Fall 2022
Level 3
Orienteering. Orienteering is using a map to follow locations that are numbered. In this unit, students got a map of Queen Elizabeth park with locations marked on the map. Knowing how to use a map to locate certain spots or identify a location is important to learn how to navigate an area. Each student received a stick to put on their map if they were certain that they had found the spot that was number 1-4 with a starting point and an ending point. There was a lot of negotiating and deciding which path to take to get to the next location. The students worked together to locate each spot on their maps then they wrote in their field journals about the things they have seen along the way. This was also the first class to use our compasses to understand cardinal directions
Queen Elizabeth Park
Sepember 10
Mapping. We are using our compasses to follow directions and map our pacific spirit park. We have been introduced to compasses and maps that had specific locations. We will use the park map and navigate pacific spirit park and start to make our own maps of the places we visit. We will learn how important small-scale maps are to know what you can find in the place you visit and create a layout of the path you walked. We are practicing using North, East, South, and West. And introducing NE, SW, SE, and NW.
Pacific Spirit Park
September 17
Non-woody plants: Flowering and non-flowering. In this lesson, we visit Vandusen gardens to locate some plants that have flowers and some that do not. We will also be using our navigation and mapping skills to visit the hedge maze. Students are going to follow the map of VanDusen to locate specific plants and add to the map where they located a flowering or a non-flowering plant.
Van Dusen Garden
September 24
October 1
Today we talked about migration. When it gets cold in the winter, some animals leave to find a warmer area with more food. Lots of birds migrate. We walked around Queen Elizabeth Park and saw some Canadian Geese which will be migrating later this winter. We talked about why not all animals migrate, but some do. We played a few games, had snack, and met back up with our parents.
Using a map of Camosun bog we are learning about deciduous and coniferous trees. To understand what deciduous trees and coniferous trees are we navigate throughout the bog and visit the surrounding forested area. Coniferous trees have pinecones and their leaves and needles stay green all year round. Deciduous trees lose their leaves in the fall they all change different colors. Students will locate places each type of tree grows and collect pinecones and leaves.
Camosun Bog
November 12
Queen Elizabeth Park
October 29
This class, we mapped out the many different fall fruits and vegetables that were in harvest at UBC farm. We talked about seasonal fruits and vegetables, and learned about how different vegetables can grow in different places (below ground, above ground, in trees.) We talked about the differences between fruits and vegetables, and were able to correctly classify a squash as a fruit.
Pacific Spirit Park
Today we talked about wind. We learned about different ways to measure wind and the effects that wind can have on humans and trees. We talked about different factors that may be involved in the creation of wind, and why some places may be more windy than others.
Musqueam Park
October 15
November 05
Today we talked about nocturnal animals as a big group. We focused on owls and bats, and spent time walking around Musqueam Park looking for an owl. we used binoculars to try finding an owl in the trees. We worked as a team to build a human-sized bird nest with fallen branches, twigs, and leaves. Inside the nest, we ate snack and listened to a story about Halloween. Learned about the life cycle of owls and bats.
Our group walked around Pacific Spirit Park today, looking for decomposers. It must have been too cold outside for slugs and some insects to be active, as one of our students observed. After some careful searching, we were able to find worms at the bottom of a still pool of water. We looked at the worms and took some of them out of the water to hold and measure them. After returning the worms to their home, we walked through parts of the forest that had been damaged by the previous-night's storm. We even had to crawl under a massive tree! Finally, we found a nice log to have snack on, and made our way back to the meeting area.
Vanier Park