Category: Articles and Unit Connections

Space Station / Living Module Prototype

Hello Everyone!

So, as we discussed in class, we are pretending to be NASA engineers and we are going to design our own spaceships! No, we won’t be able to make the actual thing, but we are going to start making some cool prototypes in big building session on Friday.

What are the steps of building something? Well, as you remember, the steps of the engineering design process are:

  • ASK: What is the task? What are the challenges? Are there requirements or limitations? What do we know already?
  • IMAGINE: Brainstorm possible solutions & consider design options.
  • PLAN: Choose the best design. Draw a picture. Figure out what materials to use.
  • CREATE: Build it based on the plan! Test it out! Ask questions along the way!
  • IMPROVE: Modify it to make it better and test it again!

Our question? What kind of spaceship will we need to survive and to travel in space? What features will we have to build into our prototype that will ensure our survival?

Investigate! Here are the questions we need answers to in order to plan our prototype, as brainstormed by you in class. We need to do some research! There are books in class and internet sites found in the articles of interest under the “Arts and Sciences” unit. When you find an answer to a question, we are collecting answers in our brainstorm on the board in class. 

  • How will we supply oxygen to those people on the ship?
  • How will we feed ourselves?
  • How will we defend ourselves? (And from what?)
  • What eco-friendly materials could we use?
  • How will we prepare food?
  • How will we store water and how will we drink it?
  • How big of a spaceship do we need?
  • What storage will we need, and for what?
  • How will we protect ourselves from radiation?
  • What technology will we need on the ship?
  • What kind of shields will we need?
  • What is the purpose of our ship?
  • How will we take off from Earth?
  • What will we use to control speed?
  • What materials can we use that are asteroid proof?
  • What kind of fuel will we use? Where will we store extra fuel?
  • Where will the bathroom be?
  • How will we get rid of our waste?
  • What will we have for entertainment and exercise?
  • What kind of rocket will be needed to get us into space?
  • What shape does the ship need to be?
  • How much money is all of this going to cost?
  • What will we do if we encounter aliens?
  • What will we do if we get sick? What medical supplies do we need?
  • How do we get power for the spaceship?
  • How will we take care of garbage? Can we re-use things?
  • Will we have solar energy?
  • What kind of communication devices do we need?
  • How will we deal with the lack of gravity?
  • Anything else we haven’t thought of??????

Good luck space engineers! We will be finished with this short building activity by Tuesday.

Ms. D

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

 

New Unit! Our Human Creations

Hello Everyone!

Now that we have finished our first unit on SYSTEMS, we are moving on to discussing the concepts of CREATIVITY and CHANGE!

UNIT TITLE:  Our Human Creations, Running Mid-November to Mid-January

CONCEPT:  Change and Creativity

Unit Focus Statement: We use creativity and knowledge together to make innovations that change our world.

An Inquiry Into:

  • Our learning and use of creative thinking or creativity
  • The design process and being a “maker”
  • The impact of technology on humans over time
  • Scientific forces and mathematical thinking behind our creations
  • How innovations make change
  • Change in our lives, perspectives, thinking, and abilities
  • Indigenous technologies and their connection to us
  • How we can share our creative thinking with one another and the community

Some of the Specific Topics Covered In:

Subject to change or additions as we go, as needed!

Science: Simple machines, Work, Center of Gravity, Technology, Early Indigenous Tools, Deciding which machine has had the greatest benefit/use, making catapults, creating hydraulic devices, Rube Goldberg devices
Socials:  Technology and Society — Positive and Negative Impacts, History of Technology, Timelines, Critical Thinking About Our Technology Use, Creation of a Timeline, Debate on Impact of Video Game Use on Children
Math:  Deeper Conversations around multiplication and division, Use of scientific formulas from physics around work and rate/distance/time, Basic Variables/Algebra, Area/Perimeter, Tiny House Creation, Math Used in Creating Buildings/Skyscrapers through the book “You Do the Math: Skyscrapers”
Language Arts: Creative Writing, Careful editing, use of non-fiction features in books to do research, organizing notes for research, using key words for internet searches
Applied Design: Design Process steps used in the creation of catapults, “Perfect Square” structures, as well as discussions around how creative thinking can be learned or measured.
French: Selection of one French-speaking country other than France and looking at history of how it came to have French-speaking peoples. Use of French Games. net for French Vocabulary on Greetings and Other Basics
Arts:  Maker Projects, Spindle Whorls and Coast Salish Art Forms, Creative-Thinking Challenges, and continued talk about elements and principles of art.
Physical Education and Health: Brainstorming together creative options for cooperative play on the playground. Creating our own games for outside play to share.

