Category: Current News

Independent Project Process — Project-Management Skills

Hello Everyone!

Independent project not only allows everyone to research something personally engaging to them, but also provides opportunities to learn project-management skills. Students will need to think ahead, find resources, document findings, and present their conclusions to the public in an interesting way. It is an exciting process that will be going on all during term three!

We have already talked about all of this in class, but here is a recap on the blog to refer to. We will be talking each week prior to presentation day about the mini goals to help keep us on track. I recommend using your agenda carefully to keep track of both unit and independent project (IP for short) work.

Independent Project Requirements:

  • Choose a topic that is personally engaging and important to you
  • Create questions to research using the wonderings board as a guide (in class)
  • Document your research, recording notes in your own words
  • Record resources and create a formal bibliography to show on presentation day
  • Use secondary resources that include online sites, books, and encyclopedias
  • Do primary research and document it in some way
  • Make a presentation to the public in an engaging, creative way (your choice)
  • Include some writing and something interactive as part of your presentation
  • Prepare some talking points on index cards prior to the presentation on June 10
  • Optional: Have a handout to distribute on presentation day

What is primary research? Here are some examples, and ask if you need help:

  • Do an experiment! Take pictures, record results, and write up your lab using the scientific method.
  • Do an interview with an expert. Create interview questions before you start, have Ms. D look them over, set up the interview, and record the results of the interview as part of your notes. Take a picture if possible!
  • Visit a location and have a new experience! Record your visit with pictures and notes. Include this information as part of your presentation.
  • Learn to do something for the first time! Learn through your research how to make or do something. Examples from past years — make an animation, create a micro controller, do a stop motion movie, make a painting, create a detailed model, or take care of a new pet! Document what you do with pictures and notes, then include this as part of your presentation.

What is required for the presentation?

  • Something visual, but it does not have to be a poster or trifold presentation. I tell everyone that doing a poster is what we are most comfortable with, but I encourage students to get creative! Having a visual can include a model, an interactive display, a set up of an experiment, a game people can play, and/or something people can see and read on a visual background display like a piece of poster board or simple cardboard display. Unlike a science fair, a trifold is not required.
  • Some writing about your project provided on a handout, a simple display, etc.
  • A bibliography that is printed out in 12 size font, with a title and your name, displayed somewhere at your station in the classroom during the presentation.
  • Index cards with talking points to help you know what to say when adults ask you about your topic. Record the key ideas you would like people to walk away with when they leave your station.

What kinds of creative displays are allowed?

  • Be creative! Models, games, taste tests, experiments, cartoons, computer displays, etc.
  • Be engaging!  People won’t read a ton of writing on a trifold. They also don’t watch long PowerPoint presentations. So, look for things people can DO and EXPERIENCE, or things in your display that you can actively talk about.
  • You can use technology. One laptop or one iPad is available to you, and we will have a sign up before the day of the presentation so you can tell Ms. D what you need and arrangements are made ahead of time. You must tell Ms. D BEFORE the day of the presentation what you need.
  • You can have handouts. Handouts for photocopying must be given to Ms. D the Friday before the presentation on June 5th. I will make a limited number of handouts for you.
  • Art and building supplies are available.  I have some cardboard, building  materials, and art supplies. Please don’t wait until the last week to ask for what you need. Also, I don’t have trifolds for people. If you want one, you will need to purchase at a Dollar Store, but it is NOT required. I can provide simple poster board
  • Be careful of size — we have 23/24 people presenting in the classroom, so we can’t all have our own table. Bigger doesn’t necessarily mean better. Just run your idea by Ms. D so we know it will fit in the classroom space.
  • Avoid water/liquids. We have had trouble in the past with anything liquid, because lots of people are in the space and water can spill. If you absolutely must have water, please tell Ms. D ahead of time.
  • Bring what you need for the day of the presentation! Serving food? Bring utensils and napkins. Need a special tool? Ask ahead of time or bring your own on the day of.
  • Need something printed? Last day to give me anything to be printed is June 5th, Friday. We can’t be dealing with the printer at the last minute. Thank you!

I am having trouble finding resources. What should I do?

  • Use communication and self-advocacy skills to speak up and let Ms. D know you need help. Ms. D will help you get on track, help you find websites, or brainstorm ways to expand your research.
  • Ms. Ho, our school librarian, is looking for resources that will be sent from high school libraries throughout the District. These books will be available in the classroom only, and Ms. D will provide you with time to use them and take notes.
  • Ms. D has sent out the topics to our Advanced Learning Team for any contacts and ideas.
  • Ask your parents for help, as well, because they may have knowledge of the topic, or be able to refer you to someone for help.
  • Go to the public library — preferably the main one — and ask the research librarian for help. Don’t limit yourself to the kids section, as some of what you need may be in the adult non-fiction area. You will need guidance, so ask for help. That’s what the research librarian is for!

How can I stay on track with this project?

