September 19

Announcements:

• Great job to those who participated in Monday's x-country running meet!
• Good luck to those who went to Volleyball tryouts this week (jr. boys - Tuesday 3:10, Thursday 4:10 & jr. girls - Monday 3:10 & Wednesday 4:10)!!! 
• No school Friday, September 20th
• Terry Fox Run Friday, September 27th

Math:

We have begun reviewing numeracy skills (place value, adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing). 

Students are also working on explaining their understanding using Math Talks. The most recent math talks are at the end of this presentation.

Students are learning to problem solve using many different techniques. We watched a video so they could reflect on which strategies might work for them. One of our goals this year is for students to feel like they have the confidence to try math problems and a variety of tools to tackle problems with. 

We reviewed drawing and determining number sentences (equations) using arrays (area models) and played the game "How close to 100?" to practice these skills.

Students are also getting Delta Math accounts so that they can do extra math practice from home. Students click "create student account" and enter 836582 as their teacher code.

Science:

Students learned the terms species, population, and community and worked on their Design a Community Assignment (due Monday, September 23rd). They have a check list with all of the assignment requirements. This should be handed in with their project. Assignment requirements include:

• 5 species (individual organisms)
• 5 populations (groups of the same species)
• a descriptive and creative title for the community
• lab each item in the community (10 labels in total)
• neatly and creatively displayed

We also introduced the three kinds of Symbiotic Relationships: Mutualism, Commensalism, Parasitism. One organism always benefits. We watched several videos and took notes clarifying which type was which. The song seemed to stick well and solidify concepts. 

We also did a scavenger hunt where students had to identify which type of relationship was in the picture and who benefitted, was harmed, or was unaffected. Students who missed this can make up time at lunch on Monday. 

Homework: What kind of relationship do the clownfish and sea anemone have? (email lebowen@cbe.ab.ca and explain how each organism is effected - at least one must benefit)

Here are some video links to learn more about symbiotic relationships:

https://www.google.ca/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=strange+symbiotic+relationships&safe=strict&tbm=vid

https://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/00000144-0a44-d3cb-a96c-7b4dba4f0000

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSmL2F1t81Q

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMG-LWyNcAs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doB6fyzoO68

September 11

Announcements:

• 1st Cross Country Running Meet Monday, September 16th, after school (make sure you have your forms in if you are participating!)
• Volleyball Tryouts Start this week (Boys - Monday, Wednesday & Girls - Tuesday, Thursday) - watch announcements for more information
• PD day next Friday, September 20th

Math:

Students worked on their optical illusions and drawings. They have to include and label the following:

• 2 parallel line segments (different distances apart)
• 2 perpendicular line segments
• 1 angle bisector
• 2 non-90 degree angles (labelled acute or obtuse)

Students are encouraged to be creative while showing how effectively they can measure and use protractors. 

Assignment is due Friday, September 13th

Note: There will be some time in class on Friday to complete these projects, but if a student requires a lot of time it is recommended that they take their project home for homework.

Science:

This week we have been introducing the new combined unit of Interactions and Ecosystems and Plants for Food and Fibre

We have made connections to our Journey 2050 field through a writing assignment about how will we feed 10 billion people by the year 2050? We also had a guest in class who connected various views of the land including indigenous views, scientific views and personal views. In this exploration we watched a video from indigenous perspective about giving thanks to the land. We participated in a sharing circle and learned about sit spot through experience (we went outside and found our own sit spot for reflection). 

Today we continued to work on making observations (facts using 5 senses) when we looked at photos of fire. Students also generated questions about fire. This led us to a discussion about Is Fire Alive? 

Many students argued that fire is alive as it:

• moves
• breathes air (requires oxygen)
• reacts and responds
• makes sound
• can effect us

We then discussed the needs of living things:

• Shelter
• Oxygen
• Food
• Energy (sunlight)
• Water

We learned the terms Biotic (bio = living) Abiotic (a = not, bio = living) and students used iPads to photograph relationships between two living things (biotic-biotic) or a living thing and a non-living thing (biotic-abiotic). They took 4 pictures and submitted them after identifying who benefitted from the relationship. 

Homework: In the photos identify the type of relationship and who benefits. Email me (lebowen@cbe.ab.ca) your answers. 

Tomorrow students will be given a photo and asked to make several observations and an inference (educated guess based on observations). 

Please take a minute to review these terms (observation, inference) in preparation.

Pancakes and Alvin Law

What a great end to the week! 

It was fantastic to see so many people at this morning's pancake breakfast and the Alvin Law presentation was incredibly inspiring!!!

If you missed the presentation this video will give you a sense of who Alvin Law is and what his many inspiring messages are.

Homework:
Send me an email (lebowen@cbe.ab.ca) with your answer to What was your biggest take away from today’s presentation?

Next week at a glance

Science: we will introduce a combined unit of Interactions and Ecosystems and Plants for Food Fibre that will relate to many of the concepts and vocabulary we learned at Journey 2050.

Math: Monday we will design an optical illusion or drawing that has the criteria explained in the September 4th post. To prepare, students have been practicing measuring angles with protractors. They are welcome to work on their designs over the weekend!

We will then begin reviewing place value and numeracy (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division) and using estimation skills to determine if answers make sense.

Have a great weekend!!!! See you next week!

September 4

Announcements:

• Community Pancake Breakfast this Friday (September 6) from 7:30-9:30
• Guest Speaker - Alvin Law 9:30-11 this Friday

Math:

Tomorrow, students will have an opportunity to measure the angles and dimensions of their illusions from last week to determine how precise they were. 

They will then have a chance to redo this illusion OR design an optical illusion of their choice that demonstrates an understanding of:

• parallel lines
• perpendicular lines
• angle bisectors
• measurement
• accurate drawing

Click here for full geometric construction assessment instructions.

Science:

Today we revisited the concepts from yesterday's field trip. Students who missed the trip are encouraged to complete the Journey 2050 Alternate Assignment. 

Students are writing a paragraph in Humanities tomorrow answering the following question ("How can we feed 10 billion people in the year 2050?") with details from the field trip.

To prepare for this assignment, students reflected on the sustainability barrel and discussed the ripple effect of improving one part of the barrel (e.g. soil quality) on the other barrel factors. We reviewed best management practices for urban, agricultural and natural lands. We also brainstormed many other ideas that would help sustain agriculture as the world's population grows.

Journey 2050 Field Trip Tuesday

What will the world be like in the year 2050?

• How many people will be on Earth?
• Will we be able to feed everyone?
• What will we have to think about to do this?

These questions will be explored by 7-3 & 7-4 students on the Journey 2050 Field Trip this Tuesday, September 3rd, 2019.

Things to bring:

• lunch (there are no microwaves!!!)
• water bottle
• snacks
• sweater
• weather appropriate clothes
• medications

Arrive at school on time so you don't miss the bus!!!

Note: Students who did not complete Field Trip forms will be assigned to classes to do similar work from school.

Homework: 
Watch the introduction video and discuss some of these ideas with your friends and family over the long weekend.

Have a great long weekend!!!

August 28

Announcements:

• Please bring back field trip forms tomorrow!!!! If a student forgets, I will have extras at Meet the Teacher Night (Tomorrow - Thursday, August 29th, from 6-8pm
• Journey 2050 Field Trip this coming Tuesday, September 3rd (bring a lunch that does not have to be heated, water, and appropriate clothes)
• Have a great long weekend!!! (no school Thursday afternoon, Friday, or Monday)

Math:

Yesterday we practiced drawing perpendicular lines, parallel lines, perpendicular bisectors and angle bisectors. Today we put some of our skills to the test drawing optical illusions.

Students who would like to try these at home can access the following YouTube Videos:
3D Hole 

Staircase

Science:

Students learned about the Scientific Method by designing a Bubble Gum Lab. Today they tested which kind of gum would blow the biggest bubbles. Much fun was had and hopefully some of the parts of the method became more meaningful.

Tomorrow we will look at the Journey 2050 pre-trip activities. Students who are away are encouraged to watch the introductory video, read some of the terms that will be used on Tuesday, and do the world population growth activity. 

Questions to consider:

What will the world be like in 2050? How many people will be on the planet? Can we sustain agriculture and feed everybody?

August 26

Announcements:

• Meet the Teacher Night is this Thursday, August 29th, 2019 from 6-8pm
• Thursday is a half day to allow for IPP meetings and Meet the Teacher
• Friday is a PD Day (no school) and Monday is Labour Day (no school) *** Have a great 4 day weekend!!!

Math:

We introduced Monday Math Talks today. 

View guidelines for Math Talks here.

Students are encouraged to approach each problem with an open mind. The focus is NOT on right/wrong answers. The goal is for students to learn to communicate what they are thinking effectively. 

Here is today's problem:

Science:

We introduced the Scientific Method using Mythbusters. We watched a short video about the Bubble Boy experiments and we discussed the problem (question), hypothesis, observations, variables, results, and conclusion. We also talked about whether the study was believable (did the scientists test things fairly?). 

This week we will continue to explore parts of the Scientific Method using our own experiment. Should be fun!

August 21, 2019

Math:

The Week of Inspirational Math continues. Today we did the Visual Patterns lesson (Day 2: Visualizing Numbers Made of Dots). Students looked a the visual representations of numbers in great detail. They numbered each picture and then found similarities and differences between different number representations.

I really enjoyed the creative ways students identified patterns and shared their diverse ideas with the class!!!

Homework: 
What would the 36th and 37th dot pattern look like?

 

Science: 

The early part of the year is focussed on reviewing and learning new Science skills.

We began by defining Observations (Quantitative & Qualitative) and Inferences and we practiced making observations and inferences.  See the attached presentation for more information.

Tomorrow we will continue observing the "Mystery Footprints" pictures (in the attached presentation) and making inferences. We will also try Plickers, a fun quiz game, to review the terms and concepts and there will be an assessment of how well students understood these concepts.


Homework:
- Review the four terms in orange above
- Practice making observations (I see ..., I hear ..., I taste ..., I smell ..., I feel ... ***Have to be true / a facts) and inferences (educated guess based on your observations - has to make sense, but can be creative)

August 20, 2019

Announcements:

• Please Return Forms ASAP
• We are looking for parent / guardian volunteers for our field trip to Journey 2050 on September 3rd. If you are interested please contact me at lebowen@cbe.ab.ca
• Meet the Teacher Night August 29th, 2019 6-8 pm
• IPP meetings can be scheduled with me on August 29th, 1-5pm 

Math: 

This week we are doing activities from the Week of Inspirational Math at YouCubed, designed by Jo Boaler, a British Math Education expert at Stanford University.

These tasks aim to give every student an opportunity to think mathematically at their own level. Jo Boaler believes that everyone has the ability to do math! Students also get the opportunity through these challenges to work with peers to expand their mathematical thinking as well as their group communication skills. 

Today we did Four 4's. Both classes found this challenging, but worked hard to find new solutions.

In the past students have described this challenge as follows:
This was a challenging problem, because "it's almost impossible to get some numbers"
They enjoyed that "each answer had different strategies"
"You can be a genius in math, you just need the right mindset"


Homework:
Try to find at least one more equation for four 4's

Science: 

We are learning about the difference between Observations (facts made using 5 senses) and Inferences (educated guesses based on observations)

Students defined these terms and practiced making observations and inferences.

7-3 & 7-4 Math/Science Welcome Message

Welcome to Grade 7 at Ernest Morrow School!!!

It was wonderful getting to know many students this past Thursday and Friday and I am looking forward to meeting the rest of you very soon.

This year I will teach Math and Science, otherwise known as Smath for the purposes of this blog, for 7-3 (Mr. Hillier's RG/homeroom) and 7-4 (my RG). You will find me in Room 19 in the grade 7 hallway at the far end of the school.


This blog will contain important dates and notices as well as daily information about each course in case you miss class, want to connect from home to something we were doing in class or are looking for homework links.

Important Upcoming August Dates:
August 29th, 2019 - Open House and Parent Information Night
September 3rd, 2019 - Journey 2050 Field Trip (*** If you are interested in volunteering please contact me at lebowen@cbe.ab.ca)

Ernest Morrow School Calendar

Please bring yellow consent forms back by Monday if possible.

See you Monday and have a fantastic weekend!

Plant Reproduction and Plotting Coordinates

Math:

Students reviewed plotting coordinates (x, y) and if they plotted accurately they discovered the image of a smiling sun.

We have also learned the Transformations of rigid 2D shapes including translation, reflection and rotation. Today we practiced these skills and tomorrow we will do a Transformation Challenge.

Students who have missed class are encouraged to watch Khan Academy Introduction to Transformations and to try a few practice problems to be sure they understand the three types of transformations.

Science:

This week students have been learning about seed plant reproduction by watching Bill Nye Flowers, having class discussions and taking notes during the plant reproduction presentation.

Tomorrow they will play Plickers and label a diagram of a seed and a flower as well as answering an application question about seed plant reproduction. We will then learn about vegetative reproduction and the role humans can play in plant reproduction.

Plant Assignment

Sustainability of Plants

We use plants as:

1.    Food

2.    Fibre – to make clothing, furniture, etc.   

3.    Medications

Now we need to look at the implications of the use of plants. Have you ever thought about…?

1.    Whether certain methods of growing plants are more environmentally friendly than others?

2.    The effects of herbicides and pesticides on the environment, consumers and agriculture?

3.    The benefits and detriments of selected breeding (ex. GMO’s)?

4.    How environmental management, such as monocultural land use, effects sustainability of agricultural and environmental resources?

It’s also possible that you’re confused and are not fully sure what each of these points is talking about – that’s okay! You’re going to learn something!  

In this project, you will choose one of Topics 1-4 listed above to research. You must present your information to the class in a gallery walk. You may choose to make a PowerPoint, poster, comic book, etc. On the day of presentations, we will place your projects around the room and the class will walk around reading each other’s projects, much like if you were in a museum or art gallery walking around viewing the masterpieces! 

Area of a Circle and Golf Ball Bridge Design

Announcements:

• This week in Science: Plants for Food and Fibre
• This week in Math: Transformations
• Field Trip to Drumheller will be June 24th - Paperwork will be sent home later this week

Math:

We finished the Circles and Area Unit with a hands-on activity that helped students better understand the Area of a Circle equation.

We divided the circle into eighths and then divided one sector into sixteenths.

We then assembled the sectors into a rectangle.

The width or base of the rectangle is the same as the radius (r) of the original circle. The length or height is equal to 1/2 of the circumference (C).

Area of a rectangle is length x width. If we substitute in r and 1/2C ... A = 1/2C x r

For most students this was far enough to take the activity, but a few wanted to understand how the area of a circle equation was related to the area of the rectangle.

We reviewed the two circumference equations: C = Pi x diameter AND C = 2 x Pi x radius

We then substituted the C = 2 x Pi x r equation into the area of a rectangle equation replacing C with 2 x Pi x r

A = 1/2 (2 x Pi x r) r

After reducing we were left with:

Science:

We completed the Structures and Forces Unit with a Golf Ball Bridge Challenge. Students did a great job designing, building, testing, and reflecting on their projects. There were many unique and successful designs!

Forces Bridge Diagram and Circle Geometry

Math:

This past week students reviewed how to calculate Area of a Parallelogram and a Triangle.

They then measured five circular objects and divided the circumference (C) by the diameter (d) to discover Pi. 

This led them to understanding the equations for circumference:

1. C = Pi x d

2. C = 2 x Pi x r 

They learned about the parts of the circle, including that radius (r) is half of the diameter (d). 

They also watched a Math Antics video to learn a little more about what is pi? 

The Math Antics Circles, Circumference and Area video is also quite helpful.

Students learned to calculate Area of a Circle 

This week students will learn to estimate the Area of a Circle with a fun, visual activity.

Science:

Forces Diagram of the Tsing Ma Bridge in Hong Kong

Tsing Ma Bridge, Hong Kong

Students' online research skills have been improving with the practice scavenger hunt and Cool Bridges Project. They had the opportunity to apply their understanding of internal forces to their bridge diagrams.


