It was a pleasure connecting with parents last week for our Parent-Teacher interviews via Zoom. If you were unable to book a time to meet last week, i'd be happy to arrange a meeting at a mutually convenient time in the coming days or weeks.
After a bit of a hiatus (hiatus being one of our words of the day) i've gotten around to posting a summary of some of the learning that we have covered these past few weeks. Due to Covid and the varying degrees of student engagement with on-line learning before summer holidays, I have tried to start the year somewhat gently for students, to slowly reastablish expectations and routines, and also to mitigate the stress and anxiety that some students and families may be experiencing with the return to school.
Sciences Naturelles
Over the past four weeks we have covered the topic of the Scientific method and have introduced the theories of the origins and evolution of life on Earth, and the discovery of microorganisms. Student completed an experiment exploring the aerodynamics of the flight of a frisbee where they collected data on the characteristics of flight and discussed variables that influened their results. Students also watched and responded to questions related to the BBC documentaries First Life and The Hidden Life of Cells.
After gaining an understanding of the origins and evolution of single cell organisms to multicellular organism we have moved onto the invention of the microscope and the discovery of microorganisms. Student are currently reading a text and responding to questions related to the discovery of cells. We will be using microscopes to observe aquatic organisms next week and looking at the differences and similarities between plant and animal cells.
Sciences Humaines
Students have been working on mapping these past few weeks, starting with drawing a map of Canada from memory to see how different student perceived their country or how well they remembered it from past school activities. From there students completed maps of Canada, the continents, Europe and a map of the world with 35 different countries that needed to be identified.
Students are currently working on a project where they are representing a place that is important to them. We discussed how maps serve a specific purpose and represent certain information - whether it is political boundaries, time zones, elevation, population density, climate, or transportation corridors. Often a specific kind of information is highlighted at the expense of other features. In this regard I presented information about how cartography has evolved and how different cultures have represented their world. Students watched a short documentary about how an indigenous culture - the Zuni of New Mexico represented their land in an alternative cartography project.
Student are currently working to create a map of someplace significant to them - their room, their home, their yard, their neighbourhood, their route to school, their favourite hiking or biking trail. It can be a narrative description or a pictographic depiction. Students can use a wide range of media to represent part of their world that they have a connection to.
English Language Arts
Students were given the choice at the beginning of October between a writer's workshop with Mme. Martin where they are learning about the components of sentences and proper paragraphing or participating in a graphic novel unit. Students who are completing the graphic novel unit have been reading graphic novels and planning their story and the visual elements for their own graphic narrative.
Français Langue
This past month students reviewed the verbes of Dr Mrs. Vandertramp and composed a paragraph using at least eight of the verbs that use être as an auxilary in the past tense. We have also been focussing on current events - the elections in the United States as well as the forest fires that were so devestating for many of the western states. We will be shifting our focus to current events in Canada this week.
Important Dates:
Feux de Foret questions - Week of Oct. 26
Microscope et Cellules questions (3,4,5,6, 7 ou 8) - Wednesday, Oct. 28
Halloween costume contest - Friday, Oct 30.
Graphic Novel Summary #1 - Week of Nov. 2
Nov. 10 Field trip permission form - Friday, Nov 6.
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