Month: May 2022

Indigenous Traditional Knowledge and The Night Sky

As part of our current unit on the concept of ORDER, we are looking at how we use the arts, and specifically oral and written storytelling, to explain the natural world around us.

For this, we are discussing Indigenous Traditional Knowledge, a body of knowledge which is the result of Indigenous Peoples living, learning, and interacting with the land over thousands of years.

Before Western science named stars, Indigenous Peoples across Canada had stories helping to chart the stars in the sky that served as tools for navigation. Indigenous Peoples have Traditional Knowledge that can guide and complement Western science as we study astronomy.

In this post, I have provided some web links to help with our conversations!

Please note before viewing some of the links, which come from a variety of learning resources —  As we discuss Indigenous Peoples, we have reconciliation in mind. As such, we are building our own awareness of respectful and knowledgeable ways to speak about Indigenous Peoples of Canada, and about other cultures in general. Even though some of the websites below refer to Indigenous Oral History as mythology, we understand we must take care calling something simply a myth or story, with awareness these are also stories representing spirtual and cultural beliefs of great importance to a group of people.

We seek to become more aware of and to better understand valuable Indigenous Traditional Knowledge, and, with the First Peoples Principles of Learning & Ways of Knowing and Being in mind, take time as we learn to identify the connections between us, all peoples, and the nature around us.

I will add links as I find them!

Skytellers

Canadian Geographic Understanding the Night Sky:Stories from Across the Globe

University of Calgary Indigenous Skies

Native Skywatchers

Virtual Museum The Inuit Sky

Canadian Space Agency Indigenous Moon

Night Sky Star Stories by Wilfred Buck

The Walrus Teaching Indigenous Star Stories

Science Friday Relearning The Star Stories of Indigenous People

Western Washington University Brad Snowder Collection

First Peoples Map of BC Interactive Website

 

Last Unit of 2021-22! Explain the World

Hello Everyone,

As we finish MACC Mall and our final e-portfolio, our unit on NEEDS and WANTS is coming to a close. MACC Mall is on June 8th, and Independent Project is on June 15th. Due to these two events, as well as all the other school activities happening in June, our last unit of the year will be shorter than the others. We will be doing this unit up until June 29th, our last day!

Unit Title:  Explain the World!

Unit Focus Statement:  Humans use their senses, creativity, and the arts to observe and to explain the natural world.

CONCEPT:  ORDER

CORE COMPETENCIES:  Creative Thinking & Communication Skills

Areas of Inquiry:

  • How the arts are used to explain our world
  • Our senses and how they are used to make observations
  • Oral and written storytelling
  • Indigenous stories
  • The relationship between the moon, sun, Earth, tides, seasons, and time
  • Forces and mathematics of space (You Do the Math Rockets)
  • How we would survive in space
  • Learning French through song and art

Independent Project Update: Preparing for Presentation

Hello Everyone!

To complete Independent Project, students need to do the following by end of day June 16th, Thursday:

  • BIBLIOGRAPHY:  Type bibliography of resources, in alphabetical order, following the instructions Ms. D sent in email. Ask for help if needed. Send to Ms. D for printing. Display this bibliography on your table during presentation.
  • NOTES:  Present your notes to Ms. D either by sending it to me electronically (sharing via One Drive) or showing it to Ms. D if it is in your journal.
  • PRIMARY RESEARCH:  Complete some form of primary research. Some students are still waiting for interviewees to respond. Please talk to Ms. D if you still need help.
  • PRESENTATION DAY:  Present something to the public using writing, visual presentation, and oral language skills. See below for options. Check with Ms. D for approval about how you will present.
  • SELF-EVALUATE on E-PORT:  After Independent Project, do a reflection about how it went. Include a picture. What were the key things you learned that were new? How did you manage your time? What would you do differently to manage your project next time? What did you like about your presentation? How did people respond to your topic and information you presented? How did you use the core competencies during the Independent Project process?
  • BLOG POSTING:  If you have anything to share electronically with the public, please send to Ms. D before June 15th for posting on the blog, on the Independent Project page. Send items via One Drive, sharing with Ms. D digitally.

Presentation Options for June 15th, 12-2 PM, Wednesday:

Get idea for presentation approved by Ms. D. Any handouts need to be delivered to Ms. D no later than June 13th, Monday, so I can photocopy enough for you to distribute. Students need to sign up ahead of time for computers and space they need for presentation day.

  • Poster, trifold, paper   (I have paper and poster paper to offer, but no trifolds)
  • Speech, Puppet Show, Skit
  • Model, Diorama, Sculpture
  • Interactive Game (example: Trivia Game with prizes — no candy/food please)
  • Cartoon
  • PowerPoint or Other Type of Slideshow (keep it short and on repeat at your station; use lots of pictures!)
  • Handouts – Zines, Crossword Puzzles, WordFinds, Key Points
  • Website or Online Game
  • Primary Research Experiments
  • Index Card with key points you want to share on it, so you can talk to visitors
  • Other ideas — I am open to your ideas as long as we can fit it in the room!

From Independent Project Students Will Be Able To:

  • Identify a topic of passion, demonstrating personal awareness about their interests, identity, and the subjects that engage them best.
  • Use critical-thinking and inquiry skills to ask a deeper set of questions about their topic to guide research.
  • Demonstrate critical-thinking, reading comprehension, research, and digital literacy skills to find, to choose, and to evaluate appropriate resources, including online websites and books.
  • Apply critical and creative thinking skills to choose a way to conduct primary research, such as an experiment, interview, or live observation of a place or experience.
  • Document their research using the two-column note-taking system.
  • Communicate their findings clearly through visual, oral, and written presentation skills.
  • Engage a public audience by using creative thinking about how their presentations can be interactive and interesting for visitors.

The Independent Project includes curricular competency skills found across the grade 4/5 curriculum, and connects with the goals of the MACC program.

We look forward to seeing you June 15th!

Special E-Port Mini Research Posting

Hello Everyone,

As we finish this unit on “Getting Our Needs Met,” we have learned about many of the ways humans create and use knowledge and interdependent systems to get their needs met. We have talked about financial literacy, economics, geology, chemistry, natural resources, resource management, being a responsible consumer, and how Indigenous Peoples are using their traditional knowledge to help protect our lands and the resources we rely upon.

This has covered a LOT of territory, and some of us are more interested in some topics than others! So, here is an opportunity to finish the unit with some mini research on a topic of interest.

Step One:  Choose a topic from our unit. Keep it small. Use the ORCAS Footprints Books (the ones in the classroom and in Ms. D’s EPIC Books List) as a guide. The topic needs to be connected to our unit statement about how humans use a variety of tools, systems, and scientific knowledge to get their needs and wants met.

Step Two:  Read ONE book. Yes, only one! I recommend using only one book because we are limiting our time for research. Focus on BOOKS rather than randomly going on the internet. You may use the Orcas Footprint Books in the classroom, library books I have provided in the bins, or the booklist on EPIC. One book is enough. If you have time, you can follow up your book with any related video on TED Ed, particularly the Earth School Videos we have already been watching.

Step Three:  Work with partner or alone? If you have a partner, you each still need to do your own writing, but each of you could read a separate book and compare notes, helping one another with the e-port questions (see below). If you are working alone, you only need to read one book. Again, let’s keep this project brief.

Step Four:  Take some notes while reading, so you remember what you want to write about.

Step Five:  Meet with your partner or start answering the questions on your own. Questions can be answered in the E-Portfolio. Please title the e-port something about your topic — you choose! Answers need to be longer than one paragraph, for sure, otherwise you are not showing what you know from the reading.

EPORT Questions:  (Please ask Ms. D if you are unclear on these – we went over ALL of this in class, but please ask if it doesn’t make sense!)

1. How does your topic show how humans create or use knowledge, tools, interdependent systems to get their needs and wants met?

2. What new things did you learn from your reading? What are your new questions now?

3. What ACTION could you personally take with this new knowledge.

DUE DATE:  Let’s try to have this e-port done no later than Friday, May 27th.

MACC Mall Project!

As a culminating project in connection with our unit on “Getting Our Needs Met,” we will actively apply financial literacy, economics, and resource management to the selling of a product at MACC MALL!

Students will:

  • Get a Business Permit: Work independently or with a partner. Some students working with a partner may be choosing to make their own product, but working with someone to receive support from a fellow classmate during the process. Others are working with a partner to produce one item. Ms. D’s permit office will provide you with permission for whichever you decide to do.
  • Create a draft plan of a product: Using the ADST design cycle, brainstorm ideas, then narrow it down to one product. Draw a picture in your journal of the product, and list the potential supplies needed.
  • Get a patent at the Patent Office:  Ms. D will provide patents and product approval to students as they report to the Patent Office.
  • Receive $100 Start Up Money, Set Up Budget:  Each student receives $100 in start up funds from the bank. They will keep track of their spending in their journal or in Excel (may be easier in a journal, as we don’t always have a computer available during building time.)
  • Purchase Supplies: Go to Ms. D’s store, and she will provide you with supplies at a cost. Menu of costs is on the whiteboard. Please do not buy new things for this project. If you bring crafty items or recyclables from home, please show them to Ms. D for price determination. Using scissors, markers, pencils, glue sticks you own, and storage boxes is free. Hot glue guns, tacky glue, hole punches, and special cutters can be rented for a flat fee on the menu board.
  • Make a prototype: Build a prototype, show it to peers, and receive feedback. Also, get it approved by the patent office. Make adjustments if needed, as per the ADST design cycle.
  • Make more product!  Start mass production so you can sell it at MACC MALL.
  • Advertising and Packaging:  You will need some ads to help sell your product, and you may want something for your display. Creating these comes out of your budget. Set a price that is a whole number under $10.
  • Sell your items at MACC MALL:  We will have multiple classes come through. They will receive 10 tickets each, and each ticket represents $1.
  • Did you make a profit?  Similar to Cookie Mining, did you make a profit?
  • REFLECT:  After the process, write an eport entry to reflect, and Ms. D will respond with assessment.

CRITERIA — Students will be able to:

  • Use communication skills with the Patent/Building Permit Offices, fellow MACC Mall Participants, Ms. D’s Store, and their partners successfully to get their needs met.
  • Apply the ADST design cycle, which includes brainstorming/ideating, prototyping/creating, and adjusting ideas as needed before you get to the final product.
  • Keep an organized budget and make independent decisions successfully to not go beyond their $100 start up and to try and make a profit.
  • Apply financial literacy and math skills in that budget successfully.
  • Use creative and critical thinking skills to think about their potential audience of consumers and to create a product that appeals to that audience.
  • Communicate about their product using visual media of their choice and writing conventions effectively.
  • Reflect on the experience, relating MACC Mall to our understanding about how humans use a variety of tools and systems to get their needs and wants met.
  • Participate in MACC Mall independently without production help from home, finishing the majority of construction in the classroom so Ms. D can comment and help with the process.

WHEN IS THE PRODUCT DUE:

We will try to finish the products by end of May, but Ms. D will also monitor production and set an appropriate date for MACC Mall with classes when we are closer to completion. (We can’t have a store without finished products!)