A descriptive paragraph

Today you all helped me write a descriptive paragraph about my glacier hike on Fox Glacier.  You had so many great ideas!  The whole time we were writing, I was thinking about what I could hear, see and feel while on the glacier, to try and take you all on the journey back to that short moment in time with me.

Here's our draft.  I still need to edit it to improve it even more, but I think we did a really good job of finding powerful verbs and juicy adjectives, and varying the sentence starters.

As far as the eye could see, the blues, whites and silvers of the sculptured ice contrasted against the lush greens of the surrounding New Zealand bush.  The early morning sun glistened on the frozen layers of the glacier.  Below my feet the melt water raged and roared its way into the depths, while my crampons crunched into the slippery surface.  I couldn’t believe I was back in this amazing ancient place.

Tomorrow it will be your turn to write.  I can't wait to read about your moment in time!

Comment below: What are you thinking of writing yours about?
Remember, pick just a very short snapshot of something you experienced during the holidays or some other time.  If you have a photo bring it tomorrow, otherwise imagine the moment and take a photo of it in your mind.

Westerns vs Real Life

Ivan enjoys Western movies - because you can tell who the good guys are and who the bad guys are, and the good guys always win. (The One and Only Ivan p.24)

But then his friend Bob tells him that Westerns are nothing like real life...

Do you agree with Bob?
If yes, give an example of a difference between Westerns and real life.
If you don't agree, explain why.

Your escape activity

Room 5, I'm sorry this has gone up late.  A long meeting straight after school has just finished.  So this can be your blog discussion for Monday AND Tuesday afternoons, so you can all have the chance to respond:

In The One and Only Ivan, we have just read a section about Ivan and his art.  On page 17 he says:

"But even though I draw the same things over and over again, I never get bored with my art.  When I'm drawing, that's all I think about.  I don't think about where I am, about yesterday or tomorrow.  I just move my crayons across the paper."

What is your activity like that, something you do that removes you from the here and now?

The One and Only Ivan

So, we have started our first chapter book for read aloud: 'The One and Only Ivan' by Katherine Applegate.

Ivan is giving us an introduction to his surroundings at the Big Top Mall.  In his descriptions, he uses verbs reminiscent of his jungle background to describe human activities:
Cars 'stampede', humans 'forage' through shops, they 'hunt' frantically in the shops.  Imagine you are a gorilla.  See if you can think of another everyday human activity and turn it into how it might look from the jungle, or from the wild.
Maybe we 'bare our teeth' at each other when we're happy?  Or 'stalk' each other down the roads?

Room 5's Class Treaty

This week, we've spent a lot of time getting to know how the school, the classroom, Jo and our classmates work.  As part of this, we worked together to create our class treaty - the expectations we have of each other to make sure Room 5 is a happy, safe and comfortable place to learn.

We expect from Jo that she…
Will make learning fun. (For example outside activities)
Will respect us, and treat us fairly.
Will help us learn, supporting us when we are stuck, and pushing us to learn new things.
Will encourage us to conquer our fears.
Will walk the talk, and be a role-model  :)!

Jo expects from us that we…
Approach school and learning with a positive attitude.
Be open to taking risks and trying new things.
Support and respect Jo, each other and the classroom.
Take ownership and responsibility for our own behaviour and learning.
Complete work on time and to the best of our ability (and beyond) – stick with it!

We expect from each other that we…
Being respectful, friendly and honest. For example, no talking behind peoples backs.
Being involved, working together and working at the topic at hand.
Always support and encourage people in need.
Treat people how you want to be treated.
Share ideas and communicate. :)

2014 - Here We Come!

Welcome to 2014 in Room 5!

What a journey we will have together this year!  I'm looking forward to meeting you all tomorrow and getting started with a whole near year.

This blog will be mainly used for after school discussions started during the day, and regular updates from YOU the student on what you have been learning.

This is our blog.  It will be as good as what we all put into it!