Term Three Overview, Spring 2022
To tie the big ideas from our curriculum together into larger, enduring understandings,
we studied subject areas through the lens of universal, conceptual themes.
Unit Title: Getting Our Needs and Wants Met!
Concepts: INTERDEPENDENCE & SYSTEMS
Core Competency Focus: Critical Thinking
Unit focus statement:
Humans create a variety of systems and tools to get their needs and wants met.
Unpacking NEEDS and WANTS — Socials/Science:
Students completed a brainstorm of their own needs and wants, then shared it in small-group discussions. We expanded the list by reviewing Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, and then identified systems humans have created to fulfill basic needs and to provide social-emotional support for communities.
To get needs and wants fulfilled, we use a lot of renewable and non-renewable resources! What are they? Which ones do we use the most? How do they get to us? Are there problems with our use of resources? Students did a scavenger hunt in their homes, and we concluded minerals are used more than any other resource to make the things we use!
Through the TED-Ed Earth School program online and the Orcas Footprints Sustainability Book Series, students read articles and watched videos designed to prompt discussion about sustainability, such as how many resources are used to make smartphones, the environmental and health costs of using plastics, and agricultural practices to support food security for everyone.
We also talked about the inequitable distribution of resources in the world — why some countries are richer than others, and why 1% of the population in many countries has 99% of the wealth.
To understand how this problem relates to the concepts of systems and interdependence, we discussed economics, quality of life, government, and the geographical, political, and cultural factors that can impact a nation’s wealth and overall well being.
We played a game called the International Game of Trade, in which groups of students pretended to be countries of varying levels of wealth in the world, trying to make and sell products (paper shapes) in the world market (our classroom), selling them to the World Bank (a set of students serving as bankers!)
We had students serve as observers so afterwards we could have a discussion about the inequity of resources in the world, how supply and demand work, and how this game relates to real world economics.
We discussed a lot in this unit, and each student did some individual research on a topic of interest. See their e-portfolios for more of their thoughts on topics such as economics, geology, and sustainability!
Minerals, the most common resource! -Science, Socials, LA, Art:
If minerals are used more than any other resource in our homes, how do we find them? What kind of scientific knowledge is required to find all the building blocks of items we use? We were all surprised by the number of minerals used in everyday items, such as toothpaste, drywall in our homes, toilets, paints, and electronics.
To better understand this, we started at the beginning. First, what is the difference between a rock, a mineral, and an element? What are the different types of rocks? Where would you find them? What are the geological processes that create the minerals we need? Students read Geology of the Pacific Northwest on EPIC to learn about the basics of geology.
We discussed the rock cycle, plate tectonics, the geological history of British Columbia, and how geologists make careful observations to determine the land’s story. Who knew the Rocky Mountains were once under the ocean? Did you know we have volcanoes very near to where we live? Why is the rock on Vancouver Island different from that of Vancouver Mainland?
We had two virtual visits from UBC’s Pacific Museum of Science, discussing the history of the Earth and how to classify minerals. We read Old Rock is Not Boring, and reflected on how every rock has an amazing story! We did hands-on looking at rocks, using testing of minerals, as students tried to figure out the names of rocks and minerals in Ms. D’s personal collection, where they came from, and how they formed.
Ms. D presented activities designed to help understand how the periodic table is related to geology; the difference between an element and a mineral; how the rock cycle involves changes in matter through physical and chemical forces such as erosion, heat, pressure, and the bonding of elements; and how rocks form out of cooling liquid magma. We also created our own crystals as we discussed forms of matter, solubility, and saturated solutions. We learned how the cooling process of hot magma results in the formation of crystals.
As part of our discussions about solubility, we pretended PEEPS (weird marshmallow treats available in April) were taking over the planet, and that the PEEP Elimination Council had asked us to destroy them using only household materials.
We brainstormed things that could easily dissolve PEEPS! Ms. D took everyone’s ideas, put volunteer PEEPS into solutions, and we recorded the results!
This experiment led to great discussion about what things can break down chemical bonds to make a solid turn into a liquid solution. HEAT is very effective! Also, PEEPS are made of proteins (gelatin), so we discussed which chemicals would be more likely to break down proteins.
We also had the opportunity to go on a fun field trip to Britannia Mines, where we did gold panning, learned the history of a copper mine in British Columbia, watched demonstrations about tools used for mining in the past,
discussed the rock cycle, and discussed how they clean the water from the mine so the remaining copper in the mountain doesn’t seep out and contaminate the ocean.
To continue our mining and sustainability discussions, students did cookie mining, seeing if they could find chocolate chips, make a profit in their mine, and do the proper reclamation of the site to be environmentally responsible!
Congratulations to Division 5 for amazing questions and discussions after our experiments. I think we have many future geologists in the group!
In connection with our science, students created superheroes or villains based off of an element from the periodic table, using their research about the element to give their character special powers! They then created art pieces and short stories about their characters, using writing conventions, editing skills, conjunctions, dialogue, and transition words we had discussed in class.
ECONOMICS & MACC MALL — Math, ADST, Socials, Career Education:
Financial literacy was the key focus of our numeracy studies, which connected well with discussions about resource management, wealth, and economics.
Each student pretended they were living on their own and brainstormed all of the things they would have to pay for independently! They received a job assignment with a salary, and they had to create a monthly, personal budget, taking into consideration rent/mortgage, electrical bills, wifi costs, transportation, food, taxes, savings, and incidentals. Many students experimented with MS Excel for the first time and used it to present their budget information.
As part of understanding money, we discussed proper notation, currency exchange, and why currencies are different between countries. We talked about taxes, both those taken off of salaries and those paid at stores, and how those monies are used to pay for services we enjoy at each level of government.
We also talked about how bank accounts, credit cards, and debit cards work, discussed loans/mortgages, calculated interest, learned the meaning of inflation, and talked about how current events are impacting everyone’s finances.
Students were given opportunities to practice adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing decimal money amounts, according to their grade level, and we discussed percentages and how they work when giving a tip at a restaurant or reading ads about store discounts.
Finally, students participated in MACC MALL, in which they were given $100 start up cash, started their own business, used ADST skills to design a product, and then sold it with pretend ticket money at MACC Mall to 6 other visiting classes from Suncrest. It was great fun and hands-on financial learning!
PHE, French, and Other Fun Activities….
And, along with these many activities, we also continued our physical and health education through Body Science Workshops with Saleema Noon, collaborative games, Jump Rope for Heart Day, Sports Day, and movement breaks outside while doing our projects.
Students also enjoyed fun activities such as the French Cafe Competition we had before break, Green Thumb Theatre’s Presentation, the Scholastic Book Fair, and another field trip to Rocky Point Park to celebrate end of year!
ADST is really all year long…..
The year was full of opportunities to use the design cycle, which includes defining a problem, ideating, prototyping, testing, making, and sharing.
For example, students:
- presented and organized ideas using Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint,
- formed their own business and created products for MACC Mall,
- made board games to show learning about human body systems,
- applied geometry and measurement knowledge to create a tiny house model,
- participated in Hour of Code and designed interactive cards using Scratch,
- experimented with making electrical circuits through Scrappy Circuits building,
- collaboratively designed Rube Goldberg machines and marble roller coasters,
- described their design process using e-portfolios and picture documentation, and
- demonstrated a willingness to work with new materials, to collaborate with others in developing ideas, and to safely store tools and technologies used.
Independent Project —
Curricular Competencies Across Subjects AND Career Education:
By end of January, most students had selected topics for independent study. They were allowed to select any topic as long as it was something they sincerely cared about!
During each project this year, we developed curricular competencies to help with a successful independent inquiry.
These skills can be found in almost every aspect of the curriculum, including career education, social studies, language arts, science, fine arts, and applied design. Here is a summary of some areas we address through Independent Project:
- Understanding passions and making a commitment to pursue personal interests
- Project management, goal setting, and meeting deadlines,
- Self-management as they monitor their time during open work periods,
- Asking questions that further an inquiry, including open and closed questions,
- Documenting and organizing research through notes and a bibliography,
- Searching online effectively, including finding reliable and safe resources,
- Using critical thinking to analyze resources and summarize findings,
- Communicating findings in writing and through public speaking,
- Applying creative thinking by sharing results through a variety of media, and
- Reflecting during and after the process of researching and creating, independently thinking about successes and areas for future growth.
Thank you to all of Division 5 for their amazing work this year, and to our parents and staff for attending the presentation of their projects.
Our independent projects from 2022 can be found on this page, with a selection of the digital portions of student in-person presentations from June 15th.
As we finish the year, we will be continuing our studies in a shorter unit on….
Unit Title: Explain the World
Concept: ORDER
Core Competency Focus: Creative Thinking and Communication Skills
Unit focus statement:
Humans use their senses, creativity, and the arts
to observe and to explain the natural world.
During May/June, we have been or will be discussing:
- 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
Thank you, Division 5, for a great 2021-22 school year! Please see our e-portfolios for more details on the activities we have done.
