Mr. Salsich's Class
Third Grade Explorations in Learning
“Nature Scapes” Field Trip
We have been very lucky to have Mr. DeWire and Mrs. Sullivan from “Nature Scapes” come to our classroom four different times and talk to us about the habitats of Connecticut: Forests, fields, fresh water, and saltwater.
They always brought amazing creatures to explain the habitats and adaptations of the animals that live there. Here are a few examples:
-
- toad
-
- corn snake
-
- corn snake
-
- crayfish
-
- bullfrog
-
- painted turtle
Last week we went on a field trip to visit some of the habitats that Nature Scapes has been teaching us about. We explored forests, fields, and saw a little fresh water and salt water. It was a beautiful autumn morning and we saw a lot of amazing creatures.
We found red-backed salamanders, a giant grub, sassafras leaves, beetles, pill bugs, and a “spring peeper” frog. Here is a slide show of our adventures on the field trip:
*
We learned so much from the Nature Scapes program! Here are a bunch of things that you can respond to in a comment, based on what they taught us:
- What “gross” adaptation does a toad do to escape from predators?
- Hawks live in the forest, but why don’t they hunt over the forest?
- What special adaptation does a box turtle have to keep it safe from predators?
- What is the most common type of life-form in the forest, field, and fresh water?
October 23rd, 2012 at 7:36 am
Dear Mr. Salsich,
WOW! The video was awesome! My favorite part of the trip was when you caught the peeper frog. I did not watch it all, so I hope to see the rest with you!
Yours truly,
Bennett
October 23rd, 2012 at 6:47 pm
Dear Mr. Salsich,
I thought the whole field trip was terrific. My favorite part of Nature Scapes was probably seeing the corn snake.
My favorite part of the field trip was seeing the grub. It was EXTREMELY HUGE! What was your favorite part?
Your student,
Sandy
October 24th, 2012 at 6:19 am
Dear Sandy,
Thank you for the comment and the question! I agree, the entire field trip was fantastic. My favorite part of the Nature Scapes visits was when they brought in the bullfrog. I love to see how big they are!
My favorite part of the field trip was probably finding the small “spring peeper” frog. I liked this part the best because it was a challenge spotting the tiny frog with its great camouflage, and I also liked seeing its wide sticky toes that help it climb up trees and branches.
Your teacher,
Mr. Salsich
October 24th, 2012 at 2:03 pm
Dear Mr.Salsich,
I thought when you caught the spring Peeper it was cool too! It was so rough and it had tough skin. It felt slimy for a minute too!
In the video at home I paused it and tried looking for the spring Peeper, but I only found it in one of the pictures.
Your student,
Sandy
October 23rd, 2012 at 7:24 pm
Dear Mr. Salsich,
Hey Mr. Salsich, it’s Tyler from your third grade class two years ago. I hope things are going well in CT. I am enjoying it here in VA, but I still wish I could have teachers like you. I congratulate you on being the Stonington teacher of the year. I can’t wait to blog with you again.
Sincerely,
Tyler
October 24th, 2012 at 6:15 am
Dear Tyler,
It’s great to hear from you! I’m glad you’re enjoying Virginia and I’m sure your teachers there are loving having you as a student. All is well here in CT. We are getting ready for “Book Character Day” on October 31st. You were Wiglaf from the Dragon Slayer’s Academy, right?
Thanks for congratulating me on being Stonington’s teacher of the year. It is quite an honor, especially because there are so many amazing teachers in this district.
Keep in touch!
Sincerely,
Mr. Salsich
October 24th, 2012 at 11:35 am
Hi Mr. Salsich,
My favorite part of the field trip was seeing the great blue heron fly over us and around the cove. And while not my favorite, I will never forget the gigantic grub we found under a rotting log! I hope to never find one that large in my yard or garden.
Sean’s Mom
October 24th, 2012 at 2:00 pm
Dear Mr.Salsich,
My favorite part of the slideshow was when Miss. N made those funny faces at the grub. I have never found one of those animals where I live. Have you found any of the animals that we found where you live?
Your Student,
Piper
October 24th, 2012 at 2:02 pm
Dear Mr. Salsich,
The gross adaptation that a toad has is it pees on or in the predator’s mouth. And a box turtle can close a flap in its shell which makes it impossible to harm the turtle. What was your favorite part of the salt water habitat?
Sincerely,
Brendan
October 24th, 2012 at 2:05 pm
Dear Mr. Salsich
I thought the field trip was so cool. My favorite part was when we caught the spring peeper. And one other thing that we caught was the big grub.
your friend,
Ryan
October 24th, 2012 at 2:06 pm
Dear Mr. Salsich,
I think I know why hawks don’t hunt over forests. They don’t hunt over forest’s because the BIG trees block their lunge for their prey. That is why they hunt in fields.
Your student,
Grant
October 24th, 2012 at 2:08 pm
Dear Mr. Salsich,
Hawks don’t hunt over the forest for two reasons. One, they can’t see through the trees. Two, if they tried to dive…WHACK! Hawk meet branch, branch meet hawk. Anyway, great slideshow.
Your awesome student,
SEAN
October 24th, 2012 at 2:09 pm
Dear Mr Salsich,
I liked the whole field trip, it was great. One special adaptation a box turtle has is the ability to close his whole shell. My favorite part was when we were looking for animals in the woods.
Your furry friend,
Sophia
October 24th, 2012 at 2:10 pm
Dear Mr. Salsich,
I really liked the field trip. The gross adaptation a toad uses is peeing in its predators mouth. My favorite part was when I saw the giant grub!
Sincerely,
Nora
October 24th, 2012 at 2:11 pm
Dear Mr. Salsich,
The field trip was amazing! The gross adaptation that a toad has is when it’s predator gets it in their mouth it lets out liquid then gets away!
Hawks don’t hunt over forests because they can’t see through the trees, they hunt in the field. The box turtle can close the part where predators can get in, they do this like shutting a door!
Sincerely,
Wynn
October 24th, 2012 at 2:13 pm
Dear Mr. Salsich,
I liked the part of the field trip when the hawk came and flew back and forth around the water. Another thing I really liked about the field trip was when we got to go around the different woods. I thought that was really cool! but I liked the whole field trip a lot! it was probably the most fun field trip I’ve ever been on!
Your fuzzy friend,
Alicia
October 24th, 2012 at 2:14 pm
Dear Mr. Salsich
One of the things that a box turtle has is it has a little door on its shell. If it flips over it will shut the door and no predator can get in,
from,
Collin
October 24th, 2012 at 2:14 pm
Dear Mr. Salsich,
Hawk’s live in the forest but don’t hunt over the forest because they can’t see with trees blocking and they can’t dive down or else they will get tangled up.
From your student,
Daniela
October 24th, 2012 at 2:15 pm
Dear Mr. Salsich,
One of the animals I see a lot is hawks. I see them fly often in my neighborhood.
your student,
Lindsey
October 24th, 2012 at 2:17 pm
Dear Mr. Salsich,
I Know what gross defense a toad has – it pees water. Do you think painted turtles are cute? I do. My favorite part of nature scapes is when they brought the salamander.
From,
Kali
October 24th, 2012 at 2:19 pm
Dear Mr. Salsich,
My favorite part about Nature Scapes was the enormous, gross seaweed because I have never seen it in my life. I have seen the seaweed called “dead man’s fingers” before.
Your friend,
Jacob
October 24th, 2012 at 2:19 pm
Dear Mr. Salsich,
The field trip was awesome! My favorite scene in the slideshow was when Miss N made the unusual face!
One time, I was jumping on my trampoline when I noticed a small peeper frog. Then it jumped on me! Have you found a peeper, besides the one on the field trip?
Sincerely,
Bennett
October 24th, 2012 at 2:19 pm
Dear classmates,
My favorite part of Nature Scapes is the awesomely awesome corn snake. It was amazing and terrific. What was all of yours?
From,
Cole
October 27th, 2012 at 11:52 am
Dear Cole,
I like the painted turtle, it was so cute.
Your friend,
Kali
October 24th, 2012 at 2:20 pm
Dear Mr. Salsich,
My favorite part of the field trip was the slideshow and my favorite spot was when Miss N. was looking at the giant grub and it said “Whoa!”
Your student,
Trey
October 24th, 2012 at 7:08 pm
Dear Mr Salsich and class,
Hi, I’m Emily and I am in 4KM and 4KJ. So I am very lucky to have Mrs Morris and Miss Jordan.
What a great post I just enjoyed reading.
I have not seen any of the animals where I live but I would like to.
I have a question. When you said you saw a painted turtle does that mean they are painted or is that just the name of them?
From your new friend,
Emily
October 24th, 2012 at 7:09 pm
Dear Mr Salsich and class,
My name is Liv and I am in Miss Jordan’s class this year. This is the second time I’ve been in Miss Jordan’s class so I’m very lucky. I have a blog, http://livsblog.global2.vic.edu.au/
What a wonderful post! I was interested to see what type of flora and fauna you have in your state.
I had never heard of a corn snake! Are they underwater animals? They look very interesting.
It was nice to learn about Conneticut’s state tree, the White Oak. The leaf looks very big. Do they grow to be tall trees?
I thought the Red Backed Salmanders would be bigger than that! To me they looked a little bit like a tiny lizard.
Is Nature Scapes only in America, or Conneticut?
Your blogging buddy down under,
Liv (4KJ)
October 28th, 2012 at 7:56 am
Hi Liv,
It’s Sean from Mr. Salsich’s class.
No, corn snakes are not marine reptiles.
White oa’s usually are very tall. You’re right the salamanders are pretty small, they look neat too.
Your new friend,
Sean!
October 24th, 2012 at 7:16 pm
Dear Mr. Salsich and class,
Hi I’m Millie from 4KJ.
What a great post! Excursions (Feild trips) are so much fun!
Those animals that you had pictures of were amazing. It’s fun when people from a nature place bring in different animals to look at.
When you went to Nature Scapes the photopeach showed that it looked like lots of fun! I’m sure you had a great time.
I haven’t found any of the exact animals that you found, but I have found different types of frogs and snakes since I live on a retired golf course, there are animals everywhere!
Got to go,
Millie 4KJ
October 24th, 2012 at 7:18 pm
Dear Mr. Salsich and class,
I thought that this post was very interesting. I didn’t know about many american animals until now. I don’t know the answer to any of the questions but I do know that some toads can have poisonious skin so if something eats it the thing (most likely a coyote) that ate it would die within 4 minutes.
That’s all the things I have to say so goodbye,
From a friend from down under,
Brandon (4KM)
October 24th, 2012 at 7:25 pm
Dear Mr Salsich,
What a great post!
My name is Sophie and I am in 4KJ in Australia. I am a student blogger. My blog address is: http://sophiebblog.global2.vic.edu.au
In 4KM and 4KJ we really enjoyed reading about your field trip. In Australia we call it an excursion or if someone comes to our school it is called an incursion.
Some of the animals you found I have never heard of like a red-backed salamander or a pill bug. Can you tell me a bit about them?
Can you name some of Australia’s native animals?
From your blogging buddy,
Sophie
October 30th, 2012 at 9:43 pm
Dear Mr Salsich and 3rd Grade,
Hi! We are the class of 3N and we live in Western Australia. We came across your blog when we were looking for ideas and we thought it was brillant. Our class found it very interesting to read about the animals you have had in your classroom and the ones you saw on your field trip. We had trouble finding the camourflaged animals in your video. Would you like to see some of our native animals? We have just started our own blog and we would like to invite you to have a look. It is http://ourskittleblog.edublogs.org/
Hope to hear from you soon. Keep up your great blogging.
Miss N and 3N
November 5th, 2012 at 8:41 am
Dear Mr. Salsich,
I always see some kind of bird flying over the forest in my back yard. I think it is a hawk. It has very long wingspan, an indescribable SHARP beak, and knife SHARP talons.
From,
Grant
November 7th, 2012 at 3:01 pm
Dear Juan Pablo,
What I would do is read the blurb or you could read what your parents liked.
Tu amiga
Daniela