Rouge Valley Tepees (Part 2)

Here are the finished products of our class tepees:

Question of the Week #4

Tepee Dioramas (Part 1)

Combining the Science (Forces and Structures) and Social Studies (First Nations) units, the students began constructing some tepee dioramas. Students were provided with bamboo skewers for 'tepee poles', burlap fabric for 'animal skins', yarn for 'rope' and toothpicks for 'fasteners'.

The students were not given explicit instructions on how to construct their tepee. They were asked to figure it out on their own. We'd studied the tepee at Rouge Park up close, so the students had a good conception of how the tepee needed to be built. We've also studied a variety of photographs in class so they also knew how they were usually decorated as well as the environment that the tepees were usually found.

The task turned out to be more challenging than the students initially thought, but they demonstrated good collaborative skills while problem solving. The class quickly discovered that one of the biggest challenges was to keep the skewers from sliding around and staying in place on the 'ground'. Different groups tried a variety of different strategies on how to keep the skewers fixed. When one group found a solution, they would quickly share it with other groups, just like a First Nations community would have done.

Here are some initial photos of the tepee construction in progress.

Spaghetti and Marshmallow Structures

In Science, we've been learning about forces acting on structures. Students took some of the concepts they've explored and applied them to designing and building some spaghetti and marshmallow structures. Their task was to design a structure that would stand 20 cm tall. Each group had to plan and draw a design. Then they had to estimate the amount of materials they would need. The groups tracked the amount of building material they used and recorded any modifications they had to make to their original plans. This was quite a challenging task.

Question of the Week #3

Question of the Week #2

Descriptive Writing - Haida Village

We used this photo of Haida longhouses to inspire our descriptive writing. The Haida Nation are aboriginal people that are from the Western Coastal region. Here is the class brainstorm that we recorded:

Setting: parkland, forest, trees, peaceful, clear skies, welcoming, relaxing, calm, free, spacious, open space, appealing,

Background:

TREES – tall, thin, cedar, massive, green leaves, fresh, enormous, some are thick with leaves, some have bare branches

GRASS – all around, trimmed, neat

Middle Ground:

PATHWAY – long, gray, sandy, gravel, winding, curvy

3 LONGHOUSES – colourful (black, orange, brown) designs on front wall, pentagon shaped front wall, faces of animals, chimneys, wooden planks or boards, totem pole in middle of wall

2 TOURISTS one in red jacket one in pink shirt

Foreground:

TOTEM POLE – creative, tall, unpainted, natural wood colour, carved animals and people

LONGHOUSE – strong, sturdy, faces on front, tall board, triangular top

PEOPLE – 2 TOURISTS, #1: woman, brown hair, dark blue jacket, white pants, looking at her watch

#2: older woman, walking stick, wide brim hat, black strap (purse?), light blue jacket, black pants  

Walking RV: Aboriginal Studies

At Rouge Park last week, we came across a modern reconstruction of a tepee. This tied in with our Aboriginal Peoples unit in Social Studies and was a wonderful opportunity for us to practice our descriptive writing and observational skills. Students made dot jots about what they observed of the interior and exterior of the tepee. This information was brought back to class for a writing assignment.

A fascinating observation that some of the students made was that vapour was rising up from the sunny side of the tepee. We observed that the canvas was wet from the early morning dew (condensation). Now that the sun was getting brighter, much of the moisture was evaporating back into the atmosphere. What a powerful learning opportunity to see the water cycle in action. These are the experiences that make learning real!

Walking Rouge Valley... Place Based Education

"Walking Rouge Valley" for 2013, began the first week of October. We have been partnering with Mr Daffern's class and Ms. Vanderhoeden the school librarian. We hope to be able to make weekly trips out into our local community as part of our place-based education strategy. The majority of these walks will be to Rouge Park, which provides us with extremely rich opportunities to explore themes in Science, Social Studies, Language, Math, and Art.

For more information on what we have historically and affectionately called "Walking Wednesdays" (We don't go out exclusively on Wednesdays anymore) please visit: http://walkingrv.blogspot.ca/ 

Question of the Week #1

IXL - Online Math Practice

Click here to go to IXL: (ca.ixl.com)

Our students have been registered in the IXL online Math program. With IXL, students are engaged in curriculum based interactive Math games. Students can develop, practice and reinforce the skills that they learned in class. IXL adapts it's program to the needs and progress of each student and offers incentives and immediate feedback.

Every student should have a username and password. Letters about this program along with information on how to log in went home in the first week of October. Students are encouraged to go on as often as possible, especially if your other work is finished! 

Math - Whole Numbers

Our next unit in Math will be on Whole Numbers. It is Unit 2 in the Math Makes Sense text book. We will be looking at Place Value, 3- and 4-digit addition and subtraction, as well as multiplication and division using multi-digit numbers.

Descriptive Writing - Three Tepees

This picture gave our class a wonderful opportunity to look at concepts in Science (Structures and Forces), Social Studies (First Nations) and Language (Descriptive Writing). In Language, students were asked to brainstorm words to describe this scene. We focused on elements in the background/setting, the middle ground and the foreground. Here is a descriptive piece that the class wrote collaboratively to serve as a model for future writing:

Three Tepees

By Room 208

On a gloomy,overcast day, there are three tepees in a grassy field surrounded by a forest. The tepees are in a peaceful, wilderness area. The meadow is covered by fresh, luxurious grass. The clouds look stormy, like it is threatening to rain. The wall of trees in the background is massive and green. In front of the trees are two tepees. The first tepee is mostly yellow and has a thick red stripe. It is taller than the second tepee, which is white with a green stripe. Its flap is slightly open and the poles are on the outside. There is a large cone-shaped tepee in the foreground. It is white with two thin red stripes. There is also a tiny red stripe at the top. The ends of the poles are sticking out the top. There are wooden sticks that pin the hides together.

Science - Forces Acting on Structures

One of the units we will be exploring in Term One is "Forces Acting on Structures". We will be looking at structures that are artificial (human made) and natural. Two of the forces that engineers and scientists study when they design a structure are compression and tension. To study the interaction of these forces on structures we will be building a variety of paper structures, and pasta and marshmallow structures. On our "Community Walks" we will be observing and sketching both natural and artificial structures.

Here are some links for students who are interested in learning more about forces and structures:

Mrs. Bader's Forces Lab
http://mrsbader.com/pdf/8-2-SystemsinAction/forces.swf

A Visual Dictionary of Forces (Forces, Levers, Struts and Ties)
http://www.diydoctor.org.uk/projects/forces.htm