January

Science World's Pro-D workshops embrace an approach to teaching and learning that reflects the new curriculum’s focus on place- and inquiry-based learning. We also make sure you leave the sessions with confidence in your ability to pass on knowledge and enthusiasm about the topic to your students.

Click here for details on our workshops––and don’t hesitate to email or phone us if you have any questions.

Theme:  

• Simple machines are the building blocks to complex machines 

• Complex machines work in tandem to produce products 

• Everyone and every machine have a part to play 

Description: This 60-minute online workshop is an interactive presentation about compound machines and an assembly line (the canning line) tour led by Gulf of Georgia Cannery National Historic Site programming staff. Students will take the roles as “detectives” and will explore three key complex machines.

This unit includes:  

• Complete unit design (no need to add any extra work)
• 60-minute workshop online (ZOOM)
• Kahoot! quiz
• An optional classroom kit (loaned) with wooden simple machines
• Word search
• Multiple activities
• Two scavenger hunts
• Historical photos and videos
• Offered in English or in French

Bonus: A physical kit can be booked on loan for a week for no extra cost. It includes wooden replicas of simple machines. The kit must be picked up at the Gulf of Georgia Cannery National Historic Site in Steveston. Instructions will be included to help students deepen their knowledge on how the simple machines work.

Help students discover the Fraser River through creative, hands-on activities designed with British Columbia’s school curriculum in mind.

Download our free My River, My Home Resource Kit for lesson plans, activities and background information related to the ecosystems, cultures and industries connected to the Fraser River. The kit aligns with our fully guided education programs, with many activities that are suitable to extend learning before or after field trips to the Fraser River Discovery Centre.

Complementing the award winning “My River My Home” exhibit at the Fraser River Discovery Centre in New Westminster, the free 100-page, user-friendly guide:

• Includes 25 lesson plans and background information for educators
• Challenges students to see the Fraser River holistically, exploring concepts of environmental, cultural and economic sustainability through creative activities, writing prompts and hands-on activities
• Activities meet BC Ministry of Education Curriculum requirements for grades K-9 and address BC’s new cross-curricular competencies (critical thinking, personal and social awareness and responsibility, and communication skills).

The kit is divided into 5 sections that can be explored independently or used to create an inquiry unit about the Fraser River:

1. Connect: students are asked to activate previous knowledge and explore the question “What is my connection to the Fraser River?”
2. Develop Knowledge and Explore Sustainability: students explore the cultural, economic, and environmental sustainability of the Fraser River.
3. Investigate Water Quality: introduces water quality and outlines the Taking the Pulse of the Fraser program available at the Discovery Centre.
4. Putting the Fraser on the Global Map: students study and compare the cultures, environment, and art, and water quality data from the Fraser, Amazon, Congo, Ganges-Brahmaputra, and Kolyma rivers.
5. What’s Next: The final section encourages students to become active citizens in water quality issues.

For suggestions on how to use or modify an activity in the kit, or to book a professional development workshop for educators on using the kit with your students, please contact programs@fraserriverdiscovery.org.

Connect Students with the wonders of the ocean without having to leave the classroom.

Our live, guided workshops focus on inquiry-based learning with an environmental and climate change focus. Not your average digital workshop, the sessions include mini-games, student-led discussions, and some surprises along the way. Using real scientific findings and data collected by Ocean Wise’s world-renowned research team, your students will get an inside view of the latest climate and environmental science.

Students will join one of our expert educators through live video conferencing in an inquiry-based discussion about a topic of your choosing. Using visual props and multimedia resources, students will utilize their creativity and critical thinking to explore the ocean. Core competencies in critical thinking, communication, creative thinking, and responsibility may be achieved through the Virtual Aquaclass Program. Big Ideas differ per grade.

Standard programs are $100 per 45-minute sessions and include a Q&A time between students and our expert staff. Choose from our wide variety of programs. This program is customizable upon request* to address specific interest and needs of each group. All programs are available in English or French.

 *additional costs may be required for customizations

In this 60-minute program, students are introduced to contemporary and historical Northwest Coast First Nations art. The tour of a select group of artworks emphasizes the importance of multi-generational teachings, the role of art in activism and resistance, and the diversity of issues and expressions in Northwest Coast First Nations. Students are introduced to a variety of stories and perspective of Northwest Coast First Nations artists, Elders and knowledge holders. The goal of the tour and discussion is to understand the importance of shared histories and to seek meaningful ways to understand others through art. The program will conclude with a framing activity where students choose a work and frame it in ways that prompt the question – what is included, and what is excluded?

To book this program, please submit a booking request.

https://moa.ubc.ca/school-programs/types/framing-stories-northwest-coast-art/

In this 90-minute program, students learn about the cedar tree and the variety of cultural belongings created from its trunk, bark and roots. A presentation of images and maps introduces the historical and ongoing importance of cedar trees to the First Nations of the Northwest Coast.

A tour through the galleries illustrates the depth of knowledge required to create cedar belongings such as bentwood boxes, baskets and canoes. The tour is followed by a hands-on classroom activity with students interacting with a range of belongings and tools, learning directly from handling, looking and listening.

To book this program, please submit a booking request.

https://moa.ubc.ca/school-programs/types/cedar-tree-of-life/

This large-format, illustrated book and Teacher's Package look at the history, traditions and culture of the Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh peoples. Written by Squamish language teacher Khelsilem, the book highlights significant aspects of traditional and contemporary cultures.

The Kit includes lesson plans for intermediate or secondary levels that encourage discussion and critical thinking at all grade levels. Also available in French: Le livre des peuples autochtones a Vancouver Nord.

Format: The Kit comes with one hardcover copy of the book as well as an electrionic copy of it, 22 laminate pages from the book, and lesson plans for intermediate or secondary grades.

Visit https://monova.ca/indigenous-peoples-in-north-vancouver/ to view the intermediate and secondary teacher's guides.