Diary entry

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Today we had to write a diary entry from the perspective of the main character in the story. Here is my letter, take a read, let me know what you think.
I really enjoyed this task as I enjoy creative writing and I like putting myself in someone elses shoes to try and understand how they would be feeling.

This week our reading text has been a graphic novel. A graphic novel looks very similar to a comic. I enjoy reading graphic novels because they have very cool images/pictures and they use minimal words, but still manage to tell a great story. Have you read a graphic novel before?

LEGO creation

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I have been reading a text called Harry's War and my reading task for today was to create a scene from the text out of LEGO or materials I could find around the house. I LOVE LEGO so I created a LEGO scene. 

The scene I choose to create was Harry practising at his training camp. In my scene you can see men with guns, army tanks, cabins, medical centres and grass. I choose this scene as Harry really didn't want to go to war or to practise war, but he had no choice.

Do you build LEGO creations? What have you built before?

ANZAC Day Poster

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Today our reading task was to watch a video about ANZAC day and then create a poster online about what we learnt. In my poster I have written about what ANZAC day is, when and why it is celebrated and the background behind it. Take a look, tell me what you learn!

I already knew quite a bit about ANZAC day as my poppa fought in the world war 2, so I've always shown in interest in wars. But some new things I learnt was: it was made a public holiday in 1916, pretty much straight after the war. I also learnt that the ANZACs really struggled in war and found it very hard to fight back.

I would have loved to have been born a little bit earlier and to be able to talk to one of the ANZACs. I bet they have very interesting stories to tell and I'd love to thank them for protecting our country. Would you to?

ANZAC Ted

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Today our reading task was to create our very own ANZAC Ted on a google drawing - a very fun and engaging task! We are focusing our literacy tasks on ANZAC day this week as Monday 27 April was ANZAC Day Observed this year.

I created my special ted using the shapes tool, finding png images online and by colouring it in. Now I want to share a story about my ted.

ANZAC Ted had been lonely for many weeks. He'd sat in the same warehouse, he'd sat on the same shelf, next to the same teddies for what felt like years to him. Until suddenly, a little blonde girl with hazel eyes came running down the isle. "Mum, mum, this is him, the one I've been looking at online. I want him, can I have him, pleeeeease?". She instantly calmed me this girl. She looked so kind and caring. I felt like shouting "YES, she can have me!!!", but for some reason my mouth had been sewn shut. Happiness filled my body as her mum said "sure sweetie". I'd never ever felt like this before? Is this what it felt like to be loved, wanted, cared for?

Within seconds I was snatched up by this girls grasp and was taken straight to the checkout. On the drive home she patted my head, straightened my hat and run her fingers over my plasters... by the way, those plasters tell a story, but that's a story for another day!

I hope you've enjoyed my story and like my very special ANZAC Ted. Have you read ANZAC Ted before? What do you know about ANZAC Day?

Art drawing of a brown bear!

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For reading today we had to draw a picture of the animal we researched about on Tuesday in their habitat. I have done a drawing of a brown bear in a forest. In the brown bears habitat I have drawn a river, trees and included animals such as deer and beavers. This is because brown bears do not live alone, they share their habitat with others.

A brown bear is a large animal, probably three to four times larger than your average human. They two beady eyes, two round ears that sit above their fluffy face and a long snout. Brown bears bodies are covered in thick, brown, fluffy fur. This keeps them warm and snug all year round! You have to be careful if you see a brown bear out, although that's unlikely in New Zealand, because their paws are attached to deathly claws. They're sharp, curved and dangerous! Brown bears walk on all four of their legs, however, did you know that they can stand on their two hing legs? Sometimes making them almost 5 feet tall!! Crazy!

What animal did you choose to research about? What does your animal look like? I'd love to know all about it!

Research Poster - Brown Bear Animal Migration

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For reading today we had to research and create a poster about an animal and their migration patterns.

