A Feeling

W.A.L.T: Use 'show not tell'

This week in writing we have been learning to use show not tell in our writing. We write to imply and read to infer. This week our task was to write a piece of writing abut a feeling that anyone could have and use show not tell to describe this feeling. This is my writing of show not tell, what did you infer from reading my writing? 

Something I enjoyed was coming up with a setting and a feeling, something I did well was and something I could do better next time would be to go into more detail.

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I stumbled across the finish line, I could barely move; my limbs were like jelly, my face was covered in sweat and my heart was pounding so fast it was shaking my whole body. As I slowly put one foot in front of the other I found a place to lie down and rest.

The Flight

W.A.L.T: Use appropriate language features for a pick a path story.

This week in writing we have been learning about pick a path stories and our task was to make up out own and this is mine. Something I enjoyed was creating the story, something I did well was coming up with the story and using the correct language features and something I could do better next time would be to add more paths for people to choose from.

Ngatu

This term out class is learning about Tonga, this week and last week we have had the task of write a piece of writing similar to an information report about the Ngatu. Something I enjoyed was Learning about the Ngatu, something I did well was the piece of writing and something I could do better next time would be to add more pictures. Here are some links to more information about Ngatu: Link 1, Link 2, Link 3, here is a link to some more patterns that can be on Ngatu: Link 4

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Ngatu

Ngatu is the Tongan word for tapa cloth, it is originated from the Pacific Islands, it is a cloth made from different materials. Today you will be told a bit more about what is Ngatu, how is it made it and why it’s so important.

The Ngatu is really significant and special in many different ways, it is used for: ceremonies, birthdays, births, funerals, it can also be used for blankets, cloths, clothes and kites. It takes a lot of work to make Ngatu.

There are some very important steps to make Ngatu:

Step 1: Take off the skin from the tutu tree (mulberry tree)

Step 2: Soak the skin in water

Step 3: Beat the skin with a sick called ike, the long stick that they beat it on is called tatua

Step 4: Use the skin to make feta`aki

Step 5: Compile it and start beating again

Step 6: Glue the fabric and the feta`aki together (fabric on the bottom and feta`aki on the top)

Step 7: Or glue tapa on the bottom and tapa on the top) (traditional)

Step 8: Base colour and drawings (wiping paint from the cocoa tree)

Step 9: Kupesi (itched patterns that are built into the ngatu tables)

Step 10: The woman mark the lengths as they go according to the amount of kupesi divisions drawn (langanga)

Step 11: Roll the ngatu out so it can dry in the sun.

Step 12: Finally the woman will darken the kupesi patterns free handed.

As you can see there are a lot of steps to make the Ngatu, in fact this process can take anywhere from two hours to two days. Each person has a certain job so the process is faster, one of the most important jobs is at the end when they let the Ngatu dry a woman shouts out directions to make sure it is straight.

When it comes to designing the Ngatu there are many different designs you can do, there are more common ones such as: the lion, dove and the Tongan shield, different villages have different designs depending on what feels closer to them. This is my Ngatu design:

In conclusion Ngatu is a very a traditional and important piece of material, and it means a lot to people, it brings out their culture and is useful in all different ceremonies.

Here are some more images of patterns that can be used on Ngatu:

1. This is a Ngatu with traditional motifs from the Seventies,celebrating the harvest of the islands.

2. This is a pattern of a turtle which is a big part of the tongan culture

3. This is a flower incorporated fish that is very important to Tonga

Cell Phones Should Be Banned

W.A.L.T:  write a persuasive text.

For the last few weeks we had the task of writing a persuasive text about if cell phones should be banned or not, in my opinion they should be banned. Something I enjoyed was looking at facts, something I did well was writing lots of information in the paragraphs and something I could do better next time would be to add more facts to back up my information.

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Cell Phones Should Be Banned In Schools

In my opinion I strongly believe that cell phones should be banned in all schools. Although cell phones are fun there are many negatives for having cell phones in school. Do you think that cell phones should be banned in school?

My first reason is that cell phones should be banned is because it is addictive and distracting. It keeps you away from work and learning, cell phones also disturb others who are trying to work and concentrate in class. Studies have proven that kids spend at least six or more hours a day on their phones. Cell phones just shut down the outside world around you and that a bad thing.

My next reason is that cell some students use their phones to cheat on tests. If they are struggling in a test students can simply look the question up and get the answer. Then they will never learn or want to learn because they have the use of their cell phones. Studies have shown that 35% of teens have admitted that they have used the cell phones to cheat on tests.

My third reason I am going to be talking about is stress. Stress can be caused by cell phones because if students don't finish their work in time the work will just keep piling up or their cell phone might get stolen or lost, this can also cause sleep loss and if kids don’t get the right amount of sleep they won’t be able to concentrate and work properly. It is a fact that people get really stressed because they can't balance time between phones and school.

My last and final reason is that cell phones can lead to cyberbullying. Some kids text and post rumours and mean things about other students and that is totally unfair towards others. Along with bullying students can also get peer pressured into doing something they don’t want to do that is because of cell phones.

Overall I strongly believe that cell phones should be banned from all schools. It can be harmful towards students and keep them away from school work. It is better for children to see the outside world and play, not be stuck on their phones.

Posted Activities

This term our class novel we have been reading is Posted. every week we all have activities to complete, This is a working progress and I will be adding to this every week. Something I am enjoying is the book and activities, something I am doing well is completing the activities every week and something I am working on is adding more detail to the activities.

Converting Between Fractions, Decimals And Percentages.

Last week and this week our class has been learning about converting between fractions, decimals and percentages, we had the task of making a D.L.O about what we have learnt and this is mine. Something I enjoyed was learning more about converting between fractions, decimals and percentages, something I  did well was giving examples and something I could do better next time would be to explain more and go more in depth so people can get a better understanding.

Country Study

This term we have been working on country study, we got to choose a country and I chose France, Every week I will be adding one or more activities for this term, What I have been enjoying is finding more about France, what I am doing well is putting detail into this slideshow and what I am working on is making it interesting for the people who see this post.