Month: January 2020

Hello Everyone!

Yesterday, we had a great conversation about the positive and negative aspects of technology and children. Many of you added articles to the PADLET about this, and Ms. D had the opportunity to review with you what makes a quality website for research. We reviewed strategies for web researching to ensure you are doing an effective search and that you are reading true information versus someone’s opinion or made up facts. Keep those journal notes from our discussion handy as we move forward with more independent research in the future!

We identified some areas of this debate about whether technology is a good thing for children or not. Each of you has chosen an area of focus and a partner to work with for the debates.

Here are the three resolutions we agreed upon in class:

• E-Readers — Be it resolved that real books are better for children ages 0-17 than e-readers.
• Video Games — Be it resolved that video games should be educational if children ages 0-17 are using them.
• Balance/Overall Tech Use — Be it resolved that children ages 0-17 need guidelines and help controlling their use of technology such as smartphones.

How to get started?

• Research online both the positive (for the resolutions above) and negative (against the resolutions above) sides of your debate topic.
• You need to find facts that back up both sides of the debate, as you may debate both sides when we do presentations.
• Keep the source of any evidence you find. Your speech will need to say things like, “According to TIME magazine 2014, …….” So, you need the date, author, and website where you found information.
• We will talk together about persuasive language and how to write a debate introductory speech, which you will do with your partner.

Some websites to consider:

If any of these article links do not work, please let Ms. D know. Please also look on the Padlet, as you posted many great articles there!

NPR 5 Things to Know About Screen Time Right Now

BBC Gaming Addiction Classified as Disorder by WHO (World Health Organization)

NPR Risk of Teen Depression Linked to Smartphone Use

Globe and Mail Your smartphone is making you stupid, antisocial, and unhealthy, so why can’t you put it down?

Globe and Mail How Much Screen Time is Harmful

CBC News Tech Toys Could Put Kids Privacy at Risk

CBC Health News Screens ‘Not a Toy’

American Psychological Association Guidelines for Youth Using Digital Technologies (says 2015, but updated 2016)

CNN Why Parents Fear Technology (and some common rumours that feed the fears)

Fast Company 3 Ways Technology Is Helping Kids

Globe and Mail Youth and Technology: Power and Danger

Psychology Today Cognitive Benefits in Playing Video Games

BBC Future Why Video Games May Be Good For You

Telegraph Is Video Gaming Bad For You? Science FOR and AGAINST

So, how do we get started on a debate?

• We create a statement we can debate, which is called a resolution. We finished that today.
• We then form teams of two.
• All team members do research that supports the negative and the positive side of the resolution they decided to focus on.
• One team member will make a positive paragraph about the topic, and the other one will make a negative paragraph. Or, the two team members can work together on both.

During the actual debate, what do we do?

• We flip a coin to determine which team is positive and negative.
• Positive team goes first with an opening statement – 3 min. max
• Negative team goes second with an opening statement – 3 min. max
• We pause and think. Teams think about what has been said during opening statements and look for evidence in their collection that will help make a counter argument and prove their case! – 5 min.
• Positive team provides a rebuttal — 1 min.
• Negative team provides a rebuttal — 1 min.
• Positive team sums up their arguments – 1 min.
• Negative team sums up their arguments – 1 min.

Marks and Judging:

• Each person will be marked on a rubric for their completion of evidence recorded in their journals, their public speaking skills used, and their overall thinking about the topic
• Teams will be evaluated in the first rounds by Ms. D and the class. 
• Everyone participates in minimum one round. Some people may do more if they win their rounds.
• Winning does not impact your mark. Public speaking, being prepared, and completing your evidence does.
• Debates will be from Jan 28 until we are finished mid-February.

Thank you!

Ms. D

Hello Everyone,

As we had several people absent today due to inclement weather, I am posting the questions for our e-port due on Monday about Rube Goldberg. Here you go!

E-Port Title:  Rube Goldberg

1. Who was Rube Goldberg? (include facts from the biography you needed to read per my previous blog entry about this assignment)
2. What was your Rube Goldberg machine designed to do? (purpose)
3. How was your machine supposed to work? (give the steps you designed in your original version)
4. Did your machine as you planned it actually work? What would you/did you do differently to make it work?
5. Which simple machines did you use? (you were required to use three)

If you were absent on the day of Rube Goldberg building, I encourage you to try making one at home. We also agreed that on Friday I would give you optional time to build some more during Free Choice Friday activities.

Thank you,

Ms. D

Hello Everyone!

Using our knowledge of simple machines, we will be building a Rube Goldberg machine! Before we begin, please do some investigation. On Rube Tube you can watch a variety of Rube Goldberg contraptions and get some ideas. You can also read about Rube Goldberg himself on this biographical website and on this Rube Goldberg resource.

Google “Rube Goldberg Cartoons” under images if you would like to see even more.

Consider the DESIGN PROCESS as you create your own contraption!

1. Ask a question – What task will your machine complete?
2. Imagine what you would do – Brainstorm ideas and watch Rube Tube.
3. Plan and consider materials – Make a draft in your journal and a list of supplies
4. Create something based on your plan – all day Friday or Monday
5. Reflect, make adjustments to improve, and document changes — Journal!
6. Present final product – Show it to Ms. D

Your contraption must use at least three simple machines. Documentation of all your building steps is a must! I will be marking both your journal and your final presentation, so even if your product is amazing, you need written observations. Even if the machine doesn’t work, you need to show evidence of having considered simple machines and be able to explain your process to me.

We will build the machines on Friday Jan. 10th during a large chunk of the day. Begin looking for ideas and materials from home. I have a lot of building supplies here, but if you need something specific, then please look at home. You shouldn’t need to buy anything new, so please focus on recyclables and toys you already have. The contraption does not need to be big, either, so consider we will have 12 groups working in our space at the same time!

One way to make your machine more interesting is to consider how it might tell a story. When you watch the OK Go video on Rube Tube, it is based on a song. How does it tell a story or have a message? Or is it a funny task it will complete?

The only thing I don’t have in the classroom are pulleys, so if you are thinking of having a pulley device, you have to construct it.

Have fun! I will provide a rubric for you for this activity in class that talks about your design process. While it would be great if your machine is successful, I am more interested in how you used the design process and simple machines to complete this task.

Ms. D

Hello Everyone,

As we finish our work on timelines showing how human innovations and technologies have changed over time, we are going to take a look at early tools used by First Peoples of the Pacific Northwest.

Canada’s First Peoples used many different tools and technologies that were important to their culture and for their survival. Some are still used today, whether in their original or an updated format. 

You will work with a partner to find out more about these early tools. Here are some websites you can use to do your research:

First Peoples of Canada

Canadian Geographic Atlas

Learning Portal Royal BC Museum

Learning Portal Timeline Royal BC Museum

First Peoples of BC Royal BC Museum

SD71 Comox Resources

Canadian Encyclopedia First Peoples

Pacific Northwest Artifacts

Burke Museum Coast Salish

First Nations Information, Museum of Anthropology

Map First Nations BC

Once we are done finding out more about the tools listed on your handout, you will choose one to do a short mini poster about. This will mean doing a bit more research on the item, beyond the websites I have provided. We are also going to be making spindle whorls for art. Did you find out what a spindle whorl is from your list of tools?

Ms. D