The Nature Connection – New Unit April – Early June

Hello Everyone!

Time is flying, as we are already into our second week after Spring Break! We are finishing up our last unit, as students prepare their newspaper articles and broadcast news reports. We hope to finish and present these within the next week, as soon as students are ready. Rubrics have been sent home for the commercials students completed before break, and I am gradually going through all of the e-port entries on science experiments, so look for those soon.

We have also jumped right in to some of our next unit, exploring our connection to nature. We will be doing this unit from now until June, while simultaneously giving more time for independent projects. Here are some details!

Unit Title:  The Nature Connection

Unit Focus Statement:

Human beings impact and rely upon the balance of nature’s interdependent systems.

Concepts:

Connection (main focus), as well as Systems and Patterns.

An inquiry into:

  • Our relationship with nature (mental health, survival, needs, recreation)
  • Biomes, biodiversity, and interdependence within ecosystems
  • How human interaction with the environment can affect the balance of systems
  • Earth’s water supply
  • How the moon, sun, weather, and tides affect our lives
  • The role of questioning, exploration, close observation, and documentation in science
  • The definition of science and the role of indigenous knowledge
  • How we express our connection to nature through poetry and art
  • Geometry and patterns in nature
  • French basic vocabulary and nature/weather expressions

Activities and learning to look forward to:

  • Virtual field trips —
    • Lower Seymour Watershed
    • OWL Sanctuary
    • Stanley Park Ecology Society River Otters Workshop
    • GREEN Workshops on Water and Recycling
    • Bamfield Marine Science Centre Seaweed Sensations & Oceanography
    • Burnaby Art Gallery Coastal Waters Art Workshop.
  • Daily participation in The 30-Day Walking Curriculum Challenge (from SFU Professor Gillian Judson and her book called The Walking Curriculum) for April/May, honing critical thinking, observation, documentation, and questioning skills.
  • Daily participation in The Walk 30 Burnaby/New West Walking Challenge starting May 13th, recording our minutes daily in a community contest.
  • Discussions around geometric shapes and patterns found in nature, symmetry, and Fibonacci.
  • Continued practice of grade-level math curriculum through nature-inspired, real-life math problems in the books Planet Earth, Animal Kingdom, and Ocean Math, among other resources. Students will work independently and at their own pace on these using the book resource in EPIC, while also coming to me for small-group or individual instruction as needed.
  • Research on a specific organism in our local environment, understanding its name and classification, whether it is endangered and why, what it is used for, what local Indigenous cultures know about it, and how it is connected to our own lives, then producing artwork to represent findings.
  • Walking to Everett Crowley Park to look at native BC plants used by indigenous peoples for healing and food.
  • Growing our own plants in class through hydroponics.
  • Mapping our local environment of plants and creating plant samples like a botanist using pressing techniques and art.
  • Discussions about the water cycle, water health, the harm plastics are doing to our waters, ocean acidification, using a variety of games, an ocean pH lab, and interactive challenges.
  • Class reading and analysis of the book The Skeleton Tree, which will connect to discussions of survival techniques in nature, such as how to use a compass, how to find edible food, etc.
  • Discussions of figurative language and poetry, which will lead to us creating our own mini poetry journal and an oral presentation of a poetry monologue about nature.
  • Creating models of our ideal outdoor play space for ADST.

And much more! Please continue to watch the blog and Twitter for more information on what our class is doing. More information to come!

Ms. D

Introducing Math Tasks, Starting on Monday, October 26th

 

Hello Everyone!

Over the last few weeks, we have been exploring conjectures, counterexamples, patterns, and proofs, which are some of the STRUCTURE and foundation of mathematical thinking.

During our discussion of conjectures and theorems such as the KOCH CURVE, SIERPINSKI’s TRIANGLE, and PASCAL’s TRIANGLE, we have practiced our critical thinking! We are getting better at approaching math challenges with two key questions in mind: What do I NOTICE? What do I WONDER? 

