Harris- Grade 3 Ramsay

As part of our Social Studies program, we are learning about Alberta, and it's regions. As a class, we are extending our focus to include significant Indigenous Landmarks in Alberta. The grade 3/4 students are busy learning how to create a google slide show and researching one important Alberta Indigenous Landmark. We will be sharing and teaching each other where the landmarks are located in Alberta, the significance of these landmarks to the Indigenous people, and what you can expect to see when you visit. Our initial research has found many wonderful locations that have been placed on our google classroom, such as; Okotoks Rock, Ancient Buffalo Rock, Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump, Mt. Yamnuska. Writing-On-Stone Provincial Park, Grassi Lakes, Grotto Canyon.  In Science, we have started our Waste and our World Unit. This week we began to identify wastes produced within our community and the different forms of pollution. We have also begun to explore our human consumption and learn t...

  Thank you to our volunteers who made our trip to Fort Calgary a wonderful success. Our first outing allowed us to build on our understanding of the history of Calgary and the four inhabitants of the land. The students learned firsthand what it would be like to be an archaeologist unearthing cultural artifacts through an archeological dig. We discovered that the artifacts from the Indigenous, Fur Traders, North West Mounted Police and the Settlers could be easily identified based on what the artifact is and it's material. In addition, we discovered the process that archeologists need to follow when removing a relic from the ground by clearly identifying and recording its location on a grid. We also had the pleasure of working with an Indigenous Elder who shared the importance and value of oral storytelling.  Our day ended with our first opportunity to engage in a sit spot along the Elbow River on our way home. As the year unfolds, we hope to take the time to return to our sit...

We have been participating in the Building with Materials and Testing Materials and Design unit in Science. This week we had a lot of fun participating in the marshmallow challenge. This was a team-building activity in which teams must try to build the tallest free-standing structure out of 20 sticks of spaghetti, one meter of tape, one meter of string and one marshmallow. This task emphasized group communication, leadership dynamics, collaboration and problem-solving. Despite being successful or not, all the students learned from the experience, and our discussion afterwards helped us review the concept of building a structure with a wide base and why a triangle shape is often used. We discussed that the triangle is the strongest shape, has a strong base and can provide immense support. We saw that some of the world's most famous architectural designs, like the Eiffel Tower, Great Pyramids and the Louvre Pyramid use the support of triangles to make beautiful and durable structures...

Our Terry Fox run at the end of September gave our class a terrific conversation about character traits. We discussed that character trait are  unique attitudes, behaviours, and beliefs that contribute to our personality . Character traits can be positive or negative, often displayed through a person's actions and feelings. As a class, we discuss what characteristics we feel Terry must have possessed to be able to attempt and accomplish so much through his attempt and vision when starting out on his journey of hope. Our learning about Character traits discussed the importance of developing characters' physical and personality traits in fictional stories. Each of us used this knowledge to create a superhero. Our job was to identify a superhero, inform our audience of their physical and personality traits, and explain how they got their superpowers. We will continue to use these characters when we further explore story development.  This week we used the award-winning book "...