Category: General Update

Hello Everyone!

Report card time! Before we go to Winter Break, you will be receiving the term one report card. In December, we will begin working on term two units — one on CREATIVITY/CHANGE, and the second on EXPLORATION/IDENTITY.

Here is an overview of the many things we did during TERM ONE, FALL 2023. 

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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.

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.

Core Competency Focus:

Personal Awareness and Responsibility
Critical Thinking

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What is the SYSTEM for a great learning community?
(Core Competencies, Socials, Science, PHE, ADST, Career Education)

We spent the first two weeks creating the foundation of a great learning community!

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.

To get to know one another, we created Six Word Memoir Pictures, to communicate some of our interests, strengths, or thoughts to our new classmates. We also did a variety of games and collaborative math challenges and puzzles. We learned how to have class meetings to voice our preferences, concerns, and ideas about classroom activities.

 

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. We debriefed our roller coaster activity: What makes an exciting roller coaster work well? (physics, clothoid loops, creativity, speed, etc.) We identified what our classroom would need to be a successful system. Students brainstormed essential agreements and values, which we refer to every day in our work together. What kind of community do we want to build together?

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.

Each week we engaged in social thinking activities as part of our morning Recalibrate Time. This is an opportunity to recalibrate or prepare our thinking as the day starts, so we can have positive relationships and learning experiences at school. We discussed how:

• Looking carefully for social cues helps us find out the expected behaviour in a particular situation,
• Our unexpected behaviour can cause others stress and affect our relationships,
• Our reaction to a problem needs to match the size of the problem,
• Active listening is important to building relationships and involves critical thinking and specific body language,
• Stepping outside of our comfort zone, taking a risk to try something new, is when our best learning happens, and
• Everyone is learning something, we can’t be perfect at all of it, and it is okay to make mistakes or to not know something!

THE HUMAN BODY SYSTEMS!
(Science, Socials,  Math, 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 about our heart rate, the digestive system length, and the role of saliva in breaking down food, among others.

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!

We did experiments to expand our knowledge of germs and how they are spread, and about how blood typing works! 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. There’s a reason to use soap when washing hands!

Then, we had discussions about herd immunity, vaccines, epistemology (the diagnosis of diseases), communicable and non-communicable diseases, and some of the personal choices we can make to help prevent disease.

Our lab on “patient zero” allowed us to see how germs are spread quickly in a group!

Finally, we tested a variety of sites in the school and grew germ colonies in petri dishes. We made careful observations, gathered and analyzed data, and crunched the numbers to determine the probability of having touched a bacteria, yeast, mold, or fungus. We used math to help us make some positive personal choices to prevent the spread of germs.

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 a partner. They learned how to find information, take research notes, and present their information to the class in a PowerPoint presentation and speech. Afterwards, they used their new found knowledge, pretending to be a group of doctors with other students, and helping diagnose mystery diseases presented by Ms. D.

What helps the body system work well?
(Socials, Science, PHE-Health, Math, Career Education, Language Arts):

To make our SYSTEM of the human body function effectively, we need to be aware of the INPUTS we put into our body. What are the personal choices we can make that help us to be healthy? 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. Students looked at Indigenous Medicine Wheel models and reflected on the emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual things that contribute to our good health.

How does what and how we eat affect our bodies and health?  We discussed mindful eating during lunch, which means having presence while eating and becoming aware of the eating experience. If we slow down, we taste more of the food and allow our digestive system time to do its job properly!

Students also brought in some favourite snacks and analyzed ingredients lists and the math on food labels to better understand the nutritional value of processed foods. We sorted foods into categories of GO, SLOW, and WHOA to better understand how much of certain foods we can have based on their nutritional content.

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.

 

Gut Bacteria and Artificial Intelligence!
(Science, ADST, PHE, Technology, Math Computational Thinking)

As we explored nutrition, we learned about our second brain located in our gut! Ever feel “butterflies” in your stomach or lower guts before you have a test? That’s your gut brain! Inside our gut are many healthy bacteria helping us with the digestive process. We discussed the strong connection between having a healthy gut microbiome and our overall physical and mental wellness.

