Ancient Greek Olympics Presentation

LI: To give a presentation on the Ancient Greek Olympics.

Last week, LS2 gave presentations to the class about what we know on the Ancient Greek Olympics. For this task, my group used Prezi to present and recorded a Screencastify to present to the class. Prezi is a good way to keep your audience entertained by animating the different areas of your slideshow.

We talked about what the Ancient Greek Olympics was and what took place on the five days of the Olympics. We also gave 5 fun facts about the Ancient Olympics.

I enjoyed this because it was fun to present and learn about the Ancient Greek Olympics as well. One fun fact that I learnt about the Ancient Greek Olympics was that one athlete trained by lifting a bull calf everyday until it was a full grown bull.

Hauora and Olympians

Good athletes train mentally and physically because both the body and the mind should be strong in order to have balance as an athlete. It's important to celebrate the success that you have earned, however it is just as important to embrace the times where we are less successful. What really makes you stronger mentally and physically is the time you take to learn from losing to learn from your mistakes. When something doesn't go as planned or takes an unexpected turn, it may be frustrating or stressful to fail but you can stay calm and confident. By having belief in yourself and having the support you need from family and friends, you keep yourself motivated to push yourself to success.

Bella and Kqwizan

My Science Investigation

LI: To perform our own science investigation on the senses of the tongue.

Today for Tech, we were focusing on learning about the different senses of the tongue and our taste buds as well as learning about it in our own science investigation.

We learnt about the main senses of the tongue: sour, sweet, salty and bitter. We went over how they work and what allows our tongue to taste. The experiment we performed was tasting different solutions and determining if they were bitter, sour, sweet or salty depending on our taste buds.

Consideration should be given to the fact that not everyone has the same taste buds. The tiny microscopic hairs on our tongues detect taste and send messages to the brain, so it determines if it tastes sour, sweet, salty and bitter.

I enjoyed this science investigtion experiment session because I learnt about taste buds and the senses of the tongue. One thing I learnt that was interesting was that you have 10,000 different taste buds that reset every 2 weeks or so.

Birds of Matariki

LI: To strengthen our connections to Matariki.

This week for inquiry we’ve been focusing on Matariki. Matariki is a time where we can come together and celebrate the Maori New Year with our whanau and friends.

The first activity we did was the birds of matariki. For this activity we researched the birds that were eaten in the Matariki feast each year. We expanded our knowledge by finding out how the Maori foul and preserve the meat.

I found this activity fun because I expanded my knowledge of Matariki and found out what is eaten during the Matariki feast. An interesting fact that I learnt was that people eat New Zealand birds during the feast.

Inquiry - Toys

LI: To strengthen our connections to toys and technology.

For this task, we were focusing on completing and making changes to our rubberband-powered rovers/vehicles. We made these with cardboard, straws, pencils, kebab skewers and tape.

The changes we made to our rover were that we remade the wheels and rethought how we would attach the wheels and keep them stable on the vehicle. We added more layers of take to secure the wheels and anatomy of our rover.

I enjoyed this lesson because I wasn't here for the previous lessons and I could study the anatomy of our rover and understanding how my team can work together without me.

Mars Rover Facts

LI: To strengthen connections to technology.

For Mrs F's inquiry group, we have been focusing on researching the mars rover and its properties. In our groups, we created a poster including information and facts about one of the NASA mars rovers. The rover that my inquiry group picked was Curiosity.

First, we researched and surfed the media to look for information and wrote down notes on facts or things that we found out and learnt. Our sources of information were many mars rover NASA sites and youtube videos of the NASA landing.

I enjoyed this task because I was able to learn new things about the mars rover and 

Inquiry Inclined Plane/Lever

LI: To experiment with and create simple machines.

Our focus for Mrs Anderson's Inquiry group was to experiment with mechanisms using the lever and inclined plane. We have been enquiring about six simple machines and how they work.

The first activity we did was creating an operating mechanism based off of the ideals of an inclined plane. The purpose of the inclined plane was to use it to roll a Jaffa down the slope and see which inclined plane mechanism rolled the Jaffa further. The purpose of this task was to compare results and see what changes to the inclined plane allowed the Jaffa to roll further.

The second activity we did was create four different creative crafts that use levers. We created a mechanism that displayed clapping hands, waving hand, moving flags and a snapping crocodile. We created these crafts using split pins, thick paper, scissors, a ruler, a sketching pencil and thin card.

I enjoyed this task and found it very fun and creative because I was able to use my understanding of simple machines to create these fun crafts.

Simple Machines Research

LI: To learn about the simple machines.

Over the past few weeks, Mrs Anderson's inquiry groups have been researching about simple machines. The six simple machines are a pulley, lever, inclined plane, wedge, wheel & axle and screw.

We have been focusing on creating labelled diagrams for each individual simple machine, talking about the parts of the mechanisms and drawing a diagram picture to represent the simple machine that we are evaluating. We then wrote a twenty-five word description of what each specific simple machine is used for and what it is.

Once we finished our labelled diagrams of simple machines, we created a diagram collage containing each of them and the link provided to go to that poster.

 I enjoyed this task and found it fun to learn and research about the simple machines. My favourite simple machine was the wheel & axle because it can be used to move (more like roll) a heavy load using the wheels to transfer.

Inquiry - Simple Machines/First Class Lever

LI: to read for meaning and understanding.

LI: to use smart searching skills.

Our inquiry focus was to learn about the simple machines and create a labelled diagram on them. The next simple machine I worked on was the first class lever.

The first class lever is a simple machine that consists of often a fulcrum (the point that is between the load and effort), the load (the object that is being moved) and the effort (what is helping move the load). There are three classes of levers, but the first class lever is where the fulcrum is between the effort and the load. A first class lever is used to relocate and move the load.

I created a labelled diagram identifying the parts of the lever. I described in twenty-five words how a lever works and its purpose. It is a simple and brief explanation.

I found this activity fun because I was able to practice labelling and used my knowledge of previous lessons about simple machines to create this labelled diagram of a lever.

Inquiry - Simple Machines/Wed

LI: to read for meaning and understanding.
LI: to use smart searching skills.

Our inquiry focus was to learn about the simple machines and create a labelled diagram on them. The next simple machine I worked on was the wedge.

A wedge is a simple machine that is made of two inclined planes taken at point where the angle is connected. The larger the angle of the wedge is, the more force or effort is required to move things up or alongside it. A wedge is often used to stop things from moving, such as cars and doors.

I created a labelled diagram identifying the parts of the wedge. I described in twenty-five words what a wedge is and its purpose. It is a simple and brief explanation.

I found this activity fun because I was able to practice labelling and used my knowledge of previous lessons about simple machines to create this labelled diagram of a wedge.

Pulleys

LI: To use our smart searching skills to find out about pulleys.

We have been learning about simple machines. There are 6 different types of simple machines. This week we learnt about pulleys. Our DLO shows our labelled diagrams of a pulley system. A labelled diagram is an information picture. A pulley is used to transfer heavy loads easily by force by hooking one end of the rope onto load and pulling on the other.

Did you know, the more wheels with grooves there is for the rope, the less effort and more force is being used to transfer the load?

 

Inquiry - Simple Machines/Screw

LI: to read for meaning and understanding.
LI: to use smart searching skills.

Our inquiry focus was to learn about the simple machines and create a labelled diagram on them. The next simple machine I worked on was the screw.

A screw is a simple machine that consists of often a metal material with a wedge at the end, also known as the tip. There is the thread that goes around the screw, which makes inserting the screw easier as it turns and inserts. The head of the screw is used with by screwdriver to drive the other end of the screw (the tip) through a material such as wood. A screw is used to hold two different things together.

I created a labelled diagram identifying the parts of the screw. I described in twenty-five words how a screw works and its purpose. It is a simple and brief explanation.

I found this activity fun because I was able to practice labelling and used my knowledge of previous lessons about simple machines to create this labelled diagram of a screw.

Inquiry - Simple Machines/Inclined Plane

LI: to read for meaning and understanding.

LI: to use smart searching skills.

Our inquiry focus was to learn about simple machines and create a labelled diagram on one of them. I created a labelled diagram of an inclined plane. An inclined plane is a ramp that is used to make moving heavy objects to distances and heights easier.

On the labelled diagram I created, I named the parts of the inclined plane, the load and the effort. The more distance or length an inclined plane has, the less effort it will take to move the load because if the inclined place is steep, it will take more force to prevent the load from falling.

In the bottom corner of the labelled diagram, I wrote a twenty-five word description of what an inclined plane is and its creative purpose, which is to make moving objects easier.

I found this activtiy fun and easy because I am familiar with an inclined plane and was able to recall my knowledge of what it is so that I can help others by labelling the parts of an inclined plane.

Inquiry - Simple Machines/Pulley

LI: to read for meaning and understanding.

LI: to use smart searching skills.

