School Habitat By Mrs. Pliszka’s class

This ABC book was created by Mrs. Pliszka’s 2004/2005 third grade class. The students observed the living organisms in the Rice School habitat. They picked a particular plant or animal to research. This information was used to create a paragraph and sentence for their letter of the alphabet. The students created this ABC book using Microsoft Word, Powerpoint, and Word Art. In creating the individual slides, the students used pictures from the HP digital camera and pictures from the internet. They also learned how to use text boxes, insert pictures from photos and internet sources, change the size of font and pictures, and use background colors and effects in Powerpoint to create this final product.

A is for the Apple tree that grows slowly in the rice school habitat.

The apple tree sheds it leaves in winter. Apples from the apple tree fall down in fall. An apple tree needs sunlight and water. All apple trees are used for fruit and apple juice.

You must give the American Beautyberry 5-7 ft. to spread out. The American Beautyberry is from Cuba. American Beautyberries have purple berries, and 2-inch branches. It can grow from 3-4 ft. all the way to 9 feet.

B is for the American Beautyberry that grows slowly in the Rice School habitat.

C is for cattail that that grows slowly in the Rice School habitat.

The cattail ‘s scientific name is Tippah . The cattail can be found in ponds. It can grow up to 4 feet tall. The cattail is not native to Texas.

D is for dragonfly that flies near the pond in the Rice School habitat.

Dragonflies are pencil shaped insects with two wings. Dragonflies can be found near ponds there are about 5,000 species . Dragonflies are called nymphs when they are small.

E is for the Cedar Elm tree that keeps a lot of shade at the Rice School habitat.

The Cedar Elm tree grows in all areas of the eastern half of Texas.The uses of the Cedar Elm tree are pencils, beds, stools. It is native in Mexico and North America. The Cedar Elm tree`s flowers red,brown and red green.

A fig goes back to 5,000 BC. Figs are damaged at 30 degrees F .Figs live in valleys and high deserts. Figs related species are the cluster fig and the sycamore fig.

F is for the fig tree that grows slowly in the Rice School habitat.

G is gray squirrel that climbs up and down trees in the Rice school habitat.

The gray squirrel is related to the Eastern Fox squirrel. You may find a gray squirrel in east U.S., east Manitoba , North Dakota, moot of Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. If you see a Gray squirrel you will know it because he has a flat, bushy gray tail with silver tips of small hair. Gray Squirrels live in hardwood or mixed forest that have trees with nuts especially oak hickory forest.

H is for the Hackberry tree that grows pepperoni sized berries in the Rice School habitat.

This tree has huge leaves and it grows tiny fruit that birds eat all day. The twigs have greenish, slender mostly hairless flowers. Its habitat has moist soils, especially clay or river flood plains some times in pure stands but usually with other hard woods. The animals that eat its fruits are Mocking birds, Robins, and song birds.

I is for the isopod that crawls so fast in the Rice School habitat.

An isopod has 14 legs 12 for walking and 2 for eating. It is black and brown. It rolls in a ball for protection. It lives under rocks.

J is for Jackrabbit that barks loudly in the Rice School habitat.

A jackrabbit eats bobcats, foxes, owls, hawks and snakes. A jackrabbit has a buffs gray tail. In the summer time it eats many kinds of plants.

K is for katydid that crawls slowly in The Rice School habitat.

K is for the katydid that is green and has an easy time camaflouging. A katydid can be found Massachusetts, Florida, west Texas, west Kansas, and northeast Ontario. Katydids grow up to 45-50mm. Katydids lay their eggs on bark or stem and they hatch in spring one generation a year.

L is lemon trees that make tasty fruit in the Rice School habitat.

Lemon trees are mostly in the middle part of Florida. Lemon trees grow to 22-25 feet tall.The leaves on lemon trees are light green. Lemon trees grow in the summer some grow when it is almost winter.