Through Science World’s Tech-Up Program, we had an in-class workshop about gut bacteria! We learned about the different types of gut bacteria, what conditions in our gut cultivate healthy bacteria, and how we can take care of our microbiome by getting proper sleep, managing our stress, only taking antibiotics when needed, and eating healthy foods including fibre and green, leafy vegetables.

Then, we learned about the language of artificial intelligence chatbots, natural language processing. As a class, we programmed an AI Chatbot to answer questions as if it was a specific gut bacteria! This involved some basic coding, computational thinking, and identifying the specific information the AI would need in order to respond. We had great discussions about how AI could be helpful, as well as the ethics needed to use it responsibly. We look forward to doing more coding in December as part of the Hour of Code!

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

Students explored the connection between our mental health and physical health.

As we played a variety of active games in the gym, we explored how to monitor our heart rate and identified the value of daily exercise and getting the appropriate amount of sleep!

We discussed brain structure and how emotion impacts higher thinking, so we can better understand how we self-regulate in times of stress. We learned the function of the main parts of the brain, including the amygdala, pre-frontal cortex, and hippocampus.  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, practicing gratitude, taking time outside to get fresh air or take a walk, and using the class break board to reset our thinking and bodies 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. In gym we did yoga to explore how stretching and focusing our breathing can help with stress management. We surveyed our peers and made graphs to represent all of the ways we manage our daily stress in positive ways.

Part of mental health is building connections with others. We practiced this through class meetings, free choice times, playing games, organizing classroom decorations for holidays, and doing Suncrest activities together such as the Pumpkin Patch!

Many students also chose to be involved in Suncrest extracurricular activities, such as the Cross Country team, Chess Club, Intermediate Choir, or our Family Math Games Night. Thank you Division 5 for all of your contributions to the greater community!

 

Creativity is an important tool for mental health, and we had many conversations in the classroom about the positive feelings we have when making something!

 

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. A bee hive is strong, and so is the community we build around us!

           

Gathering and Communicating Data
(Math, Science, PHE, Career Education, Language Arts):

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 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 also 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 Halloween Welch’s gummies packages for a fair distribution of colours and shapes.

There are SYSTEMS for communicating, finding, and documenting information!  (Language Arts, Socials, Science, French)

Throughout all subjects, we used language arts curricular competencies, whether it was to analyze news articles and non-fiction resources, to communicate information in graphics and speeches, or to do research on diseases or nutrition.

We read a variety of non-fiction 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 add detail to our e-portfolios to better communicate ideas and our learning.

We also looked at the SYSTEM or CODE behind all human languages, and began the process of creating one of our own for fun!

We look forward to continuing our learning about writing in term two!

French:

As part of this discussion of the system of languages, we began our French studies for the year. We practiced some basic French with one another using songs and conversation with peers.

Students were encouraged to learn basic greetings, colours, and numbers, as well as some basic vocabulary for parts of the body in connection with our unit. They also created small posters to show their learning and did mini dialogues with peers to practice.

Students with French fluency were encouraged to read French articles in magazines we have in the classroom, and to write information about them in their journals.

 

Putting Learning Together in a Creative Way!
(ADST, Science, Socials, Math, PHE, Language Arts, Core Competencies)

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

The goal was to include material from all of the subject areas we discussed as part of this unit on SYSTEMS and PERSONAL AWARENESS.

Students had a lot of fun using applied design skills to create unique and interactive games! We plan to share our games with our buddies in Ms. Silva’s class.

Overall, it was an amazing term! We invite you to see student reflections about their work, documented in their e-portfolios and report cards.

       

Hello Everyone,

As we are getting to know one another, we are working on tools and strategies that help us get along well together.

Expected and Unexpected Behaviour:

Expected behaviour is what one would generally expect in a given situation. For example, what kind of behaviour is generally okay at school? In the classroom? At the dinner table? In a library?

Unexpected behaviour is something we do that falls outside of the general norms of behaviour. For example, a person talking during the movie in a movie theatre full of people watching the film is unexpected. What happens when we do unexpected behaviour? Generally, people don’t like it, or they can feel stress.

The reality is, when we do expected behaviours in group situations, it makes the group feel less stressed, and people get along with us better! This doesn’t mean we can’t be ourselves, or that we can’t make mistakes sometimes. It just means when we follow certain norms in group situations, the SYSTEM of getting along just works better.

Examples: Not yelling when you don’t get your way, using your words to communicate needs, waiting your turn in line ups, not touching one another and respecting personal space.

We did some skits together as a group to practice recognizing and naming expected and unexpected behaviours so we can become more aware of them.

Don’t Hug Doug!

We read a very funny book called Don’t Hug Doug about being aware of everyone’s personal space. We went over many situations in which we do not need to be physical. Give one another space when working together in groups. Don’t get aggressive during tag games. Don’t ever hug someone or put your hand on someone without permission — give a high five instead of a hug if the person is okay with that!

Five Ways to Respectfully Disagree:

As part of our human body studies, we are using KidsHealth.org to look at all types of information about body systems and how they work. On this website are also helpful articles about social-emotional learning and communication strategies. One of them is Five Ways to Respectfully Disagree, which I went over with the students today.

Students have Free Choice Time twice a week at the end of the day (Wednesday and Friday), which is directly connected to our Physical & Health Education, Career Education, and ADST curricular competencies, as well as the core competencies. It gives an opportunity for students to practice, under supervision, social thinking strategies. It is also a great time to catch up on work, read, build, and practice creative and critical thinking skills.

I noticed during Free Choice on Friday how we are still working on how to play games respectfully and how to use our words, so we don’t end in conflicts or misunderstandings. So, we went over these tips. When you disagree with someone, or you don’t see eye to eye about anything — particularly rules of a game — here are some things to do:

1.  Don’t make it personal. If you get upset, remember you are mad about the idea or the situation, not the person.
2.  Avoid putting down people’s ideas, beliefs, or personal characteristics. Don’t yell, scream, or taunt the person. Take a breath. Stay calm. State what is making you feel bad. Use the phrase: WHEN YOU ________, I FEEL __________.  Make it about how you are feeling rather than attacking the other person.
3.  Use I statements to communicate how you feel, what you think, and what you want or need. Try to do it calmly after taking a breath. Using YOU statements can sound attacking and argumentative.
4.  Listen to the other point of view. Being a good listener lets the other person know you respect their right to another perspective even if you don’t agree. Try to use the HEAR method. Use body language that shows you are listening. Be quiet and give the other person a chance to say their part.
5.  STAY CALM. If things get heated, things are not going to get resolved. Take a breath. If you can’t stay calm, walk away for a bit or get some help. Remember on the playground to use the STOP, WALK, TALK method for avoiding more serious conflict.

Okay, let’s work on these things at school and at home!

Thank you,

Ms. D

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

To tie the big ideas from our curriculum together into a larger, enduring understanding,
we studied subject areas through the lens of universal, conceptual themes.

In March – April, we focused on the concept of POWER
in the unit
COMMUNICATION IS THE KEY!

Our unit focus statement: Being an educated citizen requires reflection and critical thinking about how we communicate and receive information.

What is media and how can we gain personal POWER by being educated about it?
(Socials/Career Education/Language Arts/Critical Thinking/Communication/ADST)

We identified a variety of media forms and looked closely at how their construction, content, advertisements, and reading level were related to their potential audience and purpose. We discussed what it means to be media literate, started taking greater notice of how much time we were spending with media, and discovered how it is present everywhere in our lives. All of this is an important part of being a CRITICAL THINKER and a responsible consumer of media.

We compared the outside appearance of cereal packages, looking at how companies market products to children with bright colours, cool characters, games, and other gimmicks. Then we made some sample cereal boxes of our own!

We looked at media advertisements to see what kinds of gimmicks were being used to make us want to buy products. We played games on the Canadian Media Smarts Literacy 101 website together to practice recognizing gimmicks in both print ads and commercials. To show our understandings, we created our own products to sell in a live commercial! We had a wide range of interesting things to sell, complete with catchy brand names, jingles, and slogans to appeal to the consumer.

We became more aware of how to search for information online, avoiding commercial websites and looking for reliable sources not full of advertisements or false information. We discussed digital citizenship, learning how online games and social media collect personal information about us while we are having fun online. We played the game Data Defenders to practice NOT giving our information away, keeping our identities safe.

We also learned about what media reports look and sound like. Theresa Lalonde, a production manager for the CBC and teacher of journalism at BCIT, did a virtual visit with us to explain what it is like to work in journalism, and how journalists have POWER through their ability to deliver important information to the public that can help citizens be informed, make good decisions, and be able to advocate for themselves.

As part of language arts, we learned how a news article is written, and we watched television news broadcasts to see what tone and format is used to deliver information through visual media.

We participated in an editors meeting, in which each of us chose a Suncrest-related topic to report on for our group newspaper, the Suncrest Sun News, which we presented at Student Led Conferences. There were interesting reports on Primary Days of Music, Littering on the Playground, Wasting Supplies, and Gardening at Suncrest, among many other topics!

How do we communicate scientific ideas and discoveries?
The POWER of careful observation and documentation!
(Science, Language Arts, Critical Thinking, Communication)

As we have been doing all year, we focused on saying your “becauses” or providing evidence to back up ideas. We talked about the POWER of careful observation and documentation for communicating and developing scientific ideas, especially if you want to prove your discoveries and further your research.

Through an exciting lab in which we changed one substance into another, making limestone, we had the opportunity to discuss physical versus chemical change; acids and bases; natural substances such as turmeric which serve as pH indicators; endothermic and exothermic reactions; and how chemical symbols are used to represent a chemical reaction. Plus we made a bag blow up with gas and it was very exciting!!

How do you make a good question to start your research? How do you document observations? How do you write a conclusion with more questions to drive future research?

Everyone also participated in a team debate and learned to use their “becauses” to back up a point of view. We chose topics to debate, and everyone had to write a five-paragraph essay with arguments and FACTS to back up their opinions. Thank you to all of Division 5 for some lively discussions about whether cats or dogs make better pets, whether we should continue financing space exploration, or whether or not video game use has a positive impact on kids!

How are numbers used to communicate ideas in media?
(Math, Critical Thinking, Social Studies)

Numbers and data are often thrown into media reports to communicate ideas, and as consumers of media, we need to be critical thinkers about what those numbers mean. It often requires a stronger understanding of what is called proportional reasoning.

We analyzed news articles on a variety of topics to see how math, particularly graphs, fractions, decimals, and percentages, are used to communicate ideas.  If you see numbers, does that mean the information you see is automatically FACT and not someone’s OPINION?

Continuing our work with Carole Fullerton’s Proportional Reasoning, as well as other math resources and games such as SKITTLES MATH, we went deeper into fractions, decimals, and percentages. We were also encouraged to “use the numbers” when making our own news reports, using data to back up our reporting.

Communication, collaboration, and personal awareness give us POWER to make change in our lives or communicate ideas to others: (Communication, PE and Health, Fine Arts)

We continued to have our class meetings, which were important opportunities to express ideas and solve problems. We also continued our work talking about Social Thinking, which is a big part of the core competency on Social Awareness and Responsibility.

We explored shape and form through sculpture in art. We went over the history of sculpture and how it, too, is a form of media, communicating a message. Each person then created their own sculpture out of steel wire, masking tape, newspaper, and bronze acrylic paint. It was a longer project, but the result was well worth it, as our Museum of Sculptures shows!

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In April – June, we focused on the concept of CONNECTION
in our unit
THE NATURE CONNECTION. 

Unit focus statement:
Human beings impact and rely upon the balance of nature’s interdependent systems. 

Unpacking the concept of CONNECTION — What does it mean?
(Science, Socials, Social Responsibility)

What does connection mean, and where do we see it? We began with class discussions around what we connect to personally, how we are connected to the community, and how we are connected to the world.

How are we connected to our natural environment? First we talked about what we can find in our natural environment and had fun deciding what is abiotic and biotic. IS a virus alive or not?? At the end of the day, some of this is still up for debate!

We watched Planet Earth: Pole to Pole, and discussed the variety of biomes, ecosystems, and amazing organisms that exist across the planet. Each student was given a card with an organism within our local ecosystems, and after doing quick research, placed it within the food web and cycles of our world. Further reading was done on how parts of nature are connected through food chains, as well as the carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and water cycles.

