The first activity for day six of the Summer Learning Journey summer programme is a Maori based activity where we have to learn about how Maui slowed down the sun and write a poem, haka or song about it.
The purpose of this activity is to expand our Maori vocabulary and learn more about the Maori myths and legends. It is also to apply our writing skills to share our understanding.
The first thing I did for this activity was watch a video that told the story of Maui and his brothers slowing down the sun.
At first, the sun moved quickly, therefore the days were very short and there was not much time to get things done. So Maui came up with a plan to force the sun to slow down. He gathered his brothers and they created magic ropes, strong enough to hold the sun.
Maui and his brothers travelled by night to a great hole in the earth which was where the sun would rise. They built a stone wall near the hole and readied themselves. When the sun rose, Maui's brothers tied their ropes to the sun's ends. Maui took his grandfather's jawbone and attacked the sun with it, making the sun weak.
Maui's brothers bound the sun to earth using the magical ropes. The sun was too weak to move quickly across the sky, so instead the sun moved slow and the days grew longer.
I wrote a ballad poem telling the main points of the story. A ballad poem is a rhyming poem that is often used to tell a story.
I included the main points of the story to shorten my poem and so the audience could get a clear idea of the major events.
What I found fun about this activity was researching different words to use for my poem and expanding my Maori vocabulary.
What I struggled with most about this activity was completing the last verse of my poem, mainly because I had to maintain rhyming and keep the syllable count even so that it would go well with the rhythm of the poem.
I could improve my vocabulary use and use more Maori words. I could challenge myself by creating a different poem and using more complex and advanced wording.
LI: to learn more about Maori history and apply our knowledge of Maori myths to make a poem/haka/song.
Kia ora Bella
ReplyDeleteIt’s Shannon here, from the Summer Learning Journey.
You are so clever writing your ballad about Maui and the sun. You have used amazing words that allow the reader to recognise the myth and still managed to keep the rhythm of the ballad. Watching the video would have been great motivation for your writing.
Ka pai on trying to learn more te reo. Could you have used some te reo in your ballad? Were there any new words you learnt that would have fitted in?
Well done Bella on a fantastic blog post, keep up the great work.
Ka kite anō,
Shannon (SLJ)