South O'Brien Elementary School, Primghar, Iowa

Hello Square of Lifers!  For this project we observed an area in our outdoor classroom.  We made two observations, both before our first frost.  We read many of your data lists, and we each chose a comparison school.  We completed Venn Diagrams to help identify our similarities and differences.  We researched some unfamiliar animals and plants. We then wrote our final reports.  You’ll find them below.  We’re looking forward to reading the final reports.  We hope someone chose us!

Group A

1) My school is South O’Brien Elementary.  My school is in the northwest part of Iowa in a town called Primghar.  Primghar is the county seat of O’Brien County.  The school I chose is Everest Elementary School.  Their school is in the city of Duberger in Quebec, Canada.  The things we had in common are:  black ants, spiders, bees, ladybugs, butterfly, flies, beetle, grass, plants, rocks and dirt.  We both have these things because we have similar climates.  We also had some differences.  I had spider eggs.  They are about the size of a pencil tip across and they are white.  I also had a cricket.  It was large and black.  They had a centipede.  They have poison claws and many many legs.  They also had Viorne Mancienne.  It means Wayfaring tree in English.  I think it has gray hair buds and its leaves are heart shaped.  I learned we have a lot in common and that we have similar fall temperatures.

2) My school is South O’Brien Elementary.  My school is in the northwest part of Iowa in a town called Primghar.  Primghar is the county seat of O’Brien County.  The school I chose is Williamson Elementary School.  Their school is in the city of Williamson, New York.  The things we had in common are:  ladybug, beetle, spider, and trees.  We both have these things because we have similar weather and we both have rain for trees.  We also had some differences.  I saw a green snake.  He came from the grass and he had a yellow belly, black eyes, and he was small.  I found a cricket.  It was small and black.  They found a brown toad.  Some female toads lay up to 30,000 eggs.  One group also found a Praying Mantis.  An Adult mantis can be as tall as 1-15 centimeters.  I learned that people from other states aren’t as different from us.  I learned information about bugs.

Group B

1) My school is South O’Brien Elementary.  My school is in the northwest part of Iowa in a town called Primghar.  Primghar is the county seat of O’Brien County.  The school I chose is St. George’s Independent School.  Their school is in the city of Germantown, Tennessee.  The things we had in common are:  clover, ants, beetles, flying bugs, fungus, rocks, cobwebs, dirt, and leaves.  We both have these things because we have about the same climate.  We also had some differences.  I had an acorn.  I found it separated.  I also found a tarp.  It was below the wood chips.  They had a Sweet Gum Tree.  It has star shaped leaves.  They also found a gumball.  It is a non-living thing.  I learned the school is close to Memphis.  It gets ice storms.

2) My school is South O’Brien Elementary.  My school is in the northwest part of Iowa in a town called Primghar.  Primghar is the county seat of O’Brien County.  The school I chose is Dommerich Elementary.  Their school is in the city of Maitland, Florida.  The things we had in common are:  beetle, ants, centipede, grass, Dandelion, dead leaves, weeds, sticks, and dirt.  We both have these things because we both have good soil that can grow plants.  We both have warm weather in the fall.  We also had some differences.  I had a baby mushroom.  It was inside a log.  It was half an inch tall and it was whitish brownish.  I also had a statue of a praying girl.  It was in the middle of the flowerbed.  It was in memory of a kid who died.  They had a lizard.  It was an Eastern Fence lizard.  He’s the color of tree bark.  They also had a couple of small dark beetles.  I learned that we have different things and some same stuff and we had different things than them.

3) My school is South O’Brien Elementary.  My school is in the northwest part of Iowa in a town called Primghar.  Primghar is the county seat of O’Brien County.  The school I chose is The Sullivan School.  Their school is in the city of Yokosuka, Japan.  The things we had in common are:  ants, centipede, grass, tree, leaves, clover, rocks, mud, and cement statue.  We both have these things because someone built and put a statue there.  Grass because it grows pretty much everywhere.  We both have these things because we have just about the same climate.  We also have some differences.  I had Creeping Phlox.  It is a plant that’s green and kind of prickly.  I also had a flower bulb.  It’s a flower that hasn’t grown yet.  They had roly-polys.  It is a bug that when you touch it it curls up into a ball.  They also had a mint plant.  It’s a plant with scented leaves.  I learned that we have about the same climate.  They have a couple of typhoons every year.

Group C

My school is South O’Brien Elementary.  My school is in the northwest part of Iowa in a town called Primghar.  Primghar is the county seat of O’Brien County.  The school I chose is Dommerich Elementary.  Their school is in the city of Maitland, Florida.  The things we had in common are:  dead leaves, beetles, bugs, trash, and wood chips/mulch.  We both have these things because we have a similar climate so we have similar plants. We have people for trash and we both probably have flowers for the wood chips.  We both have trees.  We both have warm summers.  We also had some differences.  I had a feather.  I have trees around, so birds can build nests, so we would have birds.  I also had bees.  I have flowers so they can suck the nectar and pollinate.  They had Elephant’s Foot.  It has purple, pink, or sometimes white flowers.  It lives in the open woods and in thickets.  They also had Bacopa Bush.  It was lavender with a yellow center and its full name is Bermuda Sky Bacopa.  I learned some places have similar climates so they have similar plants and not all places have the same plants.

Group D

My school is South O’Brien Elementary.  My school is in the northwest part of Iowa in a town called Primghar.  Primghar is the county seat of O’Brien County.  The school I chose is Dommerich Elementary. Their school is in the city of Maitland, Florida.  The things we had in common are:  ants, grass, flowers, wood chips, and sticks.  We both have these because Florida has lots of trees and Iowa has lots of trees.  We have grass because there’s lots of rain.  We have flowers because of our weather.  We have ants because they need to live in good weather.  We have wood chips because they are around plants.  We also have some differences.  I had lots of bees.  They have a couple of stripes and take nectar from our flowers.  We only saw them when it was sunny, though.  I also had spider webs.  It was pretty big and had a bee in it.  They had a fragrant Bacopa Bush.  It had purple flowers on it.  They also had Goose Grass.  It was full of black seeds.  Its main name is Bedstraw.  I learned there are lots of things I can find in an area.  I learned a lot of flower names, too.