How we change and grow

This term we will be inquiring into how we change and grow. We can see how our environment is changing now that sprig is here and we know we are growing and changing too!

We spent time thinking and discussing how we use our bodies and taking on some different challenges. How do we use our bodies in different ways?

We tried some basketball skills and thought about how we can develop our passing and catching skills further:

We then tried some other moving challenges like dance, keeping a balloon in the air, and parachute games.

 Over the next weeks, we will be developing our skills to 'Think like a Scientist' to generate questions, observe carefully, draw conclusions and look for evidence to help us discover more.

Storytelling through Drama and Music

 In Tautoru we have been immersing ourselves into learning about how to communicate ideas using music and drama. We have learned how to use our bodies and sound to express emotions and ideas. We can't wait to show you our performance of 'A Magical Moment' next week!

First we wrote a narrative story that incorporates something magical into the everyday life at school. Then we used what we knew of sound and music to create soundscapes to match the feelings and ideas we are trying to share. The actors practiced moves and ideas to show the story to our audience using their bodies.

We have used lots of Perseverance and Teamwork to get our performance the best it can be. We hope you enjoy the show!

Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori

This week we’ve been celebrating Māori language week in Tautoru, through speaking Te Reo as much as we can and having Te Reo Māori moments throughout the day. This term we have learnt how to ask the weather in Te Reo, (he aha te huarere?) and have been responding in Te Reo, through words such as wera (hot), kohu (foggy), paki (fine), mākū (wet) and makariri (cold). We’ve also learnt to ask kei te pehea koe? (how are you?) and kei te aha koe? (what are you doing?) and to respond to these questions in Te Reo. Tamariki have been practising these phrases, alongside skills such as counting in te reo, and our pepeha and mihi.

Speaking Te Reo and embodying Te Ao Māori principles are crucial aspects of learning in Aotearoa New Zealand. Learning at Worser Bay School has a strong connection to place. Acknowledging the native culture and language of Aotearoa is a necessary element of this. We expect students in Tautoru to be able to engage in simple Te Reo conversations through our learning, as well as have an understanding of the Te Ao Māori principles that shape who we are. Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori is an excellent time to celebrate this learning, and set goals for the remainder of the year.

Check out these photos to see some of the mindful moments in Te Reo we’ve had this week!

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!