The Olympic Games

In reading we have been learning to skim and scan. We read the articles first and then practised skimming and scanning. Skimming is reading quickly in order to get a general overview of the material. Scanning is reading quickly in order to find specific facts. The facts we needed to find were about the Olympic Games. We found some very interesting facts. Did you know that there is actually a fourth medal?

Read Jakob A's fact file. Just click on the picture and it will take you to some facts, then click on the picture of the house and it will take you back 'home' so you can click on another button.

We have also been creating our own Olympic mascots. We looked at the current mascots and mascots of the past and decided to create one just in case the Olympics ever came to New Zealand. We used a new google tool called Chrome Canvas. For most of us, it was the first time we have used it.

Have you ever used Chrome Canvas? What did you create?

Here's Camille's NZ Olympic Mascot.

Letter from the Prime Minister

Last term we read a book about a refugee boy called Ahmet. The book was called The Boy at the Back of the Class. It made us curious to find out more about the refugee crisis and especially what New Zealand does about it. You may have read about this on our previous individual blogs.

After researching facts, we brainstormed ways New Zealand could improve its response to the needs of the refugees. Then everyone wrote individual letters to our Prime Minister, Jacinda Adern.

She replied!

Amazon Rainforest Animals

If you have been reading our blog, you will know that every afternoon Mrs Naden casts the book she is reading to us on our T.V. We silently read along as she reads. 

The book we are reading is called The Explorer by Katherine Rundell. It's about 4 children whose plane crashes in the Amazon jungle, the pilot dies and they have to survive. At the moment, they are coming across lots of animals, mammals and other creatures that live in the rainforest.

For Reading, we had to read articles online and watch videos of some of the Amazon rainforest animals. We had to decide which helped us learn better - the articles or the videos. Then we chose one of the animals, researched facts, made a google drawing of the animal (we had to use shapes etc and not the Explore tool), then add some interesting facts about the animal. You will find these on our individual blogs - have a look!

Here's Manvi's...

The Explorer by Karherine Rundell

Every afternoon after lunch, Mrs Naden reads to us whilst we drink our milk. She casts it on the T.V.  so we can read along (this will help us with our own reading too). So far, in the novel, 4 children, who don't know each other, survive a plane crash in the Amazon jungle and need to rely on each other to survive. There are no adults, no rules, no shelter and no food. At the moment they are arguing a lot!

Each week, we are given a set of tasks that relate to the book. Some are written tasks, some are research tasks amd some are hands-on tasks that require us to make and build something. Throughout the term, we will be posting some of these tasks on our individual blogs.