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Saturday, March 24, 2018

The Rocks Beneath Us






Fresh off How We Express Ourselves, we have plunged into a new Unit of Inquiry, How the World Works which is an investigation into the the natural world, about technological advances on society and the environment. More specifically, we are learning about the importance of minerals and metals, and consider their uses, their value and the impact of geology, both opportunities and challenges that minerals and metals present.

We began the week by doing some pre-assessments, to find out their current thinking about where metals and minerals come from. Naturally, many myths will be broken along the way. For example, one student believed that metals simply exist, and was unaware that they were mined. This week we began our investigation by looking at soil samples, to see what soil is made of. This week coming we will actually go out to take some "soil core samples" so that we can send them to "the lab" for content analysis. Of course, using the language of scientists (geologists) is an important part of our mission. In the language component for this UOI, the students will be researching and recording their findings about various minerals and metals (their properties, uses, and where they are found) and collating their information in our Rock Information Depository. In math we will focus on measuring weight and value (dollars). Finally, we will consider the ethical factors of mining, and consider how we can make wise choices. How the World Works promises to be a very engaging unit.

See the pictures below from the previous few days. They include some pictures from the elementary school Navruz celebration, as well as from our recent grade 3-5 assembly.

Have a great day!!

Pictures from the Week of March 19-23


























Sunday, March 18, 2018

Arts Attack Exhibit


Please enjoy the sights and sounds of the arts attack exhibit in this video. Due to the size of the file, it has been uploaded to my private youtube channel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syaBQR2285Y

Sunday, March 11, 2018

Art Exhibition

Hi 3P students and parents!

As you may know, the end of our Unit of Inquiry is upon us.  We will be having an art exhibit to show our understandings and appreciation.  This will be on Tuesday morning.  Parents are invited to visit our classroom from 8:30 until 9:10, followed by some performing art presentations in the Music and Drama classrooms until 10:15.  The students are very excited to show their art pieces and performances to you, but also, as importantly, to talk about their appreciation and understandings of the arts.

I will have a more detailed blog post in two or three days at the conclusion of this Unit of Inquiry.

Mr. Shawn