Mr. MacFarlane's Classroom Blog

Taking on a new challenge this term using Minecraft to reconstruct the Ancient Greek Olympic site. A number of skills are required - the engineering knowhow to manipulate the environment to create the site, math knowhow to make scale models of the structures, historical knowledge to describe the events and meaning behind activities at the different sites, and some language proficiency to describe each element.

Study sheets for the Fertile Crescent map quiz.

In this quick PODCAST we look at how to represent and illustrate multiplication of fractions using the multiplication grid. In a subsequent podcast we will see how to use pictures to represent the same concept.

We start the class revisiting the commutative property of multiplication (3 x 2 = 2 x 3) and recognizing while there may be no difference in the answer, that 2 groups of three is different than three groups of two. When multiplying fractions, one half of three is different than three sets of one half. Our equations should reflect the reality of the situation represented by the numbers.

After that we look at multiplying proper fractions. View the PODCAST.

Click HERE for the youtube source. If this link doesn't work, search in YouTube for "Neanderthal Episode 1 (Discovery Channel)"

The multiplication grid is an awesome tool, not just for solving simple multiplication problems, but for finding equivalent fractions and fractions in lowest terms. This PODCAST explains how to use the grid for fractions.

A quick lesson to review fractions: what it represents, the parts of, and some playing with pizza. View the PODCAST here.

Today we introduced the five elements of a short story: Conflict, Character, Setting, Plot, Theme. This PODCAST briefly describes each and the SMARTBOARD screenshot is available.

Elements of Plot are described in detail in this PODCAST and series of SMARTBOARD images.

Here are some of the resources I use with my grade 8 students that address the World History focus for Social Studies.

MiddleAgesBudgetofWork.pdf

EarlyHumans.pdf

ANCIENT-EGYPT-CENTRES.zip  (COMPLETE SET OF FILES AND SUPPORTS)

EgyptianTombProject.pdf

 

Students worked together in "family" groups to research and prepare for their appeal to the King for control of a new fiefdom. On Feb 25, students will DRESS UP IN MEDIEVAL COSTUMES and present:

• Family History an historical fiction account of your family as they participated in actual events and interacted with actual historical people
• Code of Chivalry a statement of your family's beliefs connected to the events in your family history
• Coat of Arms with an explanation of symbols and how they relate to the family history
• Map of Feudal Territory showing how you will use the land that is available, the location of your castle, the fields, the village, etc.
• Castle Model constructed to show the parts, defense strategies, and construction
• Oath of Fealty, the statement of what you want and what you will provide in return in this feudal arrangement

Following the presentations we will have a feast, medieval games, and entertainment to celebrate the end of the unit.

Today we started our work on Pythagoras. We did not podcast today's lesson, but there are a couple of resources already on the site for students to review.

Link to PODCAST on how Pythagoras' equation works.

Link to PODCAST on how to calculate the length of unknown sides

Heraldry

http://www.fleurdelis.com/meanings.htm

http://www.digiserve.com/heraldry/symbols.htm

http://heraldry.sca.org/primer/index.html

 

Consider three audiences for your site: students, parents, and teachers. Students may use the website like an agenda, or a textbook - sources of information for organizing, reviewing, or engaging in class activities. Parents will use it as a window into the classroom to see what the child is learning. Other teachers may also use your site as a source of inspiration or a resource for their own students.

There are many ways to use a website; three broad categories are:

Permanent and Ongoing Items - uploaded once but may be accessed throughout the year as required. These are items whose usefulness extends over a term or year. Minimal time is required to post these kinds of items and ongoing maintenance is rarely an issue.

• 1 Permanent / Ongoing projects: Novel Study Deadlines
  
• 2 Permanent / Ongoing projects: Math Scrapbook

Long Term Items are more likely to be uploaded a few times a year / term. These are items whose usefulness is derived from a specific unit of study. These items may be accessed several times during a unit or term. The time required to post these items varies, but can usually make use of product you already have created for print and copying.

• 3 Long-Term Items: Unit Outline (Early Humans)
  
• 4 Long Term Items: Links Lists (Ancient Greece)
  
• 5 Long Term Items: Exemplars (Picture Story)

Short Term Items are generated day-to-day as necessary. They have limited usefulness beyond the scope of the particular unit, but serve to organize student work, and to communicate to parents what the kids are doing. This is an ongoing time commitment and you need to determine whether posting the item will serve the immediate needs of you and your students. Unless there is a specific requirement to visit the site, or you have students away, these items are rarely visited by students but still serve to inform parents and other teachers.

