Reading - Group 3

Week 4

monday

The Sun - Fill in the blanks

The Sun is a . It can be found at the of our solar system. The sun is the biggest thing in our solar system and scientists estimate that it is about 4.5 years old. The between planet Earth and the Sun is about 150 million kilometres.

Our planet, Earth, is constantly moving around the Sun. It takes 365 ¼ days for planet Earth to one full circle around the Sun. This explains why there are 365 days in a year and why there is an extra day, every four years, in a leap year.

While Earth is moving around the Sun, it is also spinning on its own axis. It takes Earth 24 hours to complete one full spin. This gives us and night. During the summer we have longer days and shorter nights, but during the winter we have shorter days and longer nights. The day of the year, the winter solstice, is on 21st June. The longest day of the year, the summer , is on 22nd December

An happens when the moon moves in between the Earth and the Sun. This causes the Sun’s light to be blocked from reaching the earth for a short time.

The Sun is extremely important for life on Earth, without it, we would not have light, heat or food and we would not be able to . But we must also be cautious about the Sun because it can be too. Our skin can burn if we spend too much time in the sunlight. The rays from the sun can damage our eyes. We can ourselves from the dangers of the sun by wearing suitable sunglasses and sun cream.

Word Bank

complete survive day star ultraviolet eclipse shortest protect distance billion solstice dangerous centre

tuesday

Questions

Select the best definition