Summer Learning Journey DAY 2 WK 4

DAY 2: Protecting Our Own

Activity 1: A Flying Fox

New Zealand has some of the most beautiful forests in the world. Both New Zealanders and tourists, alike, enjoy walking through these forests. Unfortunately, constantly walking through forests can damage the plants and animals (flora and fauna) that live there. In an attempt to protect the local flora and fauna, an eco-tourism company in Rotorua came up with an idea. The Rotorua Canopy Tours Company designed a series of ziplines that sit above the forest canopy (top). People can ‘zip’ from one section of the forest to another, looking down on the beautiful natural areas below. To see what ziplining looks like, check out this video.I have tried ziplining and I really enjoyed it, however, I must admit that I was pretty scared to try it at first. How would you feel if you had the chance to go ziplining in Rotorua?

If I had a opportunity to go ziplining in Rotorua I would say (YES) one thing is because I would really like to visit my mums family cause that is where my mu is from and second of all is because. Ziplining Is one of the things I have dreamed in my whole entire life to do and if they offered me to Rotorua and would say a big, massive, fat, (yes) cause this is just a great opportunity for me to go on I love Rotorua and I love Ziplining I would even tell my friends to come to. 

Activity 2: A Protective Plant

There are concerns about the water quality of some of the rivers, streams and oceans in and around New Zealand. Some people have suggested that we plant flowers and plants on the banks of our most polluted rivers to stop the spread of the pollution. Apparently, the plants can act as filters, absorbing some of the chemicals (pollutants) that are moving across the land, on their way to the river.

Planting can be a lot of fun! Have you ever planted a garden? Aronui and I are going to make our very own edible garden this year. We are going to plant a number of veggies, fruits and herbs, including mint, coriander, parsley, lemongrass, onions, tomatoes, beans, zucchinis, kumara and strawberries. Yum! If you could plant an edible garden what would you plant in it?

Activity 3: A House is Not a Home

New Zealand is home to some unique wildlife that cannot be found anywhere else in the world. While we work very hard to protect our natural habitats so, too, do people living and working in other countries. One of the oldest international wildlife conservation organisations is called ‘Fauna & Flora International’ (FFI). They support a number of projects around the world, including those working to protect Lansan trees in the Caribbean, fruit forests in Tajikistan, and national reserves in Mozambique. Read about each of these projects and choose the one that interests you the most.

My Most favourite and Interesting video I liked to watch was ( cannot be found anywhere else )
if I was there I would of had so much fun cause everyone that went there looked like they were having like so much fun ziplining From the start to the end. They were like ziplining over tress and a lot of other places this is my favourite one and it was so interesting what the person was saying in that background.
THE END:

Week 4 Day 1

DAY 1: Preserving the Past

Activity 1: World of Wearable (WOW) Art

If we want to protect our natural world, we must be thoughtful about what we make, how we make it and how we dispose of it (throw it away). At the moment, the waste in New Zealand is separated into two main categories: 1. Recycled items (eg. bottles, cans, paper) and, 2. Non-recycled items (rubbish). Most of the rubbish is collected by rubbish trucks and taken to a rubbish tip (landfill) where it is dumped and never used again. Much of the recycled material is to taken to a place where it is sorted, separated and sent out to be used again.The idea of reusing materials was taken to a whole new level by a woman named Dame Suzie Moncrieff who, thirty years ago, created an event in New Zealand called the ‘World of WearableArt’ (WOW). WOW takes place in Wellington (and in other cities) every year. Artists from around the world create outfits made entirely from recycled materials. Let’s imagine that you were invited to this year’s WOW awards and you were able to interview the creator.

Activity 2: Guardians of the Sea

One of the largest rivers in New Zealand is called the Waikato River. It is found in the central part of the North Island of New Zealand. The river (awa) was given the name ‘Waikato’ (meaning flowing water) by a group of men and women from the Tainui iwi who, legend has it, travelled down the Waikato years ago and settled in the area. According to Māori legend, the Waikato River has hundreds of taniwha (mythical water spirits) living in it, guarding the sea.

