Energy Transformations at Generating Stations

Students participated in literature circle discussions of Chapter 7 using their assigned roles. Today I sat with Group 3 and evaluated students based on their contributions to the group discussion. Grade 6s have been assigned Chapter 8 of The City of Ember while they work on their reading responses. Students had some time to work on their reading in class. Any remaining work needs to be completed for homework. Novels and Duo-tangs need to be brought to school daily as we will be having novel study time daily.

Students continued investigating the types of generating stations that make up Ontario’s energy mix. Today they read about thermal, hydroelectric, wind, and nuclear generating stations and learned how these stations produce electricity. Once they had completed their reading, student worked on flow charts that represented the energy transformations at each station. They were given the components of the flow chart and had to place each component correctly before they could move onto the next type of generating station. They also learned about the work of Michael Faraday and added Michael Faraday to their Electric Timeline. There are a number of students who still need to email me their OPG graphs (mhaag@stjudesacademy.com) or submit their graphs to me if printing at home. Please do this ASAP if this applies to you.

Grade 6s will be writing a unit test on all they have learned during the electricity unit. This test will take place on Wednesday, October 3^rd. When studying, students should:

1.       Read through your notes at least 3 times

2.       Make notes about your reading. Refer back to your notes if you cannot remember anything. More rereading may be required.

3.       Make doodles or a mind map to represent your understanding

4.       Explain concepts to someone

5.       Ask a family member to quiz you

6.       Repeat steps as necessary

During science fair time, students met with me to show me all their design sketches and to tell me about the design they have chosen and their reasons for choosing this design. All building items, such as small boxes (tissue boxes, toothpaste boxes, etc.), empty water bottles, bottle caps (or other suitable items for the wheels), etc., should be at school on Monday and stored in each students’ shoe box. We hope to begin building next week.

The class continued working on their Iceland presentation. They will continue this in class next week. Everyone is asked to research and prepare a traditional Icelandic dish that is peanut and nut free to serve to guests at this event that takes place next Thursday, October 4^th.

Grade 6s attended the Orange Shirt Day assembly, French, math, and gym class today. In math, students continued working on their Data Management unit review. For homework, students are asked to complete Questions 6 & 7of the review worksheet.  They have also been given a practice test sheet.  The Data Management unit test will be written on Tuesday, October 2^nd.

We are golfing on Monday. Students are asked to come to school in their gym uniform. We will have time on Monday to work on novel study, electricity, and science fair before going golfing. Students are asked to ensure they have all their work with them.

Homework & Reminders

·         UOI

o   Study for the unit test – use the steps we discussed in class

o   Print your two OPG graphs and hand them in to me ASAP if you haven’t already done this, or …

o   Email me your two OPG graphs to mhaag@stjudesacademy.com ASAP if you haven’t already done this

·         Science Fair

o   All car building materials are due on Monday

o   Discuss your ideas with your family and choose a design you will use as your prototype if you haven’t already done this

·         Math:

o   Complete Questions 6 & 7 of the review worksheet

o   Data Management unit test on Tuesday, October 2^nd

·         Novel study – due Monday

o   Read Chapter 8

o   Complete Chapter 8 response

·         IB Portfolio cover pages are past due

·         Return your permission form for the Caribou Cup if you would like to participate

·         Monday, Oct. 1^st  - Grade 6 trip to Old Pro Golf Range, 12:30 – 3:00 pm, wear your gym uniform

·         Tuesday, Oct. 2^nd – Data Management Unit Test

·         Wednesday, Oct. 3^rd - Electricity unit test

·         Thursday, October 4^th  - International Day (PYP only), 2:30 – 3:15 pm, Families and friends are welcome

·         Friday, October 5^th  – PD Day for Teachers (7 am – 12 noon), no school for students

·         Monday, October 8^th – Thanksgiving Day. No school

·         Thursday, October 25 – Picture Day

Data Management and Inferences about Ontario’s Energy Mix

 

Students participated in literature circle discussions of Chapter 6 using their assigned roles. Today I sat with Group 2 and evaluated students based on their contributions to the group discussion. Grade 6s have been assigned Chapter 7 of The City of Ember while they work on their reading responses. Students had some time to work on their reading in class. Any remaining work needs to be completed for homework. Novels and Duo-tangs need to be brought to school daily as we will be having novel study time daily.

