Dawson Digest
Kids in the news at Wharton's C.W. Dawson Elementary School

Penguins are interesting creatures

Teresa Brown's fourth grade Language Arts classes studied penguins recently. The students learned many interesting facts about penguins.

Some student comments are:

The macaroni penguin weighs about 5.5 grams. The macaroni penguin lives on the Falkland Islands and South America. Macaroni penguins eat fish, squid, and krill.

Teresa

I liked the Rockhopper penguins because they like to hop over rocks and are cool animals. I love when they toboggan on their bellies. They are funny. I learned that the penguins switch places so the other one can go and get food.

Briyelle

I've studied about Mr. Popper's penguins. Mr. Popper is playing with his penguins. Mr. Popper's penguins are Adelie penguins. Mr. Popper put a leash on his penguin and took him for a walk.

Kendrick

The things I learned about the penguins are that the male holds the egg until the mom comes back. Some of the penguins don't make it through the winter. When they swim they can get eaten by killer whales or leopard seals. Their diet is shrimp, krill and fish.

Steven

My favorite thing I ever learned is the penguins. I love penguins. Do you know there is such a thing as a Rockhopper, and a Little Blue penguin? The Little Blue penguin is the littlest of all penguins. That is probably why it is called the Little Blue.

Bethany The Emperor penguin lives in Antarctica, the coldest place on Earth. The father penguin has to keep the egg for two months. The father penguin hasn't eaten for at least three months. The Emperor penguin eats krill, shrimp and fish.

Jaika

What I like about penguins is when they slide on their stomachs. A penguin diet is mullet, squid and krill. Many penguins push each other off in the water to see if it is safe. Galapagos penguins use burrows and two eggs are laid.

Miguel

The yellow-eyed penguin is the rarest penguin in the world. Yelloweyed penguins are the third tallest penguin. The yellow-eyed penguin gets its name from the adults.

Ryan

Do you know a Galapagos penguin? They are the smallest of the warm weather penguins, and they are funny. Sometimes they fight each other with their flippers.

Casey

Do you know that penguins are warm-blooded animals? They toboggan on their bellies. There are about 700,000 total, and about 300,000 mates. They also have a white patch on the top of their head looking like a bald man.

Cameron

I'm a big fan of penguins. I like how they toboggan on the ice. I see the Emperor penguins and how they hatch their babies. They go back and forward to feed them.

Abel

Do you know that the Rockhopper is warm-blooded? But the Rockhopper is very cool looking. It looks like it has hair on its head.

Amber I learned that when the mom lays its egg, it leaves the egg to the dad and the mom goes to the sea for 21 days to eat. And if the mom dies, the dad and baby die. But if the mom comes back she takes care of the baby and the dad goes to the sea for one month to eat.

Hortensia

The most wonderful penguin I like the most is the African penguin. The African penguin is only eaten by seals. The African penguin eats a lot of food. They can turn left or right fast and they can also swim fast.

Tyler

The Adelie penguin is unique when it comes to their eyes. The Adelie penguin is the smallest and most widely distributed penguin in the Antarctic. The Adelie penguin weighs about 11 pounds.

Kel

One of the things about penguins was that I thought all the different kinds of penguins lived in a cold climate. But now I know that some live in a hot climate.

Ashton

Penguins are cold weathered and hot weathered. I didn't know the Fiordland penguin is active after dark. I didn't expect for the Fiordland penguin to grow 17 inches tall and to weigh 8 pounds.

Xaviera

Did you know the penguins are cold and hot weathered birds? It is interesting because there are 17 species of penguins. Penguins cannot fly, but they can in water and when they're getting out. Some penguins look like they have Hannah Montana wigs on, but it is their feathers.

David