Earthquake-proofing Structures and Buildings

Last week, we went to the Kobe Earthquake Museum. 

The purpose of this field trip was to find out about our second line of inquiry: 

How people advance technology to prepare for extreme natural phenomena. 

In the museum, we watched videos about how the Great Hanshin-Awaji earthquake affected people's lives and how the city was rebuilt to better resist earthquakes. 

One of the videos was 3D!

On another day, we worked in teams to build earthquake-proof structures using only toothpicks and marshmallows! 

Our structures were placed on jello and had to withstand a twenty-second quake!

We also went on a walk to find examples of buildings and structures which seemed to be earthquake proof. 

For example, the buildings/structures below all have cross-bracing - a type of support in which two diagonal lines intersect like the letter "X". 

Can you see where they are?

As we made sense of our learning, we realised that earthquake-proof buildings and structures often share the following characteristics:

See you next time!

Finding Out about Extreme Natural Phenomena

As geologists, we have been inquiring into the causes of extreme natural phenomena such as earthquakes, tsunami, and volcanoes. 

First, we started off by considering what we think we already knew about the topic. 

Then, we generated a list of questions related to the concept of causation.

As we found out information using various sources such as videos on a Padlet, other websites, and books, we made sense of what we viewed and read. 

Many of us chose to sketch-note our growing knowledge. 

This visual note-taking strategy helps us as the dual-coding theory suggests that our brains process information more effectively when both verbal associations and visual imagery are being used.

We also shared our learning with others by creating one giant poster filled with sketch-noted information. 

See you next time!

Book Club: The Fourteenth Goldfish

This week, we resumed our weekly book club. 

We started to read a book called The Fourteenth Goldfish. 

It has a theme that relates to science which connects well to our current unit about extreme natural phenomena. 

We are working on building on other people's opinions to develop our understanding of the story by making connections, paraphrasing, and clarifying what we hear from others. 

This week, we came up with the following questions to discuss as a group:

• If your grandfather were the same age as you, how would you feel?
• 
  
• What’s wrong with Briana?
• 
  
• Why is the title called ”The Fourteenth Goldfish”?

Enjoy watching us grow as readers!

Fraction and Decimal Art

In Grade 4, we have been investigating the relationship between fractions and decimal numbers. 

As mathematicians and artists, we started off this inquiry by creating pixel art using Google Sheets by 'filling' squares out of a 10 by 10 table. 

Once we counted the number of squares of a certain colour to find out the fractional value, we converted the value into a decimal number!

(example: seven squares purple out of a hundred squares = 7/100 = 0.07)

After this task, we started working with more complex numbers and how division can be used to convert fractions into decimals.

See you next time!

Math Visual Proofs

As mathematicians, we are working on becoming good communicators. 

We know that mathematicians show proof of their thinking while making sure their work is precise. 

Right now, our focus is placed on creating visual proofs for multiplication and division problems. 

We began our learning process by working together to make sense of these visual proofs. 

T

(Taken from Mindset Mathematics Grade 4 - Jo Boaler)

Take a look at the video to see how we worked with our classmates to figure out what was going on in the four sections!

Below, we have the learning intention and success criteria we created for this task. 

Check out the visual proofs we have created so far as we drafted and revised our posters!

 

 

 

Our next step is to apply the skills we developed during this assignment to create visual proofs for division problems as well. 

We are thinking about the following question:

How are multiplication and division connected?

 Have a great weekend!

Finishing Jake Atlas

This week, we finished reading our first book for our weekly book clubs: 

Jake Atlas and the Tomb of the Emerald Snake.

We will take a bit of a break and then choose a different book to read after the spring holidays. 

Meanwhile, we found out that there is a sequel to the first book which is available from the school library! 

We are so excited to keep reading!

Museum of the Ancients

This week, we held a Museum of the Ancients event for our parents, learners in other grades, and the rest of the school community. 

The purpose of this mini-exhibition was to share our learning from our unit with the central idea: The influence of past civilisations is reflected in modern-day societies.

During our independent inquiries, we each focused on an ancient civilisation of our choice. 

Our displays included...

• a collection of summaries about the civilisation
• an explanation of how a particular tool influenced the civilisation
• information on the connections between ancient tools and tools in modern society
• answers/creations related to self-created questions and tasks to go further in our inquiries
• artwork related to the civilisation

Buckle up for some serious learning!

Thank you everyone who supported us in our learning journey!