We just finished our tectonics unit in Scimatics 8 and I didn’t realize how much plate tectonics effect the Earth. Our driving question was β€œHow does the movement of Earth’s tectonic plates cause observable changes and effects.” Basically, a tectonic plate is a large slab of rock that is made by oceanic and continental crust. When two plates collide it causes a plate boundary. Plate boundaries cause earthquakes, tsunamis and lots of other natural disasters. At the start of this project I didn’t know what we were even learning, and I didn’t enjoy it, but I kept a growth mindset until I finally got to where I wanted. We had to create a book and show it off to our local grade 5’s. I wrote about wooly mammoths 10,000 years ago and explained tectonic plate movement back then. I was quite surprised about how much they already knew. I didn’t really love this project but I persisted through and accomplished the end product.

There were three Curricular Competencies, Evaluating, Questioning and Applying. For evaluating we had to show how we demonstrated and understood evidence. I showed this skill by supporting my evidence by using key concepts from our textbook pages. I included 12 key concepts in my book, which I found really helped explain the book.Β 

The next competency was questioning. For this we had to demonstrate a sustained intellectual curiosity about tectonics. To show this skill I used all my class time effectively and efficiently without being distracted or distracting others. Since I managed my in class time well I didn’t have to do it outside of school hours. At the start of the project I was getting bored so that made me go off topic, but I soon learnt that in order to complete the book I need to be engaged.Β 

The last competency we were evaluated on was applying and innovating. To be proficient in this skill we had to contribute to care for self and others through personal or collaborative approaches. I proved that I knew this skill by effectively showing my book to the younger students and managing my impulsivity by not getting mad at them for asking question that I thought were obvious.Β 

That concludes our tectonics unit and quite frankly it wasn’t my favourite project I’ve done. I learnt a lot about the Earth’s layers and put all of my knowledge into my final product, a book.