  • When you receive time in class to do projects, please use the time wisely!
  • Use strategies such as taking breaks, using alternative spaces to work so you can avoid distractions, and mindful breathing — anything that helps you to stay focused during work periods.
  • Use your agenda and a calendar. Make mini goals for each week and check in to see that you have accomplished them.
  • Use the handouts Ms. D will give you, such as the bibliography example, so making a bibliography isn’t difficult for you. Ask for help if you need it!
  • Set aside at least 30 minutes after school, preferably before 8PM so you are not too tired to do work, to catch up on anything for the project.
  • Communicate calmly with Ms. D and/or your parents when you need to ask for help, feel stressed or overwhelmed, or when we ask you if you are okay.
  • It is okay for people to check in with you, because we are all here as your supports! Just because we call it an independent project means you need to do everything by yourself. 🙂

I hope this helps! There will be a rubric to come that helps us evaluate ourselves and how we used both curricular and core competencies during this learning experience. Remember, it is a learning experience! More important than the final product is the learning process. Focus on what you are learning, even when things don’t go as expected.

I look forward to working with all of you! See you on June 10th for the presentation of independent projects, from 12-2 PM.

Thank you,

Ms. D

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

Overview Term 1 Fall 2019 — Great Work Division 5!

Here is a review of the many things we did during term one! 

To tie the big ideas from our curriculum together into a larger, enduring understanding, 
we studied all subjects through the lens of a universal, conceptual theme.

For term one we focused on the concept of SYSTEMS 
in our unit BODY WORKS. 

Unit focus statement:  

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

SUNCREST CONNECTS! Let’s Make a Great Learning Community!

We spent the first two weeks creating the foundation of a great learning community! We created table map graphs to visually show how we are connected through common activities, interests, and preferences. We worked in small teams to design marble roller coasters all over the classroom, discussing both science concepts and what great collaboration looks like during projects. With the entire school community, we created a drumming performance, focusing on working as a team to make music.

 

To start our unit, we brainstormed what makes a classroom SYSTEM work well, relating it to the UNIVERSAL SYSTEMS MODEL, an important part of our unit discussions. What do we want to get out of our learning? (output) What do we need to put in to our learning experiences to accomplish our desired output? (input/process)

To better understand this, we analyzed other systems we know, such as our community and ecosystems. Then, we identified what our classroom needs to contribute to a successful system. Students made a poster of our essential agreements and values and posted it in the classroom.

Throughout the term, we focused on the core competencies of personal awareness and critical thinking, which were embedded into each activity and lesson for the unit.

 

THE HUMAN BODY SYSTEMS! (Science, Socials and Inquiry Processes, LA)

What do you already know about human anatomy? We created life-sized drawings of classmates to identify the inside parts we already knew from our many body systems. We already knew quite a bit, but we needed some more specific information.

So, we did independent investigation stations! We gathered facts from non-fiction books and online resources like Kids Health, and completed fun experiments on lung capacity, heart rate, and digestive system length.

We then pretended the Human Body Corporation was having money problems, needed to make budget cuts, and planned to fire one of the many organs in the body! After learning about paragraphs and business letter format, each student chose an organ to research further and wrote a letter to the Corporation with detailed reasons their organ should not be fired! 

Our Science World trip provided opportunities to see the Digestion Show and learn many facts, such as it takes 18-24 hours to fully digest food! We saw the IMAX movie Human Body, which provided detailed visuals on how the smallest parts of our body keep us alive each day.

We did experiments to expand our knowledge of germs and how they are spread. Students learned to use the scientific method, to gather data through careful observations, and to analyze results using math and critical-thinking skills.

We discussed genetic traits and extracted strawberry DNA, a process which allowed us to learn the role soap plays in bursting the cell membranes of pathogens. Then, we had discussions about herd immunity, vaccines, epistemology (the diagnosis of diseases), and communicable and non-communicable diseases.

Our lab on “patient zero” allowed us to see how germs are spread quickly in a group! Finally, we tested 24 sites in the school and grew germ colonies in homemade petri dishes. We made careful observations, analyzed our data, and then concluded, based on the 24 sites, that there was a 65% chance or probability of having touched a bacteria, yeast, mold, or fungus. During all experiments, we used critical-thinking to ask questions and make conclusions, and we used personal awareness to work with others collaboratively and safely.

At the end of the unit, each student chose a disease to investigate further, with the purpose of learning how to take research notes and to find information that would help them diagnose some mystery diseases presented by Ms. D.

      

SYSTEMS and Applied Design Opportunities!

To connect with our unit, we looked at the SYSTEM of an electrical circuit. We discussed how electricity moves through a circuit, how a battery works, and how electrons and chemical reactions are involved. Then, using simple parts and cardboard, we created our own scrappy circuits! It involved trial and error, fine-motor skills, and critical thinking as we solved problems to make LEDs light up!

In October, we had a visit from KidsCoding, and we discussed artificial intelligence, coding, and how to use micro:bits.

We enjoyed making games and sending messages to one another via radio on our computers! Students had to use patience, communication skills, and critical thinking to create the right series of coding steps to instruct their devices.

Food Choices & The Body (Socials, Science, PHE, Career Education, LA):

To make our SYSTEM of the human body function effectively, we need to be aware of the INPUTS we put into our body such as food. Students looked at informational graphs, watched TED talks, and listened to a variety of perspectives about good health to learn how to make positive food and environmental choices. 