During my research I learnt that brown bears do not actually migrate to the same area at the same time of the year. Instead they migrate to areas that are nearby where there is an abundance of food. Did you know that brown bears have to eat lots of food because they hibernate over the winter months? I also learnt that brown bears can give birth to up to 4 cubs, but that pairs (or twins in human terms) are most likely.

I found it interesting that bears do not migrate to the same areas at the same time of the year. Animals such as whales, do. Once I had learnt this I found it quite believable as I know bears are solitary animals (they like to live alone), so why would they want to migrate to the same place like other animals?

When I have more time, I'd like to learn more about how and why brown bears hibernate over the winter months!

What animals do you know about that migrate? Can you tell me about their migration patterns?

Rising seas comprehension questions

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Comprehension Questions

What percentage of water on Earth is made up of oceans?
____% of water on Earth is made up of oceans.

Why are sea levels rising?

Are rising sea levels getting better or worse? How do you know that?

What are the effects of rising sea levels?

In what year did the Port of Auckland see it’s highest sea level? What was the sea level at?

How did rainfall effect Australia?

Without researching, how do you think we could help prevent sea levels from rising?


Today for reading we had to answer some comprehension questions about a text. Above is a picture of my comprehension questions and my answers (please note: Miss Thompson has not put the answers up for obvious reasons).


Answering comprehension questions are an excellent way of seeing how much of the text you have understood. When I answer comprehension questions about a text I often re-read certain parts of the text to find the answer. Miss Thompson always tell us "It is not a memory test", so it is important to go back and find the answers if you can not remember. Re-reading and finding the answers makes me understand the text better as I have a purpose for reading and it makes me think critically about the question that is being asked.


Do you have to answer comprehension questions about a text? If so, how does it help you understand what you've read?

Summarising a text

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Our reading task for today was to write a summary about the text we read. We could either create a story board, which is what I have done, or write a short paragraph.

This is my story board summarising the main ideas from Spirit Animals.

The most interesting part of the story so far for me personally was when all of the characters on the boat assumed the animals were friendly. They did not worry about the Seagull or Sharks and the other animals that arrived. I would personally be terrified if a shark was swimming toward me, and I also don't like it when birds fly toward me either!

I've really enjoyed reading Spirit animals and cannot think of what the author could improve on so far. I wonder if they have an audio version that you could listen to? This could be handy for when you just feel like relaxing and listening to something. That could be something the author could consider?

Have you read Spirit animals? What are you reading at the moment and what is it about? I'd love to hear all about it.

Vocabulary Task

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My reading task for today was to choose 6 unfamiliar or interesting words found in my text 'Rising Seas'. I've created a poster that has the definition of 6 words and then them written in a setence.

Completing this reading task helped me understand the text better because if I did not know what these words meant, I could not understand what the sentence or paragraph was telling me. I believe it is very important to know what words mean, and if you do not know, take the time to figure it out. Some ways I figure out words I don't know is by reading on and seeing if the text will tell me, looking at the pictures in the text, using a dictionary or googling it. Sometimes I may ask my teacher, friend or family.

What do you think of my task? Did you know what these words meant? Can you put these words in your own sentence?

Country Research - Australia

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My reading task for today was to read 'Rising Seas' and to research and make a poster about Australia and their weather patterns.

During my research I learnt that weather in different parts of Australia are very different to one another. They often experience very different weather patterns in each state. I assume this is because Australia is such a large country.

What did I like about Australia? I really liked how Australia is a very warm country. Apparently their lowest temperature is around 10.6 degrees celsius. Crazy, considering New Zealand can often go below 0 degrees celsius in winter time. I've thought about asking my family if we can go to Australia when it gets too cold in New Zealand. I hate being cold.

To be honest, I did not find anything I dislike about Australia. It is a country I haven't been to yet, but would love to go there in the future. Have you been to Australia? Where have you traveled to? I would love to hear all about it!