Hello 3P students and parents;
This week we really sunk our teeth into our new Unit of Inquiry. Our central idea for this UOI is we can make choices to support the sustainability of the earth's finite resources. Naturally we are looking for support for these concepts through family discussions and actions the students can take at home. There is no question that learning through the inquiry cycle happens best when students "take action," Taking action is an effective way of getting children to internalize and become intuitive about the learning concepts. In this case, taking action could be simple changes in behaviour such as turning off water while brushing teeth, or recycling plastic bottles, or creating compost from waste food. The boys and girls have each taken it upon themselves to research about a particular finite, or natural resource. They will each make present their findings verbally on Monday. Be sure to ask them about their research project!
Today we reflected on the transdisciplinary skills or approaches to learning...which for this unit includes applying skills, presentation skills, and planning skills. Simply put, these are skills which we are focusing on during this UOI.
In math this week we have been learning about probability. In addition to our routine mental math activities, the students played Yahtzie, which is a great game for playing the odds, of calculating, estimating. In language this week we began to consider the features of persuasive writing.
It has been a busy week, despite the holiday and the sports day. I hope you have a nice weekend!
Friday, May 11, 2018
Wednesday, May 9, 2018
Friday, May 4, 2018
UN Meeting and Sharing the Planet
I apologize for no blog update last week.
How the World Works
To close our our How the World Works UOI, the children conducted special UN Meetings on the issue of child labour in mines. Each was tasked with representing a particular stakeholder group--the child miners, the mine owners, the families of the child miners, the technology manufacturers who purchase the minerals and the consumers. While representing their stakeholder groups, they were also required to use their problem solving skills arrive at collaborative resolutions which were acceptable to all stakeholders. I am proud of their participation. They were engaged, argumentative (in the positive sense 😊 ) and presented their ideas well. I am equally proud of the grade 4 students who acted as the moderators. They were chosen because they participated as stakeholders last year. I look forward to bringing our current grade 3 students back next year!
Sharing the Planet
As we are knee deep in our new Unit of Inquiry, Sharing the Planet, it always amazes me how deeply students think about issues, usually in ways we as teachers don't realize. One student today wondered about the role of God in the sustainability of water. It is certainly an investigation that she will pursue, which will give meaning and context to her. The central idea for this UOI is we can make choices to support the sustainability of earths finite resources." As the students explore about various natural resources, and the challenges faced by each of them, it provides a rich opportunity to make deeper connections through formulating ideas and opinions as a result of research, writing, presenting and persuasion skills (although most would agree their children already possess persuasion skills 😆 )
In math this week we have been focused on working out the average (mean), median and mode for data sets. In language arts we are doing some bullet point research about natural resources, and still working on our book reports and group reading as an ongoing effort. Ask your child about homonyms! It is a relief to be finished the Rainbow Sheep stories. Be sure to read the previous post about this!
How the World Works
To close our our How the World Works UOI, the children conducted special UN Meetings on the issue of child labour in mines. Each was tasked with representing a particular stakeholder group--the child miners, the mine owners, the families of the child miners, the technology manufacturers who purchase the minerals and the consumers. While representing their stakeholder groups, they were also required to use their problem solving skills arrive at collaborative resolutions which were acceptable to all stakeholders. I am proud of their participation. They were engaged, argumentative (in the positive sense 😊 ) and presented their ideas well. I am equally proud of the grade 4 students who acted as the moderators. They were chosen because they participated as stakeholders last year. I look forward to bringing our current grade 3 students back next year!
Sharing the Planet
As we are knee deep in our new Unit of Inquiry, Sharing the Planet, it always amazes me how deeply students think about issues, usually in ways we as teachers don't realize. One student today wondered about the role of God in the sustainability of water. It is certainly an investigation that she will pursue, which will give meaning and context to her. The central idea for this UOI is we can make choices to support the sustainability of earths finite resources." As the students explore about various natural resources, and the challenges faced by each of them, it provides a rich opportunity to make deeper connections through formulating ideas and opinions as a result of research, writing, presenting and persuasion skills (although most would agree their children already possess persuasion skills 😆 )
In math this week we have been focused on working out the average (mean), median and mode for data sets. In language arts we are doing some bullet point research about natural resources, and still working on our book reports and group reading as an ongoing effort. Ask your child about homonyms! It is a relief to be finished the Rainbow Sheep stories. Be sure to read the previous post about this!
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