Have you ever heard of the mysterious disappearance of the Franklin Expedition? This History Mystery involves two ships, sailing from Britain to the Artic of Canada on a search for the Northwest Passage. Despite being well-equipped with food, water, and technology, the ships (and crew) disappeared, and even over 150 years later people still cannot agree on what happened to them!
Check out the trailer, above, for an introduction to this History Mystery, and click the link below for our evidence (so far):
Our Grade 7s have been hard at work learning about early humans with Ms. Ramen in Socials class! We invited a artist in residence to come in and teach us how to sculpt a human skull out of clay. After sculpting, they were fired in the kiln. Then, we glazed the skulls and they will be fired a final time. We can’t wait to see the final product soon!
Some questions we suggest parents/guardians can discuss at home:
What features did you include in your skull model? What species of hominin did you choose to create?
How does your model skull look similar or different from our own (real) skulls?
How old do you imagine your skull is? What conditions was it in (ex: desert, water)?
Today, we continued our discussion on evolution by learning about Darwin’s finches. Please view the video below and try your best to answer question 5 on your handout. We will continue our conversation about this on Thursday.
Today, our class discussed what it means to be a bystander to injustice. We discussed how, sometimes, people may not feel empowered to speak out if they witness something wrong. Sometimes, people might not speak up to help others if they are worried about their own safety. We learned that being an ally means that you use your voice to advocate for others. In history, we examine the friendship between Marilyn Monroe and Ella Fitzgerald by reading the book Making Their Voices Heard.
During the 1950s, both Ella and Marilyn faced oppression because of their gender. However, Ella also faced discrimination because of her race; many music venues would not hire her to sing there because of segregation and racism. After hearing this, Marilyn stood up as an ally and used her power and privilege to demand that Ella be hired. She had always admired Ella for her talent and her perseverance. We brainstormed ways that we can use our voices in powerful ways when we witness injustice, bullying, etc.
Check out one of Ella Fitzgerald’s most famous songs below:
Today, we began exploring the next continent in our Books Around the World… we started in Australia! Mr. Murray read us a story about Fluffles, a koala who survived the large wildfires in Australia. This country is home to many different species of animals, including koalas, who are impacted by natural disasters like wildfires.
Look at the video below to learn more about Australia!
This week we visited Jeju Island in South Korea! The Haenyeo are a group of female divers who have been harvesting from the coast of Jeju Island for generations. They harvest a variety of seafoods and treasures to make a living and to provide for their families. Dayeon, the main character in The Ocean Calls, really wants to dive like her grandmother. However, she must first overcome her fear of the water and the ocean.
We spent time in the classroom thinking and writing about a time when we found the courage to overcome something that scared us.
For more information on freediving, check out the video below.
Have you ever been to a parade? Today, we read the story of Tony Sarg the puppeteer. He was one of the first people to design and create the floating balloon ‘puppets’ commonly used in the Macy’s parade in New York City! This parade has been going on since 1924 (almost 100 years). Below is a photo of one of the first balloon puppets designed by Tony:
Some questions to consider:
-How has the design of the balloons changed over the years? Why do you think they have made these changes?
-Why do the designers use helium instead of another gas (like oxygen)?
-If you were going to design a balloon float, what character/creature would you design?
Did you know today is National Pizza Day? We celebrated by learning about different pizzas around the world, and by designing our own bizarre, delightful, or gross pizza toppings!
We’ll be creating a piece of writing and an art project based around our unique pizza creations. Check out the video below and consider the following questions:
-What is your favourite pizza topping? What flavours do you like?
-Would you try a banana pizza? Why or why not?
-Do you think every country and culture has their own ‘kind’ of pizzza?
As we learn about schools in the past and present, it is important to acknowledge the racist history of segregated schools. We learned about Sylvia Mendez and her family’s fight to integrate schools in Orange County (USA). Through their bravery and perseverance, the Mendez family were able to unite with other Mexican-American families to overturn the law that allowed students to be separated into schools based on their skin color and cultural heritage. Here is an interview with Sylvia Mendez about her experiences:
We also want to affirm that September 15th-October 15th is Latinx Heritage Month (though it is importance to celebrate influential Lantinx people throughout the past and present every month of the year)! Our class will continue exploring examples of Latinx artists, politicians, advocates, and authors.
Hello, travelers! Over the next few weeks, we will be learning about different countries, continents, and cultures from through picture books written by a diverse group of authours (#ownvoices).
Today, we learned about the importance of educating people of all genders when we read The Library Bus by Bahram Rahman.
The authour grew up in Afghanistan, where the book is set, and was inspired by the resilience of teachers and students. He is using the story to raise awareness about girls education, and to celebrate the beauty and landscape of his home country.
As we learn more about the world around us, it is important for us to consider:
-What do we know about this country already? How do we know/what are our sources?
-Is it possible to learn everything there is to know about a country or culture in one day? What should we do if we want to learn more?
-Can we make any connections to the characters in the book? How are our lives similar?
Check out the song we will be using to learn more about the vast world around us below:
