Just get started here…..but this will be our focus over the next few weeks. Inspired from Diane Cruchley’s “rapid research” model. Students are choosing any topic about B.C. they want and will be given a large variety of choices in how they would like to present their findings. The initial questions about British Columbia were inspired by a traditional social studies worksheet entitled the ?B.C. Icon Map”.

While not all of the students will use a supplied iPad to create their projects, all students will be use the iPads to upload their assignments onto their digital portfolios.

Student interest and engagement was also stoked by our visit last week to Burnaby Heritage Musuem and Fort Langley.

Presently we are in the midst of building fur trade forts out of cardboard and other assorted items. Messy but very fun!

All students will use this template to record their researched information. Research has primarily been done on the iPads.

And that is an introduction into what we are up to here in West Sechelt :))

The implementation of new curriculum this school year has been an exciting addition to my teaching job.  Providing a universal design of learning (UDL) model of learning to my students has always been a passion of mine. With the emphasis on curiosity and personalized learning, weaving the new strands of curriculum into my profession has been a pedagogical goal for me.

As a conclusion to our states of matter unit in science, students were assigned a unit project of creating a DIY science experiment presentation to the class. Prior to this assignment, I had conducted a number of “demonstration” experiments, as well as lessons from this new science resource from Nelson.

This science resource was released in Fall 2016, and its lessons and content are directly linked to the new curriculum.

Experiment presentations were filmed (on project iPads, usually by other students) and then uploaded to student Freshgrade portfolios. Experiment presentation criteria included:

1. Experiment must demonstrate a state of matter, or change in matter.
2. Experiments are to presented to class, with experimenters explaining the “science” of the experiment in their presentation.
3. Completed experiment lab forms were also to be submitted.

While the DIY science experiment is nothing new, video recording and uploading presentations to Freshgrade accounts allowed students, parents and teachers to view, reflect, and respond to presentations. A tool that has helped in this reflection process hasis been a set of snazzy Core Competencies posters created by SD #46 Curriculum/Transitions Coordinator David Barnum.

Referring to these posted visuals has allowed me to better explain to students what the purpose of the DIY experiments is, as well as providing an anchor for assessment. Observing students research, practice and present experiments has been a wonderful experience. For the past three weeks, baking soda, vinegar, graduated cylinders and “flubber goo” have been permanent fixtures on many student desktops. I have also been enthused to hear students explain the “science”behind their experiment creations.

We are into the final week of presentations, and upon completion, I hope to collate all 26 experiment titles and hand back to students so they can continue to inquire and experiment at home. This has been a snapshot of how I am implementing some elements of the New Curriculum into my classroom.

One life passion of mine that I enjoy bringing into the classroom is birding. Birdwatching with a class of early intermediate students is a really great experience! There are a number of different birding habitats within walking distance of our school. Since receiving the iPad grant last fall, students have used the iPads to study and observe birds, both in the classroom and in the field. An app that we have found to very useful is the Audubon Birds of North America app.

https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/audubon-bird-guide-north-america/id333227386?mt=8

I believe the app is free, and it truly is packed with useful information,  range maps, images and even specific vocalization recordings are available.

With a classroom account, users can also add sightings to Google based maps, view other sightings around the area (input by other app users) and record sightings in a “My Sightings” tab. I have not had time to unpack all of the options, but the student-friendly language and layout found in the “Description” tag was very helpful when we used the app to research local nesting ducks of the Sunshine Coast a few weeks ago.

Our class seems to have adopted the “dab” pose in every class picture this year. We built these duck nesting boxes in our class. However before we built, students were required to research a few facts about some of our nesting ducks. For many students, this was the first time they had ever heard of the the bufflehead, hood merganser or wood duck. Not surprisingly, the hooded merganser was a big hit 🙂

Finally, here is a pic of the iPads in use out of doors. Students had spotted a red-tailed hawk and were able to capture a number of excellent shots with the iPads.

Once our latest round of snow melts, I plan on taking the students out with the iPads to do some further bird research in the field. Until then. Good Birding! Chris Allen. West Sechelt Elementary.

Another app that I have found to be quite useful has been Co:Writer

Co:Writer Universal

Universal. Text prediction software. This software, to my knowledge, predates Apple and voice recognition software. The program has specific dictionaries built into it, that helps narrow focus for specific word groups.

This post will serve as my first foray into the edublog world. I am very excited to embark on a place-based learning innovation project within my classroom. The geographical location of the school I work at is ideal for place-based learning. Located at the corner of Mason and Norwest Bay road in Sechelt, our school is at the top of a natural plateau. This plateau serves as the starting point for the Sechelt Penninsula. Heading straight down Mason road in a southerly direction lies the Salish sea. Wakefield Creek flows directly beside our school and drains into the Salish sea. Surrounding our school is a mixture of homes and farms. Heading north 1km  up Mason road, the scattered homes and farmland gives way to second growth forest filled with back country roads, mountain bike trails, abandoned homesteads, caves, lakes and creeks. This area holds a rich history for the Shíshálh (Sechelt) Nation people and early settlers of the Sunshine Coast.

We are fortunate to share our location with a variety of wildlife. In September, West Sechelt had its first recorded visit of a Grizzly Bear (Mayuk in Shíshálh). Thankfully for all involved, after a week’s visit, our resident grizzly was captured and relocated to it’s tradtional territory. Below is an imagethat was shared with me.

 Our school community felt very fortunate to have been honoured with this visit, and were relieved to hear that the grizzly was safely relocated. The oppurtunity for place-based learning here at West Sechelt Elementary is vast and I look forward to challenging myself and my students in this topic this year.

Chris Allen. Sechelt.

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