Learning to Read and Reading to Learn

Reading is a wonderful way to connect to the world and to the ideas of others, and this term it is all about being connected! Any type of literature can give us a window into another world, another culture or another person's life.

At the beginning of the reading journey, we begin by 'Learning to Read'. This is about learning how texts work and how to decode the sounds we read. We spend time learning about how to retell stories to make sure we are not just 'sounding out' words (which is important) but also connecting with the ideas in the text. It's important to learn that the meaning of books and stories can be gained through both text and images at any level. 

Once we become more comfortable decoding texts, we begin to focus on 'Reading to Learn'. This requires the reader to engage more deeply with the texts and to learn from the information in texts.

It's important that we read, read read! In Tautoru, we spend time reading with a teacher and also developing our love of all types books and literature: comics, novels, graphic novels, poems, everything. At the moment we are reading The BFG by Rohal Dahl as a class.

If you'd like to know more about how reading progresses in the junior school, here is a presentation we did with more detailed information and tips on how you can help develop a love of reading at home.

Statistical Investigators

Tautoru have been having a blast this past fortnight, learning about the statistical inquiry cycle in mathematics. This cycle involves posing and answering questions, gathering and displaying data and then discussing the data through concluding statements. We chose the question ‘What is your favourite animal?’ to use for a full cyclical investigation. Tamariki created question sheets with five animal options, then paired up and interviewed students from either Autahi or Mahutonga-Matariki to find out their favourite animals. This data was tellied and then displayed on our very own bar graphs.

Displaying data in different ways is hugely beneficial to cater for all different types of learning. Some students found it easier to analyse the data when it was tellied, whereas others preferred having the visual bar graphs to report on.

We love taking opportunities to work in groups, as well as across the school to strengthen our learning. Working with a buddy and interviewing students from Autahi and Mahutonga-Matariki fits into our learning attribute of 'I am connected.' Tamarki were working as part of a team, and using their communication skills to learn what does and doesn't make a good interview question. 

We’ve learnt a lot these past two weeks about statistics. Ask your tamariki to explain the statistical cycle to you and I’m sure they will love to talk about how we can use maths to answer some pretty important questions!

The technology of instruments

We have been inquiring into the technology of some musical instruments. This week we explored how strings and percussion create sound when using different materials.

We made string instruments using cardboard, plastic and metal. We tried different types of strings (i.e., rubber bands!) We discovered that the thickness of the string can make a high or low sound. We also found that cardboard and tin make very different sounds.

We also made some shakers using lots of different materials to see what kind of sound they made. We found that small pieces, like beads, that are not too packed worked better than sand or bark.

Next we are planning to create our own type of instrument. We have been thinking carefully about what materials we need and have made a design. We will be dialing up our Creativity to make our instruments next week!

Cricket!

We were very lucky this week to have Cricket Wellington back at Worser Bay and to practice our cricket skills with them. Our Tautoru tamaiki practised catching and passing through a range of games, as well as their reaction times, batting and fielding. Our PE focus for term 3 is cooperative games, so it was great to have students working together in small groups to practice their skills. Within these groups teamwork and fairness and kindness were emphasised Character Strengths.

Taking time out of our days for Physical Education is an integral part of our curriculum. By working our bodies we are also working our brains as PE has strong links to mental wellbeing and greater engagement in the classroom. PE also has positive links to strengthening social networks and building a sense of belonging across schools and communities.

Please enjoy these photos of our cricket afternoon!

Music With Georg

Tautoru are getting well into the swing of our Term 3 inquiry “The Power of Sound.” We have learnt about how sound travels, as well as how our ears receive sound and transport it to the brain - if you came to our first assembly then you’ll remember our performance on this!

These last two weeks we have shifted our focus to music and its impact on how we feel. Songs can make us feel all kinds of emotions, depending on the pitch, tempo and tone of the music (to name only a few elements!).

Last week we drew and acted out how music makes us feel, and this week we got to create our own pieces of music using some fancy sound equipment thanks to Moritz’s dad, Georg! Georg explained how these devices create music and how students can adjust the elements of music to change the overall sound. Students were then left to explore the different sounds they could create.

Musical experiences are incredibly important for our young tamariki. Studies show that music enhances wellbeing and promotes joy. Music allows children to stabilise their moods and forms a sense of connectedness to those around them. If you’d like to learn more about the benefits of music, check out this article by The Education Hub.

Maths as a creative communication tool

We often think of maths as equations with a result and problems to solve. There's lots of interesting discoveries to make when learning about how numbers work. But those equations also tell a story, in numbers and symbols, and one of the mathematical skills we need is to be able to explain the story of a number equation so that it 'makes sense' in the real world. 

For example: There are 45 kids in Tautoru and 2/3 are playing outside. How many kids are inside?

This week we investigated the question: How does this problem link to the real world? Some of us had a go at creating a story problem using fractions of numbers. We had to choose a fraction problem we knew and create a story around it. This means that we had to understand the problem really well so we could apply it to a real life problem.

 

Here are some of the stories that helped us make links between a fraction equation and the real world. 

Connecting through Kapa Haka

 This term's Learner Attribute is 'I am connected', and we are learning about all the different ways in which we can connect with others. Kapa haka gives us a wonderful opportunity to connect with our buddies in Autahi and also to Te Ao Māori- the Māori world, through waiata.

Kapa haka is a way to build Whakawhānaungatanga; those close relationships that make us whānau! We lean and practise waiata and then we can share the waiata with you, our bigger Worser Bay School whānau when you come to karakia in the morning or at assembly. 

Another aspect of kapa haka is building Leadership and supporting those around us who are still learning the words and actions. That is also building powerful connections within our learning community. It's a great way to embrace the challenge to sign and learn waiata because kapa haka is also lots of fun!

We are lucky to have matua Henare come to teach us each week, and we also enjoy practising in class. Here is a video of one of the waiata we are practising at the moment that you can use to practise at home if you'd like to join us when we sing.