• 6 Short Term Items: Skills Instruction (text)
  
• 7 Short Term Items: Skills Instruction (audio / video)
  
• 8 Day to Day Items: Homework / Assignments

Some content possibilities from items you have already:

• Existing or newly created files / worksheets / assignment pages (word, powerpoint, excel, etc.)
  
• Photos / audio / video files of activities and product
  
• Pictures / scans of exemplars, whiteboard work, pages from books or handwritten handouts
  
• Links to online resources (youtube, interactive sites, online quizes)

 

Preparing for our "Make Your Own Science Gallery Exhibit" assignment, we came across something that made us all go, "COOL!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=to99C-0cLGE&NR=1&feature=fvwp

We will be pursuing this on our own!

Room 2 is working on a poster project exploring three forms of government that were part of Ancient Greece and still a part of modern life. It is adapted from "Discovering Democracy" from Australia's Department of Education, Science and Training.

Download the activity description HERE.

Today we used a blog entry from Hyperbole-and-a-Half to battle the common but incorrect combination of the words "a" and "lot". Have a look!

Last week we used the Oatmeal poster about apostrophes to learn where to hang this misunderstood  piece of punctuation.

As we work through our Independent Novel Studies and revisions we will continue to identify common mistakes and correct them as we go.

We have begun our exploration of light and optics with a study of the sources of light. All light is a form of energy and there are several energy conversions that result in visible light. This first PODCAST is a more formal discussion of the sources of light while this second PODCAST was an in-class discussion we had last year about light sources. The SMARTBOARD files are available to download as well.

In this lesson we discuss how the light sources work and we explore each source's pros and cons. We will then explore the cost of lighting, and running other electrical appliances.

As owner of a box-making company, you are to design some packaging ideas for a dice manufacturer.

Their dice have edges of 15 mm. They want to sell a tightly packed package of 32 dice and are expecting at least three different proposals from you.

They also want to know the cost for each of your designs: the cost of the cardboard you will use is $0.015/cm².

Download the assignment and assessment file HERE.

 

As we've discovered, poetry isn't always about love and sunshine and flowers. Poems we have read include drinking, bar fights, incarceration, death, and physical abuse. Poetry is, at once, both indepth and concice. Readers must place themselves in the scene making emotional connections to the words thus filling in the narrative blanks. Authors must distill the story into a few carefully chosen words that find the emotion and meaning in the narrative but taking care to leave enough space for the reader to "be" in the poem, to occupy and live in the space it creates.

We're also appreciating the sound of poetry recognizing that the word-craft is best enjoyed out loud. Beyond recitations, we are viewing performances, enactments, and illustrations of poems and, eventually, have our own poetry slam in class.

View these excellent poems:

The Dead by Billy Collins
Knock Knock by Daniel Beaty
At the Quinty Hotel by Al Purdy

We used tubs, water, sand and rocks to demonstrate erosion (wearing away surface material, in this case, due to the movement of water over the surface) and deposition (dropping the eroded surface material as the water flow slows down). View our demonstrations HERE. (it is a large file, more than 80MB so please be patient!)

For the first demonstration the only material in the container is sand. In the second trial, the material had a mixture of sand and different sized rocks as well as a larger stone. In both demonstrations you can see the water first pooling at the top of the "hill" before starting to flow down the hill.

Exploring further the amazing world of shape and space, we looked at several prisms and the associated nets. We came up with a definition to describe a prism:

"A prism is a three dimensional shape with two identical faces opposite each other with rectangles joining the matching edges."

We went on to look at pyramids and determined that:

"A pyramid is a three dimensional shape with triangles on each edge of the base that connect to a point opposite the base."

For homework today, download the isometric dot paper and read through page 166 of MathLinks 8 for things to represent three-dimensionally.

Some of the sites we viewed today include:

• http://www.learner.org/interactives/geometry/3d_pyramids.html
• http://mathworld.wolfram.com/Prism.html
• http://mathworld.wolfram.com/Pyramid.html
• http://numb3rs.wolfram.com/406/

In grade 8 we step up our understanding of perimeter and area by learning to calculate the surface area of three-dimensional shapes. In this PODCAST we start with the area of a regular square and deduce the forumla for the surface area of a square.

Knowing how to calculate the area of a square (length multiplied by the width, but because the sides are all equal, we can use the exponent 2: the length of one side squared) we can then multiply that by six to find the combined area of all six sides of the cube.

Six times the square of one side, or 6s^2 is the formula for calculating the surface area of a cube.

After having spent some time learning how to be both concise and indepth when creating a summary we are now using those skills to write poems. We understand poems to be an emotional expression of a moment in time told in a few carefully chosen words. To get away from the idea that poems are solely about love, flowers, and friendship, we viewed a couple of poems by Governor General Award winning poet, the late Al Purdy. Poems can explore the ugly, harsh, or uncomfortable elements of life as well.

We compiled a list of our "writing territories" or subjects about which we have a lot of knowledge. Selecting one item from that list, we then brainstorm as much detail about that event considering feelings, emotions, details, changes, etc. While we do this, we are considering the appropriate voice, the focus, and the deeper meaning of the poem.

We viewed the following youtube videos featuring Al Purdy poems:

Old Alec

At the Quinty Hotel

The Forks River Walk was designed to bring people to the downtown area and make the river more accessible for visitors. Unfortunately the riverwalk is frequently under water due to frequent flooding. The city of Winnipeg is currently in consultation with architects, engineers and designers to find a solution.
Our class is also exploring possible solutions while we learn about Water Systems in grade 8 science. Download the project files HERE.

We have built stable and long-term shelters, secured a safe water supply, mastered fire, agriculture and animal breeding, and have created for ourselves a comfortable life. Thus ends our survival simulation that reflects early humans' development. We recognize the need for a power structure to keep people organized and focused, to make decisions and "influence" people who aren't contributing.

With these basic needs in place, we are able to support larger communities and develop more advanced technologies. Here we begin our study of Ancient Egypt from about 3000 BCE to its decline just before the year 0. For three-thousand years, Egyptian civilization flourished with the gifts of the Nile: a predictable and stable annual flood that brought new rich soil from the mountains in the South and with it, rich fertile farm land. Mineral resources were mined in Nubia to the South, and the Sinai Peninsula to the East to supplement their existing mineral assets.

We examined some images from Tutankhamun's tomb and learned about cartouches, symbols and imagery from the Book of the Dead and how to recognize some of the pharaohs' crowns from different places and ages. 

Please download the test for review.

We read Guy de Maupassant's short story, "The Necklace" and applied our understanding of characters, setting, and plot to this jaw-dropping tale. We then honed our skills at summarizing a story in four sentences by describing (1) The Introduction - characters and setting, (2) The Conflict - what problem the characters encounter, (3) The Response - how the characters deal with the problem, and (4) The Resolution - the outcome of the characters actions. View the notes we made on the SMARTBOARD.

This weekend, please listen to the CBS Radio Mystery Theatre adaptation of The Necklace produced in 1975. It is an MP3 file so you can right-click and save to listen on your MP3 player or listen online. The file is: story-CBSRMT-750519-276-THE-DIAMOND-NECKLACE.MP3

Winnipeg Sun Video

CJOB Story

Winnipeg Free Press Story

Our survival scenario is in full swing.

We have found a stand of trees that will give us some shelter for the moment and learned about making debris shelters for when it gets colder. We explored the possibility of making sod huts for a more permanent structure and also discussed the possibility of migrating South for the winter.

We have identified sources of food: dandilion greens and cat tails - boring, but edible, as well as geese which are plentiful at this time of year. We tried stalking sea gulls in the field but it's rather difficult for 25 teenagers to simultaneously demonstrate stealth with sufficient skill to capture one. We determined with much fewer people and more determination that we could probably catch some geese to eat. We learned that making soups and stews can increase the servings from one goose thereby feeding more people with less food.

Our water supply is still a going concern. There are ponds nearby but they are so poluted with goose droppings that we are worried about the quality and its impact on our health. We determined that drinking water from puddles is marginally safer and we can filter the larger sediments through a t-shirt or other close-knit cloth to clean it up a bit. We also determined that we can make pots from clay we dig up from the ground.

Fire is our current concern. With it we can cook our food, sterilize our water, and stay warm as it gets increasingly colder. Today we tried to create fire outside the school using the fire plow technique. We got lots of hot wood, some whisps of smoke and one student reported an ember, but not fire. It is much harder than it looks!