Rocketeer

 For the past few weeks, my class was writing a narrative about the Rocketeer. We watched a short film, and we had to create it as a narrative for our writing.

I enjoyed writing the 'Rocketeer'. I really liked watching the film as well. I also really liked adding some descriptive language. 

I didn't really find anything tricky.

Click here to view my writing!

Staying Sunsmart

 For the past few days in cybersmart, we were learning how to make a GIF in Canva. Canva is really easy to use, and it could be used for about anything!

I enjoyed creating the GIF. It was really fun experimenting with the backgrounds, GIFs, settings and all sorts of things.

I didn't really find anything tricky.

Here is my GIF!

Parihaka Feather

 For the past week for reading, my class was learning how to identify the main points. We have been learning about Parihaka. We had to read 2-3 texts, and watch 2 videos about Parihaka.

We had to create a feather with words that are related/similar to the word 'peace'. I enjoyed creating and adding in the words.

I didn't really find anything tricky.

Here is my feather!

All Saints Day

 Today is all Saints day. All Saints day is when you celebrate and remember saints who haved passed on into heaven. Because of this special day, our teacher has assigned us a special task. The task was to create a slide or google drawing about the saints. There were some notes on the whiteboard we could add onto our slides. 

I enjoyed creating the slide and learning about the saints and their special day. I really liked decorating the slide  with pictures.

I didn't really find anything tricky.

Here is my slide!

Come Down Golden Pick a Path

 Today I was making a pick-a-path in Google slides. It was some questions about Come Down Golden. Come Down Golden is a story me and my group is reading.

I enjoyed making the pick-a-path on google slides. I liked decorating the slides, picking the font and looking for the pictures.

I found coming up with questions a little tricky because I didn't really think of many. 

October Relfection

 Today we were reflectig on October. I have really enjoyed this month because of the fun things me and my class have done.

I enjoyed filling the form in. I enjoyed filling in the writing bit the most, because I could link my writing blog as well.

I didn't really find anything tricky.

Click here to see my newsletter!

Frida Kahlo Art

 For the past few weeks, my class was painting. The painting was a picture of a woman named 'Frida Kahlo'. She was a mexcian painter that painted self portraits. In her portraits, she usually painted herself with bushy eyebrows and moustaches. Did you know she had polio?

We used lots of colourful paints to paint her face. To make the flower(s) on her head, we used tissue paper. We folded the tissue paper back and forth like a fan. Then, we stapled the middle and then fanned the paper out to make it look like a flower.

I enjoyed painting Frida Kahlo and making the flowers. I also liked learning about Frida Kahlo and her life as a painter.

I didn't find anything tricky.

Dragon Slayer

 For the past few days, my class was learning how to structure narratives. A narrative is a fiction type of book. For our first narrative, we had to watch a film called 'Dragon slayer'. We had to write 'Dragon Slayer' into a narrative.

I enjoyed writing Dragon Slayer. I also liked watching the film.

I didn't really find anything tricky.

Click here to view my writing!

Come Down Golden Questions

 Today I was learning how to ask and answer questions. Today's take in reading for Come Down Golden was to make a google form containing 5 questions about chapter 2 and 3.

I enjoyed creating the google form and asking the questions. I also liked experimenting with the different options.

I didn't really find anything tricky.

Come Down Golden Problem

 Today I was learning how to infer, or also known as 'reading in between the lines' in reading. The book I was looking at was called 'Come Down Golden'. Our assigned task today was to create a google drawing showing the character(s), scene and problem.

Down below you will see the google drawing I made showing the character(s), scene and problem.

Come Down Golden Hypothesis

 Today I was learning how to hypothesis in reading. The story I was looking at was called 'Come Down Golden'.
I found looking and reading the cover and blurb very interesting, since the cover was quite colourful.
I found not talking to my friends and mucking around tricky. Next time I would try and focus on my school work and to stay on task.

Here is the slide that will explain my hypothesis

Zombie Apocalyspe

 For the past week, my class was pretending there has been a Zombie Apocalyspe and we are the only surviors! We had to make lots of slides.

I enjoyed creating the slides with my group/ friends. I also liked reading the diary entries every day with my class!

I didn't get it done in time because I was out putting my stakes in with Matua Richard yesterday.

September Reflection

 Today I was doing my September Reflection. We do a month reflection every month to reflect on our past learning.

I enjoyed doing the reflection. I enjoyed doing the MegaMonster bit the most. I also liked writing about the zombie apocalyspe.

I didn't find anything tricky. 

Here is the reflection.

Aliens

This week for reading, we were learning how to identify the character's and/or author's point of view. This week we were reading about aliens. There were two stories to read, and no video to watch. For our create task, we had to design our own alien, or create a wanted alien poster or design an alien spaceship and label the important features.

I enjoyed designing my own alien. I really liked drawing their face and their spider legs. I also enjoyed drawing the eyes.

I found drawing the hair a little tricky because I don't really draw complicated hair all the time. 

Here is the drawing! 

Speeches

This week, my class were presenting their speeches. Lots of people chose lots of different topics and some of the topics were very interesting. My topic was about Mr Wolf.

I enjoyed writing and presenting my speeches. It took a lot of courage to get up infront of the whole class to say your speech!

I found writing my speech a little tricky, because I had to keep on changing bits and pieces in the paragraphs I wrote.

Here is a screencastify of me saying my speech!

Te Wiki o Te Reo Maori Pt. 2

This week was Maori language week. Because of this, Mrs Torrie gave us some slides to complete to celebrate. We had to watch two videos, then Mrs Torrie told us that we had to teach someone to pronounce a Maori word. 

I enjoyed completing the slides. I also liked that i gave pronouncing the longest Maori word a go. I also enjoyed attempting to teach someone on how to pronounce a Maori word.

I found pronouncing the longest word in Maori a little tricky, because there were some words I couldn't pronounce. Other than that, I found everything else fine.

Te Wiki o Te Reo Maori

 This week was Te Reo week / Maori language week. Because of this, today our teacher made us take a Te Reo quiz. We had to place them in the correct order. There were some pictures that gave us clues. We also had to do a scavenger hunt, but since it was raining outside, we did the scavenger hunt indoors.

I enjoyed taking the quiz. The pictures on the side helped lots. They were hints. For example, on Rahoroi some people play sports.

I found taking the quiz just a little tricky. I also found finding the shapes with my partner a little tricky because there weren't many stars in the class, but we found 1!

Click here for the link to the quiz!

And here is the scavenger hunt we did!

Social Justice and Beatitudes

 This week for reading, we were learning to identify the characters and/or the author's point of view. Because this week was social justice week and we were also learning about the beatitudes, my reading group was doing lots of things!

We had to read 3 texts, a bible reading and watch 1 video. Our create tasks was to fill in the social justice week and no girls allowed log. Then after that we had to make a slide with beatitudes and animals.

I enjoyed creating the beatitudes slides with my partner. I really enjoyed learning about the beatitudes and finding a picture of a animal to match the beatitude.

Here are the links to the social justice week work!

Social justice week
No girls allowed

And here is the beatitudes slides!

Is Mr Wolf Guilty For First Degree Murder? Pt. 2

 Today we were writing our speeches on if Mr Wolf is guilty of first degree murder or not. I chose that Mr Wolf was guilty, because he attempted murder and many more things.

I enjoyed writing the speech if Mr Wolf is guilty or not. I really enjoyed explaining my opinion and researching. I also enjoyed reading various stories that included Mr Wolf.

I found researching a little tricky. Different sites said different things and I had to double-check lots of them. 

Click here to look at my writing!

Is Mr Wolf Guilty For First-Degree Murder?

 Today for writing in my class, we were learning how to use persuasive language. Because speeches were coming up, we were writing our speeches on if Mr Wolf is guilty of first-degree murder or not. Our teacher gave us a brainstorm to list 4 reasons why Mr Wolf is or not guilty.

I enjoyed brainstorming and 4 reasons why Mr Wolf is or not guilty with my classmates. I also really enejoyed listening and watching the different stories of Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad wolf.

I found brainstorming some of the reasons why Mr wolf is not guilty a little tricky. In the end my classmates came up with some ideas we could add to our brainstrom.

Here is my brainstorm!

Turtles

 Today for one of our lockdown learning tasks, we were learning about turtles. We had to find facts about turtles. Thankfully, there were some sites we could go on to learn more about turtles.

For our create task, we had to draw a turtle and write 5 facts we learnt about them. There was a tutorial on how to draw a turtle, but I decided I would draw my own. After I drew my turtle, then I wrote my facts.

I enjoyed drawing the turtle. I enjoyed drawing it’s shell the most. I also enjoyed finding facts about turtles and learning more about them.

I found drawing the hexagons on the turtle’s shell a little tricky. It took some time but I got it done. I also found finding facts just a little tricky.

Here is a picture of the turtle!

Persuasive text

 Today for one of our lockdown learning tasks, we were learning about persuasive text. Persuasive text is something like a speech. In writing today, my class was learning how to write persuasive text. Our plan was about cats Vs dogs. I chose the cat side.

I enjoyed writing this persuasive text. I enjoyed researching the most, and extending my knowledge of cats. I also enjoyed attempting to persuade my audience into siding with me!

I found researching about serotonin a little tricky. I already had some prior knowledge from previous experiences, but I needed more evidence so I researched more.

Click here to view my writing!

Father’s Day card

Today for my class’s lockdown learning, we were learning how to publish a blog post in the future. This blogpost, in reality, is actually posted on the 1st of September, but the date it says it was published is the 5th of September, which is Father’s Day!

Because of the upcoming Father’s Day, one of our lockdown learning tasks was to make a card for Father’s Day! There were many options to choose from, but none of them fitted the supplies I had, so I created my own Father’s Day card in my own way!

I enjoyed drawing the Father’s Day card. I also enjoyed making the tutorial for all those people viewing my blog!

I found recording the video tricky. I was drawing with one hand and recording the tutorial with my other hand. I found editing the video a little tricky, but thats about all I had some problems with.

Here is the tutorial! (And below that you will see a photo of the final product.)

Diluc Drawing

 Yesterday I was drawing at my bubble to entertain myself. I drew Diluc from Genshin impact, which is a game. 

Here is a little bit of Diluc’s backstory. Diluc had a father. His name was Master Crepus. One day when it was raining very hard, he and his father found a boy with blue hair, drenched. The boy’s name was Kaeya. Kaeya said “My father told me he would get me some grape juice, but it’s been over 5 hours and he hasn’t returned.”

Master Crepus and Diluc took Kaeya in. Kaeya was now Diluc’s adopted brother. They would play all day together! But one day, a ferocious monster attacked Diluc’s home, which was a winery called “Dawn Winery” his father, Master Crepus used all his power and might to defend his sons. In the end, the monster ran away but Master Crepus’s power had backfired on him. This meant that Master Crepus was deceased.

That is just a little about Diluc’s backstory. 

I enjoyed drawing Diluc. I enjoyed drawing his hair the most. He was one of the first males I have drawn in my sketchbook.

I found drawing the details on his coat tricky. They were fine and very small. Drawing the folds were also a small challenge.

Here is a picture of my drawing!