We have also been talking about taking risks, digging deeper in our thinking, and taking MORE time to really investigate patterns, rather than speeding through or being satisfied with the first, immediate answer!

So, now, we are moving forward. I have given everyone a series of tasks to investigate the STRUCTURE of numbers, as well as the STRUCTURE of our mathematical thinking. We will be applying and learning about grade-level curricular content and competencies in math, while also using critical-thinking skills to talk about game and math-learning strategies!

The tasks involve BRAIN CROSSING — in other words, doing traditional math, but while also playing games and analyzing them, making visual representations of math concepts, creating a math rap, answering math questions online and in a book, and more. The more we cross between subject areas and skills, the more concepts are cemented in our brains. Plus, it is hopefully more fun!

The tasks are in a handout in their binders. The minimum amount for PROFICIENCY will be to finish the YOU DO THE MATH task as well as four other tasks of their choice by November 13th. But, I have a high expectation that everyone will be doing more than that, so students will definitely be encouraged to do more if they have time.

Students have a lot of choice and can complete tasks in any order. Depending on how they feel, they can work with a partner at a large table, or choose to sit alone for a bit at a private desk. I hope it will provide everyone with the appropriate level of engagement they need to explore our math curriculum with depth and complexity. If anyone needs help with the questions, I am here to guide and to teach students one-on-one.

Websites to explain the games, as well as more complex topics, are available under “Math” in the Articles of Interest.

I will give time in class each day and all games and tools are available in class. Some tasks can be completed at home, if catch up is needed or a student is sick, using online resources on the Articles of Interest, Math section of the Class Blog.

PLEASE: Unless a student is absent, or I direct everyone to do some math tasks at home, students need to be doing most of the work at school. They can take the tasks/binder/journal home, but they need to return to school each day. Thank you for your support with this.

The tasks allow us to investigate math content and curricular competencies across subject areas. For example, as they work together or alone, students will be able to:

  • Practice and discuss elements of good learning and work habits
  • Use critical-thinking skills to obtain information and mathematical understandings
  • Exchange ideas and build shared understandings about the math content.
  • Integrate language arts and math, using language in creative ways to express math understandings.
  • Answer critical-thinking questions, ask questions of their own, corroborate inferences, and draw conclusions using evidence.
  • Collect simple data to provide evidence about their thinking
  • Use graphs and venn diagrams to make comparisons and organize the data.
  • Develop mental math strategies and abilities to make sense of quantities (Magic Number activities, Sumoku game, Quirkle).
  • Visualize to explore mathematical concepts (Quirkle, Blokus, Venn Diagrams)
  • Use technology to explore mathematics (iPad videos, Math is Fun website, Domain of Science YouTube Channel, and more.)
  • Develop, demonstrate, and apply math understandings through play, inquiry, and problem solving.
  • Communicate math understandings in many ways.
  • Work with addition and subtraction, multiplication and division, and multiples and factors according to their abilities and grade level.
  • Explore patterns found in numbers and how they can be represented both visually and numerically.
  • Investigate number concepts such as types of numbers (irrational, rational, integers, etc.), number lines, prime and composite numbers, and more.

Enjoy our math tasks!

Ms. D

Our First Unit for Fall 2020: It’s All in the Design

Hello Everyone,

Students have already begun thinking about our first unit! Here are some details about how a unit works.

  • We have five units during the year, followed by an independent project.
  • Units are trans-disciplinary and conceptual in nature, meaning all subjects are connected to one another through a key concept area. Concept areas are taken from universal themes, identified as key organizers of learning and life by researchers throughout the world.
  • Units have a title and a unit focus statement. We post the unit focus on the board so we can refer to it and think about how our activities are related to proving or elaborating upon the statement.
  • At the beginning of the unit, we go over the areas of inquiry and subjects that will be discussed so students understand how subjects will all be integrated and connected.
  • Questions are encouraged about the unit, and we post these on our Wonderings Board.
  • Unit work involves both learning activities and projects designed to show our knowledge. The unit is also ended with checking in questions to ensure everyone understood the content presented.
  • We use our journals and e-portfolios to record our thinking from the unit, so all of our thoughts can be found in one place.
  • The blue binder holds all subject handouts for this unit as well as notices for you. It stays in the backpack. We will clean it out at the end of each unit.

