Bug Hunting

For taku time this week room 10 took part in a bug hunt around the school. The students have been particularly interested in bugs for the past few weeks so we collected together some containers and magnifying glasses to find out a bit more.

First we watched a clip on youtube that discussed the differences between some of the bug subgroups - insects and arachnids.



The students were able to explain the differences between the two groups and we decided to go out into the playground to see if we could find any insects or arachnids.

 

The children had a great time looking for bugs outside and we were able to find a lot of different things. The most exciting find was a big weta, but he didn't seem excited about being found!

Abel Tasman Beach

This week we heard the fantastic news that the crowd funding campaign had been successful in buying Awaroa Inlet in Abel Tasman. The class were excited to have taken part in such a great process.

We were surprised to have then been contacted by the local paper Manawatu Standard to have an interview with the class in light of this success. The paper came out and interviewed some of the students and myself, the results of this were then posted on the Stuff website.

Later in the day we had another visit. This time from the team at Seven Sharp. They filmed the students and myself again and played our clips on national television that night. We have received lots of great feedback from families, the community and further afield.

The response to our donation has been very surprising, but it has been a great experience for the class and they have wholly understood the point that their actions do have results, whether expected or not.

Geodesic Dome Take 3

We have finally completed the dome! It took the students two taku time sessions and several lunches, but they were very committed and finally achieved it!

I found the activity was great for supporting collaboration and problem solving amongst the students, as I told them how to do each step but then let them complete them independently.

 

 

Abel Tasman Beach

Last week Room 10 were discussing the fundraising that was happening around the Abel Tasman Beach in the South Island.
There is a private beach which was being sold, but the New Zealand government were not willing to buy it. As a result a givealittle campaign was started with people across the country donating money to raise the required funds to make an offer on the beach.

In Room 10 we decided that we wanted to take part in the fundraising and donated $20. The following day we were contacted by the New Zealand Herald, as we were one of the last people to donate to the campaign and they wanted to find out more about our decision.

We were surprised to be contacted, and the following day were contacted by the Manawatu Standard and then the local Bush Telegraph.

Click on the links below to read the full articles.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11591699

http://www.stuff.co.nz/manawatu-standard/news/77046713/pahiatua-school-helps-push-abel-tasman-beach-bid-campaign-over-the-line

Podcasts

In literacy we are looking at students' family, culture and identity. The class are completing interviews about these three different areas.

I decided to use the app opinion to get the students to create a podcast, rather than filming them talking. This would result in a piece of work that is easier to share with the students' families and our community.

These podcasts have been linked to this blog through the websites RSS feed and can be accessed on the right hand side of the page above the twitter feed.

Have a listen to the children's interviews and hear what they have to say about their lives in Pahiatua!

Swimming

The students have been lucky enough to get to spend time each day in our local pools - a welcome relief in this heat.

I'm working with a group of children who are developing their skills at floating and learning to kick with a good technique.

The first way they learn to float is in a 'starfish' where their arms and legs are out straight like a starfish.

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I've been very impressed with the focus and determination of my group. Even the students who are not as confident as the others give all the activities a go and each of the students help and support each other in the water if required.

Geodesic Dome Take 2

This week in Taku Time we continued to work on our geodesic dome. The decorating and cutting went on in earnest during our session and the students were able to complete the ground layer of newspapers.

The decision was made to work during lunchtimes next week so we can get it completed and they are looking forward to seeing how many children can fit in the completed dome.

Due to the size of our newspaper we had to alter the sizes of the tubes we used. We kept the original ratio but made our tubes 50cm long and 46.5 cm long.

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Place Value Maths

In maths we have been learning about place values - specifically tens and ones.

This week we read the story of the Three Little Pigs and used this as a basis for building houses out of our place value materials. This idea came from a post I had seen on Pinterest.

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The children were given strips of tens and ones to use to design their own house. Once they had completed their houses they had to count up the numbers of ones and tens they had used to work out the value of their house. I designed a label to go on their sheets and provide this information.

Geodesic Dome

We have returned to school and are getting back into our learning journeys.
We finished our first week with a taku time session, giving the students some active learning opportunities.

In room 10 we started to create a geodesic dome. We found instructions online and started the first two steps; rolling and decorating.

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We managed to complete the 65 rolls but took the whole hour to get to this stage. Next week we will finish decorating the tubes then hopefully complete construction.

The students showed many of the successful learner attributes through the class. They persevered in their attempts to roll tight tubes of paper, even although some of them found this difficult. They also collaborated with each other and supported the other students who were struggling.

Check back next week to see if we manage to finish it!