Great Eights

Description

Groups of students researched renewable and nonrenewable energy sources. They presented a list of sources used in Canada, and had discussions on how investing in renewable energy is the "greener" choice for their future. They created a T-chart to show each type of energy source and then summarized the renewable sources being developed/used in Canada.

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Several students researched different modes of transportation, and had quite the discussion on how limited modes of transportation living in a rural area. That being said, a lot of students recognize that the majority of the class either walks to school or rides the bus :) This group put together a slide show presentation showing available energy saving types of transportation and suggestions on how we can cut back on carbon emissions.

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• Buckle Up gr.8.pdf

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A group of students have planted tomato seeds and some spearmint. They studied the process of photosynthesis, and are experimenting with how the growth process might be affected depending on the placement of their plants. Some have placed their plants in a darker area of the classroom to compare with those plants exposed to more light. The group created a PowerPoint to share with classmates and other classes in our school.

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• gr8get grow.pdf

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The students used the links provided to research and understand the impact of their carbon footprint. They calculated their carbon footprint and then compared their results to other parts of the world. Through discussion, students connected to how the "developed, western world" attributes to a lot of the world's carbon emissions. Many ideas were shared, and students committed to trying their best at making small changes in their habits. As they began working on other challenges, many students were excited to point out how each lesson connected with their goals to make changes.

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The students played a trivia/board game that had questions based on the 17 sustainable development goals. After playing the game, a discussion took place, focusing on goal #2 Zero Hunger and food waste. As a class, we brainstormed a list of ways we waste food, and a list of ways to prevent waste. Some students came up with an idea to implement a "food swap" (nonperishable items) to try to prevent students from throwing away food they don't want by setting up a give and take basket.

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• Game time.pdf

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My students kept track of their activities in which they did not use power for approximately a week.

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• gr8 Hour.pdf

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Students used their creative writing skills to create comic strips with important messages for their audience. They brainstormed a list of concerns the world is facing and then individually or in small groups chose a topic to plan their comic. Some decided to focus on messages about how people can make small changes to save on home energy, while others explored global topics such as global warming, pollution, etc.

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Students kept track of the number of items thrown in the garbage and the number of items recycled, reused, and reduced (replaced). Even though this was a "take home" activity we made a conscious effort to recycle materials at school instead of just using the garbage. We noticed that if we were not explicitly paying attention, some items that could be recycled/reused were ending up in the garbage. As a class, we are making more of an effort to remind ourselves to recycle, reuse, and reduce waste.

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• Take Home gr 8 proof.pdf

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Students researched the concept of phantom power and then used the classroom to map out and identify this "ghostly" phenomenon. Students discovered, in our classroom, we do have two surge protectors that is used for plugging in our desktop computers, as well as used to charge our class set of iPads. Some decided to investigate a little more at home to see if their parents had any surge protectors at home. A group of students created a PowerPoint to share with other classes; however, they had to copy and paste their slides on a word document. (Direct quote from a student, "The word document isn't as fancy as the PowerPoint!" LOL)

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• gavin and julians energy diet phantom power (1).docx

Description

A group of students began brainstorming ways to save energy at home and in the classroom. They decided to complete a PowerPoint presentation to share with other classes throughout the school. As well as, with their permission, allowing to share as a Facebook post to connect with our community!

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• gr8.pdf

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As a class we brainstormed ideas to incorporate into a public service announcement. Most of my students were too shy to appear in the video, so the design and creative scripting took place "behind the scenes".

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Similar to my grade 6/7 class, students decided to track the number of times the toilet was flushed in the second staff washroom. They predicted how much water would be used in two days just with one washroom, and some predictions were a lot less than the data collected. Students also tracked their activities at home. By making wise choices, altogether they saved 222 liters of water. They also discovered that they use an enormous amount of water at home without realizing it. A group of students created a PowerPoint to share with others. They hope to share their findings and information with community members to make others become more aware of water consumption. They also compared how many liters would have been used if the school had older toilets to show others the savings.

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• Water Works.docx

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My students are very creative! Some students collected toilet paper rolls, used some lard and bird seed to treat our feathered friends to a tasty treat! They enjoyed doing this and then we participated in peaceful bird watching! (We were so excited that I forgot to get a picture for this.) Other items used were metal tops of cans to create locker magnets, and yogurt containers were used to create characters/classroom mascots. One group of students used an old clementine crate to create a bird feeder to hang on the playground!

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