Month: February 2017

During our Social Studies discussions, we have focused on the meaning of discrimination. We have looked at the Komagata Maru incident, the Chinese Head Tax, and Japanese Internment.

In relating to our overall unit on PROBLEM SOLVING, please choose one of the incidents we have discussed and answer the following questions by doing some research with the links below:

1. When did the incident happen and what were the basic details?
2. Why did the incident happen to this particular group of people?
3. Why was the incident negative and discriminatory?
4. Have the people involved healed from the incident? Or is it something they still feel today?
5. Did anyone apologize for the incident? Why do you think this was done? Did it help?
6. Does discrimination still happen in BC or Canada? Can you give me an example?
7. Has discrimination ever happened to you?
8. Discrimination and racism are complicated problems in our society. What do you think Canadians are doing to solve it? What do you think we should do?

Answer the questions in Google Docs. Please include the question in your answer. Have a peer edit your responses. Due on Thursday, February 16th. Time will be given in class.

Websites about KOMAGATA MARU

Komagata Maru Grade 4 Video

You Tube Remembering Komagata Maru

History of Metropolitan Vancouver Komagata Maru

CBC Komagata Maru 100 Years Later

CBC Komagata Maru: Justin Trudeau to Apologize

CBC Komagata Maru: Descendants Surprised By Stories

CBC Komagata Maru Memorial Defaced in Vancouver

Canadian Encyclopedia on Komagata Maru

Komagata Maru Continuing the Journey

OHRC Komagata Maru as a Violation of Human Rights

Websites about JAPANESE INTERNMENT

CBC Learning A Canada’s History Japanese Internment

Virtual Museum Aya’s Story

Japanese Canadian History. NET

Canadian Encyclopedia Beyond the Tears: Japanese Internment

SEDAI Japanese Canadian Legacy Project

Pictures of Japanese Internment Sites in BC from book Vanishing British Columbia

National Post BC Government Apologizes for Japanese Internment

National Post UBC Awarding Japanese Canadians Degrees 70 Years After Internment

Websites about CHINESE HEAD TAX

Ties that Bind Website on Chinese Canadians

Canadian Encyclopedia on Chinese Head Tax

CBC Chinese Head Tax Reparations Called For

Globe and Mail PM Offers Apology and Symbolic Payments for Chinese Head Tax

TC2 Background History on Chinese Head Tax

and Response to Head Tax

Historica Canada Building of the CPR

CBC Archives The Personal Impact of Racism

CBC Digital Archives Chinese Immigration Not Welcome Anymore

Our main project before Spring Break is to design a playground! 

Due on March 7th, Tuesday. Playground Rubric 2017

Recently, the Suncrest PAC has been discussing ways to improve the playground (in fact, some of your parents are on the committee to help figure out what new equipment to purchase.)

Your job will be to work with a group of designers to pitch ideas for how the PAC could use their money to provide more equipment in the extra space we have for the intermediate area.

You will:

1. Work with a group. Use the seven norms of collaboration and the ladder of inference as your guide.

2. Measure the area provided outside so you can accurately represent the space available.

3. Do some research on playground equipment individually.

4. Bring your ideas to the group. Each person must contribute one piece of equipment to the area, but you can come to the group discussion with multiple ideas.

5. Come to consensus about the pieces of equipment and layout.

6. Make a draft drawing for the layout. Talk about the size of each item in relation the the real size of the playground area. Be able to justify your ideas and think about safety, area to move around the equipment, and overall size of each of the items in the space. 

7. Each person will construct a mini version of their equipment and then put them together into a full model. You will need to build it to scale, and we will talk about this together as I want everyone to use the same scale.

8. Each of you will write a paragraph for your proposal on the playground about your specific piece of equipment. Models should include colour and if equipment is movable, it could also move in the model, which would make a more effective presentation. The paragraphs you write will be put into one write-up for your playground model.

9. You will be marked on your individual piece of equipment, your individual paragraph, and your ability to work toward consensus successfully by solving problems independently. I will ask you to reflect on how this went on the rubric at the end.

10. We will then present our ideas to representatives from the PAC. They may not be able to use your ideas, because ultimately they have a budget they need to work with AND they are also making improvements to the main playground, replacing older items with new. BUT, they are interested in seeing what your ideas are, because it will definitely tell them what kind of equipment you are interested in for the future!

Hello Parents and Students,

At the beginning of this year, I explained to you that we would do two types of math this year — independent math and applied math. The students have been doing CSI Math for applied math this term, typically twice a week, and then for independent math, they receive time twice a week to work in the Math Makes Sense textbooks provided to us.

In MACC, I always try to be responsive to the students, and the feedback they have given me is that they are enjoying the Applied Math (me, too) and the Independent Math is not as engaging due to the repetition in the book. I have also noted that the progress in the book is going too slowly given their abilities, so it is time to make an adjustment.

For this reason, Independent Math now works like this (explained to students today):

• For each unit, do the “Show What You Know” ending section first. It is at the end of the unit chapter.
• Turn in the “Show What You Know” to Ms. D. It will serve as a pre-test for the unit. When I mark it, if you receive 90% and above, then you will not need to do any more homework for that unit, and you can go ahead and take the unit test for a mark.
• If you receive less than 90% on the pre-test, then you will only do lessons in the unit that will help you do better on questions you missed.​ When that is complete, check your answers independently, ask me questions as needed, and then take the unit test for a mark.
• When you turn in “Show What You Know” please mark it with your name, grade level of the book, and the unit number, so I can mark it more quickly.
• Please be patient, as you can always work on Applied Math activities while waiting for your mark from Independent Math.
• If you have done more homework for a unit, please turn it in — it was not wasted time, and I will take note of your efforts!

Here is some more information about your debate on ethics and fairy tales. We will be working with our teams on the following steps and then presenting the debates around February 21st:

• Step One:  Brainstorming Ideas (individually and with our team, using the PRO/CON worksheet I gave you)
• Step Two:  Organize Ideas (which ones are important; give each argument a 3 word name)
• Step Three:  Structure Our Speeches (Create a 1 minute speech that has an introduction, statement of your position, and arguments to support your position)
• Step Four: Make Arguments REAL (Reason, Evidence, Analysis, Link)
• Step Five: Present in front of the class

What will our debate format look like?

• Team 1: One Minute Speech with arguments for person 1 (Captain)
• Team 1: One Minute Speech with arguments for person 2
• Team 2: One Minute Speech with arguments for person 1 (Captain)
• Team 2: One Minute Speech with arguments for person 2
• 10 minute break to prepare rebuttals/response
• Team 1: One Minute Rebuttal for person 3
• Team 2: One Minute Rebuttal for person 3
• 3 minute break to prepare Conclusion
• Team 1: Conclusion (one of three team members)
• Team 2: Conclusion (one of three team members)
• VOTE: Who won? Ms. D and the class will vote together

Where should you look for info to support your debate?

• News Articles (facts versus opinions)
• Personal Stories (of your own or of others – anecdotes)
• Stories/Books (chapter, picture books and short stories)
• Other fairy tales
• Movies (especially non-fiction)

If you are looking online for evidence, where should you look? (Some examples)

• News websites: Globe and Mail, Vancouver Sun, Province, NY Times, CBC, NPR, The National, Global TV, CTV News, CHEK News, or news collections on Google News
• Education websites that end in .edu or Government websites that end in .gov — for other stories that support your question
• News Magazines: Wired, Popular Science, Fortune, Economist, Forbes, Time
• Human Rights Websites: Amnesty International, Unicef, United Nations
• Sports Articles on: ESPN, Sports Illustrated, and other newspapers
• Celebrity Stories may work: People, Time

What kinds of things should you avoid for evidence?

• Blogs (wordpress, blogger) and opinion pieces/editorials in newspapers, which are opinions versus facts
• Wikipedia – great for looking up quick facts, but not for research or deeper information generally
• Lists of things — a list won’t be helpful
• Sites ending in .com, which are businesses
• News organizations which may be overly biased (for example, Fox News tends to be conservative, and Huffington Post tends to be liberal — they aren’t bad news sources and can be used, but be aware they have a specific point of view.)

We will continue working on this in class. More to come!

Hello Everyone!

So, start thinking about your MYSTERIES you need to write. Today, we did a crazy writing exercise, using story cubes dice (which you can find at Granville Island Toys if you liked them), and a group-writing technique to construct short mysteries.

Here are the documents you need to do the MYSTERY WRITING project: Mystery Words, Mystery Elements Writing Guide, Mystery Graphic Organizer, Super Sleuth Peer Editing Sheet, and Mystery Writing Rubric. 

Your stories should be approximately 4 pages (12pt font (Comic Sans/Times New Roman or Arial), typed, double spaced using 1.5 spacing option) and need to have (a):

• Beginning: Start with a HOOK, introduce interesting characters and setting. Try to come up with a name for your characters that would appeal to everyone, not just you. Remember this story is a mystery. It can have funny elements, but the story needs to make sense and not be silly.

• Middle: Talk about the CRIME, the SUSPECTS, the CLUES, and key ACTION as the characters try to solve the mystery. You will need a DISTRACTION, some WITNESSES, and a RED HERRING.

• End: Solve the crime. Who did it? What was their motive (why did they do it)? What is the reward for solving the crime OR how do the characters end their story?

• CSI Details: Use the labs we have done so far during the unit. How will fingerprints, a crime scene, dental records, fibres, bones, etc. be used as clues and evidence?

• DESCRIPTIVE Language: Use our brainstorm lists in the classroom to add adjectives to your stories to make them more interesting. Describe the character, setting, and clues with exciting words. How will you set the mood? This is a mystery, not a funny story, so what kinds of words would you hear? Use a thesaurus actively to look for synonyms.

• DIALOGUE: Your story must have some dialogue. I would like to see 10 sentences in quotes in the story. Remember how to indicate dialogue.

• INDENTS: Remember to indent paragraphs (except for the first one) and to start a new line when a new speaker starts speaking!

• EDITING: Make sure you edit your work. Use a dictionary for spelling and/or spell check. Have a peer look over your work using the mystery peer checker worksheet from Ms. D.

Stories will be due Friday, February 24th. Time will be given for planning and writing in class, so not much will need to be done at home. For those who need the extra time, though, if you do take it home (which means Ms. D has written story writing for agenda on the board), then please do not receive help from Mom and Dad beyond spelling and/or editing questions. The ideas need to be your own, and I should visually see you doing the majority of the work at school, so I can help you with your writing process. Thank you.