Making connections to tell the story of life!
(Science, Critical Thinking)

To better understand how organisms in our ecosystems are connected, we investigated taxonomy. Scientists use taxonomy to classify life according to specific features, adaptations, reproductive and survival behaviours, and appearance.

Before we looked at the official chart, we did our own hands-on sorting, and small groups were given piles of pictures of animals and organisms to organize into specific groups according to characteristics. We had lots of great debate!

Then we had an opportunity to learn about the classification system, picking an animal and learning about their kingdom, phylum, family, class, genus, and official Latin species name, as well as their connection to the First Peoples of BC.

 

How do we become more connected to and observant of the nature around us?
(Science, Socials, Critical Thinking, Fine Arts, Physical Health Education)

As we looked at how we are connected to other organisms, we developed a better understanding of place and the nature directly around us. Through the Burnaby-New West Walk30 Challenge we walked thousands of minutes with our families! We also won a gift certificate to a local bookstore for participating!

During class activities outside, we used the SFU Walking Curriculum, a series of activities designed to help us become more observant, mindful, and thoughtful about what we are seeing and experiencing

We used loupes and the Private Eye Kits from the District Library to look carefully at natural specimens and plants. We talked about how to observe shape and line quality first when trying to carefully draw specimens, and we did several still-life, up-close drawings to record outside findings.

We learned Indigenous names and uses for local plants and trees, identified invasive plants that are not part of the ecosystem, and discussed local animals and habitats. We watched episodes of David Suzuki’s The Nature of Things, and enjoyed learning about creatures in the tidal zone, the important role of scavengers, and the kingdom of fungi.

Finally, we talked about extinct, endangered, and protected organisms in B.C. Everyone chose a unique organism from BC they didn’t know anything about, then researched its biome, ecosystem, habitat, taxonomy, adaptations, behaviours, and connection to First Peoples stories and art. We presented our findings through a beautiful piece of art inspired by the works of Oregon artist Sue Coccia.

 Also, for exercise, and to practice the curricular and core competencies around collaboration and communication, we went Dragon Boating at Burnaby Lake! In the process, we learned a new way to connect with the place around us and to make ourselves physically fit. Great job, Division 5, working on teamwork, personal awareness, and SOCIAL THINKING as we rowed across the whole lake!

Becoming Further Aware of Traditional Indigenous Ecological Knowledge:
(Socials, Science, Indigenous Education)

As we developed observation skills that help with scientific investigations, we also asked, “What is science?” We discussed how we would define western science and what is considered traditional ecological knowledge of First Peoples.  For example, in western science we classify things into abiotic and biotic; whereas in Indigenous cultures, many abiotic forms are alive, given each form plays a specific role in the ecosystem and was placed there for a reason.

Ms. D read some of Braiding Sweetgrass, as well as Indigenous Ingenuity, to help us discuss how traditional knowledge is being used to help protect the land and to find solutions to some of the challenging environmental problems we have in the world. We watched videos and read about how First Peoples are working in partnership with scientists to manage local waterways, and how Indigenous knowledge provides careful observations from years and years of living on the land. We learned about clam gardens and how First Peoples managed marine food systems, so we can better protect food sources today. Overall, we had great discussions about our connection to the land and the value of traditional knowledge!

How are our actions connected to the health of the environment?
(Social Studies, Science, Social Responsibility, Personal Awareness)

Part of being better connected to nature is better understanding our role in keeping the environment we depend upon healthy! We had a variety of amazing virtual and in-person field trips this unit to help us get out in the community and to discuss social responsibility to our planet.

First, we had a trip to the beautiful GVRD Lower Seymour Watershed, learning about the water cycle, where our water comes from, and how the ecosystem of the mountains plays a role in providing us with such clean water.

Then, we were fortunate to have a visit from an astronomy instructor at Douglas College, who did a presentation on the planets and our connection to them. We learned a lot about the size of the planets, and why Earth is in the Goldilocks position to support life.

