Tuakana/Teina

We have some fabulous ngā Tuakana in this class! Over the past two weeks our class have been working with their Teina in Room 3 to build a suspension bridge out of popsicle sticks. The goal is for all them to work together as a team to achieve this task. There have been some fantastic results and some great aroha shown towards each other.

Writing our Games Instructions

We have been writing instructions for games with the Ruma ono hacky sacks. We started by creating a ruma ono game sensation called 'Think Fast', where we learnt that for writing instructions for games we need:
The title of our game
The goal of the game
The equipment required
Then how to play the game.
Below a link to a video of how we co-constructed our games. Our games need only a few rules simple easy to follow rules.
We then all went away and wrote our own games, which we taught to a teina class Room 3.

Room 6 Think Fast

Adding In Parts

Kia Ora All,

Here is another maths strategy that would benefit all the students in Ruma Ono to practice at home and it's easy to adjust to different levels. I recommend watching the video with your child and coming up with examples to practice together. Perfect Friday night fun for the whole family.




Rock On,
Mr M

Maths Strategy Touch Up

Kia Ora All,

Here is a maths strategy that I've been working on with a bunch of students this week. It's a really useful one and I recommend looking at it with your child. If you want to know how to pitch the level of questions you make up for them to practice with here are my suggestions:

• easy: 12 x 5 = ?
• slightly harder: 56 x 8 = ?
• hard: 352 x 4 = ?
• very hard: 983.463 x 6 = ?

Rock On,
Mr M

Week Wha

Kia Ora All,

I can't believe it's week 4 already!

• This week I'm planning on starting on a writing unit around arguments. The first topic we'll write about, which kids always seem to have a strong opinion on, is hunting. If you have information about hunting, or a strong opinion, could you please share it with your child and have a discussion so that they begin the week with some information and a strong point of view.
• In maths we're looking at a measurement unit around time. We'll be out on the field comparing our times to the Olympic track and field athletes. I'll also tie it in with some work we've been doing around fractions in Maths as I feel like the students need s practical application around this. 
• Re: fractions. Most students find this stuff pretty confusing. Most maths groups have been working on concepts related to this video and this video. If you're looking at changing up your home learning programme, I recommend viewing the videos with your child and making up some examples. You may need to make up harder examples than the video shows, but the strategy is a really useful one. 

Rock On,

Mr M

Home learning fun with multiplication place value

Kia Ora Whanau, 

Here is a video that supports some of the learning going on in maths this week. Please view and do some practice examples with your child if you choose to engage in home learning. Feel free to adjust the numbers to be bigger or smaller or include decimal places to make the examples you do harder or easier.

Rock On,

Mr M

Welcome to Week 10

Kia Ora All,

Week 10 is about to swing into gear. Routines in Room 6 have been solid for a few weeks now, I'm familiar with the work habits of the students and we've got a couple more weeks to make the most of.

On Wednesday Top Team is happening. Hopefully your child has given you the information form that went home earlier in the week. If not, ask them about it. If you're able to help out with it please let Andrew or myself know.

I've really enjoyed seeing the different pieces of writing happening this term. If you've been following the programme closely then you will have noticed that we're moving from the more engaging and fun type writing activities to exploring some in-depth techniques for planning stories and including descriptive language techniques. I spent an hour and a half this morning finally sitting down to comment on the huge quantity of pieces that the students have shared with me that I haven't had a proper opportunity to feedback on. The vast majority of students have been working hard on their writing as part of home learning, which is awesome to see. Well done parents! 

I'll try to get another blog post happening before the end of the term showcasing some of the student's writing. However, in the interest of work/life balance this may not be possible...

Rock On,

Mr M

Some learning from the last two weeks

Jack and Indy's Data Square report.







Reader's Theatre with Ella, Jack, Jack and Bridget.

NAME: sonny                                               DATE: 14.3.16                                                BOOK:problem with pluto

Pre Reading Activity: Work independently to skim-read this week’s text and complete the first three columns. The last column will be completed after reading.

Know	Would like to know	Vocabulary	Learned
K: List all the things you think you know about the themes in the text.	W: List 2 - 5 things you’d like to find out.	V: Make a list of words you think you might come across reading about this subject.	List some of the main things you learned from reading this text.
Dwarf planet Cold It's named after a roman god It was found in 1930	Is it a planet	Scientific Planets Stars	Pluto has has three moons. Pluto is smaller than our moon. Jupiter is a thousand times bigger than earth. Venetia burney named pluto.

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NAME: Mia                                                   DATE:  17.3.16                                               BOOK: wired

Pre reading Activity: Work independently to skim-read this week’s text and complete the first three columns. The last column will be completed after reading.

Know	Would like to know	Vocabulary	Learned
K: List all the things you think you know about the themes in the text.	W: List 2 - 5 things you’d like to find out.	V: Make a list of words you think you might come across reading about this subject.	List some of the main things you learned from reading this text.
Different materials Sculptures Tools	What tools did he use? How much weir did he use? How long would it take? How much money does he get paid? What materials does he use most? How many people does it take to make sculptures? How did he get the idea of making sculptures?	Tools Materials Malleable	You can twist that type of wire because it is malleable wire. Regan’s sculptures are part of his culture.

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NAME:  lochie                                                                   DATE:   15\3\16                                                      BOOK:problem with pluto

Pre Reading Activity: Work independently to skim-read this week’s text and complete the first three columns. The last column will be completed after reading.

Know	Would like to know	Vocabulary	Learned
K: List all the things you think you know about the themes in the text.	W: List 2 - 5 things you’d like to find out.	V: Make a list of words you think you might come across reading about this subject.	List some of the main things you learned from reading this text.
It’s a dwarf planet. Pluto is the smallest planet\dwarf planet. Pluto is named after a roman god from the cold underworld	What was the last rule that stopped pluto from being a planet. When was pluto found. Who found pluto.	Telescopes Orbit asteroids	The last rule to stop pluto from being a planet is it must be big enough to clear most other objects[such as asteroids]out of the path of its orbit. Discovered pluto 1930 Venetia Burney found pluto

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NAME:       Sinead                                             DATE:  week 7                            

Although dictionaries can be a great help, they do not always provide you with a definition that you can understand or use. It is important to think about a new word or idea in different ways.

There are many resources you can use to help you complete this chart:

Experts: teachers or students

Reference tools: old school paper dictionaries, online dictionaries

Context clues: you might guess what the word means from how it is used      

Prior knowledge: what you already know about words

Word: Environment

Put the definition into your own words The environment includes trees and plants and creates oxygen so we can breath. The environment gross every day a small bit.	Find words that have a similar meaning Trees and plants The opposite of environment Plastic Some types of oils ( like car oils) Petrol and diesel
Use the word in a sentence Plastic and most things that are man made in the 21st century are bad for the environment	Draw the word (google draw is fine)

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NAME:       sinead                                             DATE:     week 7                                            BOOK:

Prereading Activity: Work independently to skim-read this week’s text and complete the first three columns. The last column will be completed after reading.

Know	Would like to know	Vocabulary	Learned
K: List all the things you think you know about the themes in the text.	W: List 2 - 5 things you’d like to find out.	V: Make a list of words you think you might come across reading about this subject.	List some of the main things you learned from reading this text.
I know that It is a dwarf planet An 11 year old girl named pluto It was found in 1930 It is the smallest planet	Does pluto have moons What is the temperature of pluto What would Pluto look like on it’s surface.	Planets Pluto Gravity Orbit Astronomical Moon	If a planet does not follow these three rules then it is not considered a planet          -It must orbit a star          -It must be big enough for          -its gravity to pull it into a           round shape          -It must be big enough to              cover most other

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NAME:  lochie                                                                   DATE:   15\3\16                                                      BOOK:problem with pluto

Pre Reading Activity: Work independently to skim-read this week’s text and complete the first three columns. The last column will be completed after reading.

Know	Would like to know	Vocabulary	Learned
K: List all the things you think you know about the themes in the text.	W: List 2 - 5 things you’d like to find out.	V: Make a list of words you think you might come across reading about this subject.	List some of the main things you learned from reading this text.
It’s a dwarf planet. Pluto is the smallest planet\dwarf planet. Pluto is named after a roman god from the cold underworld	What was the last rule that stopped pluto from being a planet. When was pluto found. Who found pluto.	Telescopes Orbit asteroids	The last rule to stop pluto from being a planet is it must be big enough to clear most other objects[such as asteroids]out of the path of its orbit. Discovered pluto 1930 Venetia Burney found pluto

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NAME:   Ella  Jack L Bridget sahara jack b                                          DATE:      16/3                                           BOOK:59.5

Pre Reading Activity: Work independently to skim-read this week’s text and complete the first three columns. The last column will be completed after reading.

Know	Would like to know	Vocabulary	Learned
K: List all the things you think you know about the themes in the text.	W: List 2 - 5 things you’d like to find out.	V: Make a list of words you think you might come across reading about this subject.	List some of the main things you learned from reading this text.
They're getting something from the sea to get data      That seals polar bears and penguins live in the south pole It is super cold and freezing You need to stay warm        If you go there bring food Never go there if you're inexperienced and don’t know much                      How cold is the water around the area	What data do the get? Do they even find data? The argo float? How cold it is in the middle of winter -50 or -70? How long they can go there for and not come back?	Geology   Argo Sea Storms Data Degrees South 5:30 in morning   Beds in  a ship	Dan is a geologist who studies the sea Argos are worth $19,000 That they can go about 2km deep in the sea That they weigh about 40 kilogram They live up to 5 years Their height is 1.2 meters Step 3 is drifts for 9 days It takes 10 days for an argo to collect data!

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NAME:sonny                                                 DATE:   16.3.16                           

Although dictionaries can be a great help, they do not always provide you with a definition that you can understand or use. It is important to think about a new word or idea in different ways.

There are many resources you can use to help you complete this chart:

Experts: teachers or students

Reference tools: old school paper dictionaries, online dictionaries

Context clues: you might guess what the word means from how it is used      

Prior knowledge: what you already know about words

Word: rifle

Put the definition into your own words It is a gun that is used by the military or special forces that has a mag of eather semi auto or full auto	Find words that have a similar meaning Gun Weapon Handgun pistol Shotgun Musket Cannon Flintlock Uzi Light machine gun Sniper Iron sight Aim Red dot sight Thermal sight Holographic sight
Use the word in a sentence He picked up a rifle.	Draw the word (google draw is fine)