May 16, 2013 by geddesg
Below is a clip relating to our sharing the planet unit. We have been discussing biodiversity and how different organisms rely on each other.
Please watch the clip then share your thoughts as a comment. Please consider these questions.
Is it OK to kill animals? Why/why not?
If you were the government of this area what would you do? Please explain why
Could you kill the animals yourself? Why/why not
Do you think using poison is a good idea? Why/why not
Category Announcements | Tags: | 36 Comments
May 15, 2013 by geddesg
During the past month 4G students have been inquiring into how our bodies and thoughts change as we grow older. Students chose an area that interested them, they found out as much as possible then last week had the opportunity to share what they had found out with the group. There was a huge range of ideas, topics and concepts explored by the students. Some of these including growth, puberty, well being, healthy diet, keeping a healthy heart, sexuality, genetics, active living and the ageing process.
Students were encouraged to choose an area that they feel the most passionate and curious about. While listening to students share their findings and viewing the level of engagement and excitement I was once again reminded of why teaching in the PYP is such a rewarding experience.
One student in particular really blew the class away. She is quite new to the school and only started to speak English a short time ago. She has a seven year old sister with a genetic disorder called Rett’s Syndrome. She decided to find out more about what life will be like for her sister as she grows up. This was obviously something she felt passionate about and something she was very curious about.
From the moment she started her final presentation to the class we were fully engaged. She opened with “often people ask me what it’s like to grow up with my sister, when I think about it, it is actually just normal for me, she is just my sister”
Chloe went on to explain that her inquiry was originally going to be collecting medical facts about life for her sister. She quickly realized how big her inquiry was going to get, and that she will be “always finding out more about life with her sister”
Her presentation went on to include video footage of her sister including some of the equipment used to help her, research on the declaration of human rights, how different countries approach caring for the disabled, statistics on money spent and how many people are effected, an interactive quiz so her audience could consider what they would do if themselves or someone close to them became disabled, an inspirational 3 minute documentary about two brothers and their close bond, plus much much more. Students and myself included were completely inspired by such love and care.
Chloe captivated and engaged her audience for 45 minutes. There is no doubt that the presentation has changed all of us in some small way.
I would like borrow from Chloe’s closing statement to end this post, it is such a simple yet powerful statement. “If you want to help a person with a disability the best thing you can do is help them to feel included in the world we live in”
Category Announcements | Tags: | 7 Comments
May 13, 2013 by geddesg
This week 4G students shared much of the learning from our current unit relating to who we are. All week we discussed the importance of being able to rely on our friends and family for support. We also discussed the value of being able to share our learning, ask questions of one another and feel like we belong to a group. Throughout the week students presented quite personal ideas and findings, it was amazing to feel the level of support that was given to each member of the class as they presented. Today we were again reminded of how close our classroom community is, a quick glance at this video will demonstrate the caring nature of the group. Cup cakes were made last night by the birthday girl (with a tiny bit of help from dad). The boys on keyboard were desperate to play for the group and I hope you can sense the excitement and genuine care from the rest of the group. What a great place to spend each day!
Bday song from Geoff Geddes on Vimeo.
Category Announcements | Tags: | 4 Comments
May 1, 2013 by geddesg
It’s easy to not notice the energy and excitement behind a performance. This clip aims to give you a quick glimpse at the day leading up to our 10 minute performance. Huge thanks to all the parents that supported the event, to the Koto teacher Mr Patterson & to the students for giving it everything.
Students- As you watch the clip please think about
-What you found challenging
- What you found enjoyable
- What you learned that you will be able to use next time.
You can add your thoughts and feelings as a comment to this clip.
Thanks!
Koto performance movie from Geoff Geddes on Vimeo.
Category Announcements | Tags: | 19 Comments
April 20, 2013 by geddesg
Grade 4G have been learning about decimals. This week we practiced some skills and also found out some new things about working with decimals, fractions & percentages.
During this activity students were broken into two groups. One group were minors that were selling the gems they had found. The other group were tourists that wanted to buy some exotic gems.
Different gems were worth different amounts of money. Shoppers moved from place to place buying gems from the different minors. Students were required to keep an accurate running tally of their current balance.
As an extension to this activity we introduced “Toss the Boss” (roughly translated this means that you would toss a dice to decide how much you needed to pay the boss of the shop for the selected gem). Depending on the number you rolled you were required to either- pay double, pay triple, receive 50% off, receive 25% off, get 2 gems for the price of one.
As you can imagine, this activity required an incredible amount of number skills. Students were extremely motivated and asked questions such as “how can we calculate 25% of $1.60?” “what do shops do when they have a 50% off sale and something costs 5 cents? Can you have half a cent?”
Below are a few photos of the students in action. We look forward to next week when students change roles, shoppers becoming minors and minors becoming shoppers. If you would like to know more about this, please ask any 4G student.
Selling Gems from Geoff Geddes on Vimeo.
Category Announcements | Tags: | 3 Comments
April 16, 2013 by geddesg
4G is currently inquiring into Who We Are. We have been having many discussions relating to the ups and downs of growing up. This clip touches on many of the big ideas and major concerns the class has been discussing. For more information, please check out this post from the site Wonderopolis
Category Announcements | Tags: | 4 Comments
April 8, 2013 by geddesg
Grade 4G students planted Tulips in September 2012. After taking care of them for the past 6 months, they have finalled flowered! Exciting times.
Category Announcements | Tags: | 2 Comments
March 20, 2013 by geddesg
At the beginning of this unit the students worked in groups to define the key words in the central idea and lines of inquiry. During the past 2 weeks we have worked with many guest speakers such as Ms Buehler, Ms Megumi and Ms Kumamoto. We have been learning from them while at the same time developing questions relating to the unit. We will use those questions to form a student led inquiry.
Category Announcements | Tags: | No Comments
February 21, 2013 by geddesg
Please write what you think about this issue. You can use any of these prompt questions to help get your brain warmed up.
Why do you think North Korea is attempting to build nuclear weapons?
Do you think this is a problem? Why/Why not?
Do you think it is their business and everyone else should leave them alone to do whatever they want in their own country? Why/Why not?
Who’s job do you think it is to stop North Korea from creating weapons?
How can the world stop this?
What else do you know about North Korea?
Category Announcements | Tags: government,Leadership,North Korea,rights | 18 Comments
February 7, 2013 by geddesg
How do you think this clip relates to our current unit?
Category Announcements | Tags: BTN,childrens,HWOO,right | 5 Comments