Cicada Animation

 Today for lockdown learning, we were doing reading. In reading we were learning how to apply knowledge. 

Today my class was reading about cicadas. Cicada’s are insects and they are like aphids. They suck out fluids from young twigs of trees and some woody bushes.

Our task was to create a scratch game about cicada’s talking to each other, put facts on a slide deck or make an animation. I chose the animation, but it’s not really like an animation, so I would label this as my way of applying knowledge.

I found drawing the cicadas enjoyable. I also enjoyed reading and learning about cicadas. I also really enjoyed making them talk to each other in facts.

I found drawing the head of the cicadas a little tricky. They have (in my opinion) a quite complex head because they have 5 eyes. They have 2 of them being really bold and noticeable, while the others are quite small, so I didn’t draw them on.

Do you enjoy my drawings? Please tell me in the comments!

Here is the video of cicadas talking to each other in facts!

Teddy Bear Picnic

 Today for one of our tasks during lockdown was to do a outdoor challenge. We got to choose a outdoor challenge on the poster. The outdoor challenge I chose was to host a teddy bear picnic!

I enjoyed setting up the picnic and inviting all my stuffed animal friends. They also really enjoyed eating the yummy food! 

The grass was a bit damp outside today, so I couldn’t really put a blanket outside. Instead of hosting the picnic outside, I hosted it inside near the glass door so me, my brothers, and our stuffed animal friends could still enjoy the sunshine.

Here is a video of our inside teddy picnic!

Maui Magic Jawbone

Today for reading, my class was learning how to present. We were watching a video about Maui and his magic jawbone given to him by his grandfather.

The video tells us that Maui obtained this jawbone by hiding his grandfathers kai/food from him. Maui wanted his grandfather’s magical jawbone and did this everyday until his grandfather gave into hunger and gave Maui his magic jawbone. 

One of the tasks were to draw Maui’s magic jawbone. I enjoyed drawing Maui’s magic jawbone. I really enjoyed drawing the rope and the small details. I enjoyed the shading and adding shadows.

I found drawing the shape of the jawbone a little tricky because there were many different ways to draw Maui’s magic jawbone. 

Here is the drawing!

Habitat for Animal

 Today for one of our lockdown tasks was to create a habitat for an animal. I chose the animal, us humans! The habitat that is shown is based off of a Chinese festival habitat. 

I enjoyed creating the habitat. I really liked adding the trees and toy stand in the background. There is more to the habitat, so tell me in the comments if you would like to see the rest of it!

I found taking the screenshot a bit tricky. This was on my chrome book without a keyboard so it was a little trickier. In the end my brother showed me how to take a screenshot without the keyboard.

The app I used to make this habitat was Genshin Impact. 

Here is the screenshot!

Mary Assumption word cloud

Since there has been a new COVID-19 case in the Auckland region recently, the whole of New Zealand went into lockdown to prevent the spread of COVID-19 furthermore. 

Today my class had a google meet to continue our learning at school. Our teacher showed us what to do. We had 3 tasks a day to complete, and the one I am blogging right now is religious education.

In religious education in my class, we were learning about the assumption of Mary. This is when Mary died. God thought Mary was a very special woman because she said “yes” to God. She said “yes” because she agreed that she would bear God’s only son, our savior and lord, Jesus. 

So, when Mary died, both her body and soul would go up into heaven, just like Jesus, her son. The task was to create a word cloud. This word cloud could include words like “Assumption”, “Heaven”, Mary” and many other words.

I found creating the word cloud great fun. I liked that I got to choose the colors and words I could add into my word cloud. I also enjoyed that it was simple and not very complicated. This was the site I used to create my word cloud.

https://www.wordclouds.com/ 

I found thinking of words a little tricky. There we’re lots of great words, but I simply could not think of much. Other than that, there was nothing more challenging.

Here is my word art!

Lisa Carrington

For the past few days, my writing group was learning how to link paragraphs. The whole class had to choose a New Zealand athlete to write a report about. We first had to write some quick facts about our athlete, such as their name, date of birth etc.

Then after that,we had to write about their life and career. We had to put in what school they went to, their family, their hobbies and more.

After that we had to write about what sport they did and the sport's origins. The sport my athlete did was kayak / canoe sprint. My writing will tell you more about the sport.

I enjoyed writing the report about my athlete. The athlete I chose was Lisa Carrington. I also enjoyed looking up facts about her.

I found linking my paragraphs tricky. I did not really understand and I have not linked paragraphs before, so this was new learning for me.

Click here to read my report about Lisa Carrington! 

Here is my success criteria.

Koromiko

 For the past few weeks, my class in reading was learning to summarise. Summarising is when you tell the main point in your own words, but in a shorter version. 

Because of our Rongoa garden (Healing Garden) in our school, my class was learning about healing plants. We had to read 4 articles and watch 1 video. Doing this, we found out a lot of facts about rongoa. Then, after that the whole class had to choose 1 native healing plant such as kowhai, kawakawa, etc.

For our task, we had to design a sign with some of the medicinal properties of the plant we chose. The plant I chose was a Koromiko. My sign will tell you more about the Koromiko.

I enjoyed creating the sign and designing it. It was really enjoyable. I also enjoyed finding and learning lots of facts about the Koromiko. This further strengthened my knowledge. Like they say, 'knowledge is power!'

The bit I found tricky the most was learning how a Koromiko poultice is made. I had to go on various sites to try to find out how to make the poultice! In the end, a book my teacher had helped me. It is called 'The Meaning of Trees' by Robert Vennell.

Here is my sign!

Japan

 This week for reading, my class was learning how to skim and scan. To skim and scan you have to skim to a specific piece of information, and scan the text.

Because of the Olympics, we were reading about Japan. Japan is a part of Asia, and it's neighbour's with North and South Korea. Japan is surrounded with lots, and lots of ocean. Japan is a series of islands called an archipelago. 

My class had to make slides about Japan. We read some articles, and watched some videos, and searched the web for information about Japan.

I found finding facts and creating the slides enjoyable. The slide I enjoyed creating the most was the food slide. I knew some facts about the food in Japan, so I shared this knowledge with my friends.

I found finishing the slides in time tricky. I could not finish these slides because as a House Captain, I had other duties to attend to, and I did not have a device at home to work on.

Here are my slides!

Report Writing

 For the past few days I was learning how to know when to use simple, compound and complex sentences. Our teacher said that we had to choose a native New Zealand animal to write about. It could be extinct or alive. One group was learning to paragraph, and the other group was learning when to use simple, compound and complex sentences in our writing.

I enjoyed writing a report about the Tuatara. The part I liked writing about the most was probably what it eats! It wowed me on how Tuatara sometimes eat their own young!

I found using complex sentences very tricky. I could not think of any that would fit in the areas of my Tuatara report. Next time I will try to include more complex sentences in my writing.

The animal I chose was a Tuatara. It is a native reptile to New Zealand, and it is related to the dinosaurs! I will tell you more about the Tuatara in my report. 

Click here to see my report! 

New Zealand Mascot

 For the past few days, my class and I were designing Olympic mascots. We had to somehow incorporate  a element of NewZeland in our mascots. We used a app called 'Chrome Canvas'. This app was already pre-installed on our chromebooks.

Thinking of a idea was probably the hardest. There are lots of areas to cover before you can design your mascot, plus we had to somehow incorporate NewZeland into our mascots. I decided that my mascot would represent the Paralympics part of the Olympics.

I enjoyed designing the mascot and giving it's personality. Coloring the mascot was also enjoyable. 

My mascot's name is 'Rā'. 'Rā' in Maōri means 'Sun'. I gave Rā no arms, because he is a mascot representing the Paralympic games. Rā always has a bright outlook on life, despite he is differently abled. Here is a picture of Rā, my Paralympic mascot!

Kiwi Kids News Read Off!

 This week for reading, we had free reading on Kiwi Kids News! We had a deck of slides to work on, and had to make 3 copies of the slide deck. We had to make 3 copies because we had to read 3 articles from Kiwi kids news. This was the order: a. An article from national news, b. A article from world news, and finally c. A article from odd stuff.


We had this read off so that we could earn points for our group. When a group reaches 100 points, we get something called invisibility time. Invisibility time means that you become invisible and you can go on a learning site (epic, prodigy crazy games, etc.) for 15 minutes. 

My digital learning object shows that I can emebed a Google slide deck into this blog post.
This is the blog post about National news.

Gamefroot Progress

 Today for cybersmart in my class, we were finishing coding our gamefroot games. We have made lots of progress in developing our game through hard work.

I enjoyed coding my game. I liked coding my character to move forward, backward and jump the most. I also enjoyed decorating my game with little animals and plants. This made the game look more pleasing to the eye.

I found placing the decorations tricky. I found out that if you did not put a immovable code on the decoration, the decoration could move freely and you could push the decoration. I have not finished adding the immovable code to all the decorations.

You can play my game here.

Please give me some feedback, and constructive criticism if possible in the comments!

Matariki and Puanga Diagram

For the past few weeks, my class was learning about Matariki. We read 2 articles and 1 video about Matariki.We learnt that Matariki is when a cluster of 7 stars (7 sisters) come to our sky to show us the begining of the Maori New Year. Matariki is a important time for the Maori iwi (tribes) to come together and celebrate. It is also important  because it's a time where there is an abundant harvest.

For our reading task, we were learning to compare and contrast. This week, for comparing and contrasting, we listed the differences and similarities on a Venn Diagram on google slides, or on a piece of paper. We could also work with the people in our reading groups, and peers.

I found creating the space tricky. The slide was quite small, and the writing kept overflowing. Also remembering all the facts was also quite challenging.

I enjoyed creating the Venn Diagram, even though it was tricky to sort out the spacing and size of the circles and words. I enjoyed choosing a starry background for this period of Matariki the most. One background had more stars, the other background had less. I also enjoyed changing the font so it looked minimalistic.

What do you do with your Whanau to celebrate Matariki? Do you all come together and have a hangi, or do you do something else? Tell me in the comments!

Gamefroot Games

 For the past few week, in cybersmart we were learning how to code a game using the site Gamefroot. We also did some coding with our games from home, and also with our free time.

I have made a start on my game, it took a lot of perseverance and time. It was really tricky because I kept on getting really angry and I felt like throwing my chromebook out the window, but in the end I pushed through!

It was really tricky to code everything, especially the character. It was really hard to find all the correct blocks and to fix things up. I accidently put some blocks all on a different layer, and that made me really angry! I also did not understand at first, and my class took lots of our time coding our games yesterday!

My game is not all that good, the background is really weird, but I think that's just a bug in the game. So far I think it is quite decent, I just need to fix some things here and there. I also need to finish coding the next few levels and fix some bugs.

Click here to play my game! Please give me some feedback, and constructive criticisim if possible in the comments!

June Reflection

 Today I was reflecting on what we did in June this year. We wrote our reflection on a Student Reflection Newsletter on a google drawing. 

A thing I enjoyed doing this month was going to the GRIP leadership conference. It was a great experience, and it gave me some great advice for being a good leader in the future. Another thing I also enjoyed was going to the Aurora Writing program. We went to Eastwood Hills arboretum for ideas for our poems.

