Sunday 26 November 2017

Persuasive blurb!

Country Living!

If you love the lifestyle of a farm, then I have the perfect house waiting for you. This stunning, barn-yard house has everything you would ever need. A two storied mansion with stained glass windows stands tall on a large flat section, bordered by mature, native evergreens. With 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms, there is ample room for a large family. Not only that, a newly re-furbished kitchen, with all the latest 'bits and bobs' waits for a chef to spend some quality time with. The rest of the house just requires a 'bit of love', hence the reduction in price. This is sure to sell. Get in quick for a 'must see' viewing. 

Tuesday 14 November 2017

Questions for your Exhibition Group!

Prompts for teachers
Tell me about the problem you chose.
Tell me about your lines of inquiry.
What was the process that you went through?
What is the most important idea that you have learnt from your inquiry?
How do you know that?
Has your thinking changed? If so, how?
Is there more than one viewpoint about your issue?
What did you learn from other students in your team?
What do you think might happen with your issue in the future?
What would you like to see changed?
How have you recorded or sorted your information?
How does this learning connect with other subjects, topics or issues?

Can you suggest a solution?

Sunday 12 November 2017

13th November, 2017
Tomorrow is day 3
Homework:
Exhibition / Short story (Sentence stalking)
Notices:
Big. Day. Out Notice
Reminders:
Next Tuesday
signed.

Thursday 9 November 2017

10th Movember, 2017
Monday is day 2
Homework:
Write your Exhibition job here
Notices:
Exhibition Evening 5:50 - 6:30, 21st November (Tuesday), Week 6.
Reminders:
Signed:

Tuesday 7 November 2017

WALT - Build up before the climax -

Mereana liked the track and she could run all the way down without stopping, down the steep places holding on to the broom bushes to stop herself from sliding, over the rocky places, along the top of the bank, through the onion flowers. At the top of the bank she could climb-down using the footholds that the big children had made, but today she kept to the track so that she wouldn’t get dust on her clothes.
Sometimes she would stop there at the bottom of the track to watch the big children playing soccer with a tennis ball, but there was no one on the park today. She crossed the green and went up the path to where the Crescent began.
At the top of the path she stopped, looking out for the girls, but there was no one on the road, no one on the footpath. She began to hurry, not looking at gates, or people’s letterboxes, or people's houses, but just looking straight ahead. No one played hopscotch on the footpath, no one skipped on the road.
It was when she rounded the corner that she knew the two girls were there. They were sitting up on the terrace looking down.
‘It's her,’ she heard one of the girls say, and the other girl called out a name.
Mereana didn’t look at the girls, but walked quickly looking straight ahead the way her mother had told her.
Then one of the girls called, 'You’re not allowed past here,” and called her the name again.
Mereana didn’t look and didn’t stop, and the girl said, 'We’ll take your bag and throw it in the bushes if you go past here.
She kept going, looking straight in front of her. As she passed them the two girls came scrambling down the bank. The bigger one snatched the bag from her and ran ahead, pushing it into a hedge.
‘There,' the girl said. 'Leave it there. If you get it we'll cut you with glass!’
But Mereana was going to the shop for her mother. It was her mother’s bag, and the money was in the bag wrapped in a piece of paper. Anyway, the girls had run off now. They were climbing the bank again. She didn't look at them, and when she got to the hedge she pulled the bag out and walked quickly.
Then she heard the two girls scramble down the bank and come running up behind her. They pushed her over. One of them held her while the other one cut her with glass.

Monday 6 November 2017

Agenda

Block 1 - Exhibition - Sarah to lead

Block 2 - Teaming

Block 3 - Maths
20m IXL - Topic: Geometry

Theo's Group - Pythagoras Power Reision
F.I.O Level 4, Book 2 p14

TEACH
Thyme's Group -WALT - Recognising Angles
F.I.O - Level 3 / 4 "Sharp Corners"
p18 - Students need a protractor

TEACH
Requan's Group WALT - Recognising Angles
F.I.O - Level 3 / 4 "Sharp Corners"
p18 - Students need a protractor  Angles

Block 4: Short story Writing

-Students continue writing their short stories

Today's WALT - Creating suspense before the climax of your story.

