Category: Assignment Info

Hello Everyone!

For science today, we are talking about how animals receive migration cues that tell them when it is time to travel. There are external cues (photoperiod, shifting seasons, food/water availability) and internal cues (fat reserves, circadian rhythms).

Please watch the following videos to find out the external or internal cues for each animal. Record your answers on the handout so we can discuss! All videos are created by National Geographic and are available on YouTube. A couple have ads, so just wait patiently, as they are short.

Wildebeest Migration

Red Crab Migration

Monarch Butterfly Migration

Sockeye Salmon Migration

Sperm Whale Migration

National Geographic Animals Migration Videos Collection

If you want to learn more about animal migration, here are some other videos to watch at home. This may help you to choose an animal that migrates, as everyone will be making a Puppet Pal presentation on one!

National Geographic The Greatest Animal Migration (43 minutes)

National Geographic Masters of Migration: Sandhill Cranes  (2:16)

National Geographic Epic Migrations in Yellowstone (2:35)

National Geographic Tundra Swans Migration (3:03)

The Atlantic Revealing Patterns of Migration in Motion

All About Birds Watch Migrations of 188 Birds

The Economist 1843 Out in the Blue Migration Patterns of Animals in Ocean

National Geographic See What Birds Are Going Extinct

Globe and Mail Study Shows Human Activity Affecting Animal Migration

Nature Animals Worldwide Stick Closer to Home Because of Human Activity

YouTube Global Animal Movements Based on Movebank

National Geographic Half of All Species Are Moving and We Are Feeling It  (April 2017)

Not enough? Then, put in the search terms “National Geographic Migration” plus the name of an animal you are interested in into YouTube’s search bar to see if National Geographic has a video for you on that animal.

Enjoy!

Ms. D

Hello Everyone!

Today, we began discussing making a persuasive speaking presentation about the machine, technology, or innovation you believe has been the most influential on humanity and the world. The influence it has had on us can be positive or negative, but you need to prove it is the most impactful on human existence.

The invention or innovation can be from any culture or time period. Please let Ms. D know what you will be doing.

We will go over all of the following criteria for the PowerPoint in class, but here are the details for everyone!!

During this project you will:

• Work solo this time!
• Do not do work over the holiday break — time will be given in class this week, and the week we return from break. Your homework for break is to read, play in snow, and support and love your family! (SERIOUSLY, don’t work on this during break!!!!)
• Please do research using at least 5 resources, either books or the Internet.
• You will create a minimum of 12 separate slides. One with a title, one with a bibliography of your resources, and 10 to answer the questions provided below.
• You need to discuss the positive and negative impacts of your machine or technology on humans and the world. Be specific.
• Each slide should have a subtitle at the top, a picture, and a one sentence comment at the bottom that will give us an idea of your commentary about the machine or technology. It is a good idea to make the subtitles match the questions I have asked you to answer.
• On separate paper,  create a commentary script for each slide that you can use to make a presentation during the slideshow. Use different words than the one sentence you used for the comment on the slide.
• Write commentary that answers the questions, please!
• Edit carefully, reading aloud as you look for conventions and flow of your sentences.
• Share your PowerPoint, Script, and Notes with the teacher.
• Practice saying your script out loud so you can present it to the class.

Questions you need to answer. Use these to guide your notes and the slides:

Slide 1:  Title Page with name and date.

Slide 2:  What is the machine or technology you plan to discuss? (Define it, tell its parts, where we would find it, what it is made of)

Slide 3:   How is this machine or technology used? (Who uses it? Where would I see one being used?)

Slide 4 and 5:  How does the machine or technology work? (Break down the science of how the thing works!)

Slide 6 and 7:  When was the machine or technology invented? What is its history? Who invented it if we know?

Slide 8, 9, 10:  Why is this machine or technology the MOST influential on humanity and the world? What are the positive impacts of this machine or technology? What are the negative impacts of this machine or technology?

Slide 11:  What is a summary of your key points on why this machine or technology is the most influential?

Slide 12:   What is your bibliography of resources? Put them in a list in alphabetical order.  For websites: List name of website, name of article, and the date (no URLs or website addresses/links)  For books: List book name, author, date of publishing.

Criteria / Try to Use:

• Persuasive language to convince us this machine or technology is the MOST influential,
• Specific examples of how the machine has made a big positive or negative change in the lives of humans,
• Pictures on each of your slides, and well-edited, one-sentence commentary underneath,
• A well-edited script, with transition words, conjunctions, and complex sentences, that flows well when read aloud,
• Different commentary in the script than on the slides. Use the commentary on the slides to begin the conversation, but don’t read it to us,
• Specific facts about where the machine or technology comes from that show some effort and research,
• Notes organized using the question/answer approach we have been using in class (do notes online in case you need to share them with Ms. D when we are not in class together),
• A presentation with expression, volume, eye contact, and enunciation. Well practiced prior to presenting, so you know when to pause for slide changes and don’t have to look at your paper the whole time.

