Guest post by University of Calgary student teacher, Lisa Nguyen I cultivated a love for poetry at a young age, but for many people it is an inaccessible genre that is tedious to read, nonetheless teach. Although it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, I’m convinced poetry appreciation and creation relies on effective communication. If a… Continue reading Poetry that Moves
At the Connect Charter School we focus on inquiry-based learning, technology-intergration, Collaboration, Education Research, Authentic Learning Experiences and outdoor/environmental education . We believe these pillars come together to provide students with opportunities for authentic, meaningful and relevant learning. At the core of our program is inquiry – an approach to learning and teaching (including teacher… Continue reading Introduction to Inquiry Based Learning
by Erin Couillard The last time I taught grade 6, my colleague Lisa Nelson and I decided to try something different with the flight unit. After a collaborative planning session with another colleague with expertise in this area, we developed a project in which students would design and test ‘objects that fly’ in a wind… Continue reading Hands on with Grade 6 Flight!
Recently we shared some posts about a grade 6 math problem built around the question: Are there enough trees in Canada’s Boreal Forest to be considered the lungs of the Earth? In order to solve this problem, students were given a few pieces of background information and worked in small groups to formulate the specific… Continue reading Boreal Math Part 2
Our grade 6 students have recently finished wrestling with the math problem: “Are there enough trees in Canada’s Boreal Forest to be the lungs of the earth?” The question came from research that one of the Grade 6 teachers, Erin Couillard, found which stated that the northern boreal forest now produces more oxygen than any… Continue reading Boreal Math: Final Thoughts
Here at the Calgary Science School we build our understanding of inquiry-based learning around the Inquiry Rubric developed in conjunction with the Galileo Educational Network. To help unpack how the Galileo Inquiry Rubric is lived out in specific projects from our school, we’ve compiled the following list of projects tied to particular elements of the… Continue reading Illustrative Examples of Inquiry-Based Learning
Our grade 6 teachers are in the planning stages for a unit on the Boreal Forest. The guiding question for the study is currently: How is the Boreal Forest related to the health of the planet? Students will work through two sections of the study: 1. A mathematical exploration of large numbers, connected to the… Continue reading Boreal Forest: Are we doing enough?
One of our Physical Educadtion teachers (Tammy Berry) is delivering a presentation this weekend at the Annual Conference for the Health and Physical Education Council of Alberta. Tammy is delivering a one-hour session on her grade 4-6 football unit, in which she strives to incorporate both inquiry-based learning and technology. In the past, when Tammy… Continue reading Inquiry, Assessment and Technology in Phys Ed
Some of our grade 6 students have recently finished a large scale writing project, called the Penny Book project. This project involves students writing a series of short stories, capturing memories from different years of their lives. The students have just finished all the planning, writing, editing and polishing of the stories, and the next… Continue reading Grade 6 Graphic Design