This amazing creature the Monarch Butterfly is the king of the insect world. Its gestation period is nine weeks. Then it leaves the alone to hatch.The Monarch Butterfly eats milkweed, ants, nectar, and yaupon Berry.

M is for the Monarch Butterfly that flies through the Rice School Habitat.

N is for the nymph that settles around the pond in the Rice School habitat.

Above the water- Above the water surface, the nymph digs it’s claws into a plants stem.

Where you can find it- Nymphs can be found in vegetation and hiding around underwater structures. What they eat- They feed on aquatic insects, even small fish.

O is for oak tree that sways in the Rice School habit.

Did you know that oak trees live up to be 200 years old? Oak tree can start producing acorns when they are 20 years old. By the time the tree is 70 to 80 years old, it will produce thousands of acorns. There are 42 different kinds of oak trees.

P is for pine trees that drop seeds from their branches in the Rice School habitat.

Pine trees grow most in the United States, Mexico, Nicaragua, West Indies, Eurasia, Spain, Japan, Scotland, Russia, and the Philippines. Pine trees grow better in acid soil. The seeds from pine trees are mostly eaten by birds and squirrels.The seeds from the pine trees are called pine nuts.

Q is for the Mosquito Fish in the Rice School habitat.

The Mosquito Fish is three inches long the fish can tolerate two to three temperatures. The Mosquito Fish can also be found in North Carolina.

R is for the Texas Redbud that is blown by the wind in the Rice School habitat.

The Texas Redbud is a multi or single trunk small trunk small tree with thicker, smaller glossier leaves than the Eastern Redbud. This tree (Texas Redbud) is a Texas Native tree. It is commonly seen planted in the Hill County. It can grow to be 12-20 feet tall.

S is for the Salvia that grows slowly in the Rice School habitat.

Salvia pedals can be red, pink, purple and colors.The usual height is 5 feet, and it can reach 8 feet. The soils it needs are sand, clay, loam, gravel and limestone. It blooms in the spring. The plants need to be spaced 2-3 feet apart.

T is for the turtle in the pond at The Rice School habitat.

Turtle’s adults have hard shells when they are big. Little baby turtles have soft shells when they are born. When the babies get big, they have hard shells, and their babies get soft shells.

U is for Una de gato that grows in the Rice School habitat.

Una De Gato can get up to 8 feet tall. It can get up to 4 to 6 feet wide. Una De Gato needs partial sun . The flowers are pink, white and fragrant.

V is for the Trumpet Vine that grows in the Rice School habitat.

The trumpet vine is up to thirty-four feet. It has to be found in sunny places because it needs sun to live. A trumpet vine is a bush with orange flowers. You can find a trumpet vine in Florida, but you can find a trumpet vine other places too.

W is for the wasp that stings anything that comes near its nest in the Rice School habitat. The wasp is like the bee, but a

little bigger. Only the females sting and defend their nests. There is a type of wasp in the nest called the drone. The queen searches for food and only comes back with only enough for only one larva. Before the winter the worker wasps force the drones out of the nest to starve to death.

The Texas Banded Gecko is found in Texas and New Mexico. It feeds on insects and small spiders. It ranges in size from4-7/8 inches. It squeaks when it is alarmed.

X is for Texas Banded Gecko crawls in the dessert.

Y is for the Yaupon Berry that grows in the Rice School Habitat.

The yaupon berry can grow up to 20 feet tall. This plant helps animals because if animals are sick they could eat it and be well in no time. The animal that eats the yaupon berry the most is the mocking bird. Today there’s not very many in America there are 2,986.

Z is for Buzzing bee that buzzes around the Rice school habitat.

The Buzzing bee needs meadows, weedy fields, wood lands, open areas, gardens. A bee’s buzz is the sound of it’s wings flapping up to 200 times a second. Drones are stout male bees that have no singers and are often kicked out of the hive. The queen lays 2000 eggs per day.