Here are details about our first unit of the year:

Title:  It’s All in the Design

Concept: STRUCTURE

Unit Focus Statement:

The structure of something is designed to serve the needs of the user.

Areas of Inquiry:

  • Where we find structure (buildings, organizations, hierarchies, nature, body systems, etc.)
  • Anatomy and function (looking at the eye, skeleton, animal skeletons and how they are designed to serve the animal along with other adaptations)
  • Using shape and form in art (elements and principles/sculpture)
  • Strong structure in architecture (geometry, shapes, measurement, etc.)
  • Structure in how we approach mathematics learning and communication of complicated number ideas
  • How science knowledge is related to structure and design choices (matter, chemistry, energy, forces)
  • Effective writing structure for communicating ideas (parts of speech, sentence structure, paragraphing, interesting words)
  • The structure that supports a community (government, community resources, class community and personal responsibility/awareness)
  • Where French is spoken in the world and the structure of a bilingual country like Canada

There will be more to come on the specifics of each subject area, as it arises in our work. Subject areas listed above are directly related to curricular content and competencies for this grade level.

I look forward to unpacking this exciting unit!

New Unit: The Way We Move!

Hello Everyone,

This past week, we began a new inquiry unit called The Way We Move!

Unit Focus Statement: Migration is a response to challenges, risks, survival, and a natural need to explore.

Concepts: EXPLORATION, IDENTITY

Core Competency: Positive Personal & Cultural Identity

Areas of Inquiry:

  • The nature of exploration
  • The reasons people move throughout the world
  • Human migration and its impact on Canada, indigenous cultures, and the world
  • The similarities between humanity and other animals as related to migration
  • Our own personal and cultural identity as a result of migration
  • Biomes of the world
  • Geography and maps
  • Personal narrative writing as related to identity
  • Tiny House Math Projects (Area, Perimeter, Multiplication, Division) related to what is most important to us
  • French Country Mini Project, as well as ongoing vocabulary learning

We look forward to….

  • Doing exploration of our identity, of our outside spaces, and more through the use of careful observation and documentation skills
  • Studying migratory birds and other animals, tracking their journeys and reporting about them in Puppet Pals
  • Writing mini stories designed to strengthen our idea-generation strategies, paragraphing, dialogue writing, and conventions
  • Making mini bird feeders for our playground trees
  • Creating a class map of our own family’s migration paths
  • Interviewing community members about immigration stories
  • Doing a group research timeline on how we all came to be in Canada, then writing mini monologues to present some of the key figures and events from our history
  • Making a Quilt of Belonging piece representative of our Cultural Background/Identity
  • Reading and analyzing books/stories related to immigration and refugees
  • Discussing immigration policies in Canada, and then making our own immigration policy for a made-up location
  • Doing activities and games related to multiplication, division, and geometry skills
  • Creating our own dance exploration and sharing with peers in PE
  • Finishing our Spindle Whorls, technology debates, and mini research on one of the indigenous groups of BC

Plans may change depending on time and other events going on at the school. We will do as much as we can in February and early March, and finish this unit before we go to Spring Break, or just after we return. Next unit will be on NEEDS and WANTS, talking about resources, geology, economics, trade, and more. Our independent project research and work will be ongoing from now until June.

More to come!

Ms. D

New Unit Dec./Jan. and Year-Long Curriculum Information

 

Hello Everyone,

As communicated in the parent orientation and via the blog earlier this fall, we are continuing with our conceptual-based units throughout the year.

These units integrate all subjects and connect directly to the B.C. curriculum, whether through the big ideas, content, or curricular competency skill areas. The units also integrate curriculum from both the grade 4 and 5 years.

Given MACC students are with me for two years, I have created a program that runs over two years and does not repeat in terms of content. We do repeatedly practice skill areas, as they need practice for longer than just one year. Some skill areas they practice all the way through high school, too!

Our schedule for the year goes like this:

Term 1:  
Unit 1 — Concept SYSTEMS, unit integrated around health and human body

Term 2:  
Unit 2 — Concept CHANGE/CREATIVITY, unit integrated around technology/maker things
Unit 3 — Concept EXPLORATION, unit integrated around people/animal migration

Term 3:
Unit 4 — Concept STRUCTURE/ORDER, unit integrated around resources and needs/wants
Unit 5 — Concept CONNECTION/PATTERNS, unit integrated around space, stories, myths
Unit 6 — Independent Project (process happens throughout term 2 and 3, with presentation in June for the public)

For Term 2, here is our unit we began two and a half weeks ago! 
See my Twitter feed for pictures of work we have already done so far!