This included exploring the Indigenous Health and Wellness Model to discuss holistic aspects of health, such as the relationship between good health and your connection with family and community. 

We explored mindful eating, which means having presence while eating and becoming aware of the eating experience. It involves savoring food, and through this, eating less, because you are fully enjoying what you eat. We practiced while eating fresh apple and plums, using descriptive language to record the experience.

Students brought in snacks and analyzed ingredients lists and food labels to better understand the nutritional value of processed foods.

After this, they grew delicious sprouts, which we ate during the Halloween Party! We learned that soaking beans and allowing them to sprout before eating deactivates the enzyme inhibitors found around the bean. Sprouts have vitamin C and are digested more readily once the inhibitor is gone!

With inspiration from the book GUT: The Inside Story of Our Body’s Most Underrated Organ, we learned about probiotics and the healthy bacteria in our gut biome. We made homemade Ginger Ale so we could try creating our own healthy bacteria in a tasty drink!

 

We also studied the impact of vitamins and minerals on the body. Each student chose and conducted research about a vitamin or mineral and its impact on the body. They then created informational posters with facts to share with their classmates. 

 

 

Gathering and Communicating Data in Math:

We played many probability games, read the entertaining book It’s Possible, discussed the language referring to probability, and through experiments discovered the difference between experimental and theoretical probability. This involved discussion of basic fractions, decimals, and how to find percentages. We applied this math to our germ lab to express the probability of touching pathogens in locations throughout the school. This is an example of how math knowledge can help us make personal choices that impact our health in positive ways.

We explored imperial and metric SYSTEMS of measurement, then practiced using measurement tools and metric conversion to determine how much personal space we could tolerate or different distances on parts of the body.

We used critical-thinking to think about how gathering data on measurements of the body could be used in creative ways by anthropologists or makers of clothing.

We used the NY Times Learning Network to look at different types of graphs about nutrition, climate change, and blood sugar levels. We practiced two questions to increase our critical thinking and observation skills, “What do you notice?” and “What do you wonder?” We identified essential parts of a graph and how graphs communicate data.

We practiced gathering data, whether about ourselves, genetic traits, or class preferences. We learned to analyze data using measures of central tendency such as mean, median, mode, and range, then applied these skills as we pretended to be consultants analyzing Skittles packages for a fair distribution of colours. 


Students ended the unit creating a survey about nutrition in their peers snack foods, displaying the data in a graph, and analyzing the results for patterns. 

Throughout our activities, students built skills in data management, used critical-thinking skills to present results, and became more aware of their food choices through a deeper understanding of the numbers on food packaging that tell us about nutrition.

Thank you to all of the students who helped with Family Math Games Night, teaching younger students games!



Mental Health & Self-Expression (Socials/Science/PHE/Career Ed/Art/LA):

Students explored the connection between our mental health and physical health. We started by using the Mind Up Curriculum to look at brain structure, so we could understand how the brain responds to intense emotion.

We learned the function of the main parts, including the amygdala, pre-frontal cortex, and hippocampus. Then, we created mini skits to show how the brain responds to moments of stress and emotion. We had great discussion about how it is hard to make rational decisions when one is emotional, so it is important to find self-regulation strategies to calm the brain before taking action.

We tried many self-regulation strategies in class, including daily mindful breathing, outdoor breaks, practicing gratitude, taking mindful walks, journaling, using the RULER chart to be aware of your emotional state, and using the break board to take a moment during longer work periods.

We watched the TED talk “How to Make Stress Your Friend” and discussed how not all stress is bad. We learned that managing stress and being connected with your community contributes to long life.

We also identified the different types of mental health conditions that exist, discussed the stigma involved with mental health issues, and brainstormed how to be understanding and supportive of anyone going through stress or difficulties in their life.

Spending time in the outdoors can help our mental health.
During a walking field trip to Central Park, we made mandalas with nature-found materials, did a nature scavenger hunt requiring close observation of our surroundings, and talked about having gratitude for nature, acknowledging our special connection to the land. Getting physical definitely helps our health, and we had fun doing many outdoor and indoor cooperative games for gym.


Creativity is an important tool for mental health. We practiced zentangle doodling related to mindfulness and created a large cooperative mural of zentangle designs.

We created beautiful poppy paintings for Remembrance Day, applying elements and principles of art such as colour, emphasis, and negative space.

 

We also created HIVE art, using mixed media to represent people, places, and things that bring us strength
and help us thrive.

 

 

    

 

Language Arts & Empowering Someone Through a TED TALK!

Throughout all subjects, we used language arts curricular competencies to analyze news articles and non-fiction resources, to communicate information in graphics and speeches, and to do research on diseases or nutrition. We read a variety of articles from Kids Health, learned to take research notes by identifying key ideas, identified criteria for finding appropriate resources online, and discussed ways to better present our ideas in clear, organized, and/or persuasive ways.

