Genius Hour!

Genius Hour

 Both Division 4 and Division 5 are getting ready for their first ever "Genius Hour" as part of our Science unit on Weather.

When?  Div 5 (Reichert) Thurs. Dec 5;  Div 4 (Clarke) Friday Dec 6, 2013.

What? Students need to come up with a topic of inquiry related to weather over the next few days. Any weather-related topic that lights up their enthusiasm and passion! Next week on their respective days, students will have an hour to get their presentation prepared. It is done in-class... it is not homework, although many will want to do their research at home so they are ready next week with an idea for their presentation.

I'll have paper, glue, sissors available for those who wish to make a poster about their Genius Hour topic, but if students wish to embellish, they'll need to bring in extra supplies from home. And they don't need to make a poster: their presentation could be in the form of a quick iMovie (made in-class next week), a skit, or a model they build (in class), or something they bake in our school's oven, or a voice-only recording (made at school), or whatever they can dream up. Head's up: our school does not allow internet access for devices from home, so plan accordingly.

Their burning question has to be something they can tackle themselves, and something they are passionate about. It's a chance to take a break from the teacher telling them what to study, and for an hour they get to follow their own interests.

Following their hour-long preparation class,  they'll actually present their topic during the next science class they have (Reichert's Div 5: Tues Dec 10; Clarke's Div 4: Wed Dec 11). They will have just 2 minutes to present their whole topic!

I don't mean to restrict thinking or imagination, but some typical questions students might want to find out about:

How do research planes fly into hurricanes?

Why are snowflakes crystals?

Why does cold air hold less moisture than warm air?

If the sun went out NOW, how long would it take for us to find out? 

What weather can you find on Mars?

Where is the windiest place in North America?

What animals, if any, would benefit from global warming?

What clothing would Canadians have worn 300 years ago to ward off the effects of cold winters?

What adaptations have polar bears made to withstand Arctic temperatures?

What happens in the desert when it rains?

Who was Anders Celsius, inventor of the temperature scale named after him?

What causes the 4 seasons?

Why can't scientists be better at forecasting the weather?

Homework:

Math Homework:
Gr 4: Subtraction Quiz (Th); re-take of 3 x tables quiz (Th)
Gr 5: p. 124 # 8-13  and Measurement title page (M)

Socials:
Handout on Natural environment coloured in pencil crayon (T)

Science:
Weather: Genius hour (Reichert's Div 5: Thurs Dec 5; Clarke's Div 4 Fri Dec 6)

Math Homework:

Gr. 4: Sign the 3 x table quiz (F), and complete handout p. 30, # 1, 2 (F)
Gr. 5: p. 124 # 1 a, c, 3, 4, 7

And...

Genius Hour is coming soon! Ask your child all about it!

Math Homework:
Gr. 4: Be prepared for a 2-minute timed quiz on the 3 times tables (Th)
Gr. 5: p. 66, # 1-6, 10-13 (Th)

Homework:

Math:
Gr. 5: p. 58 #1-7 (Th) and a Rounding Quiz (F)

Social Studies:
Gr 4 & 5: Be prepared to present your famous person interview (Th)

Tonight, students are to add their thoughts to our collaboration wall which is located here:

http://padlet.com/wall/clarkeskype

Students are to write a sentence or two in response to yesterday's Mystery Skype.

Speaking of the Mystery Skype, two student reporters will be posting a full debrief soon, but for now, suffice to say it was fun, and hard, and although we had narrowed the other class's location down to USA, and specifically the state of Oklahoma, we did run out of time without finding their actual town (which we subsequently found out was Piedmont, Oklahoma). Here's just a few pictures of us in action:

Mystery Skype call is underway

Each of the students has a specific job

Students collaborating to come up with the next smart question!

Congratulations to our students for sticking with it over 40 intense minutes! This town would be hard to find on most any map due to its size, but here is where it is:

Piedmont, Oklahoma, just north-west of Oklahoma City.

Homework:

Math:
Gr. 5: p. 55 # 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9 (M) (Use number line for # 1, 3, 7)

Socials:
Parental signature on quiz (T)
Be ready for interview (T)

Homework:

Social Studies for Div. 5 (Reichert)

Go to padlet.com/wall/HaiyanClarke from your computer at home, add one new note and name it with your last name only. (F)

Social Studies for Div 4 (Clarke):
Gr 4 & 5: Parent signature on test (due next Tuesday)
Make all necessary preparations for interview (also next Tuesday)

Math:
Gr 4: Study the 7 or 8 math questions we went over in class today in preparation for tomorrow's quiz

Homework:

Social Studies:
Gr. 4 Complete the title page for the Coast Salish, using the blue sheet for criteria (W)
Gr. 5 Immigration (W)

Reading:
Gr. 4: Driverless cars: article to be read and questions answered (W)
Gr. 5: Google Science Fair: article read and questions answered (W)

Blogging:
This was a busy weekend with lots of great posts by our student bloggers, and lots of comments as well! If you have a moment, we'd love your comments too. Just head over to kidblog.org/redskyatnight and read a post or two and leave a comment. It means a lot!

What a beautiful and moving Remembrance Day ceremony today. Our class did a great job in many ways: some were in uniform and were part of the Honour Guard, some were in the Choir, some were part of the recitation of "In Flanders Fields", and some were part of a beautiful movement piece. Thanks to Ms. Dunkley who outdid herself again this year: a stirring, memorable event that was so meaningful from the youngest kindergarten students, to the grandparents at the back of the gym. I am so very proud of the respect shown today at Brooksbank.

Because Remembrance Day is a holiday, there will be no school of course on Monday 11 November.
Classes will reconvene on Tuesday 12 November.

Math homework
GR 5 only: p. 51 # 1, 3, 4, 6a, 7a, 8, 9 (Th)

Parents, I'm sure you have already bookmarked or favourited this page so you can return easily and often, but I've been asked if there is a good way to get notified when I've posted something new. Accordingly I'm reposting this from my September 15 post...

If you would like automatic email notification whenever I post homework here, you might consider using   feed2mail.com.

This free service will ask you for the address here. It is  paulclarkenorthvan.blogspot.ca

When you sign up, you'll automatically get email notification within 15 minutes or less of when I post here. The notification has ads, unfortunately, but at least it is fairly immediate (and free).

The widget on this page to the right, "Follow by email" works fine, except it only sends a summary notification once per day, usually in the middle of the night or often the next day. For this reason, I prefer the free free2mail.com

Homework:

➜Math:
Gr. 4: p. 53 # 1, 2 (Th)
Gr. 5: p. 45 # 4, 6-8, 10-13 (Th)

➜Note: Photos went home from MJM Studios for those that ordered prints.

➜Vancouver Symphony Orchestra:
On Friday 22 November we are going on a field trip by transit to the Orpheum Theatre for an hour-long concert with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (VSO). Most of the Intermediate classes will be going on different days and times, but the VSO is able to offer a reduced rate of just $7.50 per child. Earlier this year we were the recipients of free Translink day passes, so the bus/Seabus there and back will be free for our class. Please return your form and cheque for $7.50 as soon as possible.

Homework:

Math:
Gr. 5: p. 45 # 1-3
Gr. 4: none

Reminder:
Students should complete their first blog this weekend. They should start here:

kidblog.org/RedSkyAt

...then choose their name and enter their own password. From there, they can go to their control panel and create a first post, or if they've already started, carry on (it will be in drafts)

Reminder: Social Studies quiz next Tuesday!