Students are all at different stages / Previous learning has been

1 - Story openings

2 - Character description

3 - Using dialogue

Today students should be building up to the climax

Could Run a mini lesson - Revision for students (Class need) Complex sentences - Mechanically Inclined p 91

Sunday 5 November 2017

6th November, 2017
Tomorrow is day 4
Homework:
30m Short story
Notices: Tongariro forms - Due back Tuesday
Reminders:
Signed:

Monday 30 October 2017

FINDING OUT

FINDING OUT / GOING FURTHER / FORMING QUESTIONS / ORGANISING YOUR ACTION

r

TASK 1

WALT - Use Berkley's Library WEBSITE to find SECONDARY  information to do with your LINES of INQUIRY:

Success Criteria:
-Search - One Search
-Use key words
-Copy and paste information to a document and PRINT! Go see Mrs BELZ or Mrs MOSCRIP to go get your printing
-Glue this into your Exhibition Book! (Then take notes on the side of the document)
-If you find a VIDEO, Play the video... When you hear something relevant, pause and take a note..
-Remember to INCLUDE the website address where you got your information from.. It is plagarism if you copy someone else's work and don't mention them..

TASK 2:
Start organising and forming interview questions for a PRIMARY source! (REAL PERSON)
FORM - Interview...
Before you send an email to anybody, you must show Mr Aspden.
ACTION: Remember to get on with your ACTION as well........... If you need computers, ipads, ART paper, you need to organise this yourselves.... Your teacher might be able to help you.....

Essential Agreement! Ensure this is upheld....
NEXT week you want to start publishing your information and thinking how you would like to PRESENT this...... (SCIENCE BOARD PERHAPS

Wednesday 25 October 2017

Reflection:

What is going well?
What are your challenges?
What is your goal for today?

Tuesday 24 October 2017

25th October
Tomorrow is day 2
Homework:
Organise these things for Monday.
-walking shoes
-rain coat
-large water bottle
-walking clothes
Notices: Check the forecast?
Monday is Year 9 Science day
Reminders:
Mufti day tomorrow
Year 9 Concert next week on Thursday! (Week 3)
Signed:

Monday 23 October 2017

Are You Judging a Book By Its Cover? | Tell My Story, Blind Date

Agenda

24th October
Tomorrow is day 1
Homework!
Exhibition finding out / Title page
Notices:
Reminders:
Signed:

Dramatic Monologue

Narrative

Literacy - Narrative Session 



Check out this workshop on storybird for so tips on how to create an effective opening:
Your task for today is to write the opening of your short story. 
it can be beneficial to write more than one type of opening to your story.

Some different types of writing can be:
- Action
- Dialogue
- Reaction

-Begin by choosing a topic or theme for your writing.
Some examples of interesting themes are given below:
10 Short Story Ideas
25 Creative Writing Prompts

I would like you to choose one of these Harris Burdick pictures to base your writing on. Let's check them out!

Wednesday 18 October 2017

Yesterday Adele had the ___________ The away with the fairies _________. The Turn up to dance class in body, but not mind. The dance around to the beat of her own drum, instead of Candace's instruction___________. The wear her favourite costume (Elsa's Dress) and be occupied with all its glitter and frills.. The kind of ____________ which makes you blurt out comments such as: Who's child is that?...

Monday 16 October 2017

Agenda

17th October
Tomorrow is day 4
Homework:
re-craft one stanza using DRAFT of poem
Notices:
Reminders:
school production
Signed:

Sunday 15 October 2017

Exhibition

What group am I in?? Ice Breaker Activities My Name Means . . . My Name Means requires players to come up with words describing themselves. The trick is that they must do so by creating a phrase where each word begins with a letter of their first name used in order. For example, Theresa might say, “My name is Theresa and I am tiny, happy, energetic, red-haired, eager, strong, and amazing.” Spaghetti Tower one of the funnest things we did at camp last year. we had a contest to see who could build the coolest thing with marshmallows and toothpicks. This Week... Tuning In This is the stage where you define your key issue. You identify things you already know and identify the questions (Lines of Inquiry) you need to find out about. You will hypothesise and predict what you are going to find out. Here is a good place to set goals and timelines for yourself. Key Questions: What do I know about...? What am I interested in…? What questions do I have about…? Where and how could I find more information about…? Who could help me? What skills will I be using? Tuning In Checklist To ensure that you are ready to move on to the next stage of the Exhibition, go through this checklist. If everything is complete, then you are ready! Have I remembered to… Task Completed Read through the general information section and know what it is about. Read and understand the different ways I will be assessed. Y chart outlining understanding of concepts relating to the Central Idea – fill in blue pen at the beginning and add new ideas in red pen (in UoI book) Unpack the Central Idea – Can I explain what it means? Use the question creation chart and the key concepts to help create our lines of inquiry. Create lines of inquiry and questions/ideas to pursue. Organise and plan for the 1st Mentor meeting. Complete my personal reflection and look for teacher feedback. Extra Tasks? Essential Agreements Working with your group you should make a list of the essential agreements for exhibition. Think about how we should treat each other, how we should behave, what should happen if there is a conflict and what is important to remember about your actions.

Yesterday I had the blues

Today Louie had the yellows.....again.... The "As soon as you open your eyes, wide awake, yellows. Not the usual, "Morning, How are you" yellows. The non stop baby talk, praticing every word he knows under the sun yellows, (which isn't that many. The unknowingly and uncontrollable dribbling while grinning, and walking with a bounce, down the hallway to the kitchen yellows, ready to embrace the day.

Yesterday I had the Blues

Saturday 14 October 2017

Short Story Web

Short Story Unit Resources

Monday, 31 October 2016

Short Stories - Narrative

Literacy - Narrative Session 



Check out this workshop on storybird for so tips on how to create an effective opening:
Your task for today is to write the opening of your short story. 
it can be beneficial to write more than one type of opening to your story.

Some different types of writing can be:
- Action
- Dialogue
- Reaction

-Begin by choosing a topic or theme for your writing.
Some examples of interesting themes are given below:
10 Short Story Ideas
25 Creative Writing Prompts

I would like you to choose one of these Harris Burdick pictures to base your writing on. Let's check them out!

Sunday, 16 October 2016

Short Story - Setting the mood - Intro

Writer's Workshop #4 - Setting the Mood (sourced from Storybird.com)

Writing Workshop #6: Setting the mood
The Queens of the Tweens, have a writing exercise to help you set the mood.

When you’re a filmmaker, setting the mood is pretty easy; all you need is a little bit of scary music to terrify your viewers! But when you’re a writer, you must use the most precise words to convey that same feeling of impending doom.

Take a look at how Avi—a master writer and one of our favorite mentor authors—sets a mysterious, eerie mood at the beginning of his medieval fantasy novel, The Book Without Words:
“It was in the year 1406, on a cold winter’s night, when a fog, thick as wool and dank as a dead man’s hand, crept up from the River Scrogg into the ancient town of Fulworth. The fog settled like an icy shroud over the town, filling the mud-clogged streets and crooked lanes from Westgate to Bishopsgate, from Three Rats Quay upon the decaying riverbanks to Saint Osyth’s Cathedral by the city center. It heightened the stench of rotten hay and offal, of vinegary wine and rancid ale. It muffled the sound of pealing church bells calling the weary faithful to apprehensive prayers. In a neglected corner of town, at the bottom of Clutterbuck Lane, with its grimy courtyard and noxious well, against the town’s walls, stood a dilapidated two-story stone house. The first-level windows were blocked up with stone. A single second-floor window was curtained.”
Avi never tells his readers that this place has an ominous atmosphere, but we certainly feel it. Let’s dissect the different strategies he used to convey the mood in his paragraph of description.

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE

Strategy:
Avi uses two similes to describe the fog. It is not just a simple morning fog that clouds up the streets for a few minutes in the morning! It’s a fog that is blanketing the village in a not-so-pleasant way. Reading the words “dead man’s hand” in the first sentence of the novel immediately jars the reader.
Examples:
“… a fog, thick as wool and dank as a dead man’s hand…”
“…fog settled like an icy shroud.”