Please do not use:

• Emoticons, cartoon pictures, or clip art,
• Lots of text. Follow instructions for commentary on slides,
• Fancy transitions that increase the overall time of the slideshow,
• Pictures that have any copyright symbols or writing on them,
• Goodbye slides. If you want a slide at the end, simply say “Thank you and Questions?”
• Black, red, neon colours that are hard to look at,
• Tiny or curly fonts no one can read,
• Jokes in the middle of your PowerPoint. You are trying to prove a case. Convince me. Be professional.

The PowerPoint and Digital Notes will be due (shared with Ms. D) no later than January 19th. We will be deciding in class if we have time to present them aloud. If not, we will post them on the blog for everyone to see, and everyone will need to send a script to me. If we present them aloud, no scripts are needed.

Thank you!

Hello Everyone!

In connection with our unit concepts of CREATIVITY and CHANGE, we are creating timelines to better understand how technology has changed over time due to constant human innovation.

Students are working with a partner, and they have chosen a topic to focus on.

It is important that we understand we are looking for human innovations in our timelines. For example, if you are looking at communication as a topic, then we are looking at the history of innovations, technologies, and tools that have been used for communication.

There is an example of a timeline hanging in the classroom on the topic of TRANSPORTATION. Please use this as a model to better understand how to create a timeline.

Here are the instructions and criteria list for the project, which we already talked about in class:

1. Choose a topic. Brainstorm the related words to your project topic, so you can better find information online and in books.
2. Use the books provided in the classroom or the internet.
3. When using a book, use the non-fiction features we discussed, such as the table of contents, index, key words, headings, and captions, to find info more quickly.
4. When using the internet, make sure to use some of the key words you brainstormed, not just the name of your topic. Ask for help if you need it!!
5. Take notes and record your sources in your journal. Please use a minimum of 4 sources.
6. Write down key ideas in your own words, as you will better remember what you learned. Don’t just copy.
7. Check sources for quality as we have discussed in class. Is the website from a business and has lots of ads? Who wrote the website? What is the ending of the web address (use .edu, .org, .gov for example)?
8. Do research independently, then come together with your partner to exchange notes and to discuss. Decide on 20 dates in time you would like to represent on your timeline.
9. Ms. D will give you 4 sheets of 8.5″ x 14″ legal paper. Each partner will take two, as well as 10 of the dates. Create your half of the timeline. We will connect all four sheets together to make one large timeline at the end.
10. Timeline can go horizontal or vertical. You can decide how the line will be drawn on the paper.
11. You need an illustration for each date.
12. You need a 1-2 sentence description for each date. Descriptions can be typed and glued on the timeline, or handwritten in pencil, then done in fine liner so we can see them. Writing needs to be large enough to fill the space and be visible to others when it is hung up for display.
13. We will hang our results up for everyone to enjoy!

I CAN statements from the curriculum content and competencies that you will find on your assessment rubric:

I can find information for my timeline from a variety of sources and document my research in notes, recording key ideas and sources.

I can choose specific dates for my timeline and write descriptions of 1-2 sentences that show an understanding of how my specific technology or human innovation area has changed over time.

I can communicate using clear writing and edit for conventions of spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

I can use illustrations to communicate further information about each of the dates I chose on the timeline.

I can demonstrate an understanding and appreciate of evidence by looking through a variety of sources as I research.

I can sequence events on my timeline appropriately to show the positive and negative aspects of change in human innovations over time.

I can show knowledge of different types of machines and technology that have been created by humans to serve a specific purpose.

Due Date:  Dec. 10th, Friday, end of day

Questions? Ask 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 Wednesday, December 1st 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. This can sometimes be very difficult, so I would avoid pulleys, as they often are tedious to set up so that they work well.

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!

We have been talking together about germs and pathogens, and what we can do to keep the body healthy!

To further explore this area, with a partner of their choice, students will do some research on a disease of their choice. Here are the guidelines for choosing and researching a disease:

• It needs to be a communicable or non-communicable disease, not a condition/disorder.
• Your choice needs to be approved by Ms. D before starting research.
• The disease needs to be one that you would be more likely to get due to personal choices (nutrition, hygiene, exercise, etc.) so you can talk about how not to get the disease.
• Please look on the Articles of Interest on the blog for website suggestions, or use legitimate websites per our discussion in class.
• If you can’t understand an online article, and it has too many vocabulary words you can’t understand on your own, then maybe use a different online source that is at your reading level.
• If you have questions about whether a website is safe or legitimate, please ask Ms. D.
• Keep notes in your journal using our note taking chart method.
• No formal bibliography is needed for this presentation, but I would like you to record where you found your notes in your journal, such as the website name, book title, or article title and author.

What do you need to find out about the disease? Each of these things can be one slide in your PowerPoint presentation, for 10 slides total:

• Introduction: Name of the Disease, and your name as author
• What is it? Does it have more than one name?
• How long have we known about this disease? Who discovered it?
• What causes it? Is there a specific virus, bacteria, or pathogen that is involved? What does the pathogen look like under the microscope if one is involved?
• What are the symptoms of the disease? How would I know I have it? What tests would have to be done to find out?
• Who usually has the disease?
• What treatments or cure are there for this disease?
• How can I prevent getting this disease? What specific lifestyle or personal choices will help?
• Summary Slide, 5 key points or takeaways you want everyone to remember.
• Concluding Slide, “Are there any questions?”

We will use PowerPoint to do this project: For many grade fours, this is a new presentation method. For grade fives who were with me last year, the focus this year is to make your slideshows more aesthetic and effective. We will focus on how to use fonts, colours, pictures, and organization to make them more effective! We will then present our PowerPoints to the class using a script. Here are the criteria for this assignment:

• Please do 10 slides for your presentation as described above.
• Share the responsibility with your partner. Each of you can do either the intro or the last slide, and then split up the other 8 slides. Have one person create the PowerPoint and then share between you using One Drive.
• Don’t edit any slide that isn’t your own to do. If you have input on your partner’s slides, make sure you talk to them first.
• Use the rules of collaboration to work together!
• Use one of the set themes in PowerPoint for your slides.
• Each slide can have a title in size 14/16 font, and then information in size 12 font. Use Arial or a similar clear writing for your font. Ask Ms. D if you aren’t sure.
• Use bullets and shortened phrases to present information, not paragraphs. Do not use too much text. People will be listening to you present information. So, use illustrations and short phrases of key information only.
• Put a picture on each slide. Pictures need to be related to what you are talking about, not silly pictures, smiley faces, or cartoons. Do not use pictures that have copyright marks on them. If you don’t know how to tell, you can ask Ms. D.
• Do not use emojis. At all.
• Avoid using really bright colours such as red, yellow, or bright blue for text. Keep text in dark, easy to read colours.
• Don’t use a black, red, or orange background, as this can be hard to look at.
• Don’t have a last slide that says, “Bye!” or “Thank you for watching!” It can say “Are there any questions?” and have a picture related to your presentation.
• Make a script for your PowerPoint with what you would like to say for each slide. Don’t just repeat your bullet points. Add information here.
• Limit your whole presentation to 5 minutes or less. Share it with your partner. Practice in front of someone. It does not need to be memorized, but it does need to be well practiced.

We will decide a definitive deadline together later this week, but our target date is Nov. 1st.

Hello Everyone!

We have been having excellent discussions about NUTRITION!

We have talked about:

• The key food groups you need for balanced nutrition,
• How what we eat can affect our brain health,
• The role of fat, fiber, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients in our body’s systems,
• How to read a nutrition label to make healthy food choices, and
• How our gut acts like a second brain and has a microbiome that is important to our overall health.

Here are some videos you can watch that we watched in class:

• Ted Ed How the Food You Eat Affects Your Gut
• Ted Ed How the Food You Eat Affects Your Brain

Now, we are helping one another do some further research. Rather than investigate ALL of the nutrients out there, each of us is taking on the research for one. We will then produce a poster to share our information with one another.

For the research, students need to take notes and to find out the following:

• What is the nutrient?
• Where would I find the nutrient? (In which foods?)
• Why do we need this nutrient? Do we absolutely need this nutrient?
• How much of this nutrient do we need?
• What is the nutrient used for in the human body?

After finding out the answers to these questions, students will produce a mini poster. The poster will be done on blank 8.5 x 11 paper, which Ms. D will provide, and it needs to have the following:

• A big title in the middle or at the top, which has the name of the nutrient.
• Bubbles on the poster with key facts about the nutrient.
• Some illustrations to help us better understand the nutrient.
• An aesthetic presentation — coloured pictures, fine-lined words (which were done in pencil first), straight lines (use a ruler), and a nice layout (not too crowded on the page and using up the whole space.)
• Readable information. If neatness is a concern, one option is to create the words with MS Word and then cut them out to put on the poster.

This mini poster is not meant to be a long project, just a mini research opportunity while we do a series of other experiments related to germs and microscopic stuff in our body!

Poster is due no later than Thursday, October 21st.

Hello Everyone,

Division 5 students have been doing a great job investigating the human body through hands-on body stations, reading, watching videos, and class discussion. We have lots of great questions already about how the system of the body works!

We are discussing the Universal Systems Model and how every system has an INPUT, PROCESS, OUTPUT, and FEEDBACK. We are identifying the many INPUTS our human body system needs to work correctly, such as sleep, exercise, good nutrition, and balance. We will continue these discussions over the next few weeks.

