Some videos on ancient civilizations:

ROME: Rise and fall of an empire - Part 1

Colosseum - A Gladiator's Story

Athens - Wonder of the Classical World | History Channel Documentary

Sustainability

The field trip to 'Bamboo House', was an incredible experience. Students saw, how bamboo is being used to create walls, ceilings, staircases and a complete house. It is cost effective and particularly beneficial for people residing in the rural areas.

A wall made of bamboo!

Models of houses

This photograph shows a wall made of plastic bottles!! Plastic bottles are being recycled in a very innovative way!

 

Snapshots of the 'Energy Museum'

Saifan and Sazil had created a dam, through which they explained transformation and consumption of energy.

Rehaan and Fiza created models of vegetables and fruits and explained how the light energy from the sun, with help of 'photosynthesis, help plants grow, bear fruits and vegetables. When we consume the fruits and vegetables, energy is transferred into our body system!

 

Vignesh and Aman had created a model, through which they talked about transformation of 'solar energy' and 'wind energy'

 

Sharlin and Saikiran had created a model to explain the transformation of 'wind energy' to 'electrical energy'

 

websites on 'Energy'

Some useful websites on 'energy'

 

http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=kids.kids_index
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/kids/
http://tiki.oneworld.net/energy/energy.html
http://www.kidsenergyzone.com/
http://www.eia.gov/kids/

Hands on Maths (Fractions)

It was interesting to see students do multiplication of fractions with the help of a variety of manupulatives.
They were provided with manipulatives and given some multiplication sums, which they had to work out with the help of manipulatives!....They struggled with various trials and were eventually able to bring forth their understanding through two dimensional or three dimensional models. Below are some photographs of the activity!

Activities galore!

Its been two weeks since the students have been inquiring on the energy unit. They have come to terms with different sources of energy, transformation and consumption of energy. Here are some pictures of students inquiring in groups.

Students researching on sources of energy through books and case studies

On Tuesday they set up an energy museum. Thier museum comprised of models and experiments through which they displayed their understanding of 'the ways in which energies are transformed from one form to another'.
Very soon the photographs of the energy museum will be uploaded. Many photographs have already been uploaded in the facebook account of 'The Aga Khan Academy'.

In English students have been dwelling over and understanding the genere of 'Persuasive Writing'. Persuasive writing was carried out through introduction of the structure and followed up with integration of 'novel study' and 'unit of enquiry'.
In the activity where unit (Governance), was integrated with language, students chose an issue or cause related to environment or society. Thereafter they justified their causes with sufficient reasons, examples and statistics in order to prove their point and convince the government authorities to act upon it. Below are some photographs of students preparing for their persuasive essay in groups. They also had a chance to have some discussions with grade 9 students. Alec from grade 9 gave some valuable inputs to the grade 5 students.

After discussing and debating with each other, students created a draft, followed by the final product. They presented their persuasive essay in groups.

Construction of a building or a structure (model)

Last week students were assigned a task of constructing a model of any building or structure of their choice. They were supposed to maintain a journal to record the informations and experiences. They were encouraged to experiment and come out with their own solution. This activity enabled them to understand the concept of gravity. They realized the need to create a strong base in order to build a tall building. They also realized that the weight should be distributed in such a manner that the building stands erect. As most of their buildings/structures were made of paper, straw, ice-cream sticks, thread and wooden blocks, they had to be extra cautious. Many a times they switched on the fan at high speed to test the resistance of their buildings and structures. This often resulted in the buildings and strucrures disintegrating. However they kept up their spirit and rebuilt them every single time, till they were successful in their effort.
It was endearing to watch them understand the concepts of force and tension along with gravity through these activities.

Here are some pictures of the initial brainstorming session before begining the process of construction.

 

And now some glimpses of the final structures or buildings:

 

1) Statue of Liberty and Kabba

 

2) Pyramid Of Giza

 

3) Akashi Kaikyo Bridge

 

4) The White House

 

5) The Burj Khalifa

 

It was gratifying to see them put all their efforts into this activity and recreate the famous strcutures in their own way with the resources they could find in class.