Unfortunately, the Waikato River has become polluted in recent years and is, sometimes, closed to the public. This is very upsetting for many people, especially for those who believe that taniwha live in the river. Please click here to read about taniwha and watch this short video about taniwha.

Once you have finished learning about taniwha go to your blog.

If I see a real Taniwha I would say yes but know I would say (NO) because I have never ever 

seen a real taniwha in real life so I would say (NO) I would say yes but no so my answer is no.

Activity 3: The Sky in Shanghai [10 points]

One day I would really like to travel to China. It is a country with a rich history, vibrant cities, tasty food, and fascinating architecture   (buildings). Unfortunately, some of the largest Chinese cities have high rates of air pollution. The air pollution in Beijing, one of the largest cities in China, can get so bad that roads are closed, flights are cancelled and events are postponed while they wait for the smog in the air to clear. The terrible pollution is also having fatal (deadly) effects as, approximately, 1.1 million people in China died last year from air pollution-related causes. The Chinese government is very concerned and they have introduced a number of strategies (ideas) to reduce the pollution levels. Imagine that you were asked to travel to Beijing. How would you feel?

              

On your blog, write a poem that describes your feelings about travelling to Beijing, China..

One day when I am older I would like to visit China for like a few days and leave to another place like Paris after china. I would love to see how Chinese people learn there karate and I would like to learn a lot of things in china. China is one special place for people to go their if you go you might enjoy it and if you do I hope you have so fun with that. 

THANK YOU  

Day 5

DAY 5: Here to Stay Activity 1: Persistent Pollution [4 points] In 2016, the World Health Organisation announced that Timaru, a small town in the South Island of New Zealand, had the highest recorded levels of air pollution in New Zealand. Some of this pollution was caused by natural events (eg. fires) but most of it was produced (made) by humans. Watch this short video on air pollution. It will tell you more about natural and human causes of pollution.













3 things I have learn't:

1.That sometimes it is not save

2. That it is good not to do bad things that make air  polluted come.

3. stay away from them




Activity 2: Changing Climates 

Over the past decade, the climate in New Zealand (and around the world) has been changing. In fact, the climate has been getting warmer and warmer. While many of us like warm weather, climate change is not good news. Higher temperatures can cause glaciers to melt (leading to flooding) and increase the amount of rain that falls. Here in New Zealand, we have noticed the change. In fact, we sometimes have torrential (huge) rain storms causing flooding, landslides and road closures. When it starts to rain really hard, Aronui and I usually hide out in our lounge and play games like Yahtzee, Monopoly and Uno. If it rains all day, we will also spend some time reading, watching movies and baking. What about you? What do you like to do on a rainy day? On your blog, tell us about five things that you like to do when it is too rainy to go outside..


Top 5 Things :

1. play games

2. watch TV

3.play under my carport

4. Read books

5. do my work on my sisters Chromebook.









 Activity 3: Let It Rain
Over the past few decades, we have seen an increase in the amount of rain that falls here in New Zealand. We are lucky, however, that most of the rain that falls is regular rainwater and not polluted acid rain. Acid rain is rain that has bad chemicals (pollutants) in it. When acid rain hits the ground it can enter the water system, killing plants and animals. Click here to learn more about acid rain. Let’s imagine that New Zealand was hit by a massive acid rain storm. Acidic rain fell for three days and three nights. When the rain fell, you stayed inside with your friends and family. When it stopped, however, you and your family decided to go for a walk outside. You opened the door and...

Their are 10 things I would do when I walk outside the door On a rainy winter day.

1. Thunder storms were crashing

2. Rain clouds were bursting

3. Grey clouds bursting

4. Lightning in the sky

5. Hales coming down

6. Grey clouds coming together

7. Cold and shivering

8. Winter clouds

9. Rain spiting down

10. Shallows in the night dark sky

                                                                             THE END:

Day 4

DAY 4: Like a Scene Out of a Movie

Activity 1: The Southern Lights

Once in a while a very special event takes place in New Zealand. It is a show of beautiful, bright lights that appear in the sky over the South Island. The lights are called the ‘Aurora Australis’ or ‘Southern Lights.’ They are similar to the ‘Northern Lights’ that are often seen in places like Northern Canada, Iceland, Sweden, Finland and Denmark. The southern and northern lights are so stunning that they often leave people, who are watching them, speechless.