Part of taking care of the human body SYSTEM is making good decisions. We are talking about what we have control over in terms of personal choices that will help us grow, learn, and feel better each day. If you want to make a good decision, how do you do it? Maybe you have to consider the DATA, to find out if the input into the system is a good one. Or, perhaps you need to find out if a certain OUTPUT/OUTCOME is more likely based on your investigations. This is all connected to our math discussions about data and probability!

If you missed these recent videos shown in class, here you go!

Real Science Circulatory and Respiratory System

Ted Ed The Benefits of a Good Night’s Sleep

Now, we will work on the Human Body Corporation!

Today, we worked on why and how you would write a business letter. Everyone wrote a sample letter to prepare for doing our first assignment with a rubric — Human Body Corporation!

Each person will choose an organ to represent in the human body. If you haven’t chosen one yet, please let Ms. D know which one as soon as you can.

As a body organ, we will pretend you are an employee of the Human Body Corporation.  Due to recent cost increases, the Human Body Corporation needs to fire workers.  Uh oh! You might lose your job! You need to write a letter to the Human Body Corporation explaining why you are very important to the human body and should not be fired!  In your letter, you need to describe to the Corporation the following characteristics of your organ:

• Tell what the name of your organ is and where you are located
• Identify what systems of the body you work with
• Describe how you work with these systems
• List the other organs that work with you in your system
• Describe your main functions or jobs as a Human Body organ
• Tell the Corporation how you perform those functions or jobs
• Tell the Corporation why you are important and why they should not fire you
• Explain what might happen to the Human Body Corporation if they fired you

You will need to use a proper BUSINESS LETTER format to write your letter.  After writing the letter, you will read your letter to the Human Body Corporation (the rest of the class.)

The letter notes and draft can be in your journal. We will use laptops to type out the final version.

You may use the book resources in the classroom to find out information that supports your position AND include this evidence in your letter.  You can also use Internet resources, and we have a list of websites, on a USB that we will share with you, that may help.

Along with your letter, please have a visual aid ready to show, which will be a piece of blank paper with a picture (drawn or found on the internet) labeled with all the important parts of your organ.

Remember, I showed you a business letter sample in class, and it had specific parts to be included:

1.  Addresses and dates
2.  An opening/greeting with a colon
3.  No indents
4.  A first paragraph introducing yourself, who you are, and what you are asking of the Human Body Corporation
5.  A second paragraph really pleading your case about why you are important. If you need two paragraphs for this, it is okay. Remember to avoid big blobs of text. The Human Body Corporation is busy and likes to read its information in quick, easy-to-digest parts.
6.  A final paragraph summing up what you have said and thanking the Human Body Corporation for being gracious about reading your letter.
7.  A closing (Respectfully, With respect, Sincerely)
8.  A signature

The Human Body Corporation looks forward to hearing your case!

Ms. D

Hello Everyone,

Today we went over some French weather expressions using the following websites. You can use them at home to practice.

French Weather Expressions – French With Alexa

Weather Expressions

Basic Weather Expressions

Lesson 35 Weather in French

Weather Song

BBC Bitesize French Weather Expressions, Some Beginning, Some Advanced

More Advanced, Previous Experience Only, Weather Listening in French

Weather Vocabulary and Games

French Matching Weather Vocab Game

Advanced Only – More Weather Expressions Specific to French

As part of a fun in-class assignment, you and a partner will need to do a dramatic presentation of weather expressions.

• You and your partner will take turns saying, “What is the weather?” in French. And then you will doing the same by each responding with a type of weather. You can use the basic expressions we cover in the videos.
• For the type of weather, you will need to come up with a funny costume to show the weather to the audience. The funnier the better.
• Please use 8 different types of weather.
• Write down the expressions you need on index cards.
• You need to practice, of course, so the costumes can be changed easily and the presentation is not too long, but you don’t need to memorize it.
• Keep this presentation to 5 minutes or less.

Ms. D will create a rubric for the assignment, and it will have these “I CAN” statements:

• I can communicate basic weather expressions in French, doing my best to use accurate pronunciation.
• I can use volume, expression, and enunciation so the audience can hear me.
• I can use creative thinking to come up with costumes that communicate the types of weather.
• I can work collaboratively with a partner to create and to present a script.
• I can use personal awareness to ensure I practice ahead of time so my presentation is no more than 5 minutes and runs smoothly.
• I can approach language learning with enthusiasm and an open mind.

Advanced French Speakers: We will try to partner together those who have prior French experience, and they can make expressions that are more complicated. Use the advanced websites for ideas.

Due Date:  We will try to finish these during the weeks of June 15 and June 21. Most work making the script can be done in class, and practicing can be done at home in front of a sibling or family member.