Week 1

Hello Ramsay Families! 

We had a such a great week getting back into a routine and reconnecting! We look forward to sharing our weekly learning with you in this space. 

This week we started our exploration of our school wide anchor text, The Tree in Me, by Corinna Luyken. Students were asked to consider the following questions:

• Similar to trees, we also need nourishment. List the things that give you nourishment. For example: family, time to myself, sports, etc.
• Similar to trees, we also need a "root" system. What keeps you grounded, and who is part of your support system?
• Trees and plants are important and help us to meet our physical and emotional needs. What benefits do you receive from nature?

Here is a summary of our process written collaboratively by the students:

   First, we read the book and discussed the many examples that were present. The author uses the metaphor of the tree to describe different ways in which people are resilient and connected to each other. We were then asked to draw our own version of the "The Tree in Me." The soil represents the people that support us, the trunk represents the things we are grateful for and the leaves represent the things we love. Once everyone was finished, we did a gallery walk to look closely at each other's work and to find connections between us. We learned that there are many connections within our classroom community.

- Grade 5/6 students 

Our first topic of study in Science will be Trees and Forest. We will continue to explore and make connections to this text while also focusing on the following Science learning outcomes next week:

• I can identify why trees and forests are valued.
• I can describe the plants and animals found living on, under and among the trees and describe the relationship between them.

In Social Studies today, students were introduced to concepts of democracy, government and the idea of elections. Students learned that voting in elections is an opportunity to shape your government and the future of your community and country.  Guiding Questions for our learning today included: 

 Why do we have elections?

“We have elections so people have a say in their government.” - R.L. 

“Without elections we have arguments, but with elections, it is a way to decide what people want.” - H.I. 

“We have elections so we share our opinions on the best things to represent us, so we can live more in the way we wish to live.” D.M. 

 

How do we vote in elections?

“People hide their votes so their minds are not changed by people around them.” - O.N. 

“In elections you need to hide your vote so it’s not seen and so people are not influenced.” – R.D.  

“You can either vote electronically or by ballot at the voting station.” - R.L. 

 

Is it important to vote? 

“While voting is not mandatory, if you do it, you have a say in what you want.” - H.I.

“Because we need a government to make important choices and represent us. When you don’t vote, there may be a tie, which can make it complicated.” – D.M.  

“It’s important to vote so you pick the person who makes the right decisions, and you might get what you want. - J.H. 

 

Over the next three weeks, students will be participating in the Student Vote program and will be learning about levels of government, citizenship, political parties, and candidates.  They will then ‘vote’ for their local representative on September 20^th. As we go through out learning, students will work towards the following learning objectives: 

• I can demonstrate how individual and government interact and bring about change.
• I understand the structure and functions of the Federal government in Canada.