Students also had success designing the Have-a-Cuppa building challenge. This project encouraged them to think about their joints (how they connected materials together).

There was an equation for success:

Height (cm) x number of beans

The goal is to get higher numbers

Students designed some excellent projects and had a lot of fun!


This week students will have one last design project:
The Golf Ball Bridge

Monday they will be given time to design, build, and test their projects.

Should be a fun way to end the Structures and Forces Unit!!

Bridges Internet Research Project

This week we are exploring forces along with practicing our internet research skills.

Intro Activity: Internet Scavenger Hunt

Students began with an introductory internet scavenger hunt followed by a presentation about Bridges.

They then researched a cool bridge of their choice and answered questions about their bridge on a

Google Doc

Ms. Baillargeon helped support this class and to offer further insights about how to assess web information and make citations correctly. 

Helpful Websites to get you started on your Bridge Research:

Basic Bridge Types: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/tech/build-bridge-p3.html

Explain That Stuff! Bridges: https://www.explainthatstuff.com/bridges.html

Ten Cool Bridges: http://mentalfloss.com/article/30465/10-cool-bridges-around-world

Bay bridge information http://baybridgeinfo.org/#content

Online Bridge Building Simulation:

https://www.learn4good.com/kids-games/simulation/build_bridge_across_canyon2.htm

This libguide is designed to help guide high school students when researching and building bridge structures:

http://uwsslec.libguides.com/content.php?pid=190501&sid=1718522

Building Bridges instructions: http://www.discoveryeducation.com/teachers/free-lesson-plans/bridges.cfm

Building Big Labs and Data Analysis and Circle Graphs

Announcements:

• Enjoy your Victoria Day long weekend! (no school Friday, May 17th or Monday May 20th)
• Track and Field Meet Tuesday, May 21st - Good luck to all participants!
• Students who missed work this week can find links to assignments and labs below
• Ms. Bowen can be reached by email at lebowen@cbe.ab.ca if students have questions about missed work

Math:

Today we continued surveying the class in order to practice creating circle graphs. Each student put a tally in the appropriate month of their birthday and then they converted fractions to decimals to degrees of a circle and used protractors to draw circle graphs. They also converted the decimals to percents in order to label the circle graph sectors.

Students who missed this lesson can imagine the class data using this table: 
The next table will help them convert their numbers from fractions, to percents, to degrees.

This circle template is what most students used to draw their circle graphs. This can also be done using a compass or a circular object if you do not have a printer. A protractor is a necessity for drawing the graph. Don't go out and buy one. Complete the table and we will practice again on Tuesday.

This week students have also had quite a lot of practice calculating the measures of central tendency (mean, median, and mode). Khan Academy is a great site to visit to learn what these terms mean and how to calculate them. We looked at how outliers (a number that lies an abnormal distance from the other data/numbers) effect the mean, median and mode and did practice questions. Again Khan Academy has some good videos to show the impact of outliers.

Students who missed the Data Analysis assessment or need extra time will be given time on Tuesday.

I have attached a good practice worksheet that will help students remember vocabulary, calculate mean, median, mode and range, and reflect on what the data represents and how outliers impact data.

Science:

This week students did a self-directed exploration of many Structures and Forces Concepts in the Building Big Labs. 

Students who missed this opportunity (and have a home computer) can access the website and fill in the spreadsheet as they go through the activities. Most students seem to really enjoy this self-directed exploration of Forces, Loads, Shapes, and Materials.

Students also learned about the difference between Mass and Weight and did a worksheet to apply their understanding.

Mass and Force Worksheet

Initial Marshmallow with grid lines

Today students continued exploring their understanding of forces with the Marshmallow Lab. If many students are away and have a felt pen and a marshmallow at home, you may be able to give this a try on your own. Here is the lab sheet that accompanies the lab. 

Below are photos of applying the different forces to the marshmallow. Students draw the change in the marshmallow when undergoing each force.

1. Compression (squeezing)

2. Tension (pulling)

3. Torsion (twisting)

4. Shear - Attempting to push one half past the other in opposite directions (not a great photo)