Our inquiry focus was to learn about the simple machines and create a labelled diagram on them. The first simple machine we worked on was a pulley.

A pulley is a mechanism that uses a rope and a wheel with a groove in it. The rope goes through the wheel and a heavy load is tied to one end. The other end of the rope is pulled to make the load lift. A pulley is used to make moving and transferring heavy loads easier and quicker by using less effort by force.

I created a labelled diagram identifying the parts of the pulley, the effort and the load. The load is what the pulley is used to transfer and the effort is what allows the load to move. I described in twenty-five words how a pulley works. It is a simple and brief explanation.

I found this activity fun because I was able to practice labelling and used my knowledge of previous lessons about simple machines to create this labelled diagram of a pulley.

Cultural Food Collage

LI: To practice searching for smart images and create a cultural collage.

This week, our task for Inquiry was to create a cultural photo collage using the new smart image searching skills we learnt last week.

First, we were given four different choices relating to cultural differences to base our collage off of. The choices were: cultural food, music, language or countries. My partner and I chose to create a collage of cultural foods.

We used our smart image searching skills and searched for cultural images with creative common license.

In our collage, we started by thinking about the different countries and the foods we should include. The cultural foods we included were: Mexican, Indian, Spanish, Italian, Chinese, Malaysian and African food.

I enjoyed this activity very much and creating this cultural food collage. I was able to practice smart searching for images and experimenting with the creative common license function on google.

America's Cup 2021

LI: To use our reading strategies and smart searching skills to find out about the America's Cup.

Today, LS2 and LS1 worked together to complete a research and comprehension task. The information we found out was around the history of the America’s Cup yacht race.

We started the task by discussing what we already know about the America’s Cup in our groups. Each group had a mix of LS2 and LS1 students. We wrote down what we already knew in bullet-point notes using pieces of paper.

Then as a class, we read an article giving helpful information about the America’s Cup. We continued to write notes on what pieces of information we didn’t know.

After this, we used our notes and wrote down 20 keywords relating to the America’s Cup. We used our notes to find these keywords. We then choose 6 of the most important keywords from the list. Using those 6 keywords, we wrote a paragraph summary giving detailed information about the events and history on the America’s Cup yacht races.

We really enjoyed this activity because it allowed us to learn more about a new topic and we were able to practice sharing our prior knowledge as well as making and using our notes.

The Qualities of a Good Leader | Inquiry

LI: To unpack what leadership looks like.

Our Inquiry objective was to think and learn about the four important qualities of a good and reliable leader and what leadership looks like.

In our groups, we started by talking about the four qualities of a good leader and the definition of each quality. The four qualities of a good leader are: leadership, responsibility, being a role-model and team work.

One we defined each quality, we wrote down as many words as we could that related to the qualities of a good leader.

After this, our group came together to write a 25 word paragraph that talks about the qualities of a good leader. We used the words that we picked out from the list to create this paragraph. 

Finally, we created an infographic poster (using a google draw) to  define the four qualities a good leader should have.

I enjoyed creating the 25 word paragraph summary because I was able to define what a good leader looks like from my perspective and share what I think a quality leader should be and their expected capabilities.

Inquiry | Persuasive Presentation

My class blogpost for the persuasive presentations can be found here:

Inquiry | Persuasive Presentation

Today, the companies presented their shelter design to bid for the building contract. We presented a slideshow that included information about the shelter design, materials and benefits.

Before presenting, our company focused on timing our presentation and practicing our lines so that it was within two and three minutes. We added onto and changed some parts of the script to make it longer.

We needed to persuade the representitives of Panmure Bridge School that our shelter is best for the certain natural disasters. We needed to include eye contact, clear presenting and the reasons why our shelter is best.

After that, our company presented our model and presentation to the class and representitives (Mr Wong and Mr Ogilvie). Our presentation also included diagrams to give a visual representation of the model.

The feedback we were given for our presentation was that in case of a lightning/thunder storm (which was one of the storm types our shelter could withstand), that it would not be best to use metal for the wall interior. We also did not have a clear enough understanding of New Zealand storms and what materials should be used for certain conditions.

What we did well in the presentation was delivering the right information and giving the audience a clear understanding of what we were saying. What we could improve on is having good reasoning and using our knowledge of certain topics to eliminate opponents that do not have benefits or advantages. We delivered enough information to our client and were able to persuade them into buying our shelter and won the building contract.

LI: to present our design and bid for the building contract.

Inquiry | Presentation

My class blogpost for the creation of LS1's inquiry presentation can be found here: