What does a can of tomatoes have to do with Geography?

Colleen Whelan Beyond the Classroom, English and Humanities, Science and Math No Comments

 

Unit 3 of the Grade 9 Geography course focuses on natural resources.  We use a “simple” can of tomatoes to explore what natural resources are, how humans use them and how we use energy resources at every stage of production.  The class had to brainstorm the production steps required to start with a tomato seed and end up with a can of tomatoes sitting on a supermarket shelf.

Once we brainstormed the steps in production, we traced back which natural resources were used in each step. As a class, we investigated several of these in depth.  For example, if you want to put the tomatoes in the can, you first have to make the can.  What natural resource would you gather?  What impact might gathering that natural resource have on the environment?  What energy natural resource would be required to manufacture the can?  What resources are used in transporting the can?

At the end of the lesson, students started to understand that there are hundreds of steps in the production of even a simple item, and that resources and energy are used in every step.  Ultimately this led us to a larger discussion of how to reduce the amount of natural resources and energy that we use in our daily lives.

Grade 11 Biology Unit 5 – Anatomy of Mammals

Zareh Demirdji Beyond the Classroom, Science and Math No Comments

 

As we approach the end of this new online frontier, the grade 11 biology class has completed its second to last unit, The Anatomy of Mammals. We broke the unit into three parts, the first being the anatomy of various body systems. The unit began with an in-depth look at the circulatory system, exploring its various components (the heart, blood vessels, and blood cells), their structures and functions. Next, we looked at the respiratory system and finished off part one by taking a voyage through the digestive system. Once the three body systems were explored, we moved into part two of the unit and discussed how different body systems interact with one another. We finished off the unit by examining the impacts our choices have on our body systems.

Green Our Homes With Green Industries

Rein Tammemagi Beyond the Classroom, Experiential Learning, Science and Math No Comments

 

When Green Industries had to make the shift to online learning, it was a bit of a bummer, as it meant we weren’t going to be able to do all of the hands-on learning and field trips that we had planned. But I like to look at the opportunities that situations like this can present us. Now that we had to learn at home, why not use this opportunity to improve our homes with the help of luxury acreage home design sydney, indoors and out, by greening them!

Students Green Their Homes With Green IndustriesWe began by learning all about the benefits that immersing ourselves in nature can have, and how adding a few plants into our living spaces, and participating in gardening can improve our mental health in trying times. We practiced propagating plants from ones that we already had growing in our home as well as growing our own food from kitchen scraps, getting artsy while making plant labels from upcycled materials found around the house, and preparing garden beds outdoors.

 

Now that it is warm and sunny out, the students are moving their growing from the indoors to the outdoors, and we are continuing the greening process from the comfort of our own yards!

Grade 11 Biology Unit 4 – Microbiology

Zareh Demirdji Beyond the Classroom, Science and Math No Comments

 

With the genetics unit in the rearview mirror, the grade 11 biology class moved ahead to its second online learning unit, microbiology. The unit began with a look at the anatomy and morphology of eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells. The structure and functions of eukaryotic cells was a review for the class as we had gone over that material in the past, but the form and function of bacterial and viral cells was new for everyone. Next we learned about how each of the aforementioned cells reproduce themselves and then proceeded to learn about their life cycles.

Students learn about microbiology during this session.We ended the unit by focussing on various types of symbiotic relationships and the dynamics of each. The unit itself being a fitting topic for the world we currently find ourselves living in, we spent the last class of the unit discussing bacterial and viral infections, their similarities and differences, and how to treat and prevent both types. To demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of the unit, students worked on a mini research project identifying and discussing the various impacts microorganisms have on their environments and the ethical issues related to their use in biotechnology.

Grade 9 Science Unit 4 – Electricity and Its Applications

Zareh Demirdji Beyond the Classroom, Science and Math No Comments

 

Our second online learning unit was physics, where we focused on electricity and its applications that are used by professionals like AB Electrical & Communications. After briefly discussing the different sources of energy to start the unit, we spent an entire class learning about the ins and outs of static electricity where students once and for all understood the mechanics of how those pesky static shocks work when we grab a doorknob, especially in the winter months. We finished off our discussion on static electricity by discussing the different ways to create and dissipate it.

The rest of the unit was all about current electricity and the different ways we produce it. We first learned about the two types of current electricity, alternating current (AC) and direct current (DC), focusing on the latter. We then moved on to the major components of electric circuits, electrical quantities (current, voltage, resistance) and looked at how each of them behave in series and parallel circuits. Students observed these quantities via online circuit simulators and recorded what they saw and discussed their observations. We ended the unit by looking at the different sources of electricity (solar, wind, hydro, nuclear, fossil fuel) and discussed the advantages and disadvantages of each.