We learned about personal and business letter formats, and we discussed how to make a strong, organized paragraph. We strengthened our writing by adding creative vocabulary and looking for ways to express ideas in ways that inspire others. We talked about what makes an effective speech, and how to be a respectful active listener in the audience.

We also discussed how to ask more interesting questions using the inquiry wall prompts, and how to add detail to our e-portfolios to better communicate ideas and our learning.

Finally, after watching many TED talks this term, we created an inspiring TED Talk on a topic of choice, sharing personal examples and research to empower our audience.

French:

In connection with our learning about the human body, we learned phrases for basic body parts, question words, and numbers. For example, “This is my foot.” or “I have two legs.” We practiced French using songs, conversation with peers, and games of Simon Says. Students with French fluency read French articles and picture books, then wrote information about them in their journals.

Government & Climate Change:

In connection with the October federal election and our discussions on SYSTEMS, we learned about levels of government and their responsibilities, the electoral system, and how the voting process works. We participated in Student Vote, adding our votes to the national Student Vote results. We also had a pretend election in class, with speakers from invented political parties.

We discussed the impact of climate change and CO2 levels during Greta Thunberg’s visit to North America this fall. We also read and analyzed readings from the news about the Students Global Climate Action Strike.

Music:

Students had music with Ms. Fletcher 3 times per week. The Big Idea for term one was: Music is a unique language for creating and communicating. Students worked on developing music skills – beat, rhythm, tempo, pitch, dynamics and form through playing percussion instruments and xylophones, creating dances, and learning songs to present at the winter musical. We look forward to their performance on Dec. 18th!

Putting Learning Together in a Creative Way!

We ended the term synthesizing our knowledge of SYSTEMS and showing our understanding of how personal choices impact the human body through the creation of a fun game to play with peers.

Students had a lot of fun using applied design skills to create unique and interactive games!

Overall, it was an amazing term. We thank Ms. Boroumand, our student teacher, for bringing her knowledge to Division 5 and helping us to learn so much about physical and mental health. 

Students completed self-reflections, and we are looking forward to having our Learning Conferences to make goals for term two!

Unit Update November 12th! Coming to the end of the term!

Hello Everyone,

In addition to the email we sent you with deadlines for the mini projects we are doing, here is a quick update on some of the things we have been doing in class.

Math

In the past few weeks, we have continued to explore measures of central tendency and graphing, using Smarties as our research tool. We had a quiz this week to assess our understanding. Ms. B will be checking in with some students this week who need to do a re-take of the quiz, just to ensure they fully understand the material. We have also started a graphing project to explore food and eating patterns in the class, as well as to explore the nutritional value of different foods. Students have had to configure and conduct their own surveys, make a graph based on their survey findings, and write a paragraph explaining what they surveyed, why they chose to use the graph that they did, and what patterns they can see. This project will be due on Friday, November 15th, although we will be checking in with students to see how they are doing time-wise this week.


Physical and Health Education

In the past few weeks, we have continued to explore concepts related to physical and mental health. We have explored Indigenous perspectives on holistic health and how to understand food labels and nutritional facts. Students made their own vitamin and mineral-rich mung bean sprouts. These sprouts were a healthy alternative option at the Halloween party.

We had a class science conference, during which students explored the many roles of beneficial intestinal bacteria. The conference concluded with students making their own natural probiotic ginger ale.

Students are now working on making a poster to inform others about one vitamin or mineral, why our bodies need it, and which foods contain it. By the end of the upcoming week, we will have 24 different vitamin and mineral posters for all to learn from. These posters are due on November 15th, Friday.

We have also explored the benefits of listening to music and connecting with friends for our mental health. We took a walking trip to Central Park to explore the benefits of spending time in nature for our mental and physical health.


Language Arts

In the past few weeks, we have been working on writing our own personal TED Talks, focusing on a topic we are passionate about, related to mental and/or physical health, personal awareness and responsibility, empowerment, or another related topic. Students have all finished their first drafts, and some have also revised these drafts in preparation for their presentations on Thursday and Friday, November 14 and 15. In the coming week, students will be practicing reading their speeches to their peers and giving each other feedback on how to improve their speeches before their presentations.


French

In the past few weeks, we have explored how to say and talk about parts of the body in French. Students each had an oral check-in. They will find out how they did on their check-in next week, and have a chance to upgrade. We will be moving on to learning about how to say different foods in the coming week.


Science

Students are using the scientific method to ask the question, “Where would the most likely spot to pick up a germ in the school be?” Each group chose 2 locations in the school to test, taking a Q-Tip to collect the sample and then spreading the sample on homemade petri dishes of agar agar, beef broth, and sugar. Students have been making daily observations with both pictures and words to document the changes. We will be looking carefully at our samples for colour, shape, and texture changes that would indicate whether the location had germs (bacteria, yeast, mold, fungi). We will collect our results as a class to determine which location has the greatest likelihood of germ pick up using probability, fractions, and percentages from our math discussions earlier in the term.


