Division 1

Reflections on our water project:

What did we learn? What went well? What would we do differently next time?

 

 

 

 

Students thought using PowerPoint helped focus their presentation and they appreciated the time they had to prepare and practise, but still more time would have helped some students.  Some students liked the graphic organizers, some did not.  They found the research difficult at times and asked for better websites.  In future more students would like to present on the “big screen”, rather than using the computers.

What were the important things they learned?

•  Many water issues facing developing countries
• Water has a huge role in the quality of life in developing countries
• The First World needs to help the third world.

What did the teachers think?

What went well?

• Mr. Saini’s tech lessons in the lab
• having the time to plan with each other and the district staff
• creating the graphic organizers for note taking
• having the calendar and the resources on the library blog
• time to be in the lab and library with TL, using library space when TL not there
• more engagement for some students, the technology was a great hook
• peer assessment and checklist
• students presented to peers, teachers, parents (student led conferences), district teachers, principal etc; they had authentic audiences for their projects
• integrating and linking this project to Me to We, author visit with Eric Walters, Read Aloud Alexandria of Africa, public speaking contest, Mad Science and more
• students helping and teaching each other with the technology; collaboration and cooperation
• students developed an understanding of their city and the world as it relates to water
• students can use the skills they learned and apply them to future inquiry projects

What would we do differently?

• more modelling and explicit teaching (evaluating and synthesizing information)
• more emphasis on inquiry and answering our essential question
• more time to work together and for the students

So, what did we do with all our knowledge about clean water and how it affects the lives of people in developing countries? April 12th was our water fundraiser.  The grade 7 students, as part of their “Me to We” project, raised funds to help children in Kenya through author Eric Walter’s charity Creation of Hope. Students carried 4L milk jugs full of water around the school with the rest of the students cheering them on.  Students raised over $350! Congratulations!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

April 15th was presentation day.  Patricia Finlay, our district Teacher Librarian, Lucky Saini, Learning Technologies, Janice Nakatsu, principal, Candace Lawrence, LSS, as well as Mr. Belliveau, Ms. Borgenstrom and Ms. Araujo viewed the presentations.  Students were evaluated by their peers and an adult.

Samples of Student work:

chris power point.ppt

April 3

Final presentation criteria

Please note that the final presentation date has been extended until April 15th.  Your presentation (powerpoint, popplet, poster, etc) should be mostly complete by April 8th.  Next week you will practise the oral part of your presentation.

 

Project Calendar

March 4

Part 2: Burnaby Notes Due March 7th

Criteria and format for works cited page due with your final project:

Works Cited

Recommended search engine for your country information:

www.sweetsearch.com

FEB 21ST
COUNTRY CHOICE DUE FEB 25TH
NOTES DUE FEB 28TH
Country Choices:
Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Haiti, India, Kenya, or Uganda.

Recommended online sources for researching your country:

World Book student- access through Web Resources under the library tab on the school home page. You can listen to the article being read aloud.

National geographic–
Not all countries are represented here.

Global Trek

Mr. Belliveau and Ms. Borgenstrom have copies of articles from a variety of sources in your classroom.  Please ask them for a copy. Books from the library on your countries are also available in your classrooms.

February 18th

Water Unit:

Essential Question: Why is access to clean drinking water important to all people?

Learning intentions for today:

To understand how we in Burnaby access clean drinking water.

Explore these to sites to answer the questions we generate today.

Burnaby City web site

 

Metro Vancouver web site – Services – Water Treatment and Supply

 

September 17th

We want to know about your reading habits so we can help you find books you’ll love and develop a lifetime habit of reading.

Reading Survey Part 1

Reading Survey Part 2