Water Matters
Over the last few weeks, Grade 4 has been investigating water. We have discovered that fresh water is a precious resource. We also learned that it is often polluted. Agriculture, sewage, industry and detergents can make water unsafe to drink. Many people around the world do not have clean water. In China, over 100 million people are drinking unsafe water every day. This causes diseases. Today, special guests from RISE Tsinghua University visited to teach us how to keep water safe and make it clean. They have invented a special filter called a bio-sand filter. It uses sand to trap the germs in water. They travel around China, teaching communities how to protect their water and make it cleaner. After watching their presentation, we went outside to make our own filters! We were in 4 teams for “The Cleanest Water Competition”. We prepared bottles, stones, sand and dirty water. In this order, we added water, large stones, smaller stones and then sand to the bottles. At last, each group’s filter was ready! We took turns to pour dirty water into our filters. Then we looked at the water coming out and it was very clean! The University student chose the winner by judging which team had the clearest colour. Benedict, Joshua, Jack and Geon Woo’s team were the winners! We had a great lesson with RISE Tsinghua University students. We learned a lot about water pollution and ways to clean water. We think their work is very important in China. By: Geon Woo & Hyun Seo Why is water so precious as a resource? How can you conserve water in your own life? How can you conserve other finite resources in your...
Read MoreGrade 4 Goes Green!
We have discovered a big problem! We are using resources faster than we can replace them! To understand the issue better, we watched videos about fossil fuels, energy consumption, pollution and greener solutions. Then we began to collect our own data. We audited energy use in our homes and at BISS, and oh dear, what a shock! We are wasting resources every day! We found lights on in unoccupied classrooms, air-conditioners set below 18 degrees, electrical devices drawing power when not in use and even leaky taps. But the thing that upset us most was that many classrooms in our school didn’t have paper recycling systems. So we are going to change that! We made new recycling bins, then taught a lesson to each class about how to separate their trash and why recycling is important. It was tricky to talk to the youngest students in Pre-K, but now they are our best recyclers! Each day, we are collecting the recyclable paper & card from the classrooms and storing it. We are noticing less waste and better sorting in the younger classes. In a few weeks, we will take all the materials to a recycling plant. This will save trees, electricity, water, chemicals and a lot of pollution. Why is it important to save trees? Why is recycling a helpful solution? How can people reduce paper use?...
Read MoreFavorite Field Trips of 2013-2014
What a busy year it has been in Grade 4! Did you know that some of our best learning experiences didn’t even happen in the classroom? Beijing is a wonderful city for museums, parks and experts. If you have been following our blog, you have seen some of these photos and comments before. As we reach the final month of Grade 4, here’s a quick recap of some of our happiest learning moments! What was your favorite field trip? Why? How do field experiences help you...
Read MoreThe Power of Persuasion
This week, we are learning about persuasive language. This is a powerful form of writing which can cause people to change their minds or take action. We have been practicing persuasive techniques such as repetition, rhetorical questions, exaggeration, inclusive phrases and emotive words. We are learning to balance this language with factual evidence. We always try to give a point, reason, evidence or examples, then re-state our point (PREP). Together, we wrote this memo to Ms O’Dwyer. We tried to make it really emotional and convincing. And guess what? It worked! She has agreed to give us a 1-week homework holiday, on account of our excellent persuasive writing. Read our work below: Cancel our Homework! Cancel our Stress! Grade 4 students are terribly stressed. Every night we are trapped under a mountain of homework. We work hard all day and then at night we work like slaves to finish our homework. Is this how you want us to live? We are certain that Grade 4 should not have homework because we have many other commitments. For example, most of us have at least 3 hours per night of academy homework. Others have extra homework given by our parents. On top of that, we still have chores to do, such as clearing the table, washing dishes and laundry. On other days, we have religious festivals and family celebrations. If visitors come to our house, we also have to help prepare food and play with their children. How are we expected to fit in our homework? It is impossible for us to manage all these commitments. In addition, homework interrupts our sleep and causes stress. Imagine sitting at your desk night after night until after 9pm. Our parents won’t let us go to bed until all our work is done. This causes arguments, fights and stress in our lives. Experts say that children need at least 8 hours of sleep each night in order to concentrate and have enough energy for the next day. Don’t you want students who are sharp, alert and ready to learn? Homework only makes us more sleepy and stressed each day. Finally, Grade 4 needs less homework and more free time. Everyone knows that children need time to play with friends, exercise and enjoy hobbies. This is essential for stress release, health and social skills. Do you want us to be narrow-minded students, who only know about spelling, grammar and times tables? Or do you want us to be balanced, caring people who have many interests and skills? So, please don’t let homework ruin our lives. We trust that you want students who are well-rested and happy. Cancel the worksheets. Cancel the spelling list. Cancel the stress! By Grade 4 Task Description: This text was constructed jointly with the students and teacher. Each student brainstormed ideas and these were combined into 3 key reasons. Then, each student wrote individual paragraphs and conferenced with the teacher. Finally, the students combined their ideas and sentences...
Read MoreMarshmallow Maths
Have you ever used marshmallows in your maths class? Today, Grade 4 had a sweet morning! We made 3D shapes with marshmallows! We used toothpicks to represent the edges and the marshmallows to represent the vertices. Ms.O’Dwyer gave us clues and we had to work out which object to make. Then we had to record its name, as well as how many faces, edges and vertices that shape had. Sometimes it was difficult to work out whether to build a prism or a pyramid. The hardest shape was the one with 24 edges, which turned out to be an octagonal prism. It was also tricky because the shape was always unsteady. The best thing was that after we finished making and recording, we got to eat the marshmallows! It was a very yummy lesson. By Kota &...
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