Hello again bloggers,
This post is intended for Mr. F's Grade 8 class (6/7s, you will have another blog assignment coming up shortly). In class you got the Bio-Cube planning sheet. However, you also need to know where to get all the information you will need to complete it. PLUS, you will also need the link to the actual Bio-Cube creation tool. Luckily for you, your teacher is super awesome and is providing all of these important links for you!
Eric Walters Info
Eric Walters Official Home Page
University of Manitoba Author Profile
Quill and Quire Article about Eric Walters
WEIR Author Profile
Penguin Publishing Author Profile
Authors Unleashed Interview with Eric Walters
Bio-Cube Tool
Monday, January 24, 2011
Monday, January 3, 2011
Assignment # 9: Due January 14, 2011
Good Afternoon, and welcome back!
I hope everyone had a fantastic holiday. I certainly did! Once again, I was spoiled by my family and friends (including Santa) and I did a little spoiling of my own. But now that the holidays are over and we're back to school, I thought it would be a good idea to take a little time to think about other people. As many of you know, there are thousands and thousands of people in the world who are not nearly as fortunate as we are here in Canada. There are thousands of children who didn't receive a Christmas present, thousands of parents who couldn't afford to provide their families with delicious turkey dinners, and millions of people who didn't get to spend their mornings sleeping in in a warm, cushy bed. For these people, life is a lot more difficult, and I think it's important to remember them, especially at this time of year.
We've all heard the song "If I had 1,000,000 Dollars" by the Barenaked Ladies, but I'll include it below for your entertainment.
In this song, the Barenaked Ladies talk about all the different things they'd do with a million dollars. They could buy a house and furniture to put in it. They would by a fur coat, an exotic pet, a green dress, and a monkey. They'd even take a limousine to get to the store. In our society, a million dollars can go a really long way.
On the other hand, in some countries, it doesn't take a million dollars to make a difference. In some countries, even one hundred dollars can go a really long way.
Step 1: For this assignment, you will be researching the following organizations:
Oxfam
The Salvation Army
Plan Canada
World Vision
You will need to learn a little bit about each organization. What do they stand for? What do they do with donations? What kinds of donations are available?
Step Two: You will also learn about Ethical Gifts. What are they? How does Ethical Gift giving work? What ethical gift options are available from each organization? You will need to fill out your Ethical Gift Tracking form that you will receive in class. You must record the number of gift options available at each organization, as well as the least and most expensive items. Once you've done this, you will use the remaining space to record the potential gifts that you're interested in, their cost, and their purpose. This form must be completed and handed in to Ms. Crosbie by January 14.
Step Three: Once you've done your research and learned all about these organizations and the gifts they offer, you will have to make a decision. You've been given $100 to spend on ethical gifts. You must decide which organization you will purchase your gifts from, and what gifts you will purchase.
Step 4: You will then create a new blog post under the heading "Assignment #9: If I had $100." In this blog post, you will :
a) Identify which organization(s) you've chosen for your purchase (don't forget to explain why you chose that specific organization)
b) Which gifts you will purchase (don't forget to explain the purpose of these gifts and why you chose them)
c) How you will distribute your funds (i.e. will you spend $100 buying a whole whack of mosquito nets? Or, will you spend $20 on mosquito nets, $50 on a goat, and $30 on medical supplies?)
Step 5: After you've published your post, don't forget to come back to THIS post and leave a comment to let me know you've finished! I can't wait to see what some of you choose to do with your money!
Note: As discussed in class today (January 4), you may combine your funds with those of another person if you both wish to purchase an item that is over $100. You may also spend your money at more than one organization.
I hope everyone had a fantastic holiday. I certainly did! Once again, I was spoiled by my family and friends (including Santa) and I did a little spoiling of my own. But now that the holidays are over and we're back to school, I thought it would be a good idea to take a little time to think about other people. As many of you know, there are thousands and thousands of people in the world who are not nearly as fortunate as we are here in Canada. There are thousands of children who didn't receive a Christmas present, thousands of parents who couldn't afford to provide their families with delicious turkey dinners, and millions of people who didn't get to spend their mornings sleeping in in a warm, cushy bed. For these people, life is a lot more difficult, and I think it's important to remember them, especially at this time of year.
We've all heard the song "If I had 1,000,000 Dollars" by the Barenaked Ladies, but I'll include it below for your entertainment.
In this song, the Barenaked Ladies talk about all the different things they'd do with a million dollars. They could buy a house and furniture to put in it. They would by a fur coat, an exotic pet, a green dress, and a monkey. They'd even take a limousine to get to the store. In our society, a million dollars can go a really long way.
On the other hand, in some countries, it doesn't take a million dollars to make a difference. In some countries, even one hundred dollars can go a really long way.
Step 1: For this assignment, you will be researching the following organizations:
Oxfam
The Salvation Army
Plan Canada
World Vision
You will need to learn a little bit about each organization. What do they stand for? What do they do with donations? What kinds of donations are available?
Step Two: You will also learn about Ethical Gifts. What are they? How does Ethical Gift giving work? What ethical gift options are available from each organization? You will need to fill out your Ethical Gift Tracking form that you will receive in class. You must record the number of gift options available at each organization, as well as the least and most expensive items. Once you've done this, you will use the remaining space to record the potential gifts that you're interested in, their cost, and their purpose. This form must be completed and handed in to Ms. Crosbie by January 14.
Step Three: Once you've done your research and learned all about these organizations and the gifts they offer, you will have to make a decision. You've been given $100 to spend on ethical gifts. You must decide which organization you will purchase your gifts from, and what gifts you will purchase.
Step 4: You will then create a new blog post under the heading "Assignment #9: If I had $100." In this blog post, you will :
a) Identify which organization(s) you've chosen for your purchase (don't forget to explain why you chose that specific organization)
b) Which gifts you will purchase (don't forget to explain the purpose of these gifts and why you chose them)
c) How you will distribute your funds (i.e. will you spend $100 buying a whole whack of mosquito nets? Or, will you spend $20 on mosquito nets, $50 on a goat, and $30 on medical supplies?)
Step 5: After you've published your post, don't forget to come back to THIS post and leave a comment to let me know you've finished! I can't wait to see what some of you choose to do with your money!
Note: As discussed in class today (January 4), you may combine your funds with those of another person if you both wish to purchase an item that is over $100. You may also spend your money at more than one organization.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
One More Sleep
Hello Bloggers!
Well, this is it....the holidays are almost over. Only one more sleep until school starts again.
I hope you all had wonderful holidays and that you had lots of time to relax and enjoy the company of family and friends. Now, tomorrow, it's back to the grind. See you bright and early at 8:40!
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Blog Assignment #8: Due Wednesday, December 1
It's been a while since I posted. We've all had a very hectic week and a half with Progress Reports and Student-Led Conferences happening last week. Now, we're back to a more regular schedule. We get to see Wicked this Wednesday, and our Tolerance unit is beginning to wind down.
For this blog assignment, you've got a few tasks to complete. At least one will probably need to be completed at home, as Youtube videos don't often work very well at school (our internet service is painfully slow, I know).
Throughout this unit, we've talked about the issues of tolerance, intolerance, discrimination, and prejudice. We've learned about the history of these issues and how they have presented themselves in the modern world as well as in history, and we've talked about the effects that prejudice and discrimination can have on our community. Now, it's time to think about what is being done, and what we can do to end the cycle of discrimination within our class, our school, our community, and our world.
The first thing you need to do is check out the It Gets Better Project. Read about the project and some of the statistics that surround the issue of LGBTQ bullying (at the bottom of the page). Once you know what this project is about, The Pledge. Read it, understand it, and think about it before you sign your name. When you take the pledge, please only use your first name and last initial. Also, please use the school postal code (L1G5T6).
Once you've had a chance to view some videos and learn a little more about the problems facing today's youth, you will create your own PSA (Public Service Announcement) discussing these issues. You can talk about your own experiences (you may not use the name of anyone else in your recording), the It Gets Better Project, The Trevor Project, or Kids Help Phone, the consequences of bullying, the statistics relating to these issues, or any other issue you think needs to be addressed relating to the topic of bullying.
To record your PSA, you will use Audacity. You will learn how to use Audacity this week in class. Once recorded, you will post the recording to your blog, along with a brief caption explaining what the recording is about.
This assignment is due on DECEMBER 1.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Assignment #7: Due November 12, 2010
Share It. Tag It. Link It.
The challenge is simple. Use the videos and images available on this site to create a mashup or a virtual scrapbook using Windows Movie Maker. To check out the work of some others, check out the Veterans' Affairs Canada Youtube Channel, or the VAC Remembrance Feed. The options are endless. Share with others and link back to the Veterans' Affairs Canada website.
Why Remember?
Canada's service men and women have served this nation from the First World War to current missions. They step forward in our time of greatest need — because they believe in peace and security around the world. They have left their villages and cities, their farms and fishing communities, to make a difference. And they did. And today's service men and women are carrying on the tradition.Share it
Once you have made your remembrance creation, share it on your blog. For help with this, see Ms. C. Any creations finished by November 11 will also be considered for inclusion in our school Remembrance Day Assembly.
Tag it
Don't forget to tag it. Tags are short words that describe what your online creation is all about. This will also help friends and others find what you have made. You decide. Make your own or use the tags from the poppy word-cloud.
Link it
www.vac-acc.gc.ca
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Veterans' Week 2010
As many of you know, next week is Veterans' Week. It is the week of Remembrance Day, and a week that is dedicated to remembering all those men and women who have served, and continue to serve our country. It is important to remember that at any given time, there are hundreds, if not thousands of Canadian men and women over seas serving as part of the Canadian military in protective and peacekeeping missions.
In class, we will be reading the Canada Remembers Times which will help us understand the role our Canadian military has played throughout the world. We will also be filling out and sending "Postcards for Peace," which are postcards produced by Veterans' Affairs Canada. You will have the opportunity to send your postcard to a Canadian Forces member currently serving in one of many locations around the world. However, I know some of you might want to do more than send just one post card. Because of this, I thought I'd post a link where you can go and post a public message to the troops. In your message, you can let them know how much you appreciate what they do for Canada and the people of the world, send other kind messages, and well wishes. I know it might seem like it won't make a difference, but I know for a fact that our troops do read these messages and do appreciate the kindness and appreciation of the Canadian public.
This is not a mandatory activity--it's completely up to you.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Helpful Websites
Good morning, bloggers!
This week, you've got an assignment to go out and find an article from a newspaper/magazine/website that deals with one of the Canadian Rights and Freedoms that were provided for you on your hand out. I've included a few links below to help you in your search.
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