Passion Time! Construction...

Today in Passion Time the Construction group were experimenting with different materials to work out what made a stable structure that was able to stand freely.

At one station, there were straws and paper clips. At another station there were toothpicks and plasticine and at another station, there were popsicle sticks and pegs.

We found out that some materials were much easier to use than others. The most difficult materials to use together were straws and paper clips because the paper clips kept popping off. One group managed to create a standing structure by creating a triangular base and sides.

We discovered that have a central, strong core helped to stabilise the structures. We also worked out the structures required evenly distributed weight or a very stable frame in order to balance. Wide foundations were also another method that helped keep our structures stable and standing!

 

 

 

 

 

Our collaborative mural

Our collaborative mural is part of belonging in Room 3.  

There is more to come, but this is the centre...

We are spending time, getting know each other, learning to work together, and forming a healthy and positive class culture we can thrive in for the rest of the year!

To collaborate, we had to work with children who had the pieces of the mural surrounding our piece.

We had to make sure the lines matched up.

We had to rework and rework until we had it right.

We needed to sit, side by side and discuss and compare.

We needed to be patient.

We needed to communicate.

It wasn't easy but it was worth persevering...

Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi engari he toa takitini

It is not my strength alone, but the strength of many that contributes to my success.

Wainui, 2017

Literacy through The Arts!

Rooms 3, 19 and 20 have been collaborating together on literacy through the arts. We have been unpacking poetry through dance and drama and what a way to comprehend figurative language, learn new vocabulary, be creative, and have a lot of fun in the process!

In groups, we have been using space, timing, energy, levels and relationships to create a series of moving scenes, with each one ending in a freeze frame, that represent the poem . We have been working on trying to be creative and figurative in our movements rather than literal to represent the poetry we have been studying.

The most recent poem we have been working on is 'If I Were A Storm...' by Katie Boom.

The poem reads:

If I were a storm,

I would range over farms and plains,

houses, cities and seas.

I would beat against the window panes of houses

with warm fires inside.

I would whip the leaves off trees.

I would flood rivers while I could,

for all too soon, the sun will peep out

from behind a cloud

and I must pick up my black billowing skirts and leave

to whine over the oceans and beyond.

Below, you can see photos of us cooperating, creating, discussing and using team work skills to come up with our presentations on a beautiful spring day!

See our performances at our school assembly below....