Hey!

For our final project in grade 9, we have learnt about Canada’s history during WWI and how they were significant during it.  Canada was a driving factor that prevented the German army to conquering WWI, they fought and won many vital battles that eventually led to the ally’s victory.  For the exhibiton, we were tasked to create a museum about World War I.  So this project was displayed in the Spring Exhibition 2023.  I hope you enjoy reading about my last project in grade 9!  Hope to see you in grade 10!

The first thing we learnt about was museums, and how it works.  We went to a local museum located in Lonsdale, called Monova.  It showed North Vancouvers history, and was split into different sections like industry, passion, etc.  We learnt to engage our audience with their senses, make exhibits interactive and much more.  For keystone 1, I wrote a bunch of notes and answered questions about how museums work.

https://www.craft.me/s/qneqMf2nUu8H1Q

After learning about museums, we learnt about was famous battles during WWI that Canada fought in.  The Battle of Somme, Battle 0f Ypres, Battle of Vimmy ridge were all significant fights that Canada took the lead in.  They were successful in conquering many areas which had Great Britain and France struggling to deal with.  However, life in the war was not all that good.  In propaganda ads, they portrayed fighting in the front lines, glorious, and patriotic.  You would be “serving your country” with honour.  In reality, it was filled with death and destruction, with diseases that plagued through the trenches.  Life back in Cananda was also difficult, they enlisted “soldiers of soil” to increase farming to send to the front lines in Europe.  Not only that, but immigrants also that migrated into Canada were sent into internment camps.  This resulted in families being separated, people being mistreated and much more.  I took interest in this topic and decided to write my keystone 2 paragraph on it.

https://www.craft.me/s/yM1JUlJYa4czWP

For the final keystone, that we would be presenting in the exhibition, I chose to be in the group “Creation Vs Destruction.”  I feel like this really shows what happened during World War I.  Even though there were a lot of new technology used for destruction, there were also some good items such as radios, plastic surgeries, and others.  I used this idea and created a digital slider to contrast the inventions created during the World War I era.  This allowed it to be interactive and interesting to the audience.    Along with it, I wrote out a bunch of paragraphs, listing out each invention in more detail.

Overall, I quite enjoyed this project, it was fun and interesting learning about Canada’s history.  However, if I could go back and do this project again, I feel like I could have improved my final product (digital slider).  As I mentioned within my tPOL, instead of just making one digital slider, I could have made 4 different sliders, that would each fill the four computers that I had.  I feel like this was a missed opportunity because it would have been a lot more interesting and interactive.   Apart from that, I think I’ve had a really successful grade 9 year!

See you next year!

-Chris

Hello everyone!

This is part 2 of the Revolution on Nation X!  I just finished doing this project and have created multiple different things along the way.  Enjoy!

Driving Question:  How did revolutions bring down empires and change societies around the world?

We started off by doing a simulation on Nation X, we role played as different citizens within a corrupt country and got to choose what we do.  If you are interested more on reading about this, I have created a full blog post on this.  Click here for the full summary.  After that, we reflected on what happened.   When a government is corrupt, the lower-class people will revolt from the royalty.

Brinton Graphic

For our first keystone, we had to create a Brinton Graphic that showed the anatomy of the revolution.  A revolution has 4different stages, moderate (people are not super happy), incubation (the moderates start protesting that is unsuccessful), crisis (the radicals have fully attacked and declared war on the nobilities) and recovery (the nation slowly getting better).  It had to include all 4 stages and other key information that was happening.  I think I did a pretty good job, I added 2 extra stages, setting the scene and conclusion so that it could have more information.

Graphic Organizer

For the graphic organizer, I had to choose a revolution to research on.  I found the French Revolution quite interesting; it included famous people like King Louis and Napoleon.  A couple other people chose the French revolution, Cameron B, Jackson, Mackenzie, Logan and Evangeline.  The organizer was required to include:

• A timeline
• Key figures
• The revolution’s name and date
• Key triggers
• Underlying conditions
• Continuity and change
• Ineffectiveness and effectiveness of the revolution.

We then presented it to our other group members and made changed on advice that was given.

Revolution Trial Video

The last keystone that was part of the project was a revolution video that had to prove whether the revolution was effective or ineffective.  Our group had to argue that it was effective, so we had to bring up points and evidence to back up our claim.  Some of the things we brought up was how Napoleon took control of France and lead many successful military conquests.  We also created an affidavit to plan out arguments inside the video.  Overall, I think that the video we produced was not the best due to the short time span we had.  Cameron B, one of the main roles, also had to leave midway through filming to go to Yukon.  Some parts were also not audible because of the fact that some of us were wearing masks.  The editing could have also been improved in some aspects.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I found this project quite fun, the starting simulation was also one of my favourite projects that we did.  The only thing that I feel like we could have done better was create a better revolution trial video.  However, I am quite proud of all the other work that I created.  I think the graphic organizer and crane Brinton graphic was pretty well made.

To answer the driving question, revolution was a big part of our society.  Many of them shaped the world to how it is today.  Some of the big revolutions created new things to benefit citizens.  In the French revolution, the declaration of human rights and man was created to better the living conditions.  Corrupt governments/royalties would exploit the lower-class citizens and use them for more money, resources and other things.  On top of that, the peasants would usually live in famine and poor conditions.  These are some of the underlying causes for the people to revolt.

Thanks for reading!

-Chris

Hello people!

We have just started a project called Storm the Barricades!  We just finished a civilization simulation on where we role played as members within a society.  We were split into 4 different social and economic groups.  Group A, the poorest, were peasants who made 1 dollar a day on sharpening pencils and creating 100-word reports on what happened on that day.  Group B, the group I was in, were middle class citizens who ran the store and made 2 dollars a day.  The next class was Group C, the police and law enforcers that made 10 dollars a day and “protected the city”.  The last group was the Nobles, they made all the important decisions with the king.  Lastly was the king, he made all the important decisions and good pass any law he wanted.  I sold things like candy and lemonade that you could actually consume for some money.

Day 1:

It was the first day of being under Nation X.  Mackenzie and both Charlies were the Clergy, they were able to pass whatever laws they want.  I was with Daniel, Cameron B, Keaton and Julia.  We were in charge of running the store and also had to write a daily 50 word report on what I did today.  We were also not allowed to communicate to people within group C and D without them talking first.

Today, I woke up and got ready to do my daily tasks.  We managed to sell about $70 worth of stuff, making us the richest group in all of Nation X.  Unfortunately, all our money was taken away from us.  About $50 were taken for “taxes,” which left us with only $20.   With all our money taken and most of our stock gone, we were very broke.  We tried to resist their arrest but were quickly outnumbered by the police force.  If we had not complied, we would have been arrested and sent to jail.

Day 2:

The sun rose on a dark and stormy day.  We spent what money we had to restock the store with foods and drinks.  However, we made lots of money!  We made about $150 and quickly hid it away!  We told the tax collectors that we only made $20 and had very little sales.  Not only that, I stole a bunch of that money from the king, clergy and nobility.  On the other hand, I was sent to jail 3 times for “assault and robbery” but escaped every time.  I punched the king when he found out that I was stealing from him!  I did this because the upper-class people had spent all of Nation X’s money.

Day 3:

I woke up today hoping to be promoted to the clergy class.  Daniel and I sent a formal request to join them.   We told them that we had experience on how we could better their rule over this nation.  However, we got rejected!  They said that we had to do something great in order to join.  I also had a criminal background which prevented me from even being promoted to the next estate.  As a compromise, Cameron B sent them a letter to make me the GOAT (greatest of all time) of Nation X.  They accepted and held a speech in honour of me!

Day 4:

Today I woke up to the sounds of people rioting outside.  They wanted to change the current monarchy to a democracy, so everyone had an equal chance to lead this nation.  I did not really care, I found the king, Charlie M, to be a pretty good ruler.  During the commotion, Nation X was hit with a disease.  It attacked the wrist, preventing anyone from group A and B from working.  This meant we were not going to get any pay, and the economy would come to a halt due to the lack of resources.  However, the king, decided to be merciful and gave all the infected a cure instead of profiting of it.  On the other hand, some groups were trying to buy some, which the king did not permit.   This enraged the people, so they tried to steal the only weapons in Nation X from the Clergy.  Tom, part of group C, managed to steal a weapon and gave it to his group members.  Jasper, a member in this group stole it and 2 people in group A with it.  At this point, it was pure chaos.  Me, Charlie M, Mackenzie and Logan fled to an allied nation so that we could be protected from them.