Art

Students made amazing poppy art through the use of emphasis, careful observation and drawing, charcoal, and acrylic techniques. They have taken pictures of their art and are reflecting on how they applied these techniques to create a beautiful final product. They are also finishing their HIVE art, and there will be reflections on the e-ports by Friday, November 15th, with explanations of what each of the personal hexagons mean.

Music and Other Upcoming Things!

Music for the rest of the time until break will be dedicated to the musical preparations, and many students are auditioning for speaking roles today and tomorrow at lunch. Those in the choir are meeting on Thursdays at lunch to also prepare for their role. As a class, we will be making art to help decorate the gym and provide the festive atmosphere for SNOW BIZ! Please submit your ticket orders by this Friday and mark the date of the performances on your calendars.

Holiday Preparations have been discussed during class meetings. The students wish to have a Secret Santa exchange, White Elephant gift game, and a class party. A committee has been formed to organize our party and everyone is welcome to join committee meetings advertised in class. All of these things will happen during our last week.

Away Early? You may miss important things like the musical, part of the next unit (as we will begin our next unit the week of Nov. 25th and be working on it until we go to break), and the holiday party. It is a good idea to tell us in advance you will be away. Report cards are not distributed until Dec. 20th, so if you leave early, please collect it from me in the new year when you return. Thank you!

Meetings for Assessment. A notice will go out this Friday to schedule a meeting for report card conferences, and it will include a parent questionnaire that will be included with the report card. Please begin to look through the e-portfolios so we can all reflect on how things went during term one.

Thank you and more to come soon!

Ms. D and Ms. B

Assessment: How Does It Work?

Hello Everyone,

While I have detailed our assessment process before, I thought it might be a good time for a reminder!

First, Ms. Driussi is hosting evening sessions during the next two weeks about how assessment is changing at the school. Please note, we will not be changing how we are doing assessment. The sessions are primarily for classes in the school that are transitioning this year to using the B.C. Proficiency Rubric, which we have already been doing in Div. 5 for the last year.

Our process to assess and report student learning to you will not change in Div. 5. So, you don’t have to attend the school info sessions unless you have a child who is in another division. Then, it may be a good idea to hear the session, especially if you are new to the school. We had a similar session in my classroom last fall when I started using the proficiency rubric.

Second, please encourage your child to complete e-portfolio posts. As you may have already seen, Ms. B and I are going through the posts and adding comments to let students know if they are on the right track. Please feel free to also comment! These posts will shape our reflections when we communicate progress for term one on the report card.

Third, in class we have been going over the words associated with the proficiency rubric to ensure we all understand them. I often say that the proficiency rubric is easier to understand, with its words of emerging/developing/applying (proficient)/extending if you create a LIFE RUBRIC. Think of one thing that you do daily. We put up posters of the four parts of the rubric on the walls in class, Ms. D said an activity, and then students moved to the part of the rubric they thought they were in.

For example, where are you on “cleaning your room?”

EXTENDING — I can clean my room independently and use sophisticated skills, some of which I learned on my own time, such as feng shui arrangements, Marie Kondo folding, organizing boxes I created myself, to clean it. No one needs to tell me to clean my room. I could teach someone else how to clean a room, and I probably remind other people to “get to it!” I even developed my own personal schedule for cleaning and posted it on the fridge.

APPLYING — I can clean my room independently and use a complete set of skills I have been taught to organize it — for example, vacuuming, making my bed, and picking up materials to put into organizing buckets I have been given. No one needs to check in on me as I am cleaning my room. I feel confident doing it myself.

DEVELOPING — I can clean my room myself with some guidance. For example, someone might need to check in on me and say, stop reading and get to cleaning! Or, maybe I need help getting the vacuum out and turning it on. Maybe I need some advice on how to fold corners on the sheets. But, I have a partial understanding of what to do and can do some of it myself.

EMERGING — I can clean my room with guidance, as I am beginning to learn how to do it. I might need assistance deciding when the room is dirty, staying on task and not making new messes while cleaning it up, or not shoving dirty laundry under the bed but instead putting it in the hamper. My parents are showing me how the vacuum works, as I haven’t done that before. My parents came in and modelled for me how to clean, so I can learn how to do it next time on my own.

**Try this at home as a discussion. Try something like — making your own lunch, making dinner, riding a bicycle, or playing with a sibling.

Fourth, students will receive rubrics for assessment. By Tuesday, everyone will have the Human Body Corporation one, for example. You will notice, we follow these steps when using a rubric or assessing a mini project:

  • Teacher will hand out a rubric and criteria to review and keep. 
  • Student can use the rubric and criteria to stay on track for the project.
  • When the project is complete, the student will do a self-assessment, indicating where they think are at with regards to the proficiency rubric. They will also indicate areas of strength and areas of stretch/improvement.
  • Sometimes a peer will provide input. The student will write down any peer feedback they feel is important to remember. 
  • Teacher will review the project and add feedback.
  • Teacher will use words associated with each level of the proficiency rubric to indicate progress AND will relate those words to the learning intention and standards from curriculum. For example, “Johnny is developing his understanding of how to apply his independent research skills.” 
  • Teacher will break down the comments into subject areas when needed, as many of our assessment tasks are trans-disciplinary.
  • Rubric will be sent home with the student for signing.
  • Parent signs and student returns with it to school so we know it has been seen.

