5 minutes of...

Operation: Eagle Swoop

It was cold as usual. Nothing exciting about the weather here. ‘Cold Hell,’ is what the locals call it. Mondays, are the worst as we were getting ready to leave for the beaches of the cold south. It was the first time we have ever got a day like this. Every winter, it’s either helping a stranded citizen escape their car or someone has been sucked into the fearless waters.

“SSSSHHHH!” the helicopter zoomed across the sea. The hair of the ocean was elegant yet rough with boulders laid all around her.

“Unit 935, please report to homebase when you reach the location of a capsized boat.”

Everything had looked strange but familiar as if I had been far out at sea. Our biggest enemy, the never ending blue hair still spreads.

“ Home base , we have made it to the location.”

The captain of the helicopter mumbled as the helicopter propellers made a louder sound and made him sound like a rat.

“ You guys had better be ready. From our intel it is known that there is a group of people who have  been stucked at sea for two days. Their boat capsized and they  been stranded out in the middle of nowhere for what feels to them like an eternity!“ Screamed the Captain.

Time just kept ticking by ...

In writing we have been learning about recounts and learning different way of writing them. This Recount is about a Westpac Rescue Helicopter and we have wrote 5 minutes of what could happen next.

Hyperbole?

In writing we have been introduced to something called, "Hyperbole?" We then researched this to find out what it meant. In this Google Drawing I have explained briefly what it means and how it is used.

Recount Writing

In writing, we have been introduced back into recount writing. We have searched blogs around the Manaiakalani Cluster for recounts and shared them with our class about what we liked our it. We them completed this mini quiz just to refresh our memories about recount writing.

Narrative Quick Writes

This morning, we started the day off with writing. Next term we were having our assessments and for writing we have to write a narrative. Mrs Anderson wanted us to be ready now for our writing assessments so that we really understand and don't have to worry. We were learning to use topes  write descriptively in our writing. Mrs Anderson introduced an activity that is when we write 6 sentence narrative. On the first line we introduce the characters. Then on the second line we write where the character lives. On the third line is what their special talent is. The fourth line, what the problem is in the story. The fifth is what the character feels about the problem. Then on the last line is how the problem is going to be solved. We had to write about one of the chosen pictures from Harris Burdick's pictures in, "The Mysteries of Harris Burdick" and write a 6 sentence narrative.

Olympic Comparison?

This week LS2 have been debating about a topic(Should host countries of the olympics spend so much money on Olympic venues). We have talked about what reasons we could find that will back up our own opinions. We also have been researching the state of past olympics stadiums then vs now. We have a provocation that I have added to my drawing that I have reasoned about.

Story Starter Scrambler

For writing, Mrs Anderson showed LS2 a story starter generator. When you click spin, it gives you an random topic to write about. My topic was: Write a brief biography of a sneaky inventor who discovers she has superpowers. I then wrote about it on a newspaper format layout. You can go to this link to write your own: http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/story-starters/writing-prompts/

Prefix Word Wall: Sub

Today we were introduced to SPAG's(Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar). SPAG's is when we work on our spelling, punctuation and grammar so that we can work on the areas that we need help on. For today's activity, we looked the the prefix,"sub," and the meaning of it when we use it in words and sentences. In this Google Drawing we made a word wall which is when we put in all the words with the prefix sub meaning under or below. As we were putting these words in, our whole group had to understand what each word meant.

World War 1 - ANZAC Letter From the Trenches

Since it is ANZAC day soon and we were looking at the life of the ANZAC soldiers in the trenches. By doing this we watched videos and read diary's from real life soldiers who fought in World War 1. We then took notes from the information by using keywords and bullet points. Then writing this letter pretending to write through the eyes of a soldier who would have been there.

Narrative Writing

Valentine's Disaster!?

It was her, she had been on the loose since this morning. Why had she been there, was it the fact she was up last night, drowning her sorrow in her tears and the bottle of wine. Yes, she was that type of person. It was just before dawn as she ditched her car by the side of the road to come to her knees, then on her back as she glanced at the mood of the dreadful sky, Alice was so depressed and broken hearted.

Yesterday, Alice had been wandering round the streets trying to find a somewhere suitable for her and Mark to have their one year anniversary. She had been thinking, “This dinner is going to be the best for me and Mark. I hope tonight will go as planned” It was now going onto twelve o’clock. Assuming Valentine's day is the same day as their anniversary, Alice had already called more than ten restaurants.

“Hello, do you have any tables left for two?”

“We are sorry but our last table had just been booked? We have a table for tomorrow if you would like?” Replied the man.

“No, it’s okay but thank you anyway,” Alice sighed sadly.

Two o’clock. Laying on the couch not knowing what to do. Disaster, disaster, disaster, is what was going through Alice’s head right now. *Ding* She sat up and thought to herself, “We could have a dinner here at home and I could cook for us.” Alice was actually a great cook, but one thing she wasn’t really good with was baking. It was either the instructions which made her confused, or the fact that she never intentionally liked baking.She broke the news to Mark and she was relevied that he actually was fine with the last minute change.”Okay, I be there at eight.” Mark replied as Alice hangs up.

