Genius Hour

The fact that Stage 3 are on the way to being Geniuses was pretty evident today. It has been a busy term and despite some obstacles, everyone achieved a good result. We recognised that some of the students may not have finished. Instead of focusing on the product, we encouraged the students to present what they learned through Genius Hour this term.

Thank you to everyone in Stage 3 for giving an amazing effort. We also really appreciate that family members came and showed interest in everyone's efforts.

What was the best thing that you learned about Genius Hour? 

FOLDED STARs

Instruction link                               

4 - point star    

5 - point star                                Video Instructions

Mini Matisse: Artist Trading Card Update

Check this out Everyone! Our Artist trading cards have arrived in the USA. Mini Matisse: Artist Trading Card Update: This trade is BOOMING!! Because our ATC's are due at the end of this month, Mrs Hahn so many cards coming in! Its is exciting!

Two Wolves

The focus of our read alouds this term, has been a book called "Two Wolves" by Tristan Bancks. It was a winner of the recent KOALA book awards, which was attended by some of our stage 3 students. They attended this with our wonderful librarian, Mrs Turner. They were very excited when they met Mr Bancks and when the book won.

Two Wolves (1 slide) from bill woodruff

At the heart of the book, is the story of Two Wolves, an old Indian story. It's main focus is on Ben and his sister Olive. The story is told from Ben's perspective as he tries to make sense of the confusing and frightening events of fleeing the police with his parents and then being stranded in the bush. It is a suspenseful read and each chapter leaves the reader guessing. The book has given rise to some excellent learning opportunities about reading and writing. 

Personification

Olive often describes her father as being Maugrim, a reference to the Wolf chief of police in "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe" by C.S. Lewis. We watched a clip that showed the character of Maugrim. The students wrote down the characteristics of Maugrim, which we then compared to the children's father. We discussed how the wolf portrayed the human qualities of anger, hate and malice, which is why Olive compares her father to a wolf. 

We then discussed what personification was with the help of an online dictionary. We discussed how non human things can portray human qualities. After looking at some other examples of personification, our students created some of their own examples in pairs. 

Making Pictures in our head

Visualising what we read is a good strategy for reading and is one of the Daily 5 reading strategies that we were working on. We referred to the character Ben. He is always visualising movies in his head throughout the story.
 We discussed what visualisation was and how the author used words effectively so that the reader can visualise what is happening in the story.

A quick assessment to see that students could use this strategy was to draw a picture of what the students remembered happened in the previous chapter. We read half of the chapter and then the students drew what they remembered most. We discussed how it helped to remember small details & how using prior knowledge of the bush and the information in the text helped to form a picture of what was happening. We then predicted what would happen next in the chapter. 

What have enjoyed the most about Two Wolves? What have you you learned about reading and writing this term? How do you think the story will end? 

Our Christmas Song

Aussie Jingle Bells - (Bucko & Champs 1999)

Music file .mp3

Lyrics and Chords


Words and Music by Colin Buchanan E Dashing through the bush, A in a rusty Holden Ute, B Kicking up the dust, B7 E esky in the boot, E Kelpie by my side, A singing Christmas songs, B It's Summer time and I am in B7 E my singlet, shorts and thongs E Oh! Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way, A E Christmas in Australia B B7 on a scorching summers day, Hey! E Jingle bells, jingle bells, Christmas time is beaut!, A E B7 E Oh what fun it is to ride in a rusty Holden Ute. E Engine's getting hot; A we dodge the kangaroos, B The swaggie climbs aboard, B7 E he is welcome too. E All the family's there, A sitting by the pool, B Christmas Day the Aussie way, B7 E by the barbecue. E Oh! Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way, A E Christmas in Australia B B7 on a scorching summers day, Hey! E Jingle bells, jingle bells, Christmas time is beaut!, A E B7 E Oh what fun it is to ride in a rusty Holden Ute. E Come the afternoon, A Grandpa has a doze, B The kids and Uncle Bruce, B7 E are swimming in their clothes . E The time comes 'round to go, A we take the family snap, B Pack the car and all shoot through, B7 E before the washing up. E Oh! Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way, A E Christmas in Australia B B7 on a scorching summers day, Hey! E Jingle bells, jingle bells, Christmas time is beaut!, A E B7 E Oh what fun it is to ride in a rusty Holden Ute. An F. K. Tab,,, Enjoy!!