Unit #2:  Our Human Creations, December – Mid-January

CONCEPT:  Change and Creativity

Unit Focus Statement: We use creativity and knowledge together to make innovations that change our world.

An Inquiry Into:

  • Our learning and use of creative thinking (from the core competencies)
  • Change and the design process
  • Tools we can use to change the depth of our reading and writing
  • Scientific forces and mathematical thinking behind our creations
  • How innovations make change
  • Using technology to learn or to create change
  • Change in our lives, perspectives, thinking, and abilities
  • How we can share our creative thinking with one another and the community

Some of the Specific Topics Covered In:

Science: Simple machines, Work, Center of Gravity, Technology, Early Indigenous Tools, Deciding which machine has had the greatest benefit/use, making catapults, creating hydraulic devices, Rube Goldberg devices
Socials:  Technology and Society — Positive and Negative Impacts, History of Technology, Timelines, Critical Thinking About Our Technology Use, Creation of a Timeline, Debate on Impact of Video Game Use on Children
Math:  Deeper Conversations around multiplication and division, Use of scientific formulas from physics around work and rate/distance/time, Basic Variables/Algebra, Area/Perimeter, Tiny House Creation, Math Used in Creating Buildings/Skyscrapers through the book “You Do the Math: Skyscrapers”
Language Arts: Creative Writing, Careful editing, use of non-fiction features in books to do research, organizing notes for research, using key words for internet searches, reading of City of Ember through the use of Reading Power.
Applied Design: Design Process steps used in the creation of catapults, “Perfect Square” structures, as well as discussions around how creative thinking can be learned. Creativity research study observing how younger children work with marble roller coaster creation.
French: Use of French-games.net to do a variety of vocabulary-building, independently-paced lessons. Students will do practice and assessments in class on vocabulary lists and phrases built from these activities.
Arts:  Maker Projects, Musical Performance, Spindle Whorls and Coast Salish Art Forms, Not a Box Activity, Creative-Thinking Challenges, and continued talk about elements and principles of art. 
Physical Education and Health: Movement activities focused around the quality of movement, dance moves, where we can find aerobic activities that get our heart pumping, and the creative choreography of our own dances to music. Also, brainstorming together creative options for cooperative play on the playground.

More updates to come as specific projects are introduced! Please ask if you have questions!

Ms. D

Systems Unit Update, October 7th!

Hello Everyone!

I can’t believe we are already in October! We have been doing a lot of learning for our first unit on the concept of SYSTEMS, and here is a quick update according to subject area:

 

Socials/Science/LA:

As our unit progresses, we are learning curricular competencies around inquiry and research that will serve us well during our independent projects later in the year!

Using the wonderings board in the classroom, and the prompts that Ms. D likes to call the “jar of inquiry,” we are learning how to ask deeper questions. We have a variety of great questions already posted on the board. Students have been encouraged in their e-ports to take one of those questions and do further research, which can be posted in a new e-port entry. Ms. D and Ms. B will also look at the questions to inform discussions in class. The best research starts with well-thought-out questions!

As we learn about the personal choices we make that help the human body, or as we do research for projects on organs and diseases, we are also learning how to take notes, how to watch videos and write down key ideas or vocabulary, how to document our resources, and how to choose appropriate websites. Ms. D and Ms. B have also chosen a variety of websites for students to use, and there are boxes of unit-related books in the classroom from our Suncrest and District libraries.

Finally, we are learning about time-management and communication skills as we try to use our time effectively during class, use alternative spaces to work so we aren’t distracted, take breaks independently (because this helps us to focus), use fidgets to help with sensory movement needs, and communicate to others, both peers and the teachers, about our needs. 

Almost everyone has finished their rough draft of the Human Body Corporation letter, having done research on one organ and writing a business letter to prove why their organ is essential and should not be fired! We went over the basics of paragraph writing, and Ms. D wrote a business letter together with the class on the projector, so we all understood how to break up our thoughts into at least 3 paragraphs. Our goal is to work on adding descriptive words, more complex structure, and transition words to our writing during our upcoming writing activities with Ms. B. Everyone is also typing their letter, learning how to access One Drive and to share documents with teachers on that system. All letters will be done by Thursday, October 10th.