Day 5:

They welcomed us with open arms as we planned our counterattack on Nation X.  Charlie R, one of the leaders of the revolution and a traitor to group D, held a ceremony on their success in capturing the land.  Even though he was planning to turn the government into a democracy, the people disliked him due to the tyranny he caused while he was in rule with group D.  They decided to kill him due to his past connections with the king.  While all this was going on, me and the people who fled to group D took upon this opportunity and secretly entered the land while their backs were towards us.  While they executed Charlie R, me, Logan and Charlie M took our weapons and slaughtered almost everyone there.  I set aside my past friends and allies as I stole all their belongings after they died.   Nation Y had now fully invaded Nation X and had total control over it.

Overall, I found this simulation really fun.  Not only that, but I also felt like this simulation was very similar to the French revolution due to some of the things that happened.  In both, the royalty and upper class would spend lots of money even though the nation had no money, which caused them to tax the poor more.   Also, food was scarce for France because of multiple bad harvests while Nation X was hit with a disease which did not allow us to work.  If I were to do this again, I hope to be of the Clergy so that I could live a lavish lifestyle.

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed!

-Chris

Hello people!

This is the second blog post for this year!  I will be talking about the most recent project I have done inside humanities!  We were trying to define what geography is an its impact on us.  I also chose to relate all my work to economy. We went on a school trip so that we could build our knowledge and gather evidence.  I hope you enjoy 😉.

Driving question:  How has the geography of the west shaped who we are today?

Within the first few days of entering school, the first batch of PLP 9 kids were sent off to go collect evidence inside of Alberta.  While they were there, we had to research a document and answer a questionnaire.  It was about the different geographical landscape within Canada.  We learnt about the different regions such as the Canadian Shield and St Lawrence Low Land.  Places like the Cordillera region have a lot of mountains, rivers and forests.  

After completing that, we finally started our 8 night long trip to Calgary.   Our first keystone was creating a one paged comic that shows the 5 themes of geography.  The 5 themes of geography are different categories that break down what geography means.  This includes place (the physical and cultural landscape of a certain area), movement (the movement of people, products and ideas), human environment interaction (how we have adapted, modified and depended in the natural environment), location (the exact/relative place of where it is) and region (if this location has a defined or made-up border).  I think that my comic shows each of these themes through a photo and a couple of words.  I also added an introductory panel to introduce each of these themes. 

Along the way, we visited lots of landmarks/tourist’s attraction and how they affected us through an economical lens.   In total, we visited 8 places that we had to include in our book:  the Last Spike, Downtown Calgary, the Calgary Zoo, Frank Slide, Head Smashed in Buffalo, Cave and Basin, Columbian Ice Field and the Golden Sky Bridge.  During the trip, I think that I demonstrated the thinking competency.  While there, I had to ask questions and speculate on the topic to develop my knowledge on the place’s impact on the economy.  

We eventually returned back to Vancouver and reflected on all our experiences.  Inside our book, we were given a 3-question prompt for each one, how it shows the 5 themes of geography, how and why this place shaped us in an economical sense and my personal connection.   I also linked some of my work to a keynote documentation inside my book.  We also held a mini exhibition to present all our books in front of our parents.  I got to meet multiple parents that I did not know before.  

In conclusion, I feel like I have learnt a lot throughout this project.  At first, I did not really know how to define what geography is, I thought it just meant the geographic landscape.  Now, I know that there are lots of different themes of what geography means.  Now, I can give a sophisticated answer towards the driving question.  Like mentioned within my book, I think the geography of the West has shaped us by allowing us to have a thriving economy with multiple industries that helped us to settle and develop.   I think my reflection pages on the Last Spike also shows valid evidence to the driving question.  One thing that I feel like I could have improved on, is gathering more media.  I have a Samsung phone and I find it really hard to import the photos I take to my iPad.

If you would like to have a read of my book, here it is:

How has the geography of the West shaped who we are?

Click to read this book, made with Book Creator

https://read.bookcreator.com

Thanks for reading!

-Chris

Hello people!

Recently we had a PLP spring exhibition!  I learnt some new things and met new people.

Driving question:  What is a PLP learner?

During the exhibition, one main thing I did was branching out to the grade 9s.  The grade 9s were in charge of planning out the exhibition for us.  Since it was a split project between them, I got to interact so that I could carry out their plans.

When you walked into our part of the exhibition, you would be greeted by a Julien and Caitlin. They would explain each stations and where to start.

I was in the instant challenge section, it was a Destination Imagination game that we decided to do because it required you needed to have good collaboration and communication skills.  We had to make a cup pyramid in the fastest amount of time by pulling on strings connected to a rubber band in the middle to pick up things.

The next station was reflection.  Nolan was in charge of basically explaining how a PLP learner would reflect on what they just did.  They had to judge how well the communicated, collaborates thought.

The third station was the sticky notes challenge.  You basically would have to write down on sticky note on what they thought was a PLP learner.

(Don’t have photo)

After that was the Dungeon of Documentaries.  I don’t really know a lot about it but the grade 9s recently did a project on creating their own mini films.  They were allowed to do any topic they wanted so it was interesting seeing the grade 9s hobbies and talents.

The last station was the Hall of Hard Works.  It showed the projects we were proud of and not so proud of.  At the end, Xander was handing out skittles to represent “rainbows”.

I also got to choose to display some of my work that I wanted to show.  I decided to show 2 pieces of work to show my growth through the year.  The first one was a scratch game with very little gameplay that was supposed to be my first prototype.  Then I showed my full game and explained why I am proud of this using an artist statement.  To shows of my games, I used a website to create QR codes so that the guests could try them out themselves.

What is a PLP learner?

A PLP learner is a hard working and collaborative person that learns through project based learning. When faced with difficult tasks they always persevere through hardships.  They are also not scared of failing because they know that through failing, they learn how to do better.

Thanks for reading!

-Chris

Hello people!

For this blog post, I will be talking about the 15th century in Europe.  I have been learning about pirates and European exploration.   After finishing this project, I have learnt a lot about the history of the country I live in.  Sit back, relax, and I hope you enjoy.

Driving question: What were the cause and consequences of European Exploration.

The first thing that we learnt about was the triangle trade between Europe, Africa and North America.   When North America learnt about the new land in the west they instantly started setting up trade routes between them.  North America would trade to Europe, giving them things such as sugar and tobacco.  Europe would then give Africa some of their new technology that they discovered.   Europe also steal people from Africa to bring them to North America to harvest the new crops they discovered.

For our final project we had to create a story about a person that was either a pirate or related to pirates going to North America to explore the “new world.”  It also had to be historical fiction so it had to be somewhat realistic.  I decided to create my story about a man named Francis Drake.  He was a British captain that use to trade slaves to North America before being ordered by the queen to attack Spain as a pirate.

After all that, what were the cause and consequences of world exploration?

I also explained what each symbol and why they are all important:

For my first visual, it depicts a nice environment where everything is happy and prosperous.

First symbol (money): I added a dollar bill because it shows that the beaver trade was a really profitable business. Not only that, it was really valuable to have.

Second symbol (beaver with beaver hat): I chose to have a beaver wearing a hat to show that everyone really wanted the fur pelts. The pelts were not only really soft and durable, but was cool and fashionable.

Third symbol (a musket): The musket represents how the indigenous traded the pelts for they guns. It shows how the indigenous people improved their technology.

My second visual shows the beaver dead and the forest on fire. I chose to create it like this because the fur trade heavily damaged the eco system.

First symbol (burnt forest): The burnt forest represents how the Europeans took things without thinking about the environment.

Second symbol (dead beaver): The dead beaver shows how the fur trade nearly cause the beaver species to go extinct.

Third symbol (musket being shot): I made it so that the musket is shooting the beaver because it shows how the indigenous used their “gifts” to hunt even more beavers than before.