In connection with our unit on sustainability, our Grade 3s looked at Prem’s Mission and Vision statement to see if, as a school, we were being truthful.  Then we went looking for proof by walking around the school and we discovered a few areas for improvement especially with our use of plastic.  The students shared their observations and from these they developed action groups to make some changes around Prem.  We have some groups looking at litter, others looking at paper use or plastic bags, etc.  The students will be given time each week and this group project will continue until the end of the year in order to have time to make some real changes.  As a teacher and community member, I can’t wait to see what these Grade 3s do!

On Friday we also launched out new unit, Where We Are in Place and Time.  The students were put into groups and given some materials of grass, sticks and string.  Their job was to work as a team to build a boat strong enough to hold a water bottle.  After their first attempt, they had to evaluation if they were successful or not and think of ways to change their boat to make it even better.  They were then given a picture and explanation of the first boat ever created called the Papyrus Boat made out of reeds.  They could choose to use this new knowledge or information from their first attempt to try a second time.  This lesson was created to lead into our next unit on inventions.  We will be looking at Ancient Civilizations and how knowledge is passed on to make new technology through history into modern day.

If you would like to read more, please take a look at our unit flyer.

Where We Are in Place and Time Unit Flyer