We also started our conversations about microbes and pathogens by watching a cool demonstration online to better understand the size of the tiny organisms that can make us sick. You can view this at home. We also talked about the different kinds of cells of our body, the parts of cells, and the genetic information in our cells. Next week? A strawberry DNA experiment and talk about scientific lab procedures.

We are all looking forward to our field trip on Friday, October 11th to Science World! Please do show up on time that day so we can load the buses promptly at 8:50 AM. We will be attending a Digestion Show in the middle theatre, then an IMAX “Human Body” video, having lunch, and then going through the general exhibits for an hour in small groups. Please don’t bring backpacks — only a lunch bag with a name on it. You will need lunch, as there isn’t time to purchase food there. We will leave at 2PM and be back to the school no later than 2:45. Thank you to our parent volunteers who are coming with us!

Science, Mindfulness, Physical Education, Health!

Ms. B discussed the structure of the brain with students this week, and everyone made brain skits to present in small groups that explained how the parts of the brain work together. We had discussions about how being mindful and breathing deeply has been shown, scientifically, to improve the connections in the brain. We are doing some activities from the Mind Up program, which teach about brain health and self-regulation strategies. This coming week, we will continue with more research about what the brain needs for maximum performance!

We also did some learning outside, taking some time for independent, mindful thinking in the natural environment surrounding our school, such as Rumble Park. Please make sure you bring a sweater or jacket each day, so you are prepared for any kind of weather, as we may go outside rain or shine for activities! We will be discussing all of the positive things we can do to improve our own personal mental health, which is an important part of our Physical and Health Education curriculum.

In gym, we are doing activities related to strength, reaction time, and endurance, and we have also discussed how doing gym means getting your heart rate up! To that end, we want to make sure that if we are playing games, we choose ones that will help us with heart health! This last week, we did a lot of sprints, discussed different ways to stretch safely, participated in group strength activities, and played virus tag in relation to our classroom discussions on microbes and pathogens. Ms. D challenged everyone to think of how we could adapt virus tag to make it even more active and fun!

Please look for a letter coming to you soon about our walking field trip to Central Park on Friday, October 18th! We will be doing a variety of nature activities and getting some great exercise outdoors.

ADST and Systems!

Last week, Ms. D introduced everyone to a new thing she learned about last Spring called Scrappy Circuits! First, we discussed the system of electricity using the Universal Systems Model. We talked about how a battery works, including that it involves a chemical reaction in the battery between a metal plate and the acids inside. Then, we pretended to be a circuit and passed paper electrons around to a student pretending to be the “lightbulb” so we could understand how circuits work! After we had the basic idea, we then built our own circuits.

To do this, we made “bricks” out of cardboard that become components of the circuit. First, we made a battery brick out of cardboard, an LED, and 3 clips. Then, we made a light brick using an LED and 2 clips. Then, we made aluminum foil connectors between those bricks or used alligator clips, to make the bulb light up! It was challenging, because we had to use a lot of patience, fine-motor skills, and problem-solving to get our circuits working consistently. If you want to do more of the bricks, you can go online to Scrappy Circuits, as everything can be made with simple items at home or at the dollar store. You can also follow their group on Twitter:  @ScrappyCircuits. Ms. D is following them, so you may see them on my list!

Art and Systems:

We have begun a longer art project to create our own PERSONAL HIVES. What are the things that help you to thrive? Who are the supportive people in your life? What passions keep you going? What places or environments help you to be the person you want to be? As part of our discussions around the core competencies of personal awareness and critical thinking, we are making a small hive of hexagons to display that represent, through mixed media, the important supports in our lives that keep our hive humming! If you want to bring any supplies from home that would add to your art, please do! We have tons of mixed media materials to choose from in the classroom, as well.

French and Systems:

We began going over the French vocabulary for parts of the body and played Simon Says in class. This involved learning the words for your and my, as well as the articles associated with each French noun. Please do practice your French at home to become more familiar with the words. We will be using a variety of resources, including handouts, online websites, songs, and dialogues to help us learn French associated with the human body. As we practice with websites, we will post them on the blog so you can use them at home.

