Polynesian Navigators

We are investigating the early Polynesian migration to Aotearoa/ New Zealand. 

Research Task 
1. Read or listen to the information titled 'Exploring the Pacific' (use class login on the board) 

2. Complete the  Exploring the Pacific Quiz. Write your results on sheet. 

3. Fill in the missing dates on your map. 


If you have time you can read 'Traditional Navigation' and complete it's Quiz. 

What does AD and BC mean? Find out here

The fish of Maui

Check out the myth of how Maui fished up the North Island. What hidden values can you find in this story?

How Maui slowed the sun

Check out how Maui slowed the sun. What hidden values can you find in this myth?

Creation Story

What Māori values can you see hidden in this story?

What is a museum?

What is the purpose of a museum?

• Store / share information
• Present models
• Share history - our past in NZ, ancient past
• How things have changed over time
• Fun
• Learn
• Protect, secure and preserve treasures

Good points about museums...

• Living history interactive
• Real life animals outside & native plants, garden
• Options of food or a place to eat lunch
• Things to touch and investigate - like rocks
• Using good technology
• NZ museums are free

Museums are boring because......

• Too much to see in one visit
• Not much variety in displays
• Too far to walk - sore legs
• Parents won;t let you investigate
• Too much to read and parents take too long
• 
  

Ellesmere Heritage Park

We have been invited by the Ellesmere Heritage Trust to advise them on the content and presentation of the museum exhibits they are developing, with a particular focus on making it interesting to children.

Letter link

From our learning in FIE, we understand that a big task like this needs to be broken down into smaller parts. Here are range of resources that might help us develop some questions. 

Te Papa  - gather ideas

Interactive activity Trails - gather ideas - sheet from teacher

Māori culture resources Te Papa

Where is the Ellesmere Heritage Park?

Photos on Allana's iPad - Heritage Park

Okains Bay Museum

Early Settlers

Māori voyage to NZ

Here are our questions:

1. In Queenstown you can feed and see the fish. Could we buy food for the pigeons at the museum or have olden-days animals? Jed
2. Could you have cart ride on special days? Lexie and Varley
3. Could we get some artefacts from the Marae? Robert
4. Could we get some kids games from the olden days so they can play them? Lexie
5. Could you have plastic hammers asn plastercine or modelling clay for kids to try being a smithy?
6. How do you catalogue the things and find out their history? Zoe
7. Have realistic models to show people working. Adele & Aria
8. Could you do .... museum in the dark challenge with torches? Sam
9. How could we make museums interesting to kids?

FIE Tangrams: Analysis or synthesis?

This week we are looking at the principle of finding the parts with a more complex whole. This could be a shape inside a larger shape, a simple machine inside a complex one, a engine inside a car, a secret ingredient in a yummy recipe!

A Tangram is a good place to start thinking about this. According to mathsisfun website. A Tangram is "A traditional Chinese puzzle made of a square divided into seven pieces (one parallelogram, one square and five triangles) that can be arranged to match particular designs."

Here is a link to some of the tough Tangram challenges we will be attempting to analyse (break apart)? or is it synthesise (put together)? What do you think?

End of Term 2 reflection

The good stuff:

• Nice quiet learning times - Katie
• Modules - loved music, & Kia Kaha - Varley
• We are beginning to use the anger chart - Thomas
• Lots of bricks being tested - Aria
• We are getting better at ignoring distractions - Robert
• We are working better as a team - like in music and arcade games - Tia
• Great chances at robotics and writing workshop - Amber
• We are earning neurons - Chloe Rose
• We are making new friends with the new kids - Deklyn
• The zone is a good quiet place to have - Charlotte
• Wow - we loved the arcade games because it was challenging and fun at the end to play them - Ollie 

Things to change for Term 3:

• Use a wider range of fitness games - Kase
• Work in being more friendly and kind - Hayley & Ollie
• Try really hard to not interrupt during others talking - Sam
• With home learning - could we have lots of ideas and some free choice - Lexie
• More outside activities like sports - Nate
• Us to remember to put our faces up for the register - Libby
• Introduce more science like chemistry like mixing potions - Benjamin
• Try having a few more options between teachers or topics e.g. in topic or modules - Zoë
• To stop yelling and running in the classroom - Jayden
• Try moving our book boxes around so the Halberg and Moller spaces are more mixed up - Aria
• Have more free time - earned - Toby
• Have more free writing - Toby
• Try having choices about what spot their book box is - move them around - Eva
• Swap classes for modules - Adele
• Give us options to vote on the fitness game - Chloe Rose
• Maybe have your own spaces - Robert
• Maybe some places around the class are quiet places - Robert
• Two teachers = 2 fitness games.

Science Celebration - arcade fun!

Kepler students (Years 4-6) have been putting their science learning into practice! 

We have been working collaboratively to create arcade games, applying the principles of physics. 

We included explanations of the physics involved, and then had fun playing the games we had built. What better way to learn our science?!