How might we...design challenge!

Using everything we have learned so far about electricity students were given a final design challenge:

How might we build a mechanism that uses electricity?   

Room 16 designed blueprints and build a prototype for their mechanism.  Students worked in their groups to then test their prototype and create a presentation sharing what they have learned, what challenges they faced and how they were able to work together to complete this task.

Check out our creative designs!

Successful Story Writing

Genre: Character-Problem-Solution

We are writing original creative stories, using this genre. This involves a problem or adventure that our main characters will experience.

Beginnings: 4 techniques to hook our reader

•  Action – What would you do?
• Dialogue/Exclamation – What would you say or exclaim?
•  A Thought or Question – What would you be thinking, wondering or worrying?
• A Sound – What would you hear?

Suspense: Here are some ways we can build suspense

• Story Questions – use your characters to ask questions – to wonder or worry. This gives hints to the reader about what might happen next.
• Word Referents – when describing a story critical person or object, do not immediately reveal what ‘it’ is. 
• Magic of 3 – use imagery (descriptive language) to give 3 hints before revealing a discovery at the end. Focus on the 5 senses (what we see, hear, feel, smell, taste)

Main Event: This is the MOST IMPORTANT part of the story. Fully elaborated main events have a balance of:

• Action – What did the characters do?
• Description – What did you see, hear, or feel?
• Thoughts/Feelings – What were you wondering, worrying, feeling?
• Dialogue/Exclamation – What did you say or exclaim?
• Sound Effect – What did you hear?

Endings: A good story ending reveals what the story was about and how the main character has grown or changed.

Here are some suggestions for writing extended endings:

• A Memory – What did you remember most?
•  Feelings – How did you feel about what happened?
• Wish or Hope – What would you wish or hope?
• Decision – What did you decide?
• Defining Action – What did you do?

How Many Different Switches Can You Build?

As part of our ongoing Electricity Inquiry students were challenged to create as many different switches as they could using materials from our Maker Carts.  Students had to assess what types of materials would be most appropriate for this task and then invent and test their design.

They also had to consider questions such as:

Why are switches important?

What is their purpose?

How does  switch effect the flow of electricity?

Working in their teams students created many unique designs!  Take a look!

  

Story Writing

 In Language Arts we are writing stories using a character-problem-solution model.

These kinds of stories are about a problem or an adventure that the main character(s) encounter, which eventually results in a resolution.

Students begin writing their original short stories.

The purpose of the beginning is to hook the reader, and to introduce main character(s), setting (time and place), and theme/topic of the story.

We are practicing writing story beginnings using 4 techniques to interest the reader:

        1.     An Action – what would you do?

        2.     Dialogue – what might you say or exclaim?

        3.     A Thought or Question – what would you wonder or worry?

        4.     A Sound – what might you hear?

We have also discussed the importance of starting the stories close to the main event, so we don’t write about details that are not relevant to the events in the story.

Everyday Super Heroes!

On May 6th the students of CJFS will be taking part in a school wide parade to celebrate student learning and school culture.  The students of room 16 have decided that our theme will be Everyday Super Heroes.  This can be someone that they know (mom, dad, friend...) or someone who is famous and has made a positive difference in the world.  Students may not choose a comic super hero such and Batman or Superman.  When students have chosen their "superhero" they need to fill out the google form here by next Friday April 8th.

What Does it Mean to be Canadian?

In Social Studies, we are learning about the different groups of people who have come to Canada over the years, their ways of life and appreciate the diversity of Canada's heritage.   Students are applying for a job as a tour guide for the National Museum of Canada, assigned to a new exhibit that will examine the diversity and complexity of Canadian identity. The exhibit will share the stories of the many groups of people who made Canada what it is today. As part of your application, you will become an expert on one group and create a presentation to share. By listening to the presentations of the other applicants, you will make some conclusions about the diversity and complexity of Canadian identity. The museum curator requires guides who are knowledgeable about Canada, both past and present.

Students should have answered the following questions to help guide their research for the project. 

Questions for Research

•   Where did they come from?


•   How did they get to Canada?


•   How did they live once they were in Canada?


•   How did they adapt to their environment in Canada?


•   Where did they settle in Canada? (rural, urban)


•   Why did they come to Canada? 


•   Who were they?


•   What did they bring with them?(customs, traditions…)


•   What kind of housing did they live in when they arrived?


•   What did they eat? (did they continue to eat their traditional foods or did they change what they ate)


•   How did they feel about coming to Canada?


•   When did they come to Canada? 


•   What did it mean for them to be Canadian?


•   How did their lives change once they came to Canada?

When they are finished their research they need to ask themselves the following questions:

•   Is the information on topic?

•   Is there enough information to help the audience understand my topic?

•   Does the information help me understand how these people felt?

They will also be working with a peer coach to help them answer these questions and give them feedback on their research.

The final step will be to use a visual or oral format to create an exciting and informative presentation about your selected group that:

•   Shares important information from your research (how they lived, their hardships and their contributions to present-day Canada)

•   Draws conclusions about how they felt about their lives (their sense of identity) supported with evidence obtained from your research.

Electricity at CJFS Assignment

Students in Room 16 explored and discovered electricity at CJFS last week by taking photographs throughout the school.

We are now working to sort these photographs by the following categories:  

-Heating

-Lighting

-Communicating

-Computing

-Moving

-Other

These assignments are to be completed over the spring break and can be accessed via Google Drive from home!

Please review the following checklist before sharing with Mrs. Storrier:

• 6 categories with at least 2 pictures per category
• Explanation of WHY these pictures were sorted the way they were
• Titles, labels, etc

To submit these assignment it must be shared with testorrier@educbe.ca

Hope you have a safe and restful break!