Something I found tricky this month was making my Tom Fedro art. It was tricky to do the blending because the paint was getting all gunky on the last few days and it was hard to work with, but in the end I managed to push through!

Here is my June reflection!

Student-Led Conference Invitation

 For the past few days, in my class all the groups were learning how to understand how to shape different texts for different purposes and audiences. This week, we were learning to write invitations to our parents for our Student-Led Conference. 

First, we had to claim a slide. To claim a slide, we had to randomly pick a slide from a giant slide deck, then we had to write our name on the slide so other people know, this slide has already been claimed by somebody.

Our teacher also showed us an example from her friend's daughter. You can view it here.

Next, we had to use a template our teacher provided us with, so we knew what to write. After we had written the invitation, we had to decorate the slide so it looked nice when our parents read it.

After that, our teacher printed our invitations out. She also printed out a piece of art that we've done somewhere throughout the year for our front cover.

The last and final steps were for us to fold the invitation, put it into a envelope and decorate the envelope so it looked nice when our parents recieved the envelope.

My digital learning object shows that I can embed photos from my chromebook into this blog post.

Here is my invitation for my Student-Led conference and my art!

Maths - Measurement

 For the past few days, my class was learning to measure. Our teacher asked us gave us some  measurement tasks. There were 6 tasks and there were 6 stations. The tasks were: Measure how tall we were without our shoes on, the length of our right foot without our shoes on, our arm span, what is the circumference of our wrist and neck, and last but not least, what was our popliteal length. You may wonder, what is a popliteal length? Well, keep on reading and you'll find out!

For measuring our height, we had to use meter rulers. These rulers were all one meter. We first had to get a hard cover book, then a piece of chalk. We had to have a buddy so they could help. Our buddy had to put the book over our heads, then they slid the book down until it touched our heads. After that they put a mark next to the book with chalk. Then they used a meter ruler and put the top on the mark, then they marked the other end with chalk. This showed where 100 cm was on our bodies. Finally, they measured the rest of our heights with the meter ruler once more. My height was 152 cm!

For measuring our right foot, we went outside with our buddies out onto the concrete. We took our right shoe off and marked the big toe of our foot with chalk. After, we marked the heel of our foot. Then we used a normal ruler for both marks. My right foot length was 23.5 cm!

Next for measuring our arm span, we had to find a wall to lean on. After we found a wall, we leaned on it and our buddies used a measuring tape to measure our arm span. We had to measure from the tips of our right middle finger to our left middle finger. My arm span was 150.5 cm!

Then for measuring the circumference of our wrist, we had to use a tape measure. We wrapped the tape measure around our buddie's wrist, then answered to the nearest centimeter. The circumference of my wrist was 13 cm!

Last but not least, measuring our popliteal length! The answer you've been waiting for is here. What is a popliteal length? The popliteal length is the measurement from the underside of the right leg behind the knee when seated, to the floor, taken with shoes off! Us and our buddies just did that. My popliteal was 39 cm!

Did you learn something new? What is your popliteal length? Tell me in the comments!

Why do bears Hibernate? - explaination writing

 For the past few weeks, my class have been learning how to write explainations. We were split into two groups for our writing. One of the groups was aiming to include a diagram in their writing so that the diagram could help the reader understand more about the topic they were writing about. The other group was aiming to include a complex sentence in their writing. A complex sentence is when you put a phrase in a sentence, but you can move the phrase somewhere else.

There were lots of topics to choose from, but most people were stuck on their topic so our teacher gave us some suggestions. The topic I chose was, Why do bears hibernate? My teacher said that if you have the same topic as someone else, you could work with them and I just did that. 

I enjoyed writing about Why do bears hibernate? It was quite fun learning and experiencing new stuff on the way. I found researching tricky, because I did not know much about bears. Luckily, I had some guidance from my friend and teacher.

Have you ever done a piece of explanation writing? Tell me in the comments!

Here is my writing:

Why do bears Hibernate?

Introduction

Hibernation is a way when animals, such as bears, conserve energy to survive harsh weather conditions, or lack of food.

Do bears need food or water during hibernation?

Bears generally don’t need to eat or drink during hibernation. Bears rely on a layer of fat built up in Summer and Autumn months prior to hibernation. Waste is produced, but instead of disposing of this waste, bears recycle it. 

Why do bears hibernate?

Bears hibernate so they can survive without food. Bears will rely on their own fat. Imagine surviving on body fat while sleeping for 5~7 months without any food or water!

How long do bears hibernate?

Bears hibernate for a long period of time. They usually hibernation for 5~7 months! They wake up in the Spring when there is more food for them to eat.

Explanation by Camille S

Thesesus and Minotaur

For the past few weeks, I have been learning to infer. Infering is when you read between the lines. It can also mean answering a question with clues from a text. This week my group and I were reading about Theseus and the Minotaur. We had to read a story about how Theseus became king of the Athens. After we read the story, we had to evaluate. After we all evaluated and stated our own opinions, we had a discussion on what we all thought. We all thought that Theseus was a half and half hero (half good and half bad hero) because he killed the minotaur, but also we also thought he was a bad person because he betrayed Princess Adriane.

After we did the evaluate task, we could also create our own labyrinth or we could make a wanted poster of the minotaur. I decided that I would create a wanted poster. I worked with my friend, and we decided that we would make the minotaur using shapes provided by the google drawing program. It was really tricky to get the skirt right, because we had to go back and forth making tweaks as we went. It was also hard to find a skin colour for the minotaur's upper body. 

I enjoyed creating the poster although it was a bit tricky here and there. It was quite enjoyable in my opinion. 