We also had a virtual presentation on Curious Crows from the Vancouver Avian Research Centre , looking at their role in our ecosystem. We found out why they live such long lives in comparison to other birds and corvids, and we found connections between their animal behaviours and our own!

As part of the GVRD’s local parks education programs, we went to Boundary Bay Centennial Beach  to learn about organisms in the tidal zones, during a workshop called Seashore Sleuths! It was a great day at the beach, identifying organisms like beach hoppers, ribbon worms, ghost shrimp, and clams, and digging in the mud of the tidal pools!

Finally, we talked about global warming and climate change, listening to the inspirational Bill Nye explain the science and the possible problems that will occur. We read articles and watched videos about desertification, pollution, and other human-made disasters in the environment. Everyone had an opportunity to also read about how people are solving these problems, through the Orca Footprints book series on EPIC about topics such as ocean health, landfills, future agriculture, and green transportation.

Finding Reading Connections & Using Literary Devices
(Language Arts, Fine Arts, Critical Thinking and Questioning)

Ms. D read The Skeleton Tree, while everyone followed along and took notes as they collected thoughts about new vocabulary, key details, connections, or questions while reading. This involved metacognition — becoming aware of how we think so we can improve our critical thinking! The book tells the story of two boys stranded on the Alaska coast and how they survive.

We created comprehension questions of greater depth using Question and Response (QAR), and students explained this in their e-port entries about the book. It was an exciting tale that connected well to our unit!

We also explored how to use figurative language, literary devices, and different poetry formats to express our feelings about things we are CONNECTED to personally. Using Adrienne Gear’s Poetry Power we talked about why people use poetry versus other forms of writing for expressing ideas and emotions. We did writing exercises from the book Rip the Page to further develop our descriptive vocabulary, and to help us with written output and creative thinking. We learned about alliteration, onomatopoeia, personification, metaphor, and similes, as well as poetic forms such as tankas, list poems, free verse, and cinquains.

Everyone displayed their poems in a creative poetry journal or zine to share with others!

Connection Between Nature and Math!
(Math, Art, Science, Applied Design)

Our main focus was geometry and math related to patterns in nature. First, we made ourselves familiar with some geometry terms and tools. We looked at polygons and platonic solids on Mathigon, and we practiced identifying, measuring, and trisecting angles through some fun origami.  Then, Ms. D read sections of books about nature and math, such as The Language of the Universe.

During our ventures outside, we looked for examples of these patterns in the nature around us. We discussed Fibonacci, the Golden Mean, spirals, and fractals found in plants, wave patterns, our bodies, and genetics.

We had a great time discovering pentominoes, which are shapes formed by combining five 2D cubes together. We worked together to see how many different combinations of cubes we could make that would form unique pentominoes, and there are 12! We had to use the math concepts of rotation, translation, and reflection to ensure we did not have congruent shapes and had indeed created something new. We played several fun games to work with visual-spatial patterns!

Students also completed activities about measurement, area, perimeter, shape classification, volume, angles, multiplication, division, fractions, and decimals through applied math problems about nature in the books Animal Math and Planet Earth Math, as well as Geometry and Measurement for Intermediate Grades.

We also watched a video series called Doodling in Math Class about nature math, and made our own, portable “angle-a-trons” for 137.5 degrees to try outside on plants, confirming leaves grow in specific, consistent angle patterns to maximize light exposure.

We found a lot of symmetry in nature, and we created careful drawings of butterflies, using pastel and watercolor to make balanced compositions.

Finally, we used our discussion of geometry and measurement to create scale models of objects so we would understand how to make a scale model for applied design.

We imagined what the empty grass space in the upper intermediate playground could be like. Using nature math, knowledge of indigenous plants, and our outside observations during the unit, we made scale models of a proposed nature space for relaxing, learning, and taking a break outdoors. Students were asked to incorporate mathematics and unique natural elements into the design. Thank you everyone for your creative results!

 

French Basics, Creating Conversation, and Weather!
(Core French, Drama, Language Arts, Creative Thinking)

We worked from the book Learn French the Fast and Fun Way, as we learned some of the basics, such as pronunciation, definite and indefinite articles, how to make plurals, family words, and basic greetings.

We later integrated conversations about the outdoors into our French learning, as well, by focusing on communicating the weather. Some students who had extra time before end of year even created a crazy dialogue to represent the weather in front of the class.

Independent Project!
(Socials, Science, Critical Thinking, Career Education, and Personal Awareness)

By February, most students had selected topics for independent study. They were allowed to select any topic as long as it was something they sincerely cared about!

During each project this year, we worked on the specific curricular competencies and skills to help with a successful independent inquiry.

These skills can be found in almost every aspect of the curriculum, including career education, social studies, language arts, science, fine arts, and applied design. Here is a quick summary:

• Understanding passions and making a commitment to pursue a personal interest
• Project management, goal setting, and meeting deadlines
• Self-management as they monitor their time during open work periods
• Asking questions that further an inquiry, including open and closed questions
• Documenting and organizing research through notes and a bibliography
• Searching online effectively, including finding reliable and safe resources
• Using critical thinking to analyze resources and summarize findings
• Communicating findings in writing and through public speaking
• Applying creative thinking by sharing results through a variety of media

We had a wide variety of topics including things like human bonds with pets, C sharp programming, earthquakes versus skyscrapers, rapid transit, the science of refrigeration, Ancient Egypt, animal venom, fishing, and more!

Digital versions of our Independent Projects can be found here.

We hope this provides you a snapshot of all the great learning Division 5 did in term three! Please see individual e-portfolios for more information and photos of your child’s projects and thinking about the units!

 

Hello Everyone,

Welcome to a new year of MACC 4/5, Division 5, 2022-23!

I can’t believe this is my eighth year of doing the program! I look forward to getting to know all of you!

Please note, I have not yet finished setting it up, but all families will be automatically subscribed to the classroom blog. Then you will receive an email letting you know when there are new posts. Posts on the classroom blog provide you with information about each unit’s focus, larger project assignments, and the overviews of learning for report cards. If you have left my class or do not want to be subscribed, please just simple unsubscribe via the email you receive. Thank you!

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

• We have five units during the year, one of which is an independent project.
• Units are trans-disciplinary and conceptual in nature, meaning all subjects are connected to one another through a key concept area.
• Concept areas are taken from universal themes, identified as key organizers of learning and life by researchers throughout the world.
• Sometimes subjects are taught outside of the unit, with stand alone information. This mainly occurs with gym time (which is partially taught by another teacher, Mr. Chau), Core French, and music (taught by Dr. Yanko twice a week.)
• Units have a title and a unit focus statement, which are posted online and on the unit board in the classroom so we can refer to it and think about how our activities are connected.
• At the beginning of the unit, we go over the areas of focus so students understand how subjects will all be integrated and connected.
• Questions are encouraged about the unit and are posted on our Wonderings Board.
• Unit work involves both learning activities and projects designed to show our knowledge.
• We use our journals (which have been provided in class) and e-portfolios (to be announced soon) to record our thinking from the unit, so all of our thoughts can be found in one place. Journals need to be at school every day.
• The blue binder holds all subject handouts. It stays in the backpack and needs to be at school each day. We will clean it out at the end of each unit. Blue binders need to be at school every day.

Here are details about our first unit of the year:

Title:  It’s All in the Design

Concept: STRUCTURE

Core Competency Focus:  Personal Awareness, Critical Thinking

Unit Focus Statement:

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

Areas of Inquiry:

• Where we find structure (buildings, organizations, hierarchies, nature, body systems, etc.)
• How form follows function (anatomy of humans/animals, adaptations, structure of useful inventions)
• Elements and principles of art
• Strong structure in architecture (geometry, shapes, measurement, etc.)
• Structure of effective learning (lifelong learning, growth mindset, being a self-manager, healthy fitness/sleep/schedule/balance)
• How we approach mathematics learning and communication of complicated number ideas
• How design is linked with scientific knowledge (states of matter, energy transfer, forces, atoms)
• Effective writing structure for communicating ideas (parts of speech, paragraphing, sentence structure, interesting words)
• Structure that supports a community (government, community resources, class community, personal awareness)
• Where French is spoken in the world and the structure of a bilingual country like Canada  (Core French Studies)

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

I look forward to unpacking this exciting unit!