Students continued investigating the types of generating stations that make up Ontario’s energy mix. Today they used the data from the OPG Guide and created two graphs: OPG Generating Stations by Type and OPG Generating Stations by Production. This was a time consuming activity where students applied what they have been learning in their Data Management Unit to electricity production in Ontario. The second graph was particularly troublesome, as students had to enter energy production data from over 60 hydroelectric stations accurately into a spreadsheet. Students learned how to use the auto sum feature to find total production. This data was used to produce graphs that included all required titles and labels (including correct spelling and capitalization – you can’t get away from language). Students then worked on making inferences from their graphs and visiting the OPG website to learn about the generating station that is closest to our school. This work is due tomorrow. Students who did not get done during class time used first recess to get caught up and even some of our science fair time too. Students need to either email me their graphs (mhaag@stjudesacademy.com) or print the graphs out at home and submit them to me tomorrow.

Grade 6s will be writing a unit test on all they have learned during the electricity unit. This test will take place on Wednesday, October 3^rd. When studying, students should:

1.       Read through your notes at least 3 times

2.       Make notes about your reading. Refer back to your notes if you cannot remember anything. More rereading may be required.

3.       Make doodles or a mind map to represent your understanding

4.       Explain concepts to someone

5.       Ask a family member to quiz you

6.       Repeat steps as necessary

Students who finished their OPG graphs, inferences, and research continued working on their science fair in class. Students who did not get to this in class, need to complete the science fair work for homework. Some students continued brainstorming ideas on how to build their electric cars. They watched an additional sample video of how this can be done. Grade 6s are challenged to think of different ways that this task can be accomplished. Students are required to complete their third thumbnail sketch today. They are now asked to choose one of their ideas tonight, discuss their ideas with their families, and share their decision with me tomorrow. Students should be collecting items for their cars such as small boxes (tissue boxes, toothpaste boxes, etc.), empty water bottles, bottle caps (or other suitable items for the wheels), etc. This should be brought to school and stored in each students’ shoe box. We hope to begin building next week.

Students who completed their graphs and science fair worked on their Iceland presentation. Students received paper and markers and have begun preparing their posters and ideas. They will continue this in class tomorrow. Everyone is asked to research and prepare a traditional Icelandic dish that is peanut and nut free to serve to guests at this event that takes place next Thursday, October 4^th.

Grade 6s attended the Terry Fox Run, math, and French class today. In math, they took up their homework on scatter plots with Ms. Joseph, worked on the unit review, and worked on Question 1 & 2 of a review worksheet. For homework, students are asked to complete Questions 3 & 4 of the review worksheet. The Data Management unit test will be written on Tuesday, October 2^nd.

Grade 6s had a great attitude while participating in the Terry Fox Run. We had fun while taking time to raise funds and raise awareness for a good cause. We are also so happy that the weather was great and we got to run outside. Tomorrow is the last day to submit any Terry Fox fundraising.

 

Tomorrow is Orange Shirt Day. All week, Ms. Hayward has been talking to students about the sad stories of Canada’s residential schools. She has been providing facts about our history in regard to these schools. Tomorrow, students will be allowed to demonstrate how much they have learned and to support the idea that ‘Every Child Matters’ by wearing an orange shirt. No uniform pieces are required for students who are participating.

Homework & Reminders

·         UOI

o   Study for the unit test – use the steps we discussed in class yesterday

o   Print your two OPG graphs and hand them in to me tomorrow or …

o   Email me your two OPG graphs to mhaag@stjudesacademy.com

·         Science Fair

o   Complete Design #3

o   Collect materials for your car building

o   Discuss your ideas with your family

o   Decide which design you will use as your prototype

·         Math:

o   Complete Questions 3 & 4 of the review worksheet

o   Data Management unit test on Tuesday, October 2^nd

·         Novel study – due tomorrow

o   Read Chapter 7

o   Complete Chapter 7 response

·         IB Portfolio cover pages are past due

·         Terry Fox fundraising is currently underway

·         Return your permission form for the Caribou Cup if you would like to participate

·         Friday, Sept. 28^th   – Orange Shirt Day  - wear an orange shirt to school (no uniform pieces required if you are participating)

