Ralph Klein Field Trip

Today, we visited Ralph Klein Park and participated in a program called "Marsh Madness." Our teacher, Sunita taught us all about the importance of wetlands. Wetlands are important because they soak up and hold on to water. They can hold a lot of water like a sponge, which prevents flooding. They even give water in a drought. They also clean the water so it's safer for us to drink like a pollution filter. They prevent forest fires because there aren't many trees in the grassland/wetlands. Wetlands also provide a habitat for lots of animals (insects, birds, mammals, fish).

A Canada Goose family with goslings

A Muskrat that swam under our dock!

City Watersheds Model

In the picture above, Sunita showed us places where humans make pollution. For example, factories, farms because of livestock, garbage, dog poop, dust from construction and farms, and salt/sand on our winter streets. We compared the cleanliness of the water before and after she added sponges to represent the wetlands. It was SO much cleaner when the wetlands were there.

Here are a few photos and student quotes about the day:

My favourite part was... 

"the pond dipping because I like how I got to catch and identify different types of animals that live in the wetland." ~ Davyd

"the pond dipping because I like to study insects that live in the water." ~ Isar

"the walk because I got to see around the park and see the animals." ~ MM

"the pond dipping because I learned what animals are in the water." ~ SS

"there are ducks taking their ducklings to swim." ~ Jaivivaan

"the pond dipping because I like all the animals that I got to discover." ~ Nollan

"when a muskrat scared me when I was catching a big leech." ~ Matin

"the pond dipping because we got to see all the animals living in the pond." ~ Milu

"the pond dipping because I like to study the creatures in the water." ~ AK 

On our way to the dock to do our pond dipping

Here, we took turns walking through the middle of the two lines.
We were pretending to be the wetland filtering the pollution from the water.

We tried to guess the animal on our back by asking Yes-No questions.
Then, we added them to the board of a wetland area to show each animal's habitat.

Confluence Field Trip

Our Field Trip to Confluence

We became archaeologists! What did the settlers, NWMP, railroad and Indigenous peoples leave behind?

We also solved some suitcase mysteries! Who packed these suitcases? What were their lives like?

Can you guess what this was used for?

What do these wooden posts represent? Ask me!

 

Robotics Residency

Last week, we had a presentation from Mr Robot. We discussed all the places we find robots in the world and what their uses are. We learned the basics of coding and a few of us got to code his robot, JD. 

Today, we got to spend the whole morning working with Mr Robot and his assistant, Zachary. They taught us how to code different EZ-Robots using a program called Arc. We learned how to make them move, and how to speak either in their robots voices or in our voices through an audio recording! Here are some pictures and quotes from what we learned: 

"I liked how you can make the robot talk." ~ MiM

"It was cool that you could do so many things. It was funny that the robots could ram into other people's robots." ~ Viljo

"It's like you're a parent. You can mould them into what you want and mine was a fighter." ~ Hugh

"It was fun how we could program the robots to do anything basically." ~ Milu

"I learned at the start how to make sound effects with the robot speaking." ~ SS

"I liked how you can change the robot's movements in a split second." ~ LD

"I liked how you could make the robots fight." ~ Nollan

"I liked the coding." ~ MaM

"It was very cool. It did a happy dance." ~ Jaivivaan

We also did other coding activities with them while the robots were charging. For the Algorithm Task, we drew a path on a piece of grid paper. Then, we wrote the instructions for how to travel along the path. This is like the algorithm we use when coding the robots. You need to think about both the movements and the directions of movements so the robots can understand what you want them to do.

The next activity was to make a Binary Bracelet. We did that because robots use Binary as their language. We got a coding sheet that told us how to write our initials using binary code. We used corresponding beads to "write" our initials on the bracelets so the robots could read them.

Last, we played an "If... Then..." game where we did an action if we met the conditions that were given (ex: wearing a hat, being in Grade 4, having braces, etc). Mr Robot gave us an instruction like, "If you're wearing a green shirt, stand up" and we followed it, just like a robot would do. We had a lot of fun today exploring coding!

Creating Our Own Land Acknowledgement

 For the Earth Day Assembly, we took on the Indigenous Perspective.

