For our creation this week, we dug a hole the same size as  stated in the book Holes, 5 feet wide, five feet deep, even though it wasn’t quite 5 feet deep. First, we had to figure out how deep 5 feet are in meters. We figured out that it was approximately 1.5 meters. We then went out and started digging the hole. I dug it with Geordie, Mahalia, Ailia, Ashleigh, and Jacqueline.  We found a Sanitarium health food jar, a whiskey or gin bottle, half a plate, and a few pieces of glass. In the book Holes it says that you would get the day off from digging if you found something that interested the warden, so we showed the stuff to our teacher. Sadly, this only works in the book. In the end, the hole was just over a meter deep, but sadly we forgot to take a photo of it. We chose this activity because we wanted to see how hard it would be to dig such a big hole. I found this activity quite fun.

For Te Reo today we have been learning how to say what we are doing. There is a TAP rule, T stands for tense, A stands for action, and P stands for person.

For literacy, we are doing a novel study on the book Holes. For one of the activities, we had to make a Google draw, Google slides, or a canvas about what we think will happen next in the story. The main character is called Stanley Yelnats, and he is sent to camp green lake, where he has to dig holes.  My buddy gave me the advice that I should draw someone getting gobbled up by the yellow spotted  lizards, but I didn’t have time, because I still need to fill out a set of questions.

Yesterday, we wrote an explanation about why it is important to go outside. We all followed the same structure, but they are all different. First, we focused on the introduction, then the 3 paragraphs, and finally a conclusion. I managed to write a well structured explanation, but I  think my plan needs to be a bit shorter. 

Why is it important to spend time outside

Do you know how it is important to spend time outside? It is really important. If you go outside for a small walk around your neighbourhood or, better still, through a park, you can get heaps of benefits. Some of these are that you can get loads of fresh, wonderful air and vitamin D. It also helps you to get out of your house, interact and socialise with many people, and get into the warm sun. In addition, It’s incredibly fun to enjoy the wonders and joys of nature.   

Firstly, when going outside, you can get heaps of fresh, wonderful air and vitamin D. Vitamin D is important for our bones, because, if you have a lack of vitamin D, your bones will get very soft. Also, your muscles will get weaker, and, if it gets really bad, your growth could get affected as well. This disease is called rickets. Going outside means your bones get enough calcium.   

Furthermore, going outside helps you interact and socialise with many people, from your neighbours to someone you meet on a walk. You can also meet new friends outside, because if you are inside, you will only see your family members, and sometimes, usually if you are on devices, you will stay isolated. You can also play many fun games outside with your friends, for example tag. You can also meet someone you have something in common with, and then you might stop for a small chat.  

Additionally, if you go outside, you can enjoy the wonders and joys of nature. You can see heaps of amazing things outside, like birds, blooming trees, funny cloud shapes, and the sky.  If you go on a walk to the beach, you will also hear the waves, and see the sand. Nature is really interesting, so  you should definitely go outside.    

In conclusion, being outside is really good for you. It helps you to get fresh air, and vitamin D from the sun. It also helps you to interact with many other people, and meet new friends. You can also enjoy the wonders and  joys of nature. If you spend loads of time on your device, maybe try going outside and do something there.

 This is an explanation we write as a practice for an Easttle. An explanation needs to have an introduction, a main body next, and a conclusion. It is a good idea to start an explanation with a question, to get the reader wondering, for example  have you ever wondered why planes can fly. An explanation has to be based on facts, and not on your opinion. 

Why Can’t Humans Fly?

Have you ever wondered why humans can’t fly? It’s not actually as complicated as it seems. There are still quite a few reasons why humans can’t fly, but none of them are really complicated. Some reasons why humans can’t fly are that we are just too heavy, we don’t have the right body parts, balance, and we never needed to be able to fly. Even though  we have, by now, invented air planes, we only need them for transport, and joy.

Because humans are too heavy, it would be really hard to take off and keep flying. We would need giant wings, so that they would keep us up, and those would be really awkward. Even if we had fake wings, we couldn’t fly because we wouldn’t have tail feathers, which keep the balance. Fake tail feathers wouldn’t work because our legs are too long and heavy. 

Furthermore, our bodies aren’t balanced out well, because our legs are too long, and our bodies too thin. Taking off would also be a problem. We would have to take off from a high position, or we would need to have a good run up. We have never needed wings in the past, neither for joy, nor for safety or defense. We have also always found enough food, by farming and hunting, and devising tactics to pick fruit. Also, we would probably never get wings because we never needed them, so, according to Darwin’s theory of evolution, we will never need them in the future.  Humans have also always been strong enough to defend themselves against predators, while some other animals are too weak to do this, and now have evolved to having wings.

Too sum up, it makes sense that humans don’t need wings. We never needed them, we are too heavy, clumsy, and we don’t have the right body parts. We have been able to defend ourselves, and find enough food by farming and hunting. If we did have wings, it would mean that we would be smaller, not as strong, and undeveloped. Next time you sit in your garden, observe the birds flying in the sky.

To:  Professor Sir Dudley Stamp, The Royal Geographical Society, Lowther Lodge, 1 Kensington Gore, London, United Kingdom. 

From: Edmund Hillary, Mount Everest, Nepal. 

May 29, 1953

Dear Professor Dudley  Stamp.

This will probably be the last letter I will be sending you for the next 7 weeks. We are setting the last preparations to climb onto Mount Everest, and these preparations will be finished in 2 days. We still need to pack the rations, and the cookers you sent 2 weeks previously have not yet arrived, but we got a notice from the post office of Kathmandu saying that they will be arriving tomorrow afternoon. 

We will reach base camp on the 12th of  April, and the summit on May 29th, 1953. We will send short messages down using a radio set that we will be carrying with us. Then, the part of the expedition on the base of Mount Everest will send you the parts that are important. Tenzing Norgay will contact the ground station when we reach the top, and I will then raise the flag. After the expedition, I will probably head home, but my future dreams are to help open schools and hospitals for the people of the wonderful Himalaya. After that, I will travel to London to meet you. See you then, Professor Sir Dudley Stamp. 

Edmund Hillary.   

For Literacy, we have been learning about trailblazers. For the last week and this week, we have been working on an activity. We could choose from 6 activities. In this activity, you have to imagine you are a trailblazer doing the thing they are famous for, and write a letter to either the trailblazer’s family, or their sponsor. I chose to write to the sponsor. I found this activity very fun.

For inquiry today, we have been learning about the advocate and environmental NZ trailblazers. We copied off information from a slide show and then put it onto a timeline from 1893 to 1995. My favourite person on the timeline is probably Rodney Davies, because he protected the native bush, which is really great. Who is your favourite trailblazer here?

We have been learning how to count things in Te reo