·         Monday, Oct. 1^st  - Grade 6 trip to Old Pro Golf Range, 12:30 – 3:00 pm

·         Tuesday, Oct. 2^nd – Data Management Unit Test

·         Wednesday, Oct. 3^rd - Electricity unit test

·         Thursday, October 4^th  - International Day (PYP only), 2:30 – 3:15 pm, Families and friends are welcome

·         Friday, October 5^th  – PD Day for Teachers (7 am – 12 noon), no school for students

·         Monday, October 8^th – Thanksgiving Day. No school

·         Thursday, October 25 – Picture Day

Ontario's Energy Mix

 

 

Ontario’s Energy Mix

Students participated in literature circle discussions of Chapter 5 using their assigned roles. Today I sat with Group 1 and evaluated students based on their contributions to the group discussion. Grade 6s have been assigned Chapter 6 of The City of Ember while they work on their reading responses. Students had some time to work on their reading in class. Any remaining work needs to be completed for homework. Novels and Duo-tangs need to be brought to school daily as we will be having novel study time daily.

In today’s inquiry and over the next couple of days, students will be investigating the types of generating stations that make up Ontario’s energy mix and will explore data with the intention of inferring which type of generating station produces the most energy for Ontario. Today, students began working through the Grade 6 Electricity Production Guide by the OPG. They learned about the work the OPG does in our province, the four main types of generating stations, and a pattern about the location of these stations. Tomorrow, students will need Google sheets or Excel to complete a graphing activity related to electricity production.

 

 Grade 6s will be writing a unit test on all they have learned during the electricity unit. This test has been moved to take place on Wednesday, October 3^rd. Today we discussed steps that students should take when they are studying for a test:

1.       Read through your notes at least 3 times. Go back and watch videos that were posted to the blog.

2.      Make notes about your reading. Refer back to your notes if you cannot remember anything. More rereading may be required.

3.       Make doodles or a mind map to represent your understanding

4.       Explain concepts to someone

5.       Ask a family member to quiz you

6.       Repeat steps as necessary

We continued brainstorming ideas on how to build our electric cars for our science fair projects. Students were given time to watch two additional sample videos of how this can be done. We will watch videos each day this week in order to help the Grade 6s to think of different ways that this task can be accomplished.  Students are required to complete their second thumbnail sketch today. They will be asked to choose one of their ideas by the end of the week. Students should be collecting items for their cars such as small boxes (tissue boxes, toothpaste boxes, etc.), empty water bottles, bottle caps (or other suitable items for the wheels), etc. This should be brought to school and stored in each students’ shoe box.

 

Students had 20 minutes of class time to work on our Iceland presentation today. Students received paper and markers and have begun preparing their posters and ideas. Students will continue working on posters and more in class tomorrow. Everyone is asked to research and prepare a traditional Icelandic dish that is peanut and nut free to serve to guests at this event that takes place next Thursday, October 4^th.

Grade 6s attended gym, math, and French class today. In math students learned about scatter plots. They watched a video and practiced a couple of questions online and on a worksheet. For homework they are to complete questions 3 & 4 of the worksheet. The Data Management unit test for math has been moved to Tuesday, October 2^nd due to our golfing trip on Monday.

Our second day of bake sale was a success. Thank you to everyone for sending in items to sell at the bake sale.

The Terry Fox Run takes place tomorrow. Students are to come to school dressed in their gym uniforms. Remember to hand in funds raised for the Terry Fox Foundation on a daily basis. The last day to do this is Friday.

Homework & Reminders

·         UOI – study for the unit test – use the steps we discussed in class today

·         Science Fair

o   Complete Design #2

o   collect materials for your car building

o   discuss your ideas with your family

·         Math:

o   Complete questions 3 & 4 of the scatter plot woksheet

o   Unit test on Tuesday, October 2^nd

·         Novel study – due tomorrow

o   Read Chapter 6

o   Complete Chapter 6 response

·         IB Portfolio cover pages are past due

·         Terry Fox fundraising is currently underway

·         Return your permission form for the Caribou Cup if you would like to participate

·         Thursday, Sept. 27^th – Terry Fox Run, come to school wearing your gym uniform

·         Friday, Sept. 28^th   – Orange Shirt Day  - wear and orange shirt to school (no uniform pieces required if you are participating)

·         Monday, Oct. 1^st  - Grade 6 trip to Old Pro Golf Range, 12:30 – 3:00 pm

·         Tuesday, Oct. 2^nd – Data Management Unit Test

·         Wednesday, Oct. 3^rd - Electricity unit test

·         Thursday, October 4^th  - International Day (PYP only), 2:30 – 3:15 pm, Families and friends are welcome

·         Friday, October 5^th  – PD Day for Teachers (7 am – 12 noon), no school for students

·         Monday, October 8^th – Thanksgiving Day. No school

·         Thursday, October 25 – Picture Day



 

Electromagnets

 

Students participated in literature circle discussions of Chapter 4 using their assigned roles. Today I sat with Group 4 and evaluated students based on their contributions to the group discussion. Grade 6s have been assigned Chapter 5 of The City of Ember while they work on their reading responses. Students had some time to work on their reading in class. Any remaining work needs to be completed for homework. Novels and Duo-tangs need to be brought to school daily as we will be having novel study time daily.

In today’s inquiry time we explored magnets and electromagnets. Students participated in various investigations:

1.       Exploring the attractive and repulsive forces between the different poles of magnets

2.       Exploring the effect of magnets on various metals (copper, aluminum, zinc, and iron)

3.       Observing the magnetic field around magnets with the help of iron filings

4.       Observing the effect of an electric current on a compass needle

5.       Building and testing an electromagnet

6.       Reading about the connections between magnets and electricity

We did not get to complete all these stations. Grade 6s will continue with this activity tomorrow. Grade 6s will be writing a unit test on all they have learned during the electricity unit. This test will take place next Tuesday, October 2^nd.

We continued brainstorming ideas on how to build our electric cars for our science fair projects. Students were given time to watch two sample videos of how this can be done. We will watch videos each day this week in order to help the Grade 6s to think of different ways that this task can be accomplished.  Students are required to complete their first thumbnail sketch today. They will be asked to choose one of their ideas by the end of the week. Students need to begin collecting items for their cars such as small boxes (tissue boxes, toothpaste boxes, etc.), empty water bottles, bottle caps (or other suitable items for the wheels), etc. This should be brought to school and stored in each students’ shoe box.

Students had 20 minutes of class time to complete their Iceland research today. We generated some good ideas of how to set up our classroom. Students will begin working on posters and more in class tomorrow. Everyone is asked to research and prepare a traditional Icelandic dish that is peanut and nut free to serve to guests at this event. Students are asked to bring their devices to class daily as we research about Iceland.

Grade 6s attended music, math, and French class today. In math students discussed misleading graphs and completed a worksheet. They will be writing a unit test on Monday, October 1^st.

 Our first day of bake sale was a success. The sale continues tomorrow. Items that were not sold today will continue to be sold tomorrow.  Each student in our class is asked to contribute baked or bought items to sell. All items must be nut and peanut free.

Remember to hand in funds raised for the Terry Fox Foundation on a daily basis.

Remember that tomorrow is Casual Day.

Homework & Reminders

·         UOI – study for the unit test

·         Science Fair

o   Complete Design #1

o   collect materials for your car building

o   discuss your ideas with your family

·         Math: Unit test on Monday, October 1^st

·         Novel study – due tomorrow

o   Read Chapter 5

o   Complete Chapter 5 response

·         Bring in Bake sale items for Wednesday if you haven’t already done this

·         IB Portfolio cover pages are past due

·         Terry Fox fundraising is currently underway

·         Return your permission form for the Caribou Cup if you would like to participate

·         Wednesday, Sept. 26^th

o   Casual Day,

o   Bake Sale hosted by our class

·         Thursday, Sept. 27^th – Terry Fox Run, come to school wearing your gym uniform

·         Friday, Sept. 28^th   – Orange Shirt Day  - wear and orange shirt to school (no uniform pieces required if you are participating)

·         Monday, Oct. 1^st  - Grade 6 trip to Old Pro Golf Range, 12:30 – 3:00 pm

·         Tuesday, Oct. 2^nd – Electricity unit test

·         Thursday, October 4^th  - International Day (PYP only), 2:30 – 3:15 pm, Families and friends are welcome

·         Friday, October 5^th  – PD Day for Teachers (7 am – 12 noon), no school for students

·         Monday, October 8^th – Thanksgiving Day. No school