For the last few weeks, the 4th grade students have been investigating closely some “facts” as presented by the Snapple Real Facts (printed inside the bottle caps.) We discussed the validity of various forms of sources and discovered that what really matters is the expertise of the person/people responsible for providing the information for these sources: be they books, online databases, blogs, organizations, websites, newspapers or magazines, etc.
The following is the information gathered by Younge House students for an internal “database” residing on the School’s course management site. The 4th Grade Snapple Real Facts Buster is a searchable, sortable, full functioning database — but only accessible for those with valid login IDs and PWs.
| Real Facts #: |
110
|
| Real Fact Text: |
Frogs never drink.
|
| Conclusion: |
Partially True
|
| Explanation of Findings: |
Research shows that frogs do drink, though not directly through their mouths. Frogs absorb water through their skin. To us, drinking is swallowing a liquid. Sammy and I have checked through The American Museum of Natural History. It was simple and easy to find this information. If the people at Snapple meant that frogs don’t drink the way humans do, then they are correct, but they should make it clear that that is what they mean. This is a great source because it is a museum that is for the specific purpose of teaching about the natural world. We can also trust the book Smithsonian Institution Animal The Definitive Visual Guide To The World’s Wildlife because it was published which means it was checked to see if all the information was correct.
|
| Source 1: |
Website: http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/frogs/life/skin.php
|
| Source 2: |
Book: Smithsonian Institution Animal The Definitive Visual Guide To The World’s Wildlife
|
| Source 3: | |
| Student Names: |
Mia and Sammy
|
| Real Facts #: |
243
|
| Real Fact Text: |
If you put all the streets in New York City in a straight line,they would stretch to Japan.
|
| Conclusion: |
All True
|
| Explanation of Findings: |
First, I used Google Maps to find that 9,585 miles is the distance from New York City to Japan.The department of transportation says that there is 11,000 miles of local streets. This was a very hard problem.
|
| Source 1: |
Google maps
|
| Source 2: |
The DOT (Department of Transportation) website
|
| Source 3: | |
| Student Names: |
Ryan
|
| Additional Sources: | |
| Real Facts #: |
251
|
| Real Fact Text: |
There are more French restaurants in New York City than in Paris.
|
| Conclusion: |
Partially True
|
| Explanation of Findings: |
This fact is VERY hard to verify. We have searched countless sites. According to Zagat.com, there are 608 French restaurants in Paris and 286 French restaurants, in NYC. But on timeout magazine there are 4 French restaurants and 230 French restaurants in NYC. On the about us page on Zagat.com it says that it takes anybody’s contributions. |
| Source 1: |
Zagat.com
|
| Source 2: |
Time out NY
|
| Source 3: |
Time out PAris
|
| Student Names: |
Chloe and Kate
|
| Additional Sources: | |
| Real Facts #: |
327
|
| Real Fact Text: |
Chewing gum was invented in New York City in 1870 by Thomas Adams
|
| Conclusion: |
Partially True
|
| Explanation of Findings: |
This fact is hard to verify because they each had two different answers. For our research source we used about.com with the help of google and checked it with a bunch of others including answer.com. Wikipedia also helped us and had basically the same answer. We realized that Thomas Adams did NOT invent chewing gum, he just did experiments from the gum the Native Americans created from sap, and made it better.
|
| Source 1: |
Encyclopedia
|
| Source 2: |
About.com
|
| Source 3: | |
| Student Names: |
Jamie and Kayla
|
| Additional Sources: | |
| Real Facts #: |
706
|
| Real Fact Text: |
Steel is 100% recyclable.
|
| Conclusion: |
All True
|
| Explanation of Findings: |
I learned that steel is100% recyclable. From three web sites. 2 said that steel is 100% recyclable and the other said that steel knots are 100% recyclable. So since it is 2 to 1 the 2 wins. It was easy to find the answer. Euofer.org Is a good website that has info on material |
| Source 1: |
http://www.eurofer.org/index.php/eng/content/download/517/3071/file/SteelRecycling.pdf
|
| Source 2: |
|
| Source 3: | |
| Student Names: |
Nate
|
| Additional Sources: | |
| Real Facts #: |
800
|
| Real Fact Text: |
Most lipstick contains fish scales
|
| Conclusion: | |
| Explanation of Findings: |
It is hard to verify this information.