Year 6 Orientation for Year 7

Memories make up of experiences and people that we encounter. It has been a focus this week as we write about favourite memories. Remembrance Day also occurred this week. This helped us to remember the fallen soldiers who fought for Australia.

A day for memory making was our Year 7 Orientation Day. It happened on Thursday. Many activities showed Year 6 around Secondary School. Some of the activities that they might do next year.

The end of the year is drawing near for our Year 6 class. It means that the end of their Primary school years are also drawing to a close. We hope that there are many wonderful memories of Primary School. It will be a big adventure in High School. 

What did you enjoy about Orientation Day? 

The wall

Memories

One person that I wish that I could have met was my Great Grandmother. She was a lady of enormous character and grace, who raised three rather wild boys, one of whom was my Grandfather. She lived through Two World Wars and The Great Depression. She lived to old age, outliving two of her young sons, who she missed very much. The photo shows my Great Grandmother on her wedding day. The veil she is wearing is the same one that I wore on my wedding day. A special memory!

The very old book was given to my Great Uncle Peter, my Grandfather's younger brother, in 1926. It was a much beloved book that shows how much it has been read and loved. It was a book that held a fascination for me when I was younger and helped me to connect with relatives who I didn't get to meet. 

Memories are an important and powerful part of our identity. They are created by remembering events and situations that involve people we know. This week we are focusing on the importance of memories as part of our cultural and personal journey in life. We looked at what memories are and whether memories are something that we should share with others.

Dreamtime - Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires

Some of the responses that came out discussed that not all memories are ones that we want to share with others. They may be personal or they may touch a sensitive part of us that might be difficult to share. 

Memories are a powerful writing source and when shared. can influence other people's thoughts and ideas. 

What is a favourite memory that you have? 

Dreamtime stories told through Dance

One of the unique things about living in Australia is learning about the rich cultural heritage of our indigenous people. Learning about their stories of the Dreamtime, along with the traditions about the way that they are told, help to give an appreciation and understanding of their culture. 

Storytelling in many aboriginal tribes is the task of the storytellers of the tribe. It is their task to pass on the stories of the Dreamtime to the children, to teach them their ways. These stories were often told by an elder or shared in dance and music. The stories tell about creation and often bear a moral or lesson for life. 

Some examples that we looked at demonstrated theses traditional ways of a telling a story. The one thing that was noticed was that the stories were often told without words, particularly in the example shown by the dance "Brolga".

It turns out that telling a story without words can be rat here tricky! 

The students in Stage 3 were given a Dreamtime story to read in small groups. The challenge was to turn the written story into a dance. The students could use music but no words. Many of the groups researched or experimented in the way that animals move, as often the stories featured an animal. The creativity of each group was to be commended and all succeeded in creating a unique dance that told a story without using words, creating music to help tell the story.

The students were given a rubric to help them to focus on what they needed to include in the dance. The dances were presented in class and we discussed the effectiveness of each dance. It's encouraging to see when other students can comment and give positive feedback.

Dreamtime stories-rubric from Kate Todd

Genius Hour is back

Genius Hour is back!

Genius Hour is a time for students to consider projects that they would like to work on. There are many creative and interesting projects, with many students challenging themselves in learning new skills. Some of the activities are: 

Sewing Dolls Clothes

Sewing a dress...

Creating designs...

Creating Pokemon Balls out of Clay

Stop Animation...

Diorama on Wolves...

Cooking Chicken Satay...

Students can explore skills and interests in Genius Hour that they may not be able to in conventional lessons. Differentiation of learning often gets spoken about when discussing how to meet each students needs. Genius Hour allows each student to learn at their own level. 

The process requires that each student reflect on their own learning and needs to be able to discuss what they have achieved. Students set goals for each week that they need to be able to achieve. We look forward to the Students sharing what they have learned in Week 8. 

What do you like the most about Genius Hour? What do you think you will learn from having completed Genius Hour?