ADJECTIVES

Strategy:
Carefully chosen adjectives turn run-of-the-mill, innocuous items like streets, courtyards, and wells into the picture of gloom and doom.
Examples:
mud-clogged streets
decaying riverbanks
grimy courtyard
crumbling city walls
rotten hay
rancid ale
vinegary wine
ancient town
apprehensive prayers
noxious well
dilapidated two-story stone house
neglected corner

VERBS

Strategy:
Although Avi only describes the setting in this opening paragraph (we have yet to meet any characters), verbs make the village move, which only adds to its mystery!
Examples:
“…crept up from the River Scrogg…”

“It heightened the stench of rotten hay and offal.”

“It muffled the sound…”

SENSORY DETAILS

Strategy:
Focus on what makes the setting unique by touching on the five senses.
Examples:
Sight: “The first-level windows were blocked up with stone.”

Smell & Taste: “…the stench of rotten hay and offal, of vinegary wine and rancid ale.”

Touch: “cold winter’s night”

Sound: “the sound of pealing church bells”

NAMES

Strategy:
Naming places in your story can be a lot of fun. The words “rats,” “clutter” and the sound of the word “Scrogg” have a certain connotation that gives the reader a sense of what this place might be like. 
Examples:
Three Rats Quay

Clutterbuck Lane

River Scrogg

Now examine a paragraph of setting description that you’ve used in your story and try using these strategies to help you set the mood!

Wednesday, 5 October 2016

Tuesday 26 September 2017

27th September

Block 1 TEAMING


Block 2
Informer
Shared Book 20m - The Outsiders

Online Novel

Outsiders Booklet with Questions


Maths Warm up




 - IXL
Proportional Reasoning


Block 3
UOI - 3. Create your own protest against your issue.
Use Google Drawing to present your images and portraits 

- Use explore to find a wall image and import.
- Find or take portrait images and paste this onto your wall.
- Insert a text box and reflect on your chosen issue and how your portraits protest against this.

Example:


Bock 4

 - How we express ourselves

- Embed a video that relates to HWEO - you might like to use one from the provocations site

Find a clip (Youtube) that speaks to you about our UOI - HWEO

Embed it into your site 

Write a reflection as to how it reflects / explains your understanding of this UOI (Connection)

Explain how this may be used in our classroom (Quick Write etc)


Extenison:

Find an article using Kiwi Kids News that relates to our CI (Hint: use the "Search site" in the top right hand corner -

Screenshot part of the article and embed this image in a post - link the image to the URL of the article.

Write a reflection as to how this article relates to our CI

Extra for fast finishers:

Literacy - Writer's Workshop - Solitary Existence - Monday 25th September 2017

Solitary Existence
Read the piece below and then work your way through the activities in this workshop.




Six months earlier, Ben had lived in the city. Life had been busy; a constant buzz of people and traffic. In some ways, living in the city had been comforting, as if he was part of an urban family, a melting pot of people of all ages and all walks of life. However, Ben had tired of that life; it was now time for a change of direction. Standing on his porch, Ben drew breath. As the clean, cool air filled his lungs, a smile spread across his face…

Question time!

Why do you think Ben is smiling?


What can you deduce about Ben’s previous life in the city?


How is his life different now?


What does the title ‘solitary existence’ mean?


Which of Ben’s two life experiences would you prefer?


How does Ben travel across the lake?


How does he spend his days?


Where does Ben get his food from?


What does he have inside his house?

Sentence challenge!

Look at each of the simple sentences below. Can you add a subordinate clause to extend them? Remember, you’ll need to use a conjunction like ‘and’ or ‘so’ or ‘but’.
A small wave rippled across the tranquil water.
It had been raining all morning.
Ben enjoyed living here.
He had grown tired of living in the busy city.


Sick sentences!

These sentences are ‘sick’ and need help to get better. Can you help?
The house sat on a rock in the middle of a lake. Trees surrounded the lake. Ben dived into the water.

Continue the story in your writing book.

Success Criteria
Me
Talk Partner
Must…
include specific detail.
include a problem and a resolution.
Should…
include complex sentences (use a semi-colons for provide further explanation)


include dialogue
use powerful verbs, adverbs and adjectives when describing the main character and setting.
build up tension and suspense.
Could…
include similes and metaphors when describing.

What I do to improve for next time: