As part of our media literacy studies, and in preparation for Earth Day next week, students in Division 5 have been discussing the concept of “greenwashing.”
We examined some political cartoons and advertisements to analyze their messages. We discussed the commentary of the cartoons–reading “between the lines” about the environmental impacts of our society and corporations. The ads were especially interesting to analyze, and students were keen on identifying the different greenwashing strategies used to persuade potential customers to purchase a product or service.
Division 5 has been learning about how animals have various adaptations to help them sense depending on whether they are nocturnal or diurnal animals, including eye size, ear shape, or sounds they make. We are moving on to learning about how animals adapt to their environments. One of these adaptations is camouflage through patterns and colour. Can you find the camouflaged critters in these photos?
Today Division 5 and 6 walked over to visit the Trottier Observatory at Simon Fraser University. We were introduced to how researchers study space and each student received a star chart for use the next time they’re looking at the night sky.
Next we went outside to check out the telescope in the observatory. We learned about how the telescope is used and what it can see. We weren’t able to see anything through the telescope today, though, because there was some cloud cover.
In the courtyard around the observatory, there were some interesting features such as a sun dial, some of the basic elements of the universe, picnic tables with detailed moon phases, and big star charts. They pack a lot into this small area!
Today was Division 5’s first day of Roots2Grow for this year. Due to some scheduling issues, we had to reschedule a couple of times, but we lucked out today with good weather and lots to do!
Today we were exploring the garden and schoolyard. We looked for spaces that might pose problems for the school community when it rains, and other areas that have significant seasonal water activity. Students worked together in groups to plant grass seed, identify signs of water movement, pick up garbage, and explore some of the ways for water to move through the landscape without producing damage (erosion).
Welcome to the garden!
Reading about water runoff and erosion. Interesting fact: it takes more than 500 years to create 2.5 cm of soil!
Sprinkling grass seed to help reduce erosion
Grass seed fairies!
Pruning back the wild rose bushes
Shoveling up the sand, leaves, and grit before it can flow into the drains and clog them
Moving those leaves for ground cover
Reading the map
Getting instructions for leaf collection
Teamwork makes the dream work--bringing a bunch of leaves to the garden for ground cover
Reading the map
Collecting leaves to use as ground protection in the garden for the winter months
Clean-up crew superheroes!
Listening to Pablo tell us about different ways to reduce erosion in the fall and winter months
Division 3 was examining how humans have impacted the Earth, and more specifically how we have contributed to climate change. Students were asked to do some research to define what they thought were the top three human contributions to climate change. They in which format to present the information.
One of the skills we have been focusing on is using evidence to support a claim–whether in our responses to reading, drawing conclusions in social studies, or investigating hypotheses in science. With this assignment, students needed to explain the connection between the harmful human activities they identified, and the impact on the climate.
Division 3 has been learning about how living things adapt and evolve to be successful in specific environments–meaning they can meet their survival needs. Living things need food, water, air, space, strategies for successful reproduction, and a way to stay safe from predators in order to continue thriving in an ecosystem.
Mimicry is one way that some animals protect themselves from predators. Yesterday we watched a video about the amazing Hawks Moth Caterpillar. Watch how this prey animal turns into (what looks like) a predatory one to scare away its own predator!
Division 3 has had the opportunity to work with the Inquiry Beaty Box, borrowed from the Beaty Biodiversity Museum at UBC. We have been carefully observing and making sketches of the specimens, and then analyzing and hypothesizing about how some of the various structures or characteristics of the organism benefit its survival in relation to where it lives.
Varied Thrush
Common crown conch and Barnacle rock
Zig zag scallop and Mallard
Eastern grey squirrel
Douglas fir bark and cones, and Eastern grey squirrel skeleton
Nature is truly amazing!
Division 3 — what was a structure or a characteristic of your specimen that contributed to its survival success in its particular ecosystem? Can you think of another example from outside of the Beaty Box?
The process for maple syrup can begin as early as mid-February in Québec, but is often between mars and avril. During les temps de sucre, sap is slowly collected from maple trees , and boiled down into the delicious amber syrup we use on our pancakes and French toast.
Division 3 was amazed to learn that the sap that comes out of the tree is 97% water, and only 3% sugar! The sap needs to be boiled down so much that only 1.5L syrup is created from 60L of sap! One student remarked, “No wonder it’s so expensive!” Agreed–it’s like liquid gold! The sap-to-syrup process ties into our Science learning with extraction methods: getting the sap from the trees, and reducing the liquid down by evaporating the water. Check out this video on the process of making syrup!
In French, Division 3 has been learning some winter vocabulary, about the tradition of Carnaval de Québec, and about les temps des sucres. Today we enjoyed learning about and making le tire d’érable. (There are lots of recipes, but it’s a pretty simple process as long as you get the temperature right! Find a recipe here.)
We noticed that the longer the maple syrup heated, the stiffer the candy became, and at the end it became quite granular. Students hypothesized that the longer the syrup is boiled, the less water remains in the pot, and the more solid the maple syrup becomes. At the end, we were left with a sugar-like substance in the bottom of the pot, confirming our hypothesis. One student wondered if perhaps the sugar crystals settled to the bottom as the remaining syrup cools.
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I hope everyone enjoyed their taste of le tire d’érable!
Division 3: Have you tried it before or was this your first time? Which stage was your favourite version (the softest, a little harder, or the sugar)?
As part of our media literacy studies, and in preparation for Earth Day next week, students in Division 5 have been discussing the concept of “greenwashing.”