Math and Systems:

Most everyone understands the basics behind probability now, and we are familiar with vocabulary that describes the probability of different situations such as likely, impossible, or certain. We have been collecting data about our genetic traits, games we like, and other personal details, and analyzing that data by creating graphs and finding mean/median/mode/range. We did a great activity using a ruler and dice to discuss median, and we have looked at several graphs online related to a variety of subjects, including Canadian Government, as we prepare for our Student Vote on October 16th.

We are working from a variety of resources, rather than just one textbook, given the many levels of math knowledge in the class, as well as our need to integrate math into the unit in a meaningful way. One of those resources is Probability and Statistics for Middle Grades. We will have handouts in class for further practice, such as the one we distributed Friday on reading graphs for information, which involves reading problems carefully, understanding vocabulary about data discussed in class, and using basic operations to answer questions about the data. We will be asking students to use these data analysis skills frequently, whether discussing brain science, creating their own surveys, or doing scientific experiments about germs in the school!

Other Upcoming Things and Dates:

ALL OCTOBER:  FSA Testing for Grade 4 students during class time

October 11, Field Trip to Science World All Day

October 16, Student Vote

October 17, Math Games Night 6:30 – 7:30 PM (Ms. D is looking for volunteers to run game stations!)

October 18, Walk to Central Park 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM

October 21-24, Scholastic Book Fair in the Library

October 21 VOTE! 🙂

October 22 Photo Day

October 25 Pro-D Day, No School

October 29 Pumpkin Patch — bring a plastic bag to school!

October 31 Halloween Pumpkin Carving, Costume Parade, Class Party

November 8 Remembrance Day Assembly

November 11 Remembrance Day, No School

Report Card 20-30 minute conferences between student, teacher, and parent — Dec. 2-6, stay tuned for letter in mid November

MUSICAL — last week before we go to holiday break

Stay tuned for more information about November!

Kindly,

Ms. D and Ms. B

Our First Unit! All About SYSTEMS!

Hello Everyone!

Now posted on our classroom wall is unit #1 about SYSTEMS! 

Unit Focus Statement:

Our personal choices play a role in how the interconnected system of the human body works. 

Concept Guiding the Unit:  SYSTEMS

Core Competency Focus Areas: Personal Awareness & Critical Thinking

Areas of Inquiry:

  • The nature of systems and how we participate in them
  • The systems of the body and how they work together
  • Diseases and how the body defends against them
  • Choices and personal awareness that contribute to our overall well being
  • How we gather, organize, and interpret data to make healthy choices
  • Environmental impacts on our health
  • Indigenous and world perspectives on health
  • How art and mindfulness practices are related to mental and physical wellness
  • French vocabulary and basic expressions about the human body

Learning Activities Coming Up:

  • Discussions about Universal Systems found everywhere through activities such as Roller Coaster Making and Scrappy Circuits
  • Investigations about body systems through rotating learning stations
  • Field Trip on Oct. 11th to Science World to see stage show on Digestion, as well as IMAX movie “Human Body”
  • Research on a body system of choice and writing a letter to the Human Body Corporation about why your system is the most important to the body
  • Gathering measurement data about ourselves and graphing it
  • Math from the book Math on the Job:Keeping us Healthy, practicing math used by health practitioners
  • Math games around data and probability, as well as lessons on mean, mode, and median. 
  • Discussions and labs related to DNA/Genetics (Strawberry DNA extraction), Brain Science, Immunity, and Blood Types (not with real blood!)
  • A walking field trip and activities in Central Park
  • Art activities related to personal exploration and mindfulness such as zentangling, black ink group art, and hive art.
  • Research on a Disease of our choice and presenting using PPT
  • And more to come…..!

Stay tuned on Twitter as I give daily pictures when possible related to our unit work.

Also, please be aware of the many notices going home this week and return them to school the day after you receive them if possible. If you have any questions, as always, please email me!

I look forward to the next month! Ms. Boroumand, our student teacher, will be joining us next week on Sept. 17 and 18, and then she will begin her formal practicum in our classroom on Sept. 22nd.

Parent Conferences are on Sept. 18 and 19. Please note these are conferences for parent and teacher to talk. The meetings are also very brief and back to back, so I will do my best to stay on time. I apologize in advance for using a timer during our meetings to help me stay on track! I look forward to speaking with all of you, and a notice for signing up will come out Sept. 10th, Tuesday.

Kindly,

Ms. D

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