MRS. FERRY'S AND MRS. BARNES' STUDENTS  SHARE INTERESTING FACTS THEY'VE LEARNED:

PERRY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Perry is a 100-year-old building located in one of the oldest areas of Belvidere.  Approximately 360 students are currently served at Perry, with two sections of each grade K-6.  Our student population is 79.9% white, 19.3% Hispanic, and .9% black.  With an LEP (Limited English Proficient) rate of 5.5%, a low-income rate of 29.3%, and a mobility rate of about 16%, we have an attendance rate of 94.1%.

Given the opportunity to participate in Project Exploration  provided quite an exciting start to our school year.  Students knew quite a bit about dinosaurs, but not about paleontology, the Sahara Desert, and certainly nothing about Niger. Off to the library and onto the computers we went!

The fourth graders divided into five teams to build background knowledge about Niger, camp life, field work, dinosaurs and the Sahara.  After developing questions to investigate their area of interest, team members visited the Project Exploration website, investigated questions asked by other schools and conducted independent research.

After gathering data, groups joined together to process their information and to plan ways to share their findings with classmates.  Projects included dioramas, skits, posters, charts, maps and models. 

As an ongoing project throughout the year, students will continue to monitor the website, visit with local paleontologists, and plan their own dig.

As a culmination to this unit, the fourth graders will develop a simulation of Project Exploration for the second graders in the spring.  Fourth graders will lead activities in locating, preserving, identifying and exhibiting fossils.  Experts will help the students with authenticity in setting up the camp, conducting the field work and examining their findings.

Project Exploration has been and continues to be an engaging activity for both adults and students.

 
The Sahara Desert was a great place for dinosaurs millions of years ago - with lots of streams, lakes, plants, and other animals.

Dinosaurs today are exhibited in museums.  Many museums have working labs where they prepare the fossils for the exhibits.

There are many steps to putting the plastic protection on the fossils before they can be sent to the lab.

* "A crocodile could be as large as 40 feet."      Holly

* "The Sahara Desert was once covered by grass, trees and a river."     Brooke

* "I can't believe that the temperature can reach as high as 140 degrees F."      Najib

*  "I didn't know the fossils would be in big pieces."      Tayler

* "I learned that they took dehyrated food."  Ashlee

*" I found I had a lot in common with some of the team members.  I also enjoy playing baseball and reading books." Josh

* " I never knew how many dangers could happen in the camp, like sandstorms and beetle bites." Hailee

* "I learned about the Afrovenator.  I had never heard of that before."    Kristie

* "I learned that a Suchomimus grew up to be the size of a Tyrannosaurus-Rex."  Seanna

* "The team had no clue to what they were going to find on this long journey to the Sahara Desert.  I think it is fascinating how many fossils and bones they have found in the very short period of time they have been there."     Emily

* "The people speak French in Niger."         Edward

* "I never knew it could be freezing at night in the Sahara Desert."  Troy

The climate in Niger is very hot and dry.  There is only 4 inches of rainfall a year in the desert area.