow its tail and they can grow to nine inches long.  They also had a yellow jacket.  Yellow jackets have a queen.  It’s unusual for a wasp.  They sting again and again.

            In this project I learned a lot about nature.  I learned about other states and countries. I learned about animals in different places of the world.

Final Report #2:

 My school is South O’Brien Elementary.  My school is in Primghar, Iowa, U.S.A.  My school is in southern O’Brien county.  We have 299 students in our school.  The school I chose is Martinesti Kindergarten in Martinesti, Transylvania, Romania.  This school is located in a remote area.

            The things we had in common are:  bees, beetles, spiders, spider webs, black ants, and green moss.  We both have these things because any place that has rain may have moss.  Bees are found in most places with flowers and bushes.  Ants are found in most places.

            We also had some differences.  I had three acorns.  An acorn is the nut produced by any of the various types of Oak trees.  Acorns are the fruit of the tree.  I also had a yellow garden spider.  Spiders are not insects, they are Arachnids.  Spiders have eight legs.

            Martinesti Kindergarten had flies.  Flies have sense hairs on their feet.  Flies have sticky like pads on their feet to be able to stand upside down.  They also had butterflies.  When a butterfly hatched from its cocoon, their wings are damp.  Butterflies grow from 1 1/2 inches to 2 ½ inches long.

            I learned how to research animals, plants, and non-living things.  I  classified animals, plants, and  non-living things.

Final Report #3:

            My school is South O’Brien Elementary.  My school is in Primghar, Iowa, U.S.A.  My school has an outdoor classroom.  We have grades TK-6 and we have a high school in our school district in Paullina, Iowa.  The school I chose is Martinesti Kindergarten in Martinesti, Transylvania, Romania.  This school is in eastern Romania.

            The things we had in common are:  grass, spider webs, ants, mold, and trees.  WE both have these things because we have similar climates.  They are almost totally east of us.

            We also had some differences.  I had a Cicada Killer.  It is an insect and a wasp.  I also had termites.  The queen lays 10, 512,000 eggs.

            Martinesti Kindergarten had moss.  It helps small plants without the use of stems of the plant.  They also had bushes.  Bushes are perennials.

            I learned that termites have seven kingdoms:  the Darwins, the Dry Woods, the Termopsidae, the Harvesters, the Damp Woods, the Sawtooths, and the Higher Termites.

Final Report #4:

             My school is South O’Brien Elementary.  My school is in Primghar, Iowa, U.S.A.  My third grade class has 21 people.   The school I chose is Lexington Elementary School in Lexington, Alabama, U.S.A.  This school has 920 students.

            The things we had in common are: dead leaves, weeds, and flying bugs.  We both have these things because if there are dead leaves, there are trees.  Flying bugs are everywhere.  Weeds grow in hot or wet places.

            We also had some differences.  I had a bumble bee.  The queen makes pots out of wax for the honey.  I also had a red squirrel. It lives in mountain ranges and in North America. It has one or two litters.

            Lexington Elementary had a yellow lab.  It is 55-75 pounds.  They are sports dogs and like water.  They also had a goldfish in a pond.  A goldfish is the fastest swimmer in the United States.

            I learned how to choose a place to observe and it was a cherry tree.  I finished all of my work.  I researched animals, plants, and non-living things.

Final Report #5:

            My school is South O’Brien Elementary.  My school is in Primghar, Iowa, U.S.A.  My school has two floors and our grades are TK-6.  The school I chose is Gleneagle State School in Beaudesert, Queensland, Australia.  This school has 180 people in the school.

            The things we had in common are:  ants and beetles.  We both have these things because ants and beetles are pretty much all over the world.

            We also had some differences.  I had a mosquito.  They lay their eggs in or beside water.  I also had Asian beetles.  They eat Aphids.

            Gleneagle State School had a bearded dragon.  Most lizards eat bugs.  It is cold blooded.  They also had an earthworm.  It is a common worm in moist, warm soil. 

            I learned how to communicate on the computer.  I also learned about bugs, animals, plants, and non-living things.