International students join Randerson students for a Day of Science

Three grade 6 students share their day.

 

Hi! My name is Melina and on February 5th 2014 my class (Mrs. Epps 6/7) had a group of international students from across the globe came to OUR CLASS and we did a few experiments. There were 9 students. There were 2 from India, 1 from Brazil, 1 from Turkey, 1 from Mexico and 4 from China.  All the students are studying for their masters degree. Since Chinese New Year was on Friday January 31st the four students from China brought some traditional food from their country (rice crackers, coconut crackers, white rabbits, fortune cookies)  Before we ate we had a circle protocol.

Circle protocol is an activity that we do in our class. Everyone sits in a circle and we first acknowledge the traditional territories of Snuneymuxw and Snaw-Now-As. Then we pass the talking stick (a mini totem pole) around in clockwise direction from the teacher. Then we share how our week is going and how we think about how our inquiry and our learning is going. After we have passed the totem pole around the circle we are done.

So we did the usual in circle protocol, Mrs Epps assigned a few questions to a few students to ask the exchange students. After that we shared the snacks.

Science experiments:

Our science group asked “What happens to water when it is mixed with a bubble formula?” Our group leader was a lady from China.

The materials we used where:
v Big bucket of water
v Dish soap
v Glycerin
v Straws
v Pipe cleaner
v Plastic pipe
v Hanger formed in a shape
Our method was:
v Add a third cup of dish soap to a quarter cup of water
v Stir gently
v Glycerin already added
v Dip rim of glass into the bubble formula
v We made a homemade bubble blower with a pipe cleaner and it didn’t work so well
v Then we just used our finger and it worked really well
In the afternoon we taught our buddies our project and they loved it!

Conclusion: I learned that the bubble formed after we dipped the rim of the glass in the formula. But it would pop after a few seconds. So we added a little bit more of the formula to the water. And when we moved the glass around it changed colour. We found out that the smaller shape worked better.

Melina Gr. 6

 

 

Learning about school in the world

This Wednesday was our science experiment day; we had international students from around the world who now learn at VIU come into our classroom. It was quite an experience for all of us there were people from Brazil, Turkey, China, Mexico and India.  We got to ask them questions about their homeland and how it’s different or the same to our school. We learned that in China they just sit in their desks row by row and listen to the teacher teach them, the students would sit and listen and take notes. We also learned that in Brazil the air is much more polluted and even though they have the rainforest they don’t use it wisely. We learned very interesting things about very interesting places.

Science experiments

We got set up in groups of 3 or 4. Our leader’s name was Kim she was a student from China. Our group was learning about frost and dew. We learned that you rarely see dew and frost together because when the temperature is below zero there will usually be frost and when the temperature is above zero there will be dew.

The reason there is dew and frost is because when there is moisture in the ground it freezes in below zero temperature but if there is moisture in the ground and it is above zero it turns into dew. That’s why you might walk through a patch of grass with dry feet and come out with wet feet.  We got to teach our little buddies our experiment and share our learning with them. I liked how we got the experiment about water and how there is liquid, solid and gas.

Halle Gr. 6



We had a really cool learning experience this week when International University students studying at VIU came to visit our Gr. 6/7 class to do science experiments. We started with a circle meeting (something our class normally does to check in and see how the 5C’s are going). We got to ask questions about their culture, homeland and sustainability in their country.   I learned some really interesting facts.  In China you just sit in your classroom and take notes all day.  I found this really surprising because in our class it is the exact opposite!  In my class we all get a say we all listen to each other.  We learn from each other and we teach each other. 

Kaylin Gr. 6