Two hours later… *Strolling down to market.* She did not live far from the supermarket so she decided to walk. Alice was listening to Coldplay as she came to the crossing. It was then that she did not pay enough attention.”Beep!Beep! Get off the road!” Demanded a man from his vehicle with repugnance. Alice was so shocked she almost dropped her phone down a drain. She rotated her body to face the frustrated driver. A car had been on the wrong side of the road driver. It looked like he did not speak English. Alice was pretty off task and not concentrating, so she pulled the music from inside her ears and continued inside the supermarket. She knew what she was getting. Alice did not want to waste time because she needed more time to cook. She raced straight to the meat section. Throwing things into her trolley, she was setting a new world record! She proceeded to the checkout without breaking a sweat.

Seven o’clock. Alice had been in the kitchen since the moment she had arrived home. Luckily she was a great multitasker, because she had been moving faster than she has ever been before. She prepared her most famous and distinctive dish out of all. Unfortunately time was racing faster than she was. It was now half past seven, and everything was all ready but one thing… The table! It wasn’t set and and Mark was about to arrive in half an hour. She wasn’t thinking about the that but what was she going to do! Time was ticking…

“Alice, what are you thinking? You forgot to set the table,” Alice thought to herself. This could be a total meltdown, or she could come up with an amazing idea that could just save the hairs on her neck. So what did she do, yes she tried to adapt and look around the room for something to use.”KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!” Could that be? Was Mark here early? If so, Alice, was, doomed! “Um, Who is it?

“It’s Janet,” a highly voice squeaked.

“Janet???”

“Your next door neighbor.”

“Um Okay, just a sec.”

Janet was a great friend of Alice, they were about the same age. She was very awkward at most times and sometimes says things that are off topic.

“Hey what's up?”

“I just came to give your frying pan back that I had since last week. Thanks by the way”

“Oh, also what are you and Mark doing for Valentines, is it going to be romantic?” Jokes Janet.

Alice was embarrassed to admit.

“Umm, you know just a dinner at home,” Alice replies softly.

“Ohhh, Classic! So, is there anything I could do to help?” This was Alice’s opportunity to ask about the table.

“Actually, Would you mind helping me with setting the table please?”

“Yeah sure anything, I will make it the most beautiful and elegant setting ever!”

Now about 20 minutes later, Alice had been in the kitchen ever since, as you step in the room the air was thick with the sense of delicious, mouth watering food. Then as  Alice was about to come to finishing the dishes, Janet had set up a romantic table which was filled with love the moment you reach the entrance.  Alice was so focused, so concentrated, that she forgot the most important part! “My dress!” She belted off to the bedroom to find the dress she had bought yesterday for the dinner. Racing to put on the makeup with the help of Janet, she was thinking about what would Mark think of when he arrives. All she wanted was for things to go well…”Ding Dong!”

This term we have been learning to write narratives. We used the picture prompt below to help us imagine how this situation came about. We tried to hook our audience in by thinking about the pace of events and the pictures we painted with words. After editing my story I have had mistakes with my tense and and wrong wording in my sentences. Next time I could work on keeping the pace of the story and making it flow throughout the whole narrative.

Dialogue Cards

This is my conversation on Ifaketext I made with my partner, Daniel about the three little pigs.

DRAFT Stretching Sentence

1. It was midnight, as Will was climbing the rocky wall at the park. He was trying to reach the top so that he could gaze at the beautiful moon.

2. It was midnight, as Will climbed the rocky wall at the park, trying to reach the top to gaze at the beautiful glowing moon.

Today LS2 worked on stretching our sentences using and acronym, DRAFT.(Delete, Rearrange, Add, Fix, Talk)

Term Four Letter To Me

Dear Term Four Sebastian,

If you are reading this, you will have focused on your learning and taken part in every activity possible. You will be on your way to college soon and have been enrolled into a great school which I wonder. Have you received an award at prize giving for your hard work? Did you pay more attention in class lessons. You would have had to put in a lot of effort and commitment into your work. Did you concentrate and reach level eight in maths? Did ask questions when you needed help? Have you practiced your maths skills in your spare time at home and school? I hope you have completed all your homework that was set for you this year? by doing this, you would have had to not get distracted by anything and made sure it is handed in> You will have to put in a lot of effort this year.

Good Luck, and See you in December!

From Term one Sebastian

I wrote this letter to term four me so that I can set goals in a fun interesting way and will work towards your goals and achieve them by the end of the year.

Stretching Sentences - Writing

Yesterday my group work with Mrs Anderson about stretching our sentences in our writing. We learnt how to use the five w's to make our sentences more interesting and hook in the reader.

Maths 'Quick Writes' Writing in Maths

What is Problem Solving?

Does it only happen in maths?

What is problem solving? Do you know? This is a simple question that nearly every year 7 and 8 can answer this. It’s simply when you are trying to figure out an answer to whatever problem you are solving. For example, when you are given an equation to solve, you usually find the numbers you are working with then you use the best strategy to answer your question. Then when you have your answer and it’s correct, you have just done problem solving.

When problem solving you are working out an solution to your problem and at the same time you are developing your maths knowledge and skills. There won’t usually be a answer or hint there for you, that's why problem solving is one of the most important parts and aspects of doing mathematics.

Not only in maths problem solving can be used, but also in our daily lives. Like when you need to figure how much time there is until you need to do something else. As Well as detectives and when they try to solve the mystery crime or find a solution to who had done it. There is many other problem solving in our lives.

Today for our Maths Quick Writes, room 5 all looked at one question. What is problem solving? Does it only happen in math? Our task was to answer these questions and write and explain about these two questions. We were learning to understand more about maths language because we weren't very good with it.We used the the Rm 5 and 6 rubric and a critical friend to help us with our paragraphs.

Term 4 Letter

L.I: To reflect on personal goals set in term 1.

Dear Term one Sebastian,

By the time you read this and the end of term four, you will have improved on your maths and become able to solve bigger number equations more efficient. By doing that you’ll have to practice more maths tables during spare time at home and challenging yourself to higher standards. You will now moved up levels in your writing and now know all the parts of a piece of writing. Have you read lots at both home and school so that you can use new and interesting words in your writing? Have you also learnt how to recheck and full edit work? You will have been great throughout the year and have been awarded for your fantastic work. You’ll have to work hard and concentrate on your learning without any distractions in your way and will have succeeded in all school work.

From Term Four Sebastian.

Dear Term 1 Sebastian

You have really achieved a lot this year! Your levels in all writing, reading and maths have raised since last year. You have learnt more and efficient strategies in maths. You know what a algorithm is and how to to use them. In writing, you know many things in writing, like how to write a really good recount and how to fully edit your writing by using DRAFT. You have worked hard this year and have mostly concentrated on your learning. You are happy and are ready for the new year!

From Term 4 Sebastian

Working With My Critical Friend

In writing with room 6, we've been working with a critical friend. My critical friend today was Anthony. To me, my critical friend helps me look at my writing and helps me work on what I need work on. We use the rubric to help us out if we're stuck. My critical friend also helps us edits our work and uses comments to reach to us. They add feedback and feed forward when they edit. I get a lot fixed when I work with my critical friend.

Homework - The Five W's

This week our homework was about the five W's and how we can look for these in questions and think of what it is asking us to do.

Buddy Story Swap

It all started yesterday when the kids from school were talking about the abandoned house on the hill and how it's haunted. I didn't know weather to believe them or not, so I went to see for myself. I decided to have a look inside. I slowly crept through the front door. I had feeling something was behind me so I turned around. The door came swing shut just missing my face. Dust flew everywhere which ended me up coughing in disgust. I was really scared of what could happen next, so I tried to look for light or a switch but there was no power. It got colder as took each step. Finding an exit wasn’t as easy as I thought because of all the darkness. I tried to find a way to the the exit but then I saw two red dots staring at me, I went to see what is was. As I got closer, it seemed to get bigger. The hairs on my arms and neck stood up...All of a sudden the red dots went away and the door opened. I ran out thinking of never going back.

Today we learnt a new task that helps us to write good recounts. The task was that each person in the pair take turns writing something that is continuing that last person sentence. We were given a picture that we had to write a recount about in 15 minutes.

Speech - Bikes, Scooters and Skateboards should be allowed at school

Greetings everyone.

Bikes, scooters and skateboards is what I’m here to talk to you about and why they should be allowed at all schools. How would you feel if you could not bring your bike or scooter to school because it wasn’t allowed at school. I believe that children should have the right to come to school on their bike, scooter or skateboard

Kids should be allowed to enjoy their childhood. Think, who would sit in a car and just wait, when you can just have fun instead. Plus going on a bike saves a lot more money than spending it on petrol for your car. The money that you spend to pay for gas could go to buying food or doing something good to help the community.

Did you know that if you rode a bike instead of using your car you could be saving more than a thousand dollars in a year!Riding a bike can give you a lot of exercise. This is another reason for you to ride your bike to school. More kids are sitting in front of a screen instead of getting outside and getting active.

A solution to this problem is for schools to make bike racks so that kids can come to school on their bike, scooter or skateboard and lock it to the rack ready for home time. Also there could be a program that will teach those who don’t know how to ride a bike so that every student can be coming to school on a bike, scooter or skateboard.

I think that kids should be allowed to bring their bike, scooter or skateboard to school. Remember it saves money, keeps the world healthy and gives you more exercise.

Speech Marks

In writing we learnt how to use speech marks. We have been poor with using speech marks so we need to find out more about them. We then made a Prezi with all the information about speech marks.