Last but not least, we will be having a meeting together the first week of December. I will be setting up meetings with each parent and student, so we can meet together to discuss progress and make goals. Prior to the meeting:

  • Students will complete a written reflection for the report card and relate their progress to the strengths and goals they talked about on the e-portfolio.
  • Teacher will complete the proficiency rubric and comments for the report card.
  • Parent will review the student e-portfolio and complete a parent questionnaire distributed in late November and bring it with them to the meeting.
  • We will meet together for a 20-30 minute meeting before or after school.
  • Student will read their reflection, then the teacher, and the parent.
  • We will make and record goals on the report card.
  • The report, including the parent questionnaire, goes to Ms. Driussi for review and signing.
  • Student and teacher will sign.
  • Final copies of reports go home before Winter Break. There will be 2 copies, and you need to send one back to school for our file.

I hope this helps you to understand our assessment process! If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask.

Ms. D

Systems Unit Update, October 22!

Hello Everyone!

Here is a quick update from Ms. Boroumand and myself about what is going on so far in our unit.

Math: In the past several weeks, we have been exploring how to interpret and analyze graphs and charts. We have also been exploring measures of central tendency. We explored using pattern blocks to build three-dimensional bar graphs and to explore mean, median, and mode. In the coming week, we will explore health statistics to see how graphs, charts, and measures of central tendency are applied in the world. We had a great discussion this morning to apply math to the Federal election, too! Coming up, we will have a quick formative check in, as well as a project in which you can apply these math skills.

Language Arts: Students will be writing a TED Talk, or a speech, related to something they are passionate about, related to mental and/or physical health, personal awareness and responsibility, empowerment, or another related topic. They will be presenting their speeches to our MACC 4/5 class on November 15th. In order to work towards this, we have been exploring how to choose words that are more descriptive and that can paint a picture for others. In the coming week, we will be exploring what makes a good speech and diving deeper into writing our TED Talks. We are taking everything step by step, and students received a planning document yesterday to help structure their speech thoughts.

Social Emotional Learning and Health Education: Students have been studying the parts of the brain related to regulating emotions and stress. We have also been discussing our relationship to stress, and strategies to cope with stress, so we can have better focus, apply creative and critical thinking, and be ready to learn. Students have explored mindful breathing, mindful eating, journaling, going for mindful walks, social connection, quiet reading, being creative and doing art. In the coming weeks, we will be exploring how nature can help us cope with stress and be ready for learning. Our make-up walk to Central Park will be on the morning of Monday, October 28th. Be on time and ready to go walking at 9AM!

We also discussed how to understand nutritional facts on food labels and think critically about ingredients present in packaged and processed foods. Our goal is to learn how to make better food choices for our mental and physical health. In the coming weeks, we will dive deeper into the nutritional value of foods, and learn about what vitamins, minerals, and probiotics do for our health.

Videos We Watched:  

Tips for mindful eating

Sugar hiding in plain sight

All it takes is 10 mindful minutes

How to make stress your friend 

How the food you eat affects your brain 

Breaking the mental health stigma 

Social Studies: Prior to the election, we discussed how the Canadian system of government. We ran a mock election in class to learn how the First-Past-The-Post electoral system works. Connected to our exploration of food choices, students also explored the nutritional value of traditional Indigenous food systems. This last week, we looked at indigenous perspectives on health and wellness and brainstormed how this is connected to our own thinking about how to promote health.

Videos We Watched: 

Levels of Government in Canada and Canada’s Electoral System

French: Students have continued to explore parts of the body, learning how to integrate first, second, and third person pronouns with body parts. Students have also been learning a song about body parts, which you can practice at home on this video. For a quick formative assessment, students are doing mini dialogues with the teacher using phrases learned in class.

Art Education: Students have been continue to work on their Personal Hive projects, using mixed media. Our zentangle mural is hanging up in our class for all to enjoy! Up next? Poppy art using charcoal and acrylics, which we hope to finish before Remembrance Day.

Science: We talked about different types of germs, how they are spread, how to prevent the spread of diseases, the power of soap, communicable and non-communicable diseases, and a bit on epidemiology or diagnosing diseases. We did a strawberry DNA lab to learn how soap breaks down cell walls and to learn about how to write up a proper science lab report. We had a lab called “patient zero” where we had to guess who was infected with a mystery disease. We played a card game called Microbes and Us to learn about the various ways to prevent disease. Finally, we did some readings on pathogens, which everyone has in their binders, to learn more about topics from class. Please see our e-portfolios for a formative assessment post on some of the things we discussed. Coming up next? Research on a disease of your choice, guessing a mystery disease, a germ lab, and some discussion about herd immunity.

Formative Skills Assessment: Grade 4 students have been engaged in writing the FSAs this week. In the coming two weeks, they will finish up the paper and electronic portion of these assessments.

Central Park Trip: We will be doing this trip from 9-12 on Monday, Oct. 28th. Please come to school on time and be ready to go at 9AM. Make sure you have on some good walking shoes that are okay in wet grass at the park. We will only be taking a snack in our pockets and be back before lunch.

