DAY 4: Like a Scene Out of a Movie
Activity 1: The Southern Lights [4 points]
Once in a while a very special event takes place in New Zealand. It is a show of beautiful, bright lights that appear in the sky over the South Island. The lights are called the ‘Aurora Australis’ or ‘Southern Lights.’ They are similar to the ‘Northern Lights’ that are often seen in places like Northern Canada, Iceland, Sweden, Finland and Denmark. The southern and northern lights are so stunning that they often leave people, who are watching them, speechless.
For this activity, you are to write a short acrostic word poem about the beautiful lights. Hazel has written an acrostic poem about summer to give you an example.
S - Sun outside,
U - Umbrellas in the sand.
M - My friends and I, having fun,
M - Making sandcastles,
E - Enjoying ice cream on a hot day,
R - Racing to the beach!
On your blog, use the word ‘LIGHTS’ to write an acrostic poem about the Southern Lights. Be as creative as you can!
L - Loving lights
I - Impressed
G - Glowing
H - Hot
T - To be seen and to let go
S - Strong
Activity 2: The Seven Sisters [4 points]
In the middle of winter, a very special cluster (group) of stars appear in the sky over New Zealand. This cluster is called the ‘Matariki star cluster.’ It re-appears in the sky each May/June and signals the start of the Māori New Year. Many songs (waiata) and stories have been written about the cluster. One of these is called ‘The Seven Stars of Matariki.’ It was written by a New Zealander named Toni Rolleston-Cummins. She is from Maketu. Click here to listen to Toni read her story.
On your blog, write a short summary of the book. What was it about? Try to summarise the story in 6-8 sentences.
Once upon a time there was a young, man who’s name was Mitai. Mitai had seven brothers in a village called Maketu. Mitai was the youngest brother of his family .He was raised by his Kororua Tohunga Te Raiwhara. He was able to transform into a bird and listen to what his brothers were talking about. Metai loved going on expeditions but his brothers just loved them selfs. All of his brothers were handsome including himself but they all were not married. One day they all went hunting up on a hill called Pukemarie , they were welcomed by beautiful singing. They followed the beautiful singing to the top, where they found the most lovely Whaines that they have ever seen. Each whaine had long golden hair with skin so white that shone from it. There hair glowed like the bright stars. When the woman saw mitais brothers , Mitais brothers fell in love except for Mitai. The brothers brought back there wahine to the village, so they can become husband and wife. Mitais didn't like his brothers wives. There wives did no takepart with the village instead they wanted to sit down on a beach and comb their hair while singing. Mitai brothers no longer went on a hunt they would only get kaimoana for their wives who didn’t like anything except for seafood. Mitais brothers were in shock that they no longer ate or look after their garden or even cared about their appearance , they became skinny and there good looks faded away. Mitai became more and more suspicious about his brothers wives and he then decide to watch his brothers very carefully. The wahine never left the brother house. One day Rongonui eldest brother , arrive home very early. He yelled out for his wife but she was nowhere to be found. He searched in his brothers room , but as he went to there room he realized that his brothers were also looking for there wives. They asked people in there village but the have not seen their wives. Rongo wife returned back to the village , he asked her where she had been , she replied and said that all the wives had vanished. Mitais frustration grew more and more. The next morning Mitai hid behind a tree near his eldest brother house when he notice sixs waka parked nearby the whare. TO BE COTINUED
Activity 3: Crazy, Cool Clouds [5 points]
Have you ever looked up into the sky and seen a cloud that had a really cool shape? I certainly have, and so have dozens of other people. Take a look at the three pictures of crazy, cool cloud formations below.
From left to right: Picture 1, Picture 2, Picture 3
Clouds are formed when small drops of water stick together. To learn more about clouds and how they are formed, you can watch this cool video. Once you have learned about clouds, please choose your favourite cloud picture.
On your blog, tell us what you see in the photo. What shape(s) do you see? Be sure to tell us which picture (1, 2 or 3) you have chosen and describe what you see in lots of detail!.
I choose picture 3 because I thought it was really funny that there is a mustache made out of cloud. It look very amazing looks so much like a mustache.
clouds are made when little nits of water stick together.
Good morning Sonnia,
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on completing another set of SLJ activities. It is great to see that you've taken your time and effort into writing this blog post.
I love the part 'to be seen and to let go' from your acrostic poem. The magical Southern Lights will only be visible for a limited amount of time until it disappears in the sky. What an experience it would be! Would you like to see auroras in real life?
Wow, you have written down a perfect summary for the story 'The Seven Stars of Matariki'. Full of details too! Are you familiar with this story? I actually used the book with a year 7/8 class last year to create a big art piece that represents Matariki. It was a way of celebrating the Maori New Year. I would love to hear about your learning experiences.
The picture of the cloud you've chosen looks like a perfectly groomed mustache. It somehow reminds me of Pringles man! Do you know the cartoon caricature with a large mustache and parted bangs?
Keep up the awesome work,
Susie