What are your opinions on Theseus? Do you think he is a hero or is he a villian? Tell me your opinions in the comments!

Here is my evaluate task and wanted minotaur poster!

Maui brick wall

For the past few weeks for reading, I've been learning to infer. Infering is when you read between the lines. It can also mean answering a question with clues from a text.  This week my reading group and I were  reading about Maori gods and Greek gods. We read about how Prometheus gave fire to men. After we read those, we watched a video.

After we read and watched the video, we read how Maui brought fire to the world with our teacher. We  had to infer on what characteristics we thought Maui had with clues from the text. We thought that he was mean, mischieveous, brave, intelligent, curious, greedy, etc. After we read with our teacher, we had to make a character description of Maui on a brick wall.

I enjoyed making the brick wall description of Maui. It took some time because I wanted to jazz and funk it up lots! I got some ideas from my friends. I found remembering all the characteristics tricky because I hadn't written them down on a piece of paper.

My digital learning object shows that I can embed google slides in this blog post.

Samoan Language week!

 This week was Samoan language week! To celebrate, we had our lord's prayer in Maori to Samoan! Also as part of the Samoan language week celebration for our class, we made some art! 
Our teacher said that we would make a tapa cloth. There was lots of patterns to choose from! We used something called 'Sugar paper' for our base. Sugar paper is HIGHLY absorbent, unlike normal paper so that was perfect for our dye later! First, we drew our pattern on the sugar paper with a dark brown crayon. The crayon contained wax so when we put the dye on, the dye wouldn't seep through the crayon.

I enjoyed creating my tapa cloth, although it took a bit of time and I kept making my lines too thick! Other than that, I was satisfied with my work. I found making the lines not too thick EXTREMLY tricky. Our teacher said we couldn't go back and restart though. 

Here is my tapa cloth!

Sketches

 For the past few weeks, my class was learning how to sketch with the help of tutorials. Our learning intention was that we were learning how to shade, showing the shadows, and the light. At one point, the whole lost their first sketches, and we had to restart.

As we progressed with our sketches, we eventually found our old sketches! Some of us completed our old sketches, while others decided to not. I enjoyed sketching, even though it was a bit hard, and took a bit of time.

The character I chose to draw was Shoto Todoroki from My Hero Academia. I did two different ones, because I lost my old one, which took longer (larger picture) and my new one (smaller picture) took less time.

What do you think of my sketches? Please tell me in the comments!
Here are my sketches!

Piskel Sprite

This week for Cybersmart, we had to make a sprite. The website we used was Piskel. 
Drawing the sprite was a bit tricky because you had to use a touchpad, and figuring out how to use Piskel and doing the fine details was very challenging. The other thing was it took me forever to find the copy and paste. Thankfully, my teacher guided me.

I enjoyed drawing my sprite, and figuring out how to use Piskel even though  it was a bit tricky.
It took me a few days to get to where I am right now, and it'll probably take me a few more days just to complete the hair, and hair shading.

Here is my sprite so far!

Maths Challenge!

 This week for my group's math challenge, we had to figure out what numbers do we put in each of the circles, so the calculations were correct. The numbers we had to use were 1~8.

My teacher told my group that there were two ways to solve this problem. It took a lot of perserverance for me to figure out both ways, but I managed with solving the problems with both ways because I didn't give up and I kept experimenting!

I enjoyed figuring out the problem, althought it took lots of perserverance and patience!

Here is the challenge! Can you figure out both ways?

May reflection

Today I was doing my May Reflection. It was nearing the end of May, so we had to reflect on this month. For the reading section, we had to say what books we have been reading on our own, and what type of reader we would recommend the book to. For maths we had to say what we were confident with, and what we need to pratice ( times tables, division, etc.).

This month, we also did lots of coding with beebots and mircobits. We had to say what we found easy, and what we found tricky.
We also have written a trivia for people to answer! Can you answer all these questions without looking at the answers? 

Museum of Technology

 On Monday my class went to the Museum of Technology. Some of my classmate's parents came as volunteers. When we arrived, we had to get in groups with a parent and together in our groups, we had a scavenger hunt where we had to find old bits of technology and record them down on a booklet.

There were many things we saw such as: Farming machines, Hospital equipment, cameras, hearing aides, toys, soap, military vehicles, fire trucks, gaming controlers, radios, record players, water pumps, school buses, TV's, computers, cars and much more!

I found the scavenger hunt tricky because there were so many sections in the museum we had to go to in order to find the technology that was listed on the booklet, and also because we had to write down where it was found!

I enjoyed looking at all the technology the museum provided! I also enjoyed doing the scavenger hunt, even though it was a little bit tricky.

I made a collage of the photos that my teacher and some of the parent helpers took!
Here is my collage!

Prototypes

For the past few days, my group was learning how to analyse and synthesise. We read 3 articles, and watched 1 video. For our task, we had to choose an invention, make a timeline and make a prototype for the future.
I enjoyed making my prototype. I also enjoyed designing it, and adding lots of perks to my prototype in hopes this could help change people's lives.

I found thinking about the prototype a bit tricky because I didn't think about one thing, so I went back to add the idea, then I thought about another idea, and I went back to write it down and this kept repeating until I was satisfied with my prototype.

What do you think of my prototype? Please give me some suggestions in the comments!

 

Jesus's Ascension

 Yesterday for Religous Education, my class was learning about Jesus's ascension. We learnt that Jesus acsended to heaven to sit by God's right hand and he told his disciples to spread the good news.
Our teacher told us that we had to make a picture of Jesus ascending into heaven on google drawings. She told us that we could use the explore tool to find photos or we could create Jesus ascending from scratch (Using the shape tool, line tool, etc.). 

