Last week, we finished our playground designs and students pitched their designs to the class. We voted on the design that we thought best met the needs of the community, while also taking into consideration the cost. Two designs came close in the number of votes they had: V, M, and Abbey's design that with 12 votes and Sy, Nico, and Liam's design with 14 votes. Both groups moved on to be allowed to pitch their designs to the Community Association and City of Calgary.
Today, we had two guests in our classroom: Nicole from the Ramsay Community Association and Rob from the City of Calgary. They listened to what we have learned so while working on this project. We:
- researched the City of Calgary playground criteria
- looked at the Census data to learn the demographics for the Ramsay neighbourhood (how many people are in each age group in Ramsay)
- discovered the 6 simple machines
- went on Community Walks to study the simple machines in playground equipment
- were informed on the 4 healthy play components, as described on the City of Calgary website
- looked at a map and found the grassy areas in Ramsay and identified them as possible playground spots
- went on a Community Walk to visit the three potential playground sites we found
- learned from Nicole that two of the sites we'd found on the map are actually being considered for new playgrounds
- discovered the real-life cost of different pieces of equipment and ground cover
- discussed the word collaboration and what it means to work together as a group
- cut and glued pieces of playground equipment from Blue Imp catalogues
- calculated the total cost of our design
- pitched our ideas to the class and voted!
As you can see, this project encompasses outcomes from all subject areas: Language Arts (Speaking), Math (Adding), Science (Simple Machines), Social Studies (connecting with municipal processes; considering the needs of the community); and Wellness (different types of play; working as a team). For more info, Check our previous blog post (click here).
Today, Rob told us that what we have done in class is just like his job in "real life."
He said University students do projects like this to learn about city planning.
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| Our finalists with Rob from the City of Calgary and Nicole from the Ramsay Community Association |
Here are some quotes about our learning:
"I really liked collaborating with my team and seeing the different ideas we can add." ~ Abbey
"We learned about the different aspects of designing." ~ V
"I never thought that we would make our own playgrounds; it was fun!" ~ Aarav
"I liked cutting and gluing because it was interesting how many different types of playground equipment there was in the catalogue." ~ Alice
"I liked the presentation." ~ Arsh
"I liked working with my team and trying all we could." ~ Raj
"I liked presenting to Rob and Nicole because they gave us their ideas." ~ M
"I liked combining the simple machines and playground designs to get the final product." ~ Charlie
"I learned about all 4 healthy play components." ~ Sy
"I learned that it's fun to collaborate with my group members." ~ Liam
"The images were fun and cool." ~ Daniel
"I learned that we have to do our best and we can win. " ~ S
"I learned that even if you can't communicate in the same language, there are other ways to communicate and even if someone doesn't understand it, other people can help." ~ Suzi
"I liked how we can design our own playground." ~ Kim
"I liked the idea that our design could include everyone, like people with disabilities." ~ Nico
"I liked how it was a big project." ~ Olivia
"I learned that persuading people can be very hard." ~ Artur
"I liked designing the playground because it was fun to look through the pamphlet and find the different equipment." ~ Clover
"I liked that we got to vote on our favourite design." ~ Sage
"I liked how to collaborate with my group." ~ Michael
"I liked this playground project." ~ Milana
"I liked that we got to learn the prices." ~ H
"I like my team." ~ O
"Project is very hard and fun." ~ Andria
"I like how Math was involved in this project." ~ Nolan
"I like playground and project." ~ R