Pumpkin Patch/Costume Parade/Pumpkin Carving/Party: Please bring a plastic bag to school on Tuesday, Oct. 29th for the Pumpkin Patch. Everyone will take home a pumpkin. Please wash it and take out all of the guts, but don’t carve it! Bring it back to school on Thursday, Oct. 31st for carving. Everyone then puts all of their carved pumpkins in the gym with candles. It always looks amazing, and you are welcome to come see it during our costume parade on Thursday at 1PM.

After the carving and costume parade, we will have our student-organized class party. Everyone has been asked to contribute in some way by signing up on the list in class. Please ask your child what their responsibility is for the party and encourage them to be part of our community. The organizing of this party is a great learning experience, but it is better if everyone participates so they benefit from the discussion that follows at our next class meeting.

ADST and Technology: We had a great workshop about Micro:Bits and artificial intelligence provided by @KidsCoding this Monday. We will hopefully have more opportunities to play with Micro:Bits this year, as Ms. D has been in touch with our ADST specialists for additional workshops during the year. Stay tuned! Also, all students are now set up on One Drive and can use it at home, sharing documents with me through the One Drive cloud. All work can be done online in all of the programs!

Book Fair: Last days for the Book Fair are October 23 and 24. It is open during lunch and after school.

Stay tuned for more information and don’t forget to check out my twitter feed on the main page of the blog for daily snippets of our activities!

Thank you to Ms. B for all the great work she is doing with students. She will be here through November 29th, which will be her last day at Suncrest. 

Have a great week!

Ms. D and Ms. B

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

SYSTEMS UPDATE — September 20th!

Hello Everyone!

Hopefully you are following my quick updates on Twitter and receiving email reminders that help you to have a daily sense of what is going on on Division 5! I am enjoying working with our new MACC 4/5 group, and it was a pleasure to speak to parents during the parent-teacher conferences this past week. Thank you to everyone for making the time to come in!

 

Ms. Boroumand, our student teacher, visited us for two days this past week, and she will begin full time on Monday, September 23rd. During the first two weeks, she will be taking over up to 40% of lessons, and then on October 7th, 80%. She and I have been planning together since July, and she has some great activities and learning prepared for everyone! We look forward to collaborating together to complete our unit on SYSTEMS.

Here is a quick update in each subject area of what we are doing!

Socials/Science/Health/Core Competencies:

  • We had great discussions about the Universal Systems Model, identifying the goal, input, process, output, and feedback of systems we know of such as school.
  • As part of creating our classroom system, we talked about what good group work looks like, and we brainstormed essential agreements we want to have while learning together in Division 5. These will be posted in our room and everyone will sign them to show they agree.
  • We began discussing some of the things that are inputs into our SYSTEM of our own body, which lead to good learning and health, such as how much sleep we need, how to use fidgets, taking breaks, and having balance after school.
  • We talked about one of the core competency focuses for this unit, personal awareness, and we completed activities on analyzing your personality, talking about differences, and measuring personal space to help us be aware of ourselves and others in our learning community.
  • We did body drawings to see what we already know about the internal workings of the human body. Then, we began doing a series of 11 body systems stations such as reading, completing diagrams, taking our heart rate, finding lung capacity, and measuring the digestion system. Packet from these stations is due on Monday, Sept. 23rd unless you talk to Ms. D.
  • We watched two science videos to have a better sense of the respiratory, circulatory, digestive, and excretory systems. During the videos, we talked about how to take notes when listening, such as writing down key vocabulary or questions, rather than everything we hear.
  • We talked about the core competency critical thinking, as Ms. D often follows up a fun activity with a deeper question designed to create discussion. Everyone was invited to post questions on the Wonderings Board as they come up, so we can discuss!

Math and Systems:

  • Everyone took Math Assessments as part of Ms. D’s system to see what everyone knows already and how to best approach curriculum. 
  • We discussed systems of measurement, imperial and metric, and talked about decimals and fractions a bit as we converted between different measurements. To apply this knowledge, we measured different parts of the body for all of our classmates to find the average length of shoulder to arm, or hip to foot. Then we had a critical thinking discussion about how we would use this information in real life.
  • We did several data gathering activities in the classroom to practice tallying findings, and we discussed how we might display findings in visual ways that help others to better understand the data. During our first week, we made table maps to learn more data about one another, which are displayed in the hallway across from the music room.
  • We played probability games such as PIG and SKUNK and discussed the chances of winning, whether there were any strategies to help you win, and how games of chance could be related to being a risk-taker, trying new activities for the first time in real life.
  • We played Rock, Paper, Scissors, made tree diagrams of the possible outcomes when playing with a partner, and then compared our experimental and theoretical probability results. We discussed that the larger your sample set, the closer experimental probability gets to theoretical probability.
  • Everyone is at different levels in the class with regard to fractions, reducing fractions, division, decimals, and percentages. It is important to know that this is okay, and that as we continue, if some of this is new to you, it will become more clear with practice. Sometimes we will discuss things that provide depth and complexity, and may go above grade level, because sometimes people are ready, need the extra challenge, or even just ask questions about something new and interesting! Some people do know how to do these challenges, but it is okay if you are learning how, too. Be a risk-taker and try something new, and also practice asking questions when you don’t understand, as I am happy to explain! Remember that Ms. D is always assessing according to grade level expectations, and I am often checking in to see if everyone is able to successfully understand and complete math in those areas.
  • We used the NY TIMES Learning NetWork Graph of the Week and practiced being critical thinkers through the questions, “What do you notice? What do you wonder?” I invite everyone to look at graphs in the newspaper or online news sources and do this at home, too. We want to understand the different types of graphs, how data can be presented visually, and how to be critical thinkers!

