Category: Assignment Info

Hello Everyone,

As we continue our unit on the Nature Connection, here is a summary of what we are doing for Language Arts, which is intertwined into all of our activities:

• Latin Words: To better understand our discussions around taxonomy and the classification of animals in science, we are studying Latin prefixes and suffixes, which are often used in scientific terms. They are also useful for gleaning the meaning of words we don’t know, as Latin is the root of the English language. There are tasks in each student’s binder, and there was class time given to do the work. Ideally these are completed by Tuesday, May 16th end of day.
• Descriptive and Figurative Language: As we go outside for our walks and discuss our connection to nature, we are working on being descriptive with our vocabulary. In class, we have done some exercises in our journal to begin this journey. We are using the book Rip the Page to do poetry writing explorations, designed to get our creative imaginations flowing. We will also learn about figurative language such as personification, metaphor, and simile, as well as forms of poetry including free verse, tankas, quatrains, and ballads. Each day we will try to do 1-2 different activities.
• Poetry Journal: Students will store these poetry explorations in their journals and then select some to be put in an artistic presentation. More to come on the options for completing this, but in the meantime, students are collecting their poems each day in their journals.
• Skeleton Tree: We will be discussing how one can survive in nature, and the relationship between people and the land, through the novel Skeleton Tree. Students will use the Question, Answer, Response method as we read, which encourages them to think of deeper questions and to notice details while reading. We will do this together as a group, then students will produce a brief e-port book report.

More details to come about specific assignment details and due dates. This is just a summary of what we are doing.

Thank you,

Ms. D

Hello Everyone,

We are doing some research on indigenous organisms of British Columbia, to be more connected to the place we live in.

Our purpose in doing the research is to become familiar with the organism, to practice finding information about classification, and to also have details we can use to make an art project, which will be part two of the project.

I provided a list of BC organisms (plants, animals, and fungi), and everyone chose one to work on. Everyone is working on a different organism so we can broaden what we find out as a class, and information can be shared with all of us about the biodiversity of B.C.

First, do some research on your organism, after you have read the background handout I provided on the ecoprovinces of B.C.

Answer these questions in your journal:

1.  What is the scientific name for the organism?  (Latin name)
2.  How would we classify the organism?  (Kingdom, Phylum, etc.)
3.  Where would we find the organism in BC?  (biome, ecoprovince, ecosystem, towns, areas)
4.  What are some of the unique adaptations and characteristics of your organism?
5.  Is there an Indigenous name for your organism? Any Indigenous stories you can find about your organism?
6.  Is there a use for your organism by other organisms including humans? Do Indigenous Peoples of BC have a use for it?
7.  Is the organism an autotroph or heterotroph? How specifically does your organism get its energy?
8.  Does the organism have a relationship with other organisms (symbiotic, parasitic, etc.)?
9.  Is your organism a consumer, producer, or decomposer?
10.  How would I identify this organism in the wild if I was looking for it? What are its key features to look for?
11.  Is this organism endangered at all? Are there any problems it has currently?

 

Please put the notes from these questions in your journal. You do not need to write all of the sources of the information, but do make sure you use legitimate websites and be critical thinkers about whether your resources are good ones! Part two to come after we do this research!

This research is due May 19th, Friday, so we can move on to the next step.

 

Ms. D

As a reminder, please USE your journal and your notes from our discussions to help. In addition,  you have been given readings in class which are in your binder, and there is the Biodiversity in Crisis book we read in class.

This e-port is due next Wednesday May 17th.

Title:  Nature Connection May 10th

Questions:

What does it mean to be abiotic and biotic? Provide examples of each.

How do we know something is alive? What are the criteria?

What makes an ecosystem healthy and how is interdependence part of that?

What is a keystone species? Give an example.

How do we classify organisms?

Why do we classify organisms?

What does the word biodiversity mean and why is it important?

What are autotrophs and heterotrophs?

What does it mean to be sessile and mobile?

As we design an artificial intelligence to do classification of organisms, what are some things that can interfere with getting accurate results? (discussed during workshop)

Why are the sacoglossan sea slug and red tree coral a bit harder to classify as a plant, animal, or fungi?

What is a consumer, producer, and decomposer?

Where does the flow of energy come from in an ecosystem?

What are the other cycles beyond a water cycle in our Earth systems?

How is biodiversity in crisis? Please provide examples from the book in class.

 

 

Thank you for making an e-port entry in your child’s e-port blog! They have created the questions, and here they are:

TITLE:  Parent E-Port for Student Led Conferences

QUESTIONS:

1.  How do the rumblebots move forward?

2.  What was your questions on the wonderings board and what type was it?

3.  What are the gerbils names?

4.  How were the sculptures made?

5.  What strengths did your child say they had on their resume?

6.  What kinds of breaks can you take on the break board?

7.  What did we make in the Reaction or No experiment?

8.  What molecule did you create at the molecules station?

9.  What was your favourite part of student leds and why?

Hello Everyone!

Independent Project Presentations are June 12th! That time is coming up soon, so we are moving into the next phase of our preparations. Here are the next steps:

1.  NOTES TO MS. D:  Notes should be done at this time. Clean up your notes and save them to the link Ms. D will email you for “One Drive Independent Project Notes and Documents”, or show them to me if you have them in your journal. As discussed, taking notes and documenting your research is a major part of your mark for this project.
2.  FINISH PRIMARY RESEARCH:
   1. If you did a lab experiment, make sure you have done a write up for it using the scientific method.
   2. If you conducted an interview, create a document with the questions and answers from it. Include your interview in your bibliography.
   3. If you did a visit or observation of something, then document it with pictures and notes in a MS Word document.
   4.  If you did a model or project, take pictures of the model as it is being developed, and document your process with a reflection in MS Word.
3.  BIBLIOGRAPHY:
   1. Today we went over how to do a bibliography and how to document a book, website, encyclopedia, interview, image, or graph.
   2.  Please go through your notes and begin to put these into a bibliography on MS Word.
   3.  Don’t forget to use a hanging indent.
   4.  Label the bibliography BIBLIOGRAPHY along with the TITLE of your topic and your NAME.
   5.  Bibliography entries are presented in alphabetical order, from A – Z.
4.  PRESENTATION:
   1.  We brainstormed presentation ideas in class. There are many options.
   2.  YOU MAY NOT MAKE A POSTER. I will not be giving out posterboard for this project. But, you can make anything that will easily stand on a table. We don’t have enough wall space or locations to hang posters.
   3.  You can have a trifold, but it is not required. Trifolds are not available at the school, but there are options at dollar stores, Staples, and Michaels. It isn’t required to spend money on one, though. Find some big pieces of cardboard, bend it into three sections, and we can cover with large paper found here at the school.
   4.  Your project needs something visual to look at and something to read.
   5.  Your project display will include a copy of your bibliography (not your notes.)
   6.  People like to interact with things when they visit you — your experiment, handouts, a game, a slideshow on PowerPoint, pictures on your trifold, a model, etc.
   7.  If you create a handout such as a word find, crossword, ZINE, brochure, please do it in black and white, and Ms. D is happy to make copies for you so you can hand them out to everyone who is coming. Deadline to request photocopies is June 8th in the morning.
   8.  Space provided during presentations will depend on how much you have for stuff! So, you may get a small individual desk, or a half table, or have to share a table with others. We will work out logistics of that as soon as I see what people have created.
   9.  You may use a laptop or iPad if you have a slideshow or PowerPoint. Your PowerPoint can have research written in it, but do not have it as the only way to communicate information to the public, as it won’t get read on presentation day.
   10.  Any item you make, take a picture of it and label it. Ms. D will be asking for any digital items you have to post on the BLOG to share with the public beyond our in-person event.
   11.  Supplies. Request supplies ASAP from Ms. D so she can help you get what you need to make this project happen! I have art stuff you can use, and the school has paper. We just don’t have trifolds.
5.  Reflection and Marking:  After your project is done, you will post an e-port entry about how it went for you, in class on June 13th. Ms. D will then respond to that e-port with comments about how the project went for you. I have a general rubric for the project to share with you, but we have talked about key criteria:
   1.  Must have documented research notes
   2.  Must show questions you have asked
   3.  Must have a list of resources and a bilbiography showing you spent time on the project, worthy of the research time you have been given since end of January
   4.  Must have primary research option
   5.  Presentation must include some writing and visuals
   6.  Project must have a completed reflection, where you talk about what went well, what you learned, and what you would do for the next time.

Time will be given in class, but now is an important time to ensure you have time carved out at home to work quietly on things you may not be able to finish in class. Please bring things to class you are working on, as I will be giving you class time, and you need something to work on!

Do not do the entire project at home, as then I cannot see you have done the work yourself, and you will be bored or distracting others during our project work periods.

I look forward to supporting you with this event and presentation!

Ms. D

Hello Everyone,

Even if you did not do the watershed visit, you can still do these questions, as they deal with what we learned about the water cycle over the last few days.

