Hi again! Today I will be sharing my reflection on the tectonic plates project. In this project we had to create a book with 10 key concepts based on the topic, this book we had to share with grade 4-5 students.This project was fun for a number of reasons. My favourite was the fact that we could use Minecraft to help us create the images we used. I used Minecraft to help me create videos to help explain the different key concepts.

During this project I demonstrated 4 key concepts including: Evaluating, Questioning and Predicting, Big Idea, and Applying and Innovating.

I’m going to start by explaining the Big Idea of tectonic plates. Tectonic plates cover the earth and have cracks in them called plate boundaries that allow the plates to move. There are 3 types of movement: divergent which is the 2 plates separating, convergent which is the 2 plates colliding, and transverse which is 2 plates rubbing against each other. Each of these motions creates earthquakes that come in all different sizes ranging from ones that you can”t even feel to ones that will bring down buildings. Some earthquakes can even form tsunamis which are giant tidal waves that are able to bring down buildings. Mountain ranges and volcanoes are also formed by these movements.

We then had to make a book explaining tectonic plates to Grade 4/5 students. This is where I met the rest of the curricular competencies. I had to use evaluating, predicting, and questioning to figure out how to explain this concept to the Grade 4/5s. So we had to think about how we could write the book in such a way that they would be able to understand how the big idea of plate tectonics worked. We also had to predict what might intrigue them so their attention wouldn’t wander. On top of that, we had to put all of this into a book. So I decided that I should have a main character that they would like and that would help them understand. I chose to do a creature that lives underground since this book is about plate tectonics that are in the earth and under water. I decided to use my favourite burrower, the burrowing owl. I named him Benny because Benny the Burrowing Owl had a nice ring to it, and it would be easier to remember for them.

I used applying and innovating to create the book itself. I decided that the book needed to have pictures, but I was having trouble trying to draw the burrowing owl. Then our teacher said that we could use Minecraft to create the pictures. So I decided that this was the route that I wanted to take. I was also able to use something in the game called red stone which is like using machinery, and it helped me to explain certain movements since I was quite good at it. I’m quite happy with how these mini videos turned out in the book.

We then took a walk down to Cove Cliff Elementary to read our books. When we were done with reading the book, the grade 4/5s gave us feedback. The kid I was partnered with really liked that it took place in Minecraft, and he was able to understand the concepts of the book. I would say that was successful applying and innovating!

Here is the mind map we made for this unit showing our learning.

 

And here is me reading the book