For this activity, you are to write a short acrostic word poem about the beautiful lights. Hazel has written an acrostic poem about summer to give you an example.

For more information and examples of acrostic poems, check out this poetry website.

S - Sun outside,

U - Umbrellas in the sand.

M -  My friends and I, having fun,

M - Making sandcastles,

E - Enjoying ice cream on a hot day,

R - Racing to the beach!

L- Lightning Light, in your eyes

I - Incredible, Lights shingin up and down

G - Giving my friends, a look at the nice veiw

H - Humunges, colours going past

T - Terible, Lights blasting

S - smooth shiney, wind blowing

Activity 2: The Seven Sisters

In the middle of winter, a very special cluster (group) of stars appear in the sky over New Zealand. This cluster is called the ‘Matariki star cluster.’ It re-appears in the sky each May/June and signals the start of the Māori New Year. Many songs (waiata) and stories have been written about the cluster. One of these is called ‘The Seven Stars of Matariki.’ It was written by a New Zealander named Toni Rolleston-Cummins. She is from Maketu. Click here to listen to Toni read her story.

In the dark night sky their were 7 stars up in the night sky. Those stars were the most special star in Maori culture. Those 7 stars represented matariki and that is why we celebrate matariki. Those 7 stars are all women their names are, Waiti, Waita, Waipuna rangi, Tupu-A-Nuku, Tupu-A-Rangi, Ururangi, and last but not lest Matariki. The name of those 7 stars were called the 7 stars of matariki. Matariki is the mother of the six stars she is the seventh star and the mother of the other star up in the sky. All of the sister love to plat their Hair they like playing with it they enjoy having fun with peace and quite in them. And this now about the 7 stars of matariki I hope you enjoy...

Activity 3: Crazy, Cool Clouds

Have you ever looked up into the sky and seen a cloud that had a really cool shape? I certainly have, and so have dozens of other people. Take a look at the three pictures of crazy, cool cloud formations below.From left to right: Picture 1, Picture 2, Picture 3

Clouds are formed when small drops of water stick together. To learn more about clouds and how they are formed, you can watch this cool video. Once you have learned about clouds, please choose your favourite cloud picture.

The shapes
In this picture I see a circle shaped tornaito that is kind of shaped like a bolw shape



What is this Tornato:
This is a really REALLY big tornato that it is so big some people could die from it. it could break your own house down into shread whit this type of tornato you could get really really hurt and that is reall good

DAY 3:

DAY 3: Taking Flight

Activity 1: Bird of the Year!

Aotearoa New Zealand is home to many different kinds (species) of native birds.  Sadly, about a third of our native bird species are at risk of disappearing forever (becoming extinct).

Each year, Forest and Bird New Zealand hold a ‘Bird of the Year’ competition where people can vote for their favourite native bird. This year, the winner was the kererū (or woodpigeon). Go onto the Bird of the Year website, look through the native birds on the site, and choose one that interests you.

Things about my choosen Bird

The name for my bird I choose is called a Fantail and in Maori it is called a Piwakawaka bird. The thing that piwakawaka birds normaly eat are moths, flies, beetles and spiders It sometimes eats fruit or fruit that already have been eaten' these are the type of food fantails eat. If you are looking for a place were fantails ive it is good to look in the woods cause that is where you could mainly find fantails.

Activity 2: Flying Foxes [4 points]

Not only is New Zealand home to many native birds but we also have a number of native bats. Some of these bats are really small while others are much larger. None, however, are as large as the largest bat in Australia. It is called the flying fox (pictured below) and it has a wingspan of up to 6 feet or 2 metres. Wow! That is taller than most of us! Flying foxes usually sleep during the day and hunt for food at night, using their ears to guide them through the darkness. Like other bats, they have the best hearing of any mammal. It is their ‘superpower.’

If you could have a superpower, what would it be? If I could choose, I would like to be able to fly. It would make it possible for me to fly back to Canada and visit my family whenever I wanted. How amazing would that be?!