|
| Source 1: | |
| Source 2: | |
| Source 3: | |
| Student Names: |
Zachary W
|
| Additional Sources: | |
| Real Facts #: |
838
|
| Real Fact Text: |
Cranberries are sorted for ripeness by bouncing them
|
| Conclusion: |
All True
|
| Explanation of Findings: |
At first Nicky thought it was false and Will wasn’t sure. After, we looked for a reliable source.
|
| Source 1: |
Foodsiteoftheday.com
|
| Source 2: | |
| Source 3: | |
| Student Names: |
Will and Nicky
|
| Additional Sources: | |
| Real Facts #: |
855
|
| Real Fact Text: |
Oregon has more ghost towns than any other U.S state.
|
| Conclusion: | |
| Explanation of Findings: |
At first it was challenging to find a reliable source that gave us the facts we needed. Then we found a reliable site that gave us the facts we wanted, but then we found another good site and the information is contradicting. So we still don’t know what the real conclusion is.
|
| Source 1: |
http://www.ghosttowns.com/
|
| Source 2: |
http://www.traveloregon.com/explore-
|
| Source 3: | |
| Student Names: |
Younge Kaylen Hunte, and Zachary Love
|
| Additional Sources: | |
| Real Facts #: |
858
|
| Real Fact Text: |
New Jersey is home to the world’s first drive-in movie theater.
|
| Conclusion: |
All True
|
| Explanation of Findings: |
This fact is on the harder side to find. The search engine I used was Google. I trust the New Jersey state website the most because it is the official website of New Jersey. As for the words that I searched, I do not remember the exact words that I used to search for the answer of this fact.
|
| Source 1: |
http://www.state.nj.us/hangout_nj/200403_driveins_p1.html,
|
| Source 2: |
http://www.marshu.com/articles/nj-drive-in-movie-theaters-
|
| Source 3: |
http://www.marshu.com/articles/nj-drive-in-movie-theaters-new-jersey-drive-ins.php
|
| Student Names: |
Marco
|
| Additional Sources: | |
| Real Facts #: |
885
|
| Real Fact Text: |
Vultures can fly for six hours without flapping their wings
|
| Conclusion: | |
| Explanation of Findings: |
We know that they are excellent soaring birds but we don’t know the exact number hours it can soar. We know it can fly without flapping wings for hours.
|
| Source 1: |
Website: http://worldbookonline.com/student/article?id=ar588980&st=vultures
|
| Source 2: |
Website/Organization: National Audubon society
|
| Source 3: | |
| Student Names: |
Shaan and Henry
|
| Additional Sources: | |
| Real Facts #: |
890
|
| Real Fact Text: |
The number 1 or the word one appears sixteen times on the dollar bill.
|
| Conclusion: |
All True
|
| Explanation of Findings: |
We know that the number 1, or the word “one” appears 16 times on the dollar bill because Clio counted.
|
| Source 1: |
The 1 dollar bill
|
| Source 2: |
experiment
|
| Source 3: |
Clio
|
| Student Names: |
Clio and Susannah
|
| Additional Sources: | |
Students in 4th and 5th Grade, once again, you can enter and compete in the Middle School Library’s Annual Game Show: Do You Know Books! This year, all the titles are the FIRST book in a series.
The date of the Game Show is March 18th, 2011. Read them all, answer up to ten questions correctly and win prizes! You can enter the show by yourself or with ONE partner. Official registration of Do You Know Books will start in March.
This is the list of books:
| AUTHOR | TITLE |
| Bosch | The Name of This Book Is Secret |
| Card | Ender’s Game |
| Collins | Gregor the Overlander |
| Coville | My Teacher Is an Alien |
| Coville | Jennifer Murdley’s Toad |
| Danziger/Martin | P.S. Longer Letter Later |
| Gantos | Joey Pigza Swallows the Key |
| Gutman | The Million Dollar Shot |
| Keene | Secret of the Old Clock |
| McKay | Saffy’s Angel |
| Pierce | Alana: the First Adventure |
| Riordan | The Lightning Thief |
| Rowling | Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone |
These are the books that DeJesus English Classes students talked about when they came to the Library on Monday, Sept. 20th.
But first, a chart of their favorite genres. (There were about 50 students surveyed, many of them have more than one favorite genres, so the total numbers are larger than 50.)
The main reasons that they enjoyed these books are (in order of the frequency cited as the major reasons of why the students liked a particular book):
Freedom Riders
Heir Apparent by Van Velde
Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Kinney
Uglies by Westerfeld
Kiki Strike #2 by Miller
Hunger Games Trilogy by Collins
Crocodile Tears by Horowitz
Sea of Trolls by Farmer
When You Reach Me by Stead
Percy Jackson series by Riordan
Harry Potter series by Rowling
Icefire by d’Lacey
The City of Ember by DuPrau
Pretty Little Liars by Shepard
Thirteen Reasons Why by Asher
Hatchet by Paulsen
Vampire Diaries by Smith
The Last Book in the Universe by Philbrick
The Mysterious Benedict Society by Stewart
The Tulip Touch by Fine
Ways to Live Forever by Nicholls
Beautiful Creatures by Garcia
The Devil’s Arithmetic by Yolen
Oddballs by Sleator
To Kill a Mocking Bird by Lee
The Year I Turned 16 by Schwemm
The Maze Runner by Dashner
The Last Battle by Lewis
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Selznick
The Kidnapping of Christina Lattimore by Nixon
The Stand by King
Handle with Care by Picoult
Thirteen Plus One by Myracle
Jade Green by Naylor
Everything on a Waffle by Horvath
Million Dollar Throw by Gutman
The Giver by Lowry
Welcome back to the Middle School Library in a brand new school year! We installed new and brighter lighting in the Reading Room. Now everyone can browse all the Hard Cover Fiction books with ease.
We would love to start the year off by sharing with everyone some books that 4th and 5th grade students have read and really enjoyed this past summer (the list will grow as more students attending Library Classes share with us):
SERIES
The 39 Clues
Alex Rider by Horowitz
Artemis Fowl by Colfer
Charlie Bone by Nimmo
The Edge Chronicles by Stewart
Emily Windsnap by Kessler
Ender’s Game and Ender’s Shadow by Card
The Five Ancestors by Stone
The Hardy Boys by Watson
Harry Potter by Rowling
The Hunger Games by Collins
Molly Moon by Byng
My Side of the Mountain by George
The Name of This Book is Secret by Bosch
Nicholas Flamel by Scott
Pendragon by McHale
Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Riordan
Peter and the Starcatcher by Barry
Ranger’s Apprentice by Flannagan
Red Wall by Jacques
A Series of Unfortunate Events by Snicket
Sisters Grimm by Buckley
The Warriors by Hunter
SINGLE or DOUBLE TITLES
Double Act by Wilson
Savvy by Law
The Last Shot by Frey
Hoot, Flush, and Scat by Hiaasen
The Calder Game by Balliett
Garfield at Large by Davis
James and the Giant Peach, Twits, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Dahl
The Emerald City of Oz by Baum
Nicholas and the Gang by Goscinny
Superfudge and others by Blume
The Thief Lord and Inkheart by Funke
Death on the Nile by Christie
Half Magic by Eager
The Magic Thief by Prineas
Leven Thumps by Skye
Don’t Judge a Girl by Her Cover by Carter
The Report Card by Clements
Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer by Grisham
The Client by Grisham
Toby Alone by de Fombelle
Bat Boy by Lupica
Black Beauty by Sewell
Lawn Boy by Paulsen
Emmy and the Shrinking Rat by Jonell
Pictures of Hollis Woods by Giff
The Wish and Ella Enchanted by Levine
My Life in Pink and Green by Greenwald
Al Capone Does My Shirts and Al Capone Shines My Shoes by Choldenko
When You Reach Me by Stead
Candy Shop War by Mull
Mad Dog 100: The Greatest Sports Arguments of All Time by Russo
Well-Witched by Hardinge
Pish Posh by Potter
So B. It by Weeks
To Kill a Mocking Bird by Lee
Rules to Rock By by Farrar
A Face First by Cummings
The Hobbit by Tolkien
The Baby-Sitters Club by Martin
The Lemonade War by Davies
Holes by Luis Sachar
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