Room 16 Blog: Term 4 - Week 3's learning stories

** MAKING A LINK, IN PINK! **

Please note that I have added links in PINK, throughout this blog, so that you can see how and where our learning links into the New Zealand Curriculum.

WEEK 3's LEARNING

Room 16 have been exploring the New Zealand bush as part of our environment inquiry.

LIVING WORLD

Ecology: Recognise that living things are suited to their particular habitat.

NZ Curriculum (Science) Level 1

We looked at the native trees in our school (our school house trees). We are learning what the word 'native' means. We were excited to learn about the magic of trees! and how they help make dirty air, clean.

INVESTIGATING IN SCIENCE

Extend their experiences and personal explanations of the natural world through exploration, play, asking questions, and discussing simple models.

NZ Curriculum (Science) Level 1

We made posters with written messages on them - telling people to save the trees by not chopping them down.

SPEAKING, WRITING AND PRESENTING

Purposes and audiences: Recognise how to shape texts for a purpose

and an audience.

NZ Curriculum (English) Level 1

Ramon, Aidan and Oliver

Eva and Mia-Leigh

Liam

"stop chopping trees please"

Sasho ("help our trees") and William's ("trees clean air") posters.

Students creating their own bush environment with natural

materials and play dough.

Students using their imagination and knowledge, to create their own owls.

DEVELOPING PRACTICAL KNOWLEDGE

Visual arts: explore a variety of materials and tools

and discover elements and selected principles.

NZ Curriculum (The Arts) Level 1

We played with tree cones and gum nuts from trees,

and created some tree people using warm glue guns!

CHARACTERISTICS OF TECHNOLOGY

Understand that technology is purposeful intervention through design.

NZ Curriculum (Technology) Level 1

Students soon discovered that the tree people could not sit up by themselves. We brainstormed what we could do with this problem, and came up with a design to hot glue them to our popcorn cups.

COMMUNICATING & INTERPRETING

Music - sound arts: Respond to live and recorded music.

NZ Curriculum (The Arts) Level 1

We really enjoyed learning about New Zealand native birds. We loved listening to the native bird sounds and looking at all their lovely feathers. We learned the "Pukeko Stomp" song. Click on this link to hear the song: Pukeko stomp song

The students then designed their own birds. They needed to work out what size head and body they wanted for their bird by tracing around various shapes.

RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHER PEOPLE

Identity, sensitivity, and respect: demonstrate respect

through sharing and co-operation in groups.

NZ Curriculum (Health & Physical Education) Level 1

Rafaella, Edwin, Eva and Rosie

Oliver and Caleb you tried really hard to keep the feathers

inside your pencil markings, to keep your bird shape.

GEOMETRY & MEASUREMENT

Shape: Sort objects by their appearance.

NZ Curriculum (Mathematics & Statistics) Level 1

Lorenzo you took your time to draw around the body shape, and you did it!

Eva, you took great care to choose the exact feathers you wanted for your bird.

Lorenzo, the bird head was tricky, because it was smaller than the large body, but you did not give up! Awesome!

Lorenzo's bird is taking shape!

Erica, you decided to glue the body first, then add feathers. Ka pai!

We then wrote about what we liked about our own bird,

and published them on leaves.

Playing with loose parts

In play-based learning, loose parts can be pretty much anything. Large things, small things, man-made items, or natural items. Children gravitate to items of interest, and involve them in their play. By learning through play, they are making decisions, making predictions about height/speed, and most importantly, lots of oral language about what they are doing. This is also a time for growing social skills: turn taking, problem solving, being flexible with others ideas, and being kind to others.

Paea and Ramon you really enjoyed using the tree pod from my garden. You were looking at how fast objects could travel down the pod - small balls, toy cars, toy skate boards. You realised that you needed a "stop thing" at the end to stop stuff running away from you!

RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHER PEOPLE

Interpersonal skills: express their own ideas, needs, wants, and feelings clearly and listen to those of other people.

New Zealand Curriculum (Health & Physical Education) Level 1

Mia-Leigh, Melissa, Darya and Erica, you found the tree pod later in the day and used it to house the pet shop animals and ponies, by making a new bed for them all (complete with blankets!). A very nuturing group!

Shared reading - big book

LISTENING, READING AND VIEWING

Processes and Strategies: acquire and begin to use sources of information, processes, and strategies to identify, form, and express ideas.

NZ Curriculum (English) Level 1

Room 16 students have been enjoying this week's shared "big" book. Students decided to re-enact this book on our classroom drama stage.

Shows are performed almost daily - some made up on the spot, others from books being read, or ideas from our inquiry. Rosie, Caleb, Mia-Leigh and Sasho chose to be 'hungry' animals from a jungle environment (from the Monkey's Shoes book) and performed a play for us.

DEVELOPING PRACTICAL KNOWLEDGE

Drama: explore the elements of role, focus, action, tension, time,

and space through dramatic play.

New Zealand Curriculum (The Arts) Level 1

Rosie, Caleb, Mia-Leigh and Sasho, you really got into your roles as

sleeping animals!

The animals wake up, and they are hungry!

I liked the way you stayed in your animal roles and moved around the room like your animals would!

They go to the 'family room' to find food,

and return to the stage for a big sleep!

Which native bird is the most popular

in Room 16?

STATISTICS

STATISTICAL INVESTIGATION: conduct investigations using the statistical enquiry cycle: posing and answering questions; gathering, sorting and counting, and displaying category data; and discussing the results.

NZ Curriculum (Mathematics & Statistics) Level 1

What started as a very vocal class debate, ended up as a statistical investigation! Most students thought that 'their' bird was the best one - the most popular one. They wrote their name on a post-it note and placed it in the column of their favourite bird.