Title: Our Connection to Water

Questions:

Explain briefly (one sentence per part) what the key parts of the water cycle are. Use scientific words. Make sure you include the new word we learned about the role trees play in the water cycle.

What is a watershed and why is it called that?

What are the three watersheds our drinking water comes from?

How does the GVRD keep our watersheds protected, and why?

What is turbidity and what causes it?

Why is the water safe for you to drink from the tap in the Greater Vancouver area?

If our water purification and delivery system didn’t exist, and you needed to find your own water like people did long ago, where would you take water from in order to ensure it was the most clean? Why?

Why do we need to conserve water, since there seems to be so much?

What advice would you give to someone during the summer months to conserve water?

Why would it be important to protect the animals and plants of the watershed?

What kind of animals and plants did you learn about on our trip, or that you know live in the watershed area?

Think about one thing you learned about at the watershed. Do a bit of research on it, and tell me more about it! (Need ideas? Witch’s Butter, Moss and First Nations, Bears and Marking Territory, Kingfishers, Monitoring of Watersheds, Albino salmon, mycelium and trees)

In connection with our current unit and our discussions around the critical thinking core competency, we will be having DEBATES on topics of passion in class!

This is also a great follow up to our discussions about how to write a five paragraph argument (done before winter break), ethics (during our problem-solving unit), and using evidence to make arguments (making sure to say our becauses!) It is also an opportunity to practice writing, research, and speech-making skills.

What are the steps?

• Each person has been given a partner to work with, and together they will form a mini debate team.
• Each two person team has met with another team to decide a topic to debate. We have several different topics being debated in our class.
• The four students will write a statement that serves as the affirmative side of the argument.
• Then, the debate teams of two will begin by outlining for themselves some of the key argument areas they could make, on both the affirmative and negative side of the argument.
• Students will do research to support both sides of the argument, taking notes in their journals. Divide up each page into four sections. Record quotes from the research source, who said it, the name of the source (such as Time Magazine, CBC) and the year. Do not use something older than 2020 or that does not have a date.
• Then, each of the two people on a mini team will decide who is writing the positive/affirmative speech, and which one will write the negative speech to introduce the debate. Both people are responsible for turning in a speech to me. Partners can help one another with evidence for either speech.
• When it is time to debate, Ms. D will flip a coin to decide which side each team will be on, affirmative or negative. Then, we will debate!

What is the format of the debate?

• Team Affirmative will present their 5 Paragraph essay speech supporting the debate statement. (5 minutes – one person from the team)
• Team Negative will present their 5 paragraph essay speech opposing the debate statement. (5 minutes – one person from the team)
• Pause, where partners make quick outlines of counter arguments and evidence they can use against the points made by the other team.  (10 minutes – both partners work together)
• Team Affirmative presents counter arguments against Team Negative’s opening statement. (2 minutes – the person who did not do the big speech)
• Team Negative presents counter arguments against Team Affirmative’s opening statement (2 minutes – the person who did not do the big speech)
• Pause, where partners make quick outlines of concluding arguments and evidence (5 minutes – both partners work together)
• Team Affirmative makes a final argument (1 minute, either partner)
• Team Negative makes a final argument (1 minute, either partner)

Even though each partner may have a different amount of speaking time, partners will work together to gather evidence and to make counter arguments.

If we have time, some teams can debate twice, as we have some groups of four with the same topic.

What is due to Ms. D?

• Each partner needs to turn in an edited, five-paragraph speech, including evidence to Ms. D.
• Ms. D would like to see the evidence cards you have made in your journal.
• Each person participates in the debate.

How do I do well on this project?

• I can use my critical thinking skills to create logical arguments, and back them up with evidence from my research.
• I can document my research in my journal, along with the source of the information.
• I can present my arguments in a clear way, using a five paragraph essay format as practiced in class. I can create a thesis that states my position and then provide evidence and points that help persuade the reader about my point of view.
• I can write paragraphs with a proper indent, introductory sentences, and concluding sentences.
• I can use proper conventions and edit carefully for capital letters, punctuation, and transition words.
• I can present my information aloud to the class using appropriate volume, expression, enunciation, and eye contact.
• I can listen to another team’s arguments with respect and then respectfully respond, debating the issue calmly and clearly.
• I can understand a debate does involve one side or the other having a stronger argument, but that this doesn’t mean I am in a competition to beat another person. Sometimes a decision has to be made between two sides, but it is possible both sides did a great job. I can show I understand a debate is supposed to be a fun way to have a discussion about a topic.
• I can express congratulations to both sides of debating teams, be kind to my partner, and acknowledge the great job the team against me has done.

