April 22 - 26

I can persevere through challenging tasks and problems (Grade 6 Wellness)

I can explain my reasoning in an organized way, talking about how I started and what I changed when solving a problem (Grade 6 Math)

This week, we decided to tackle a complex problem: The Bridge Riddle. Students were shown a scenario with several specific parameters. In pairs or independently, students were asked to come up with a solution. They were encouraged to use whiteboards, manipulatives, and visuals to help them. They had a lot of fun trying to solve this seemingly impossible task.

Here is a link to the video if you would like to try it yourself or with your child:

                                           

April 15 - 18

 Level Up Calgary

Develop and deliver presentations for specific purposes and audiences (Grade 6 ELAL)

Publish selected writing, incorporating graphics, captions, charts, or other text features to express individuality (Grade 6 ELAL)

Consider ways in which diverse perspectives align or differ (Grade 6 Wellness)

We have been working on our Minecraft builds over the last few weeks and are so excited to showcase our work on Thursday! Students are finishing up their builds and writing scripts for their video submissions. Students learned about planning for the needs of a city by exploring the City of Calgary Strategic Planning document. When creating designs, they made sure each feature contributes to vibrancy, diversity, equity, or unity and explained how the features were sustainable. As always, this group of students has shown a lot of thoughtfulness and creativity in their work!

Math

I can add and subtract fractions with like and unlike denominators (Grade 6 Math)

We have been working so hard on understanding fractions! Students have learned how to simplify fractions, find equivalent fractions, and now add and subtract.

Adding and Subtracting Fractions With the Same Denominators: 

Adding Fractions With Different Denominators:

Subtracting Fractions With Different Denominators:

Here is an example of some practice work from this week:

A few students challenged themselves with this:

And we had a little fun too...

April 8 - 12

 Hangar Museum Field Trip!

 I can describe and demonstrate instances in which air movement across a surface results in lift— Bernoulli’s principle.

I can apply appropriate vocabulary in referring to control surfaces and major components of an aircraft. This vocabulary should include: wing, fuselage, vertical and horizontal stabilizers, elevators, ailerons, rudder.

We had an AMAZING time at the Hangar Museum on Monday. We created gliders, helicopters, and parachutes. We were able to climb in a couple of aircrafts and control the ailerons, elevators, and rudder! Thanks again to our amazing volunteers.

April 2-5

I can understand fractions as a part of a whole and convert fractions to decimals (grade 6 Math)

We started by looking at some benchmark fractions and learned how to write fractions as decimals and decimals as fractions. Students learned how to use a hundredth grid to represent a fraction and also learned the steps to make conversions using mathematical procedures.

We practiced this concept with this task:

There are 10 different lengths of cuisenaire rods.  Choose one rod to represent a whole.  Identify the fraction and decimal represented by the other cuisenaire rods.

Cuisenaire rods

                                                       

After some practice, we challenged the students with The Unusual Baker problem to work through:

We will continue working on this concept then we will move into adding and subtracting fractions!

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I can recognize that the Moon’s phases are regular and predictable, and describe the cycle of its phases (Grade 6 Science)

In science, we thought it would be a great idea to review the phases of the moon! We had the opportunity to create a stop motion animation! Students were challenged to create an entire moon phase cycle using plasticine. Here is a look at our work:

Here is a finished project: 

March 18-21

 

I can interpret artworks for their symbolic meaning (Art, grade 6)

We have been so fortunate to host Land Eater, a travelling exhibition of artworks by Jude Griebel, right in the Andrew Sibbald Learning Commons! In grade 6, we spent time looking closely at all the pieces of art and discussed the message we think the artist is trying to convey. 

When we analyze art, we follow this format. Students are welcome to add their own thoughts and ideas outside of these guidelines, but this offers a nice starting point when we are first learning to think carefully about art. 

Everyone is really great at interpreting the art in a literal sense; the students notice details and are able to talk about how the artist created the pieces. We noticed that many students still need some practice considering the theme of the art, or the artist's message. We came together as a class and looked at some of Griebel's other art in the series and the discussion the students took us on was impressive! We have been practicing the skill of finding the deeper meaning when we read different texts in the classroom so once they got going, they shared some great ideas about our human interactions with land and our impact on natural ecologies!

We ended our week by brainstorming some ideas for our own "Land Eater" art. We are looking forward to coming back in a creative way to create some personal art inspired by Jude Griebel.

Here is some of Jude Griebel's Work: