Keeping Ourselves Safe

This week we are learning about how to Keep Ourselves Safe. We had a special visit from a Police Officer. His name is Constable Rob. Constable Rob talked to us about the best ways to keep ourselves safe. This program is run by the New Zealand Police. You can find more information about it here.

We learned about:

• Getting Lost 
• Keeping ourselves safe with people we know 
• Keeping ourselves safe around people we don't know 

We shared stories about how we might solve a problem. We could: 

• If we were lost we would look for someone in uniform  
• Contact a police officer 

We need to learn our own information:

• Full name 
• Full Address 
• Parents phone number 

Lot's of children found this quite challenging. Please take the time to teach our child your contact information including your full address and telephone number. Everyone knew their full name, the rest was a little tricky however. 

Fractions

Room 3 children learned about fractions. It can be very tricky to figure out that one whole can be divided into equal parts.

As we watched a video about sharing, we drew our own examples of fractions.

We guess which fraction the teacher is pointing too. If there are 8 parts and she points to 1, then it must be 1/8. 

We write our response with a partner on the whiteboard. 

The top and bottom numbers have their own names. 

We practice making our own representations. We fold, cut and label. 

Kia ora whanau, 

Fractions can be a very tricky concept for children to grasp. We have watched some videos and done some baking. If you have time to talk with children about fractions, cook or look over the video's posted below it would help to reinforce their learning in class. Fractions is the basis for a number complex mathematical concepts. The more exposure they have the greater their understanding. 

Ms Harrison 

Hokey Pokey

In Room 3 we were learning about Procedural Text. It is a kind of writing that tells us how to do something and in the right order. It also tells us the materials we need. Examples include Recipes and Scientific Method.

We researched the Recipe for Hokey Pokey. We found out it had only 3 different ingredients. We wrote our recipe in our words in our writing book. We also researched a recipe of our own choice.

Recipe 

Ingredients

5 Tbsp Chelsea White Sugar

2 Tbsp Chelsea Golden Syrup

1 tsp baking soda

Method

1. Grease the base and sides of a 20 x 20 cm slice tin with butter. 
2. Place sugar and golden syrup into a heavy based saucepan.
3. Heat gently, stirring constantly until the sugar dissolves.
4. Increase the heat and bring to the boil. Boil for two minutes. Stir occasionally, if necessary, to prevent burning. Remove from heat.
5. Add the baking soda and stir very quickly - the mixture will froth up rapidly.
6. Pour into prepared tin immediately. Leave until cold and set then break into pieces.

What recipe did you pick?

• Vaughan: Chocolate Brownie 
• Sonny: Strawberry Ice Cream 
• Ataahua: Chocolate Mud-cake 
• Kaitlin: Rainbow Cake 

Cakes, sweets and lollies were very popular in Room 3. We decided that Hokey Pokey was a great option for following the instructions and it also gave us a chance to see a really cool scientific experiment. 

The Solid and liquid combined. 

The Hokey Pokey was so sweet, crunchy, sticky and delicious. 

Digestive System

The children carried out their investigations independently from the teacher. They used the equipment in the classroom that they collected from home. We often re-use and recycle in Room 3. A couple of parents really like it that we turn their 'trash into treasures' in our classroom.

The children bring in;
-Plastic containers
-Paper towel rolls
-Ice Cream Containers .... and so much more!

This allows us to use our imaginations and problem solving skills to re-present knowledge. Below you can see our Digestive System's.

 

Shared Lunch

Today's shared lunch was a huge success. Thank you to those that supported by bringing a plate. And thank you to those who joined us for kai.

It was wonderful.

Ms Harrison

Owl Babies, Pepi Ruru

We watched and listened to a story called Owl Babies, by Martin Waddell. We were thinking about their environment and the textures we can see on their feathers. You can listen to the story below.

So we did some art. We were looking at zen tangle patterns as well and after practicing and drafting our work we made our own black and gold zen tangle owls. We were pretty excited to use the fancy gold and silver metallic pens.

Beach Clean up

The Room 3 children were very excited to go to the beach. A huge thank you to the parents who supported us and joined in with our cleaning and playing. The children are very diligent with cleaning our classroom and our eating area at school. They understand about taking responsibility for our environment.

It is wonderful that we can help in our community. It is also great that we can be rewarded with some leisure time to enjoy the beautiful bay.

The Digestive System

Room 3 children are learning about how we process food through our bodies. We have been learning about the superbly amazing Digestive System. We started out by watching the Magic School Bus. We took a tour through the tummy of one of the characters. If you missed it, you can watch it here on school tube.

We have a new favorite song in Room 3. Check it out below. We know about liquids, solids and gases. Some of us couldn't believe that our bodies were carrying out chemical reactions! 

Research 

We have become very good at working collaboratively in Room 3. We can think of a topic together and talk about how we can be successful. We can work in pairs, groups and independently to come to our own conclusions. 

We talk about how we can display our research. We decide on diagrams, labels and explanations about the 'job' of each organ. 

Sammy and Zara both begin their research on the iPads, they use Google Image. 

They find a diagram of the Digestive system and begin by learning all of the names of the Digestive system. 

Planting a Tiny seed

The children research about how deep they need to plant their seed. They must measure in either mm (millimeters) or cm (centimeters). Each seed is slightly different.

The children learn about how to plant their seed by reading the packet, researching on the internet and many know because they have planted seeds at home.

Archie, Hohepa and Shay write 'carrots' on the roof of their carton, before they start looking for the planting depth. 

The children have included soil, water, sun and love to start off their tiny seeds. 

Make Time

In room 3 the children have the opportunity to explore the classroom environment. They make or create in self selected groups or pairs, some children prefer to work independently.

We think about what we have been learning in class and we represent it in a structural form. Some children were thinking about how to prepare healthy foods, others recreated gardens and some thought about what living conditions (shelter, food and water) that help us to stay healthy. Nearly every group made characters to put in their scenes and creations.

 

Reflections from the Teacher 
This time is either guided or unguided and it is important for a number of reasons:

1. The children move into learning groups naturally. This tells me which peers work together well and who helps each child to learn. 
2. Children participate in authentic conversations with one another. Often teacher-led discussion is directed towards specific predetermined topics, these conversations can seem 'owned' by the teacher. Open times allow children to develop their oral language skills with a variety of speakers on a variety of topics who are right at their level, a little bit above or a little bit below. 
3. The teacher listens. The children take ownership and responsibility. Natural leaders and followers emerge and the teacher allow for this during planned learning activities and use this knowledge to further support and develop students. 
4. The children are working independently. The children guide the learning and develop self-confidence as they are not awaiting instruction from the teacher. 

A Tiny Seed

The children listened to a story called the Tiny Seed, by Eric Carle. In the story the little seed stayed small and it did not get eaten or hurt, like its other brothers and sisters. It was in the soil, and with a little bit of sunshine and rain, it grew. It had some leaves and it grew big. 

Then we drew a diagram to show the seed life cycle. 

The next day when listened to a script in enacted the life cycle of the seed. We thought about what it would feel like to transform and change in a snug, warm environment. 

Maara Kai

This week we have been learning about  maara kai or no dig food gardens. We watched a short documentary in class which taught us about the different natural materials we can use and how we should layer them.

Karanga and Kaitlin do some extra research to check if their work is correct. 

The children meticulously layer their gardens. 

Zara and Sammy label their work.

Hohepa explains where the labels will go. 

Sharing Independent Writing

The children share their learning with one another. The children are writing similes and reading them to one another.

Jade takes the floor, Hohepa and Sonny are wonderful listeners. And they give wonderful feedback. 

Shay reads to Vaughan, who is a really enthusiastic listener. 

Googling an Image

The children at Paihia school are learning in an e-learning environment. They are practicing reading, writing and numeracy skills, with the help of digital tools, such as iPads.

Next year the Year 3 children will move onto Chromebooks! In our class some children know how to Google an Image. This is quite tricky to learn, but once mastered, it is pretty simple.

Today we made sure that everyone can accomplish this skill. Here is a slide with our hard work. Ka Pai Ruma Toru.

Fruit Salad

It is important for all of us to have healthy relationships. In this activity the children develop the following skills:

- Communication
- Listening
- Supporting

Angela, Breeze and Ataahua crack up! They are thoroughly enjoying participating in this activity. 

Target Shooting Math

The children in room 3 enjoyed practicing counting in 10s. We decided that we could make this a little more fun, using a target. The children were split into teams and took shots to see who could get the closest to the 40. 

The children watch on intently as Karanga takes aim. 

We used a tally system. Each tally mark represented 10 points.