Matariki

Literature circle ~ Time capsule: Pompeii and Herculaneum

the conversation continues...

Writers' journals riddles and poems

Every Wednesday we start the day with observational drawing and writing in our writers' journals. There's a fad for riddles going on at the moment, along with our usual passion for poetry...

The helicopter
by Francesca

The helicopter falls around and around
in circles
and flutters in a slight breeze.
It got rumpled
rain's sliding down the base of the wings
it cracks and crackles
in the breeze
fluttering downwards.


Colours
by Peta

There are colours
that nobody can name
it has patterns of all kinds
slippery like silk
it has some bumps
that can only be felt
they can't be seen
but they can be touched
the vampire teeth
want to hurt the people
the taste buds 
want to taste some more blood.


The shadow's shadow
by Ella

My shadow has a shadow
and the shadow is me
we are exactly the same
but when he goes away
I am all alone...


Guess what I am!
By Mel

I sparkle 
in the sunlight
I glow 
the colours of the rainbow
I also can crack again
in any shape
What am I?
                     ... paua!

I swirl around
like a tornado
I'm sharp 
at the end and
I get fatter
at the bottom
at all times
I can hear
the light
waves of the sea
What am I?
                     ... a shell!

I twirl
and twirl
around as
I get down
like a helicopter
I am light brown
and I have veins
that you can see.
What am I?
                     ... a maple tree seed!

As I hit the ground
I go
thump thump
thump and 
sometimes crack.
I can be found
nearly everywhere
in different way.
What am I?
                     ... a rock!

As I fall I land in heaven and turn
from green to yellow to orange
to red and finally to brown
and lie there
but I can still
travel around the world.
What am I?
                    ... a leaf!


Morning
by Luca

feet frozen,
cheeks tingling, zip tightened
hands shoved into pockets

I trudge up the alleyway

My hair flying back into the wind


Fuzzy figure
by Dot

It's fluffy like a toy dog
it's brown like chocolate
it's warm in my hands
it's fuzzy and fuzzy and
fuzzy!

Clock
by Dot

tick tock tick tock
it's a clock
now it's 6 o' clock

Untitled
by Dot

A smooth
rich caramel brown triangle 
on my grey hard desk
stripes of light,
bright and white
looks like a yellow lemony colour
on the back


Untitled
by Aliya

one small cut shell
with a hole
shaped like the sea
one little shell with lines curved
like the calm sea

The frame
by Aliya

It's a mini frame of shell
as white as snow
sitting on my dull grey desk
and it looks magical


The shell
by Amelie

the wavy swirly pattern on the shell
pale orange, skin colour, creamy white,
a blob of colour on the beach,
plainly the colour of bleach!


Who am I?
by Tama

It's in the middle
but with more than one
it's very quiet
but only when told
it has a clown
that's upside down
but all of them
are really stars.
Who am I?
                    ...M13!


Changes
a found poem by Joe

The north wind doth blow
Dragon smoke rain wind
who has seen the wind
to a red kite
windy nights stopping by woods
on a snowy evening.


Untitled
by Saoirse

the orange egg rubs against my palm
making me quiver
all over.


The flappy thing
by Mahinaz

the flappy thing is
if you throw it up
it comes down
like a helicopter thing
at the top 
and it goes light to dark
and there's a circle on it
and at the bottom it is little
and beautiful


What am I?
by Jamieson

I look like gas
I live under the water.
I am tasty to eat.
What am I?
A piece of paua.

I am black and white
and like a stick.
What am I?
A tiger snake.

I am black and yellow
and I am venomous.
What am I?
A black and yellow frog
that is venomous.

Room To Improve - Brown Kiwi's play

Kaitiaki of the stream - literature circle

One of our reading groups read Kaitiaki of the Stream, and then ran a literature circle discussion about it. Literature circles are a way to think about a piece of writing in different ways. Each person takes on a different role: Discussion Director, Connector, Illustrator, Word Master, Passage Picker, and Summariser. Then the Discussion Directors lead the discussion about the piece of writing. Have a look at some of our thoughts about this School Journal article.

Click here to download an MP3 of the article.

Peer mediator play: Cody, Breea, Dot

Slam poet - Sydney, AKA Dot

The Storm | By Dot

Icicles drip down the window
as lightning strikes
and thunder roars.
Rain pours on the roof
like boulders.
The fire burns
and cinders shake.
Stars are sewn
on to a blanket
that's black
and covers the sky above.

Karakia and waiata | By Dot

Every morning, unless it's raining, our class M13 and M10, M12, M14 and M11 do a karakia (blessing) and waiata (song) outside before we start the day. 

Our waiata is called E Tu Kahikatea.

E tu kahikatea

Hei whakapae ururoa

Awhi mai awhi atu

Tatou tatou e

Stand like the kahikatea (tree)

To brave the storms

Embrace and receive

We are one together

(This version has a few extra verses but it helps with the tune):

  Our karakia says:

Whakarongo ki te tangi ā te manu i runga i te rangi - Tui, tui, tuituia!

Tuia i runga, tuia i raro

Tuia i roto, tuia i waho

Tuia i te here tangata

Ka rongo te ao, ka rongo te po

Tīhei mauri ora!

Listen to the call of the bird up in the sky - bind, bring together, bind, bring together.

Bind the things above, bind the things below,

Bind the things inside, bind the things outside.

Bind all the people together.

Listen to the sounds of the day, listen to the sounds of the night.

Sneeze, the breath of life!

Our multiple intelligences

Today we were thinking about the health of our BRAINS.  We looked at a whole lot of pictures of kids doing different things, and discussed what we think they might be good at.  We wrote these ideas in yellow.  As we placed the pictures on our poster, we thought about how these talents might be connected, and tried to place and group similar talents together.  Then we talked about Howard Gardner.  He has done a lot of research on how we think and has come up with a theory of multiple intelligences, describing how different people's brains work in different ways.  When we looked at his list of multiple intelligences we found that it was very similar to ours.  We stuck his words (in white) alongside our own ideas.

Howard Gardner says, "All of us have the full range of intelligences; that is what makes us human beings, cognitively speaking. No two individuals—not even identical twins—have exactly the same intellectual profile."

Our intellectual profile is a way of describing which intelligences we feel more or less confident in.

Tomorrow we're going to think more about our own intelligences.   Which do you think are your strengths?  Which do you want to develop more?