Maori Vocabulary

LI: To expand our knowledge on Maori vocabulary.

For Maori this week, we were focusing on translating Maori names into english using our knowledge of the Maori language and vocabulary.

We started our lesson by completing the Maori routine and answering the basic questions at the beginning of our session. Then, Whaea Odie wrote the Maori vocbualary on the board which explained which letters from the English vocabulary change when talking in Maori.

For the task, we were given a list of Maori names and English names. We had to apply our understanding of the Maori vocabulary and characters to connect the correct names to eachother.

I enjoyed this task and found it easy and quick to do because I am very familiar with the Maori vocabulary and translating names.

Misery

LI: to write an abstract noun senses poem.

For this task we worked collaboratively to create a poem using abstract nouns. Our group was given a list of abstract nouns that we can use to write a poem. The abstract noun we choose was misery. We used the five senses to describe what misery sounds, looks, tastes, and smells like while using metaphors to structure a poem correctly. 

An abstract noun is a feeling or emotion that cannot be physically touched. A metaphor is the comparison between two things without using as or like. For example: Happiness is a river of joy that is flowing through my heart. The word happiness is the abstract noun and is used to create this metaphor. 

The five senses are: hear, touch, smell, feel and see. Each of these five senses are what many humans are able to do. A metaphor is the comparison between two things without using as or like. 

I really enjoyed doing this because I got to work collaboratively and work together in a group and also use powerful words to strengthen the poem and make our metaphor stand out.

Main Ideas

LI: To identify the main ideas in the text.

For reading, we have been focusing on understanding the important main ideas of the text/video. The video we used for this reading task was about the traditional Maori story about how Maui slowed down the sun and brought more length to our days.

For this task, we watched the video about Maui's traditional Maori story of how he slowed the sun, and identified the main ideas between our group. From those main ideas, we discussed the more important parts of the stories and then identified the three most vital ideas from the story.

I enjoyed this task because I was able to learn more about the traditional Maori stories. Something I found interesting was that Maui was able to slow down the sun because of the pain he caused with his Grandfather's jawbone.

Venn Diagram

LI: To explain in fewer words what the text is about.

For reading, we have been focusing on comparing text information such as stories, articles and other texts. The text we used for this reading task was the traditional Maori story of how the world came to be. This text was about Papatuanuku and Ranginui waking up from eternal darkness in earth's first light, and Tane Mahuta (one of their children) seperating them to grant his siblings and himself freedom from the darkness. Tawhirimatea was angry at the seperation of his parents.

For this task, we watched a video and read a text based off of the Maori story of how the world came to be (In the Beginning). We labelled the main parts of the video version that are not included in the written version, and labelled the main prts of the written version that were not included in the video. In the middle, we labelled the similarities between the two stories.

I really enjoyed this task and found it easy because I am familiar with identifying the key ideas and comparing the two similar but different texts/information sources.

The Taonga of Storytelling

LI: To explain in fewer words what the text is about.

For reading, we have been focusing on summarising text information such as stories, articles and other texts. The text we used for this reading task was the traditional Maori story of how the world came to be. This text was about Papatuanuku and Ranginui waking up from eternal darkness in earth's first light, and Tane Mahuta (one of their children) seperating them to grant his siblings and himself freedom from the darkness. Tawhirimatea was angry at the seperation of his parents.

For this task, we found exactly twenty keywords to build an understanding of the text about. Keywords help us understand more in a short amount of time. Then from those twenty words, we chose six of those words to create a summary on. A summary is a short and brief description of the story so that we can understand the text in fewer words.

I enjoyed this task and found it easy because I am familiar with summarising and understanding texts using the key reading comprehension strategies so I can expand my knowledge of a story.

Shoes Narrative

LI: To use the 5 senses and personification to help us paint a picture with words.

For writing, we have been focusing on writing descriptive narratives using the 5 human senses and our knowledge of personification as this will give the audience a more clear understanding of the story.

In pairs, we brainstormed keyword ideas for the different senses and based our keywords off of a picture that we were going to write a story about. The picture was a pair of worn out Converse shoes left alone. Once we wrote down ideas, we turned our keywords into sentences and from sentences, we formed a descriptive narrative.

I enjoyed this task because I was able to practice writing narratives based off of using personification and the five human senses. One thing I found interesting was that using the human senses can help you personifize an inanimate object.

Topic 4 - Floating and Sinking

LI: to experiment with buoyancy and floatation.

 

For tech, we were focusing on testing the buoyancy of different weighted objects and making educated predictions using our knowledge of floatation.

We began our tech session by discussing the meaning of and defining the words float, sink and semi-float. We talked about why some things float, sink or semi-float. We watched a video that explained these words in a clear way and we wrote down notes that would help us in the future.

After this, we started by writing the aim or purpose of this scientific exploration and the equipment we would need to perform the experiment. We created a table of contents and wrote down the name of the objects we performed the experiment on and the size, weight and composition of those objects. We predicted whether they would float, sink or submerge in water and then recorded the results after the experiment was performed.

For the experiment, we filled a bucket up with 2/3 of water and measured, weighed and researched the objects. My partner and I started by putting the smallest objects into the bucket of water first and recording the results in order from smallest to largest.

I found this experiment interesting because I had never tested and experiment about floatation and I had a lot of fun with this scientific exploration. One thing that I learnt from this science lesson was that the buoyancy depends on the density of the object. I found this fact interesting and cool.