Venus Flytrap and a Skunk Pelt

In less than 12 hours, a fly was caught. See the closed one?

We have been thinking about adaptation--form and function. And we were looking at carnivorous plants too all over the world using this great story from our Literature book.
          It was our lucky day yesterday as parent brought a Venus Fly Trap to class. Parents are so helpful!! Thank you to Keeahna's Mom.
         The kids have been fascinated with this plant after being able to view a short 2 and half minutes clip from the BBC presentation Life. It is told as a story in that short of a time. The kids were rooting for the fly! That is remarkable because for all the days prior they have been bemoaning the insects.
We marked the day on the calendar and then in 10 expect to see this one open and the carcass inside. We are discussing soil and temperature and what happens if there are no more flies once the weather really changes. Predictions aboundith!!
The other great parent help was Isaac's Mom (Thank you) came in and we looked at specimens from her biology lab-- skulls, butterflies, shells, a shark, a skunk pelt-- all to figure out why the shape, texture, etc., and then to analyze how that animal functions. She was so full of terrific details and will join us again next week for some experiments.

We will be analyzing the form and function of cows and tour the UI Dairy Center soon!