I created my Jesus from sratch, and it was really tricky because I had to figure out what shapes to use to form his body, what shapes for his hair, and the most trickiest part was that I had to draw his beard and his smile!
I enjoyed making my Jesus because I could experiment with the shapes and colors! I also enjoyed learning about Jesus's ascension.

Here is the google drawing!                     54

Past, and Present

 Today for cybersmart, we learnt about copyright and the past. Our cybersmart teacher, Mrs Torrie gave us a deck a slides for us to work on. On 3 slides, Mrs Torrie put a photo of a past decive, (Phone, computer etc.) and we had to put in a modern day photo next to the past photo. There were also two blank slides for us to choose what to photos to put on it.

I found finding the right photos tricky because on the TV slide, when I searched up TV it came up with past TV's!
I enjoyed customizing the last two slides because you got to put whatever past and present photo you wanted!

Here are my slides!

Aurora Writing - Hook

 For the past few days, my group was learning how to use a hook to hook a reader in with our writing. We had to write just an introduction, so that is why the writing you will see below is not finished.
We first had to write the introduction/hook for our recount, then we had peer assesment. Peer assesment is when you have someone your age/close to your age do your assesment for you.

We also had a learning intention that guided us on how to hook the reader in. My learning intention was using onomatopoeia (sound), dialogue (talking), short, sharp sentences, and to describe the setting.
I think I did well with most of my learning intention, except for short, sharp sentences. My next goal is to master short, sharp sentences.

For our peer assesment, we had to read our writing to eachother and then we had to give our peer two medals and a mission. The two medals and a mission was based on our learning intention.
I enjoyed writing the introduction to my recount. I also enjoyed learning how to hook the reader and make them interested in my writing.

I found finishing my writing and peer assesment in time, because I wasn't here one day so I had to catch up! In the end, I ended up finishing my writing in time!

Did my writing hook you in? If not, please give me some tips in the comments so I can improve my writing!

Here is my writing!

Hopping out of my silver Ford, I saw Leyla walk out of her Nanna’s car.
“Hi Camille!” “Um hi..” “Are you excited?” “Um kind of” “Uh do you want a mint?”

“Okay.” The two of us walked to the huge, white church. Along the way, we stepped on crisp,

autumn leaves. Crunch, crunch. As we entered the large church, we ran up the wooden stairs.

BeeBots!

 For the past few days, my class was learning how to program BeeBots! Firstly, we had to put down all the numbers on the floor, then we turned on our BeeBots so that their eyes were flashing! We took steps to estimate how many steps we might need for the code,  once we guessed the distance between the start point and the number we wrote them down. Then, we put the code we had written down into to the BeeBot and this programmed our BeeBots!

I enjoyed coding the BeeBots! The BeeBots were great fun for our class, and we learnt how to code with the BeeBots. 
I found counting the right steps a bit tricky. The BeeBots took really small steps, so I had to shuffle my feet to make sure the steps were right! Also, sometimes the BeeBots collided!

Here is a picture of a BeeBot!

Sign Language Week!

For the past few days, my group was learning how to analyse and synthesise. Analyse and synthesise means putting ideas and info together, and talk about the connections you made. We were also learning to sign our names in Sign Language, and record it on screencastify. We first read 3 articles, then watched 3 videos. There was also a link to a fingerspelling poster to guide us on how to sign the letters for our names.
I enjoyed making the screencastify. I really liked signing my name and showing other people how to sign my name.

I found it a bit tricky to record my screencastify, because there was a motorcycle in the background which made a really loud noise!
My digital learning object shows that I can embed a video into this blogpost.
Do you know how to sign your name in Sign Language? If not, here is a fingerspelling poster to help you! I used this fingerspelling poster to help me sign my name in the video you'll see below! It helped me lots, so I hope this poster will help you as much as it helped me!

Here is me signing my name!

ANZAC

 For the past few days, my class was learning about ANZAC day for our reading. My group had to read 4 stories and watch two videos, to gather information for our activity. Our activity was to write a post card and a diary entry from the perspective of the soldiers. Some of us used google tools, (Google slides, Google docs etc.) and some of us wrote our postcards and diary entries on paper. I choose to do it on paper because it would be more realistic.
I enjoyed learning about the ANZAC's, and reading and watching about them. I learnt a lot from the stories and videos.

I found finishing my postcard hard, because I wanted to make the postcard look like a real one, which took a few days but the final product looks nice.
My digital object shows that I can embed photo's into my blog posts.
Do you think my postcard looks realistic? If not, please leave some tips in the comments!
Here is my post card and diary entry!

Sign of the Cross

 This week, my class was making slides and screencastify's on how to make the Sign of the Cross for the  5 year-olds in our school, and for kids all over Aotearoa. There are many options of how to teach 5 year-olds to make the sign of the Cross, you could  also work in pairs. 
I found it tricky to use my left hand, because when you upload your screencastify it will mirror the image so you have to use your left hand so the little 5 year-olds can copy.

I enjoyed making the slides. I love helping people, and I hope people can use these slides to learn from!
Do you know how to do the sign of the cross? If not, maybe you can use these slides I made to help you!
Here are the slides!

My Culture and Me

Yesterday we were celebrating the cultures we come from! Some people (like me) wore costumes and each one of us had to bring a plate of food from our cultures.
There were so many foods from our cultures and I wanted to try all of them! (And I did) 
We also had to do a Culture presentation, and I did China!
I enjoyed making the google drawing! I also enjoyed sharing things from my culture with others!
I found finding the facts a bit tricky because there were so many facts I wanted to include! 

Here are some of the photos from yesterday! (And my presentation) 

Women's Native Tree Nursery Visit

 Today I am reflecting on when my class went to Women's Native Tree Nursery. 

