EVALUATION TIME

Pease tell me what you think of the blog as a teaching tool. Explain how it helps you enjoy school or helps with homework or assignments. If there are problems, state them here also. Remember that we will use ICT time to get you started properly and teach you how to use the blog effectively once you have signed your internet safety agreements.
So far there have been some amazing success stories.
See you next week, young bloggeroonies, but keep posting as I will access it at the "Learning at Schools" conference to see how you are going.
Mr Woody 8>)

Kakepuku class tasks....

Kakepuku Catastrophe! Activities and due dates

[please note - i expect you to look up any words you do not understand. Room5ians work hard on developing their vocabulary so they can communicate effectively.]

Activity 1: Survival skills

§ Compile a list of survival strategies or skills – write it in your topic book. There are at least four important things to know about…
Write down the title and author of any books you used or the url of any website.

Due Tuesday 3pm 20th Feb.


Activity 2: Mythological creatures

§ Research mythical creatures and describe in your own words several that interest you. Do at least three. Include one that can fly and one that lives in the ocean as this may help you when disaster strikes on Kakepuku. Include images for extra credit. Write the info in your writing book.
Due Friday 23rd Feb. 3pm

§ Research taniwha and manaia – Maori mythological creatures – draw and describe one in your topic book. Write down the Title and author of any books you used or the url of any website. Include images for extra credit.
Due Wednesday 28th Feb. 3pm

§ Create a poster, A4 size, with a border, using colour, including a title. Design your own mythical creature. This should have features that could be useful in assisting you in your plight on Kakepuku. Draw the creature. Name it. Write a brief description of it, its attributes and abilities.
Due Friday 2nd March 3pm [is this a real date? I should check my calendar...]

Activity 3: Creative writing

§ Write the introductory description of the disaster on Kakepuku in your topic or writing book.
Due Friday 16th Feb. 12:30pm

§ Daily diary writing describing the activities of your group, written from your point of view.
o Entries need to be well written, using emotive and descriptive language. Correct punctuation and spelling must be used. Use paragraphing accurately.
o The entries do not need to be very long. Between half a page to a page. Include what happens to you and your group, how you feel and how you cope with daily survival needs must be included. Describe your surroundings.
This will be drafted and either completed in class or to be completed for homework several days each week until the adventure ends later in term one.
For extra credit, post your diary entries on your blog.


Activity 4: magic staff

§ Find a suitable stick to make a wand or staff out of. Gather resources to decorate it. Bring this all to school to work on.
Be prepared to design a staff that suits a specific purpose – e.g. if you want to have the power of fire design symbols and attach materials that make you think of fire. If you want to control birds, have feathers. If you want to see into the future, add a crystal ball…
Due anytime week 5

Kakepuku Catastrophe!

Oh NO! What started out as a normal class trip to our special mountain - Kakepuku - has ended in disaster.
After all the learning, careful planning, survival preparation and excitement, we finally headed off in the school bus with mr Dyer to climb our maunga. We drove towards Te Awamutu, across the beautiful rolling Waikato dairy land,parked up and got ourselves into our expedition teams. With backpacks stuffed with only the most important survival gear, we wandered off across the farmland towards the verdant slopes and regenerating bush.
Some of us moaned at the growing heat and the ever steepening slope. Others revelled in the freedom from the classroom, surrounded by birds, native trees, and our ever-rambling teacher, Mr Woody.
Once across the farmland, having encountered the odd inquisitive jersey cow and skittish newly shorn ewe, we clambered across the last bit of number eight wire and entered the bush zone.
Even though it was shadier, the incline made it hard going. Rewarewa and kohekohe sheltered us from the scorching sun, but our shirts were soon drenched with sweat. We all sighed with relief whe we broke into a clearing and got to sit down to rest and drink our precious cool water.
Mr Woody was twittering on about fantails, wood pigeons, skylarks and various obscure invertebrates when suddenly....

WHAT HAPPENED NEXT???

[Complete your own retelling of the story after this point. We will draft it at school and write it in our writing books. After that initial introduction we will plan and write daily diary entries on our personal blogs.]

vocab to remember for the disaster explanation - earthquake, plate tectonics, horst and graben, tsunami.

Use Y-charts to stimulate your creative writing. Draft, edit and try out your writing on a friend. Does it make sense? Is the explanation full enough without being boring? Do you make sentences interesting and describe things well? Paint a picture with your words. Write about what you see in your head.

Enjoy!

Hi Room 5!

Wow - so many more of you are flodding in - great work - I have just got home, read all your posts and am off to walk the dog. Then I have to iron my shirt for my date with my wife - then it's date time so you guys miss out tonight except that I would like you all to do the survival quiz and post your results. Don't worry if you're parents want you to get off the computer - you need balance in your life. Remember - if you can't do your homework for ANY reason, just bring a note and there will be no drama.
Happy valentines day!
Mitchell - bad luck re the arm snapping and missing swimming champs. You're a champion and you will come back. Do the work already posted on this blog. Look back over old stuff too.
Prim - yes, more P.E. is required.
Everyone else - keep posting and make your blogs interesting.

As for tomorrow's fantasy trip to Kakepuku - beware of plate tectonics and tsunamis - prepapre for a survival adventure with fantastical possibilities!!!!
Bring your mythical creature and survival info to score extra points in our survival scenario - you will be immersed in a flood of opportunities to use your skills and knowledge....
duh duh duuuhh.....!!!!

you are a wonderful class!

i am so thrilled to have such a wonderful new class - room 5 rocks th e house!
please feel free to add ideas here for your classroom programme, how you feel about Peachygrove, or anything you would just LOVE to do this year.
if you are well behaved, repsectful, kind, fun, hard working, honest and dedicated to learning i will do anything i can to make your year a success.

p.s. i also dont' use capitals in th eblog but yo uhav eto spell coprrectl yand use corect punctuation wher epossibel - of course sometimes we will all make mistakes

[see? i need to learn to touch type - all those errors are from not proof reading what i typed and not learning to look at the screen while i type.]

8>)

wilderness survival quiz

this quiz is designed for an american audience but all of the questions are applicable to the NZ situation.
for your information, granola is probably some kind of cereal... it's mentioned in one question.

take the test - it's brief and will teach you something useful i think.

http://www.fieldandstream.com/fieldstream/quizes/survival/survival1.html

Kakepuku trip

As part of getting to know our class, team, school and local area, we will be visiting our mountain group maunga - Kakepuku.
I have a sneaky feeling something dramatic may happen while we're there, so we need to be prepared.
I suggest we research the mountain, the native flora and fauna, survival skills and see if we can be prepared for any possible disaster that may occur while we are there. I'm sure we'll be safe, but what if we're not....

some of these sites may be useful to read up on survival skills - please evaluate them and take notes on useful ideas. make your notes in your homework book. write down which sites you take notes from. do not copy all the info - just write out the bits that are useful in your own words. the sites may not all be useful.... this is the important thing to remember about the internet.

http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/Falls/9200/wilderness_survival.html

http://www.m4040.com/Survival/Skills/Water/Water.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survival_skills

http://www.wilderness-survival-skills.com/

http://www.adventuresportsonline.com/5basic.htm


Are these sites designed for people in the NZ environment? If not, is the info still useful to us?

Enjoy your searching and be responsible about taking notes and not plagiarising.

Room 5 Rules!

Wow - i have spent one day with my new class, Room 5 and they seem super cool.
Geoff laughed at my jokes, Caitlin cheered for my wedding story and people followed instructions, worked hard, thought carefully, answered questions and were nice to be with.
We even found a giant tree weta on our drinking fountain. a good luck sign for sure.
8>)

Rules for the year - team work, hard work, quality work, quality people.

I'm looking forward to a marvellous 2007.

Gwe LEeeeee!!!!!!

Oh dear - our beloved friend Gwe Le has flown the coop and is going to high school next year. I know she will do well there and we will miss her sense of humour, kindness, talent and wit.
Long Live the Kitties of DOOOOM!!!!
Take care, Gwe Le and keep in touch. I want to still know you when you're famous.
8>)

Here is an online game to take your mind off the horror of her leaving...

http://www.miniclip.com/games/bunch/en/