Blog Archives

Bear talk - Micheal Allen

10/28/2015

Students enjoyed a presentation by our guest presenter, Micheal Allen. Here students learnt about the black bears in Whistler and what technology he uses to study bears. The coolest part of his presentation was when he showed us a video footage he took of a 3 legged black bear near Birkenhead. In sum, we learnt how resilient this animals are.

Soccer with Coach mark

10/28/2015

For the last 2 weeks, students have been developing soccer skills with our professional coach Mark.

Math - the magic of fibonacci numbers

10/28/2015

This lesson was about Fibonacci numbers. I introduced the lesson as a challenge, for them to work in groups through a set of mysterious puzzles in envelopes. Each numbered envelope contained one puzzle, and students had to successfully complete one puzzle before moving to the next. Each puzzle had a clue, but groups had to agree that they were stuck before they could look at it. The topics we explored through these puzzles included:
Fibonacci numbers, Fibonacci squares, Fibonacci rabbits, the Pascal triangle and the Golden Ratio.

Student vote

10/28/2015

Here students had the opportunity to participate in a Student Vote that was parallel to the federal election.
The purpose was to provide them with an opportunity to experience the voting process firsthand and build the habits of informed and engaged citizenship.

Since 2003, 26 Student Vote programs have been conducted across Canada. In the last federal election, 563,000 students cast ballots from 3,750 schools.
Here are the results across Canada for this year's Student Vote: http://studentvote.ca/the-results/

Le grand débat

10/28/2015

Here students performed a mock electoral debate. Students were assigned each a role for the leaders debate. Our grade 6 students pretended to be the different party leaders while several grade 5 students were reporters asking questions to the politicians. We also had commercial breaks where the grade 5s presented news about the weather and sports. The three main themes we focused on for the debate were: the environment, immigration and national defence. This activity was an extraordinary opportunity for students to practice reading and speaking in French while learning about the different party platforms and ultimately making an informed student vote before the federal election.

Density Lab

10/23/2015

Every week we have been doing science experiments. Here students examined DENSITY. In this experiment we used different concentrations of sugar in each solution. The students then needed to try and form a rainbow of colour. The solutions formed layers, from least dense, on top, to most dense (concentrated) at the bottom of the glass.

Collaborative Math Game - Learning about patterns

10/13/2015

Students had one minute to look at a sheet of
mathematical information and to reproduce it. In groups, each student was given 15 second
sessions between them to look at the sheet. They had to work together to discuss what the next person needed to look for when they next got to see the sheet. What students learnt was that it was easier to reproduce the sheet if students use their mathematics to see patterns in the information.

how is water sticky? - Candy water molecules

10/13/2015

Here students showed how water molecules stick together. They learnt that a water molecule has a slight positive charge on one end and a slight
negative charge on the other. The attraction of the opposite charges, creates what is called surface tension.

Building the tallest structure

10/13/2015

Students were given a challenge: Build the tallest structure! However, each group only had 3 pieces of paper and 70 cm of masking tape. In addition, each structure had to withstand a gust of wind for a minimum of 15 seconds (we used a hairdryer). Before they began building, they needed to brainstorm, draw out drafts and answer questions that would help them with their design.

Making mini pumpkin pies - Thanksgiving

10/13/2015

To celebrate thanksgiving, students helped to make delicious mini pumpkin pies!

KIND HEART - Building A community in the classroom

10/12/2015

.Students were told a story about Ziggy and how her heart was broken at school . Every time someone did something mean to her a piece of her heart was broken off. Students gave examples of how at school ones heart could be broken. Next, students reflected on what they could do to help put Ziggy's heart back together. As students named different acts of kindness they were asked to draw them on a piece of the puzzle. We later glued all the pieces together on a poster as a reminder to have a kind heart.

My life in a paper bag - French oral presentation

10/12/2015

This was the students' first oral presentation in French. They placed 4 objects that represented themselves and wrote sentences in French describing why their object is important in their life. They first practiced with a partner and later presented to the whole class.

Is water sticky? - Surface tension SCience Lab

10/12/2015

Here students practice the steps of the scientific method during this hands-on lab. Students formulate hypotheses about which coin will hold the most drops of water . Next, students tried to answer the following question:
* So why does a dome form when you drop water on the coin?
• And why does the dome eventually collapse?
• What allows those cool water bugs to walk on water?
Finally, students learn about surface tension and how water molecules hold tightly to each other.

Collaborative Art project

10/12/2015

Students learnt about colours in French. As a team they they created a collage with their group colour. They also made their own ecologically friendly glue with water, vinegar and flour.

igirl presentation

10/12/2015

In this igirl presentation, the Grade 5 girls learnt how to celebrate their strengths and feel great about their unique self. They also learnt to stand up to bullying and peer pressure in a way that works using– “i” statements