When will we have the debates?

We will be working on these over the next two weeks and will set a debate time by April 19th, giving enough class time for research and writing.

Thank you and please let me know if you have questions. We went over a lot of this today in class.

What is this project?

As part of our studies on media, we have been analyzing what the parts of a news story are, as well as identifying the steps a reporter takes to create an interesting news story for the public.

Everyone will be creating their own news reports for our own paper Suncrest News!

We have been talking about this assignment for a bit in class, but here are some concrete details if you didn’t catch them during our discussions.

What are the steps?

1. Your audience is “students at Suncrest.” Choose a topic. We already brainstormed topics and assigned one to each person.
2. Brainstorm ideas. Who will you interview (you need to interview two people)? What observations can you make? What research will you need to do? What pictures will you need to take? What data or math numbers can you gather for this article? How might you use present the information (graph/chart) alongside the article? Detailed information, a picture, and numbers are required for the article.
3. Begin the research and gathering process. Record your findings in your journal under two journal pages called “News Report Notes.” Take pictures using an iPad, or with a device at home if needed. Make sure you have access to your photos at school by saving them in your email or on One Drive.
4. Do interviews. Before doing the interview, make ten questions. Show them to Ms. D. You may need to do interviews at recess or lunch, especially if it means getting perspective from other Suncrest students.
5. Begin writing. Use the handout “Writing a News Report,” as well as any news reports you have seen online and in print, as a guide to writing all of the parts of a news report. Make an outline for your article first (a list of what you will talk about) and then begin drafting it in your journal or on the computer. Remember, it needs to have all the parts of a news report, and a minimum of five paragraphs of information. We did a practice and an edit of that practice report already in class.
6. Begin drafting it in your journal or on the computer.
7.  After you make a rough draft, make a final copy. Make sure to edit it by reading it aloud. Have a peer also edit it carefully for you. Fix any errors.
8.  You can use the tools available on Microsoft Word, to begin the layout of your article. Make sure you think about spacing, the format of the headline versus the body of the article, pictures you want to include, and any charts or graphs that may be helpful.
9.   Share your article. Share your report with me so we can share it with the community.

What are Ms. D’s expectations?

• I can choose a topic for my news story that is of interest for my intended audience.
• I can use critical-thinking skills to gather factual information for my news article.
• I can conduct interviews with students or staff to gather information for my report.
• I can create my story using all of the key elements of a news report.
• I can express my ideas clearly in writing, editing carefully for conventions, and using complex sentences, conjunctions, and transition words.
• I can use tools such as interesting vocabulary, an appealing layout, numbers/charts/graphs, props, or an expressive voice to better communicate my ideas and catch the audience’s attention.
• I can share ideas about my local community in a news story format.

When is it due?  April 11th end of day.

 

We are going to take a look at these on the afternoon of Wednesday, March 29th, and you can continue looking at them at home as you would like! Some of the videos we already discussed in class can be found on the Ted Ed link.

Burnaby Schools Digital Citizenship Web Quest

Data Defenders Game, play on a laptop

Media Smarts Cyber Security Quiz

Media Smarts Reality Check Game

Media Smarts Food Advertising Coco Game

Common Sense Media Google Search Tips for Students

Common Sense Media Digital Passport

/https://www.easybib.com/guides/10-ways-to-spot-a-fake-news-article/

Burnaby Schools Learning Web Resources

Easy Bib Ten Ways to Spot a Fake News Articlei

Ted Ed Media and Journalism Resources

Common Sense Media What is your digital footprint?

Science Buddies Creating an MLA Bibiliography Guide

Easy Bib More complex MLA Bibliography Details – not required, but a challenge for some

 

Hello Everyone,

If you were absent for the presentation today, please get notes from the journal of a friend, as Ms. Lalonde spoke today about a lot of great things we need to know as we move forward in the unit.

You should be able to answer the questions below even if you were not here if you check in with a person from class, as I wrote the notes on the board for everyone, and we went over it together after the presentation, as well. Let me know if you don’t understand a question or need help.

E-Port Title:  Visit from Journalist Theresa Lalonde, CBC

Questions:

What are the six things a journalist needs to consider as they decide the topic for a news report or article?

How is ethics a part of being a quality journalist?

When you write an article or news broadcast, what is something that will make your writing POP and get the attention of the reader or viewer?

What are the three main objectives of a journalist — what do they do?

What does civic engagement mean?

Why do people put fake news out there?

What does a journalist do to ensure they are not sued for libel?

What does a news producer do?