Literacy
Term 3 - Persuasive
Here is the TED talk that we started today in class.
Have a look at it and see if you can identify some of the features in the language he uses and the features of the presentation
WALT Write speeches, TED talks or prepared talks
WALT Communicate our opinions in relation to persuasive texts.
Zoos
Recycling
Nuclear Power
Sand dunes
Term 2 - Narrative
WALT Identify what inspires writers
Reflection: Take some time to think about what you have learnt in our narrative unit. What things have inspired you? What have these lessons made you want to think/write about? What have you learnt about storytelling? What do you need to remember when you are thinking about writing a narrative?
WALT develop interesting characters in our writing
Introduction to Character:
a. Choose your favourite character from any story and put them in a elevator - how would they react?
b. Do the same thing with a character that fits into your created world
Character Activity Set 1: Internal and External Features
a. Identify 3 external and internal features of the main characters from your chosen movie
b. Identify 3 internal and external features of someone you know
c. Think about the internal/external features of the character you are creating
Character Activity Set 2: Needs and Wants
a. Identify a need and a want for your 3 main characters
b. Identify one of your own needs and one of your own wants
c. Thinking of the character you are creating, what do they want?
Character Activity Set 3: Obstacles
a. What is an obstacles your 3 main characters faced?
b. What is an obstacle you have faced in your life?
c. Thinking of the character you are creating, what obstacles may they face?
Character Activity Set 4: Character Arc
a. Thinking of your 3 main characters, what did they want at the beginning? What did they need at the end?
b. Thinking of the character you are creating, how may they change based on the obstacles that they overcome? What do they want at the beginning? What do they end at the end?
Videos and activities adapted from Khan Academy 'Pixar In A Box' to suit our narrative writing unit
WALT Understand that we all have a story to tell
Story Telling Activity Set 1:
a. Think of a memory that come easily to you
b. Why do you think you remember it so well? What kind of emotions are linked to this memory? e.g. joy, anger, sadness, etc.
c. Try to express this memory. You may discuss it with someone, draw it or write it.
Storytelling Activity Set 2:
a. Think of 3 of your favourite movies
b. Why do you think you enjoy these movies so much?
c. Compare and contrast the movies - what is the same? What is different?
Storytelling Activity Set 3:
a. Think back to your 3 favourite movies and try to think what the what if question for that movie might be. e.g. Finding Nemo - What if a fish decided to rebel?
b. Think of what if questions for stories you might like to tell
Storytelling Activity Set 4:
a. What characters and worlds can you think of in your 3 movies?
b. What happens if you mix characters and world from different movies? How does the story change if Nemo ends up in Andy's bedroom with Buzz and Woody?
c. Come up with a character and world for one of your what if questions
Videos and activities adapted from Khan Academy 'Pixar In A Box' to suit our narrative writing unit
Term 1 - Biographies
WALT: Write a biography about a chosen leader, using features of a biography that we have discussed
All of the students have written fantastic biographies on their chosen leader and for the rest of the term, they will be working on ways of presenting the information that they have found - Keep an eye out on the student's individual blogs as I will make sure that have put the presentations on there!
WALT: Identify features of a biography
As a class, we discussed what we already knew about biographies and after a week of reading them for literacy, we came together to brainstorm all of the common features we could think of and some of the special features of specific biographies that we had read! Here are just some of the points that we came up with:
- They're about somebody's life, includes when/where they born and possibly where they died, who their parents are, where they grew up, their schooling, how they started their career, facts about them and obstacles that they faced.
We discussed that a biography is not just a list of facts but rather a well crafted sequence of paragraphs that come together to tell us as the reader, what made this person who they are today.
Over the coming week, we will be writing biographies of our own, about a leader of our choice!
THEY ARRIVED!
We received the postcards from our exchange class! They came together to reveal the message 'talk to people who help you see the world differently'. They wrote some really great metaphors on the back and the information page they sent us is awesome too - they look like a fun class!
WALT: construct text showing an awareness of metaphors
Metaphors were a new language feature for most of us! Learning about metaphors was all a part of the 'Get New Zealand Writing' project. We got to write out metaphors onto postcards and we are going to exchange them with a class from St Paul's School (Richmond) - That's all the way down in Nelson! The postcards came together like puzzle pieces to create a poster that they can put up on the wall. Here's the information page that we sent to them - it's all about us!
WALT: Demonstrate an understanding of ideas within the sophisticated picture book ‘The Short and Incredibly Happy Life of Riley
The sophisticated picture book 'The Short and Incredibly Happy Life of Riley' is all about being grateful for what you have. Riley the mouse has very few possessions and finds happiness with the smallest things. We thought that there was a lot that could be learned from Riley. We got to choose one of 3 activities to do, based on the story. Here's the final products!
