How does a system work? – March 31st Update

Hello Everyone!

For tonight:

• Please spend up to 45 minutes on either finishing your narrative, which is the first priority and is due at end of day tomorrow, or working on Lit Circle. If we need more time to be prepared for Lit Circle, we will talk about it tomorrow and postpone our next meeting.
• Finish listing resources from yesterday’s assignment – most of you are done.
• Field Trip Notice — the link should now be live online so you can use the School Pay Online option

Today we discussed SYSTEMS again, looking at the Universal Systems Model. Then, we broke into small groups to answer this question: How does your food get to you? Students brainstormed the various parts of the “system” that brings meals to our plates, and then they made a flow chart to represent the system. When we reflected afterwards about the activity and what was difficult about representing the system, a student said, “We don’t really see all the parts of the systems. So it makes it hard to think about it when you don’t see it.” This is very true! We eat the food, but we don’t get to see the farms where livestock are raised, the plants where food is processed, or the efforts that go into having workers at the grocery store where the food is available for purchase. This unit involves thinking about all the parts of these systems we take for granted.

We followed our inquiry activity with the movie The Story of Stuff, and we discussed how many parts of the consumer system we don’t really see when we are buying new shoes or purchasing electronics. We talked about how we are encouraged to buy things, too, through advertising, peer pressure, and the ever-changing nature of electronics. The video focuses on planned obsolescence, which is designing products so they intentionally do not last too long or will eventually need to be replaced. Not every company does this, but some products are designed that way. Do we always need the next best thing? Do we have too much stuff? What motivates you to purchase something, like your pair of shoes? Why do clothes for children sometimes cost way more than those for men and women? What are the parts of the system that bring us the clothes we wear? Thank you everyone for the great participation and discussion!

Great job Tove, Ella and Adrian, who read their Words Anthology entries at the Celebration of Learning today! Also, great job to Vlad, Sylvia and Emma who all participated in the Reading Club through the Suncrest Library and were recognized at assembly for their efforts!

Have a great evening!