We explored the following questions: What was Treaty 7? What is a land acknowledgement? Why do we do them? How can we create and acknowledgement that is meaningful?

Then, we created our own, filmed it and presented it at the Earth Day Assembly.

I learned that the treaties between the indigenous people and the settlers were not respected. - Atticus

Another thing is there was a very strong connection between the Indigenous people and the land. You can see this by looking at a place/landmark like mokinstis and how it is still a very nice area because they kept it that way for so many years. - MM

When you make your own land acknowledgement it will feel more special and show the person you worked hard to make it. It shows much more respect then using someone else's - Fox

What I liked about this project was how weren't just copying a land acknowledgement we were making our own - Milu

It was important to create our own land Acknowledgement to show that we really care about indigenous people. I learned that many of the promises given to indigenous people were broken. I enjoyed that I got to be in the video. - Davyd

I enjoyed doing the land acknowledgement videos to show to our school and learning about the indigenous people before us. Also doing the world map and just overall everything! - Viljo

Field Trip to see Jane Goodall!

Today, we got to visit Arts Commons to see Dr Jane Goodall. We learned a bit about her life story, as well as the Roots and Shoots Foundation.

Jane Goodall is famous for her research on chimpanzees. She lived with them in Gombe National Park in Tanzania, Africa and discovered that chimpanzees and humans are closely related. It was ground-breaking to learn that they use tools because before that time, scientists thought that humans were the only animal that used tools. Jane Goodall needed lots of patience to observe them.

We learned about her organization, Roots and Shoots. If kids want to make a difference in the world, first they get inspired! Next, kids should observe their community to see what its needs are. Once you have an idea of how to help,  Step Three is to Take Action, just like we did when we wrote letters to different Canadian leaders about environmental issues. Finally, Step Four is to Celebrate!

"I was amazed by how patient she was when she started to sit there and take months and years to observe chimpanzees so they became comfortable with her." ~ Hugh

"You're never too young to make a change." ~ Felicia

"She's 91 years old and she still likes stuffed animals." ~ Nollan

"Jane Goodall said that nothing is impossible." ~ Mahrosh

"I loved the fact that she gave the chimpanzees names." ~ Viljo

"When she was born she went to Tanzania to see the chimpanzees. They became comfortable with her. Her dream was to go to Africa." ~Jaivavaan

Zoo Designs

In Math, we are using our Multiplication skills to calculate the Area of a rectangle. We know we can skip count by groups (like by rows), or use the standard algorithm (length x width) to find the area. We also know that we need to include measurement units with our answer (like, square units).

We are also using our Art skills to draw the animals that are in each enclosure. We are adding details to the background to show what their enclosures look like. Ms Elder is letting us make imaginary or extinct animals, too! 

The Floating Paper Clip

Today, we experimented with magnetic force. First, we had to create our own design to make a paper clip float. We were allowed to use the following materials: a plastic cup, a ruler, a piece of tape, a whiteboard, a pencil, a piece of string, a paper clip, and, of course, a magnet. The class had lots of different designs. 

Then, we tested the magnetic force to see how strong it was. We put materials in between the magnet and the floating paper clip to see if it would fall or float.  

Testing to see if we can put a duotang
in between the magnet and the paper clip

Testing to see if we can put thick cardboard
in between the magnet and the paper clip

What I learned from this experiment: 

"I learned that my Science duotang actually didn't stop the paper clip from floating." ~ Finnley

"I learned that magnetic force is very strong." ~ Viljo

"I learned that the magnetic force from just a small magnet is way stronger than you think because I put my whole entire duotang between the magnet and the paper clip and it didn't fall." ~ Fox

"I learned that a paper clip can float with nothing holding it from inside of a cup." ~ DA

"I learned that you could have so many ways to make something float that's magnetic." ~ Nollan

"I learned that when you put my book in between a magnet and a paper clip, it would still float" ~ LD

"I learned how to experiment, how to build the magnet and when I first started it, it feels like it was gonna be hard because there were so many materials to use but when Fox and I tried it, it was so easy because there were so many ways to do it." ~ SS

"It was floating for 3 seconds. When I put the cereal box in the space, then it still floated." ~ Jaivivaan