A- Allen Apple TreeB- Brittany Beauty BerriesC- Denise CattailsD- Denise DragonflyE- La Porsha Cedar Elm Tree F- Efemona Fig TreeG- Dominique Gray Squirrel H- Eric Hackberry TreeI- Alexis IsopodJ- La Porsha, Efemona Jackrabbit K- Dominique Katydid L- Diego Lemon TreeM- André Monarch Butterfly

N- Hannah NymphO- Taylor Oak TreeP- Diego Pine TreeQ- Chioke Mosquito FishR- Arely Texas Red BudS- Jonathan M. SalviaT- Amber TurtleU- Taylor Una de gatoV- Dominique Trumpet VineW- Eric WaspX- Jonathan R. Texas Banded GeckoY- André Yaupon BerryZ- Parker Buzzing Bee

BibliographyBooksHow do Apples Grow by Betsy Maestro, 1992Native Texas Plants : Landscaping Region By Region Sally Wasowski And Andy Wasowski., 1997  New Standard Encyclopedia, Volume 10, 1994

Internethttp://www.enature.com/fieldguide/showSpeciesLBJShape.asp?curGroupID=19&shapeID=5&range=1013&curPageNum=10&recnum=TS0228http://www.enature.com/fieldguide/showSpeciesSH.asp?curGroupID=4&shapeID=1008&curPageNum=19&recnum=IS0154

Internet continuedhttp://agen521.www.ecn.purdue.edu/AGEN521/epadir/wetlands/cattails.htmlhttp://www.apms.org/plants/cattail.htmlhttp://www.crfg.org/pubs/ff/fig.htmlhttp://www.scsc.k12ar.us/2000TexNatHist/Members/BuyersM/Default.htmlhttp://www.enature.com/fieldguide/showSpeciesGS.asp?curGroupID=10&searchText=cedar+elm+&curPageNum=1&recnum=TS0711http://www.enature.com/fieldguide/showSpeciesGS.asp?sort=1&curGroupID=99&display=1&area=99&searchText=gray+squirrel&curPageNum=2&recnum=MA0118http://www.enature.com/fieldguide/showSpeciesGS.asp?curGroupID=10&searchText=hackberry&curPageNum=1&recnum=TS0106http://insected.arizona.edu/isoinfo.htmhttp://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/insects/dragonfly/Dragonflyprintout.shtmlhttp://www.twingroves.district96.k12.il.us/Wetlands/Turtles/BoxTurtle/BoxTurtle.htmlhttp://encarta.msn.com/text_761571800_0/wasp.htmlhttp://www.the-piedpiper.co.uk/th4/html

Internet continuedhttp://www.enature.com/fieldguide/showSpeciesGS.asp?sort=1&curGroupID=99&display=1&area=99&searchText=katydid&curPageNum=4&recnum=IS0083http://www.enature.com/fieldguide/showSpeciesGS.asp?curGroupID=2&searchText=monarch&curPageNum=1&recnum=BU0014http://www.enature.com/fieldguide/showSpeciesSH.asp?curGroupID=4&shapeID=1016&curPageNum=7&recnum=IS0040http://www.enature.com/fieldguide/showSpeciesGS.asp?curGroupID=10&searchText=oak+&curPageNum=21&recnum=TS0074http://www.lawestvector.org/MosquitoFish.htmhttp://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/pinehttp://www.magnoliagardensnursery.com/productdescrip/Cercis_Texas.htmlhttp://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/ornamentals/nativeshrubs/mimosaaculeat.htmhttp://www.enature.com/fieldguide/showSpeciesLBJShape.asp?curGroupID=19&shapeID=7&range=1013&curPageNum=2&recnum=WF0074http://www.enature.com/fieldguide/showSpeciesGS.asp?curGroupID=7&searchText=gecko&curPageNum=1&recnum=AR0586

Mrs. Pliszka’s class ABC

Mrs. Pliszka’s class ABC

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