Month: January 2020

Living Things Have Lifecycles Adapted to Their Environment

The above curricular “Big Idea” has us out on a regular basis experiencing, asking questions, making observations and recording our local environment.  The students always manage to surprise me.  On this cold afternoon, they had already been out twice.  I thought it would be a hard sell to get them into their snow gear again, and I was resigned to the possibility that the snow would provide a considerable distraction to the observation sheet I’d given them; however, they threw themselves into their work and reminded me, again, of the importance of spending time outdoors.  

The crisp weather activated our senses, got us moving and got us thinking.  On this day, we were once again looking at our surrounding landscape and the changes winter had brought.  This year, we have done the same activity for each season that has come.  In doing so, the students connect and continue to grow empathy for all living things and the hardships they must endure to survive.  It is my hope that this connection grows responsibility and stewardship of the environment.

Of course, a job well done deserves a reward…  

Some free time in the snow.  

We are now adoptive parents of 55 chum salmon eggs that arrived on Monday from the Seymour Hatchery.  The salmonid program is an ideal hands-on enrichment to our Science program.  It pairs perfectly with our ongoing environmental studies on the Ocean (with Mrs. Rudolph’s/Glavas’ class), but it also serves as a provocation (an activity that stimulates ideas and connections) for Social Studies.  

Through the salmonid program, we will explore some of the Big Ideas of the Social Studies Grade 3 curriculum such as looking at how the indigenous peoples of B.C. value the well-being of our land, and how the salmon connect us to indigenous knowledge, ways of life, and traditions that have been passed down through oral history.  We will also continue to explore characteristics of coastal communities and, in conjunction with Mrs. Mar’s class, look at the Grade 2 curricular Big Ideas that ask us to explore how local actions can have global consequences and vice versa.  We will continue to share out about our projects.