Physical Education:

  • We have gym on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for 30 minutes. Sometimes we will be doing other activities outside, and this may change our gym times.
  • We are focusing first on activities about strength, reaction time, and endurance.
  • We talked about how to be prepared for gym, wearing the right shoes for running, bringing a water bottle to class every day, and eating breakfast every morning so you have energy!
  • We ran sprints and did quick-reaction games involving listening to instructions and passing objects quickly between teammates, all designed to practice reaction time and personal awareness.
  • We have been doing planks, stair walks, sit ups, crab walks, bridge poses, and other exercises designed to develop strength.
  • We have been doing running designed to practice endurance, and I saw many students doing a great job with this during Terry Fox on Friday! Good work!
  • Finally, we have been connecting our activities to our SYSTEMS unit by taking our heart rate, talking about nutrition and sleep, and relating our reaction time games to the parts of the brain and how it functions.

Language Arts and Research:

  • Students wrote me a personal letter at the beginning of the year, which provided me with beginning information about writing skills, as well as information about themselves! Thank you for taking the time to write!
  • We began working on e-portfolios, and we went over the criteria for a quality reflection, talked about e-portfolio procedures and how we use them for assessment, and learned to post a picture using the iPads. We published our first post by Friday of this last week. For new students, I know this will be a learning experience for our first few posts!
  • We set up our journals, which we use instead of lined paper in the classroom to record our notes, thoughts, diagrams, research, and math work. We set up a Table of Contents in the beginning so we can keep track of topics and can use the journal as a reference when we need it!
  • Ms. D introduced our first project of The Human Body Corporation! Any time there is a project, an explanation will be provided. On Monday, I also have a rubric to pass out, and we will go over it together. The Corporation is firing body parts, and each student will need to do some research and write a business letter to the Corporation proving why their chosen organ is the most essential to the body!
  • When researching online we discussed how to start with websites you know are safe and useful, like www.kidshealth.org, which we have been using for the body stations. Use the search bar at the top (where the magnifying glass is) to search the website for more information. Then, you can use Google to look for more, but avoid websites labeled “Ad”, as well as Wikipedia and ones with .com. We want to have less ads and more information! And we want quality websites. Look for ones ending in .gov, .edu, .net, or .org. Ms. D helped some students to get started. Also, see the Articles of Interest on Ms. D’s blog for some websites, too.
  • When recording notes you can use bullet points, not full sentences. Try to put things in your own words, rather than copying. You will better remember what you read, and putting things in your own words means you have to think about what you are reading. Record where you found the information, such as the website name.
  • Research and note taking, as well as the whole inquiry process, takes time to learn. Right now we are doing structured inquiry, with specific questions students need to answer from the handout. Our goal is to build skills during each unit that will lead to independent inquiry during the independent project, our last unit of the year.

Art:

  • We have talked about mindfulness and how art such as zentangle doodling can help! Ms. D provided everyone with bookmarks to design with zentangles from the series Yoga for the Mind.
  • Our next step will be to create a larger zentangle mural together, with focus on mindfulness, personal awareness, collaboration, and different kinds of line. Stay tuned for our mural in the hallway!
  • With Ms. Boroumand, we will continue our mindfulness through a personal awareness hexagon hive project and more.
  • We are also using our building, design, skit making, writing, and drawing skills to create something that will help explain the path of blood through the heart. This will be a mini project we can work on over the next few weeks when there is time.

Other and Important Dates:

  • Students are working away on the xylophones with Ms. Fletcher in music! We meet for music on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.
  • Bring all your books in on Wednesday mornings, as we have Library every Wednesday after recess.
  • No School on Sept. 27th, Pro-D Day.
  • Orange Shirt Day Sept. 30th
  • Science World Field Trip Notices went out Friday — trip on Oct. 11th!
  • No School Oct. 14th Thanksgiving
  • We are doing the Student Vote on October 17th! Ms. Boroumand is leading us in some lessons all about government to help us understand the SYSTEM of government before we go to vote.
  • Central Park Walking Field Trip on Friday, October 18th
  • Book Fair Week of Oct. 21
  • Photo Day Oct. 22
  • No School Oct. 25th Pro-D Day
  • Pumpkin Patch Oct. 28th at school
  • Pumpkin Carving, Costume Parade Oct. 31st

More to Come in the Next Update! Stay tuned!

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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