We had a person called Kauri teach us how to take cuttings from native trees in our Riringa Awa and also how to extract seeds from native trees also in the Riringa Awa. We  also learnt that some of the trees had some healing properties. We also extracted TONS and when I mean it, I mean it! We extracted TONS of cuttings and seeds from all the different native trees in our Riringa Awa! We also had to spray-paint some trees because some trees were actually not native ones and we didn't want the to be in our Riringa Awa, so on one of the trees, we stomped on the tree and snapped it!

After that, we walked to the Women's Native Tree Nursery! We went under the bridge, and walked all the way to Riverdale school, which the Women's Native Tree Nursery was next to. As soon as we got in Kauri asked if we wanted to go under the sprinklers! Of course we said yes because it was BOILING! 

 Then, we started to plant the seeds we collected. We had put the seeds into trays and after that, we planted the cuttings. We went under the sprinklers from time to time because as I mentioned, it was boiling hot! 
We then watered the plants, and then we had to get back to school. We said goodbye to the plants and Kauri and headed off.

My digital learning object shows that I can emebed photos into this blog post
Here are some photos of us planting!
Next time I would put the photos into a slideshow

Marae Noho

 Today I was reflecting on my trip to Takipu Marae. On Thursday, we got onto the buses that would take us to Takipu Marae, the trip took around an hour because the Marae was out in the country. After we arrived, we had some people welcome us and we shook their hands. After, we went inside the Wharenui and layed the matresses out and made our beds. After that we had some free time and we went outside to play some games with our friends. After we had our morning tea, and then resumed to our games.

We then ate dinner after a while and we had burgers! They were very delicous! Then, we changed into our Pajamas, brushed our teeth and we had a movie night! Some people like me, brought their sleeping bags and pillows. The movie we watched was 'Yes Day!', but unfortunately we didn't finish it because it was our bedtime! When we went to bed, it was a bit noisy because some people were whispering while others were trying to fall asleep! At last, the chattering stopped and we went to sleep.

The next day, we woke up, changed into a fresh set of cloths and ate breakfast. After we ate breakfast, we again had free time with our friends. Then, one of our teachers announced that we would be a history lesson (learning about the history of Takipu Marae). We learnt that Takipu Marae is related to the Horuta! Amazing! After, we learnt about the history of Takipu Marae, we had some teacher activites. We had capture the flag with Mrs Naden, but instead of flags we had a squeaky chicken and a hamburger! We had craft activites with Mrs Aperahama and Cup games with Mrs Hickling!

After we finished the teacher activites, we had some people from the museum teach us about our ancestors from New Zealand. We learnt a lot and we also learnt some constellations! We also played some traditional maori games that kids would play back in the day. After we had lunch! we had sausages, some meat patties from yesterday and some pasta! After, we had free time and then, we had to pack our stuff, put away the matresses and say good-bye to the Marae. We hopped onto the buses and went back school.

Here are some photos from where we went to the Marae! 

The Easter Story

 For the past few days, my class was learning to summarise and make links between our paragraphs. Our task for our reading and writing was to summarise/retell the story of Easter. First we had to choose a partner to work with. After we had to write down our script. We had to write the events in order, from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday.
After we wrote our script, we made little puppets. We first colored them in, then we cut them out and taped them on little popsicle sticks. After we made our puppets, we recorded a screencastify with our puppets. 
I enjoyed making the puppets and recording my version of the Easter story, although it took 2 days or so.
It was a bit hard to read, record and move the puppets at the same time. The most challenging bit was that we had to re-do it so many times! There were also instances where we forgot to un-pause it and ended up making mistakes, which resulted in us re-doing our recording multiple times.
Do you know the story of easter? How do you celebrate easter with your Whanau? Tell me in the comments!
Here is me and my partner's version of the story of Easter!

March Reflection

 Today I was doing my March Reflection for this month. We had to share what we enjoyed about March, and some things we were proud of. 
I enjoyed sharing what I achieved  this month. I also enjoyed customizing the background so it looked like what I wanted it to look like.
I found finding the 'Golden line' tricky, because there were so many amazing sentences to choose from!
My digital learning object shows that I can embed google drawings into this blog post.

What were you proud of in March? Tell me in the comments!

Te Kuri a Paoa

 For the past few days, we were learning about Kiwa and Paoa through art. When Paoa and Kiwa came to Gisborne, they thought young Nick's head looked like Paoa's dog, so they named young Nick's head Te Kuri a Paoa.  When captain Cook came, he saw young Nick's head over Nick's head so he named it Young Nick's head because he saw young Nick's head over Nick's head! 
We also were learning to blend pastels. We blended pastels because we needed some of the shades that we didn't have. We also learnt about showing movement through our pastel strokes, like for the fur and for the night sky.
You can read my reflection in my slide deck!
Do you know how to blend pastels? How many times did you think I said 'Young Nick's head' or 'Nicks head? Count them all up and tell me in the comments!

Goal setting Term 1

Today I was learning to set goals. Our teacher gave us two sets of slides and we worked on them together as a class. We have learning heroes for our Learning disposition goal, we had to choose a subject to get better on, then we had to choose one of the learning heroes to be like in order to achieve that goal. The learning heroes came from the Horouta Waka.
I enjoyed writing my goals. I also enjoyed setting my goals because my teacher taught me it's good for me to drive my own learning!
I found it a bit tricky to choose a learning hero, because they were all amazing and I wanted to be like all of them. In the end I settled on Hinehakirirangi because she perseveres.
My digital learning object shows that I can embed my slides into my blog. 
What are some of your goals? Who would be your learning hero?