The super powers that I would like to have is
healing Powers and secking powers to go with
it. I would like to have healing powers because
If my family get hurt I could heal them with my
super powers. I would also like to have secking
powers so if someone or something of myine gets
lost I can seck it and I would find it in a click and these
are the reasons why I would like to have these type of
powers.

Activity 3: Wind Beneath My Wings [10 points]

Birds and bats are just two species of animal that are able to fly. Did you know that some fish, squirrels and snakes are also able to fly? Check out the ‘Top 10 Flying Animals of the World’ website to learn more about these incredible animals. Once you have explored the site, choose one animal and create a digital learning object (DLO, eg. a poster) that tells us all about the animal. Be sure to include at least three interesting facts and a picture or two of your animal! Please follow these instructions for attributing your pictures properly.

Here is an example of a DLO that was created about lions.

THE END

Day 2

DAY 2: The Air Up There

Activity 1: Bee Informed [4 points]

One of the most important, but least talked about, animals in New Zealand is the bumblebee. It was first introduced to New Zealand in 1885 to help pollinate a special plant called the ‘Red Clover.’ Today, bumblebees do many other important jobs, including the pollination of greenhouses and orchard crops. If the bees did not pollinate the plants, they would not survive.

For this activity, we would like you to bee-come detectives and to learn more about the mysterious, and often ignored, bumblebee. We will provide you with five sentences about bumblebees from the NZ Bumblebee Conservation Trust website and it is your job to fill in the blanks with the missing information about bees. Choose the phrase/word that makes the most sense from the list at the bottom. (Each phrase/word can only be used once).

Facts about Bumblebees

• The word ‘bumblebee’ is a compound word (bumble + bee). The word ‘bumble’ means to hum,buzz or drone
• Bumblebees can fly very quickly. They can reach ground speeds of 54 kilometres per hour (km/h)
• Bumblebees are very strong! They carry up to 90% percent of their body weight in food with them to avoid starvation.
• Bumblebees can do more work and carry more pollen than other bees, including honeybees. In fact, they can do up to   50 times as much work as a normal honeybee.
• The number of bumblebees is declining in New Zealand due to a number of factors, including the__removal of wildflowers and folowering trees, habitat loss and extensive use of pesticides

Activity 2: Carbon Sinks Don’t Stink!

Every day a chemical compound called carbon dioxide (CO2) is produced and released into the air.  If it isn’t removed, it can become toxic for humans. Fortunately, there are a number of places where CO2 is absorbed (removed from the air). Two of the most common places are forests and oceans. They are called ‘carbon sinks’ because, like a sink, they gather, clean and drain things away that we don’t want. One of the largest carbon sinks in New Zealand is a forest in the south-western part of the South Island. It drains away 60% of our unwanted carbon! Let’s imagine that you could design a sink that could gather up and then drain away any foods that you don’t like. On your blog, tell us what you would put in your special sink. If it was me, I would put rice pudding, brussel sprouts, custard, parsnips, and seafood chowder in the sink. Yuck! What about you?

FOOD I DON'T LIKE: FOOD I DO LIKE:

1. Cucumber 1. Broccoli

2. Capsicum 2. cabbage

3. Artichokes 3. water cress

4. Aubergines 4. Silver beet

5. Brussels sprout 5. Cauli flower

Activity 3: Flying Fungi

In the middle of winter it can get quite wet and damp in New Zealand, can’t it? When it gets really damp, it is common for things like mould and fungi to start to grow. We can often see them on the walls, ceilings or floors of our houses or outside on footpaths, buildings or roadways. Some types of mould and fungi are so small that they can’t be seen. Some of these tiny fungi/mould can be found in the air. They are called ‘airborne fungi’ and they can be unhealthy for us.

Let’s imagine that we tested the air in your classroom and found 7 different kinds of mould. Eek! The cleaner says that it takes 5 days for each mould to be eradicated (removed). If the school had to remove each mould one at a time, how long would it take to remove all the mould from the classroom?

7 different moulds

5 days for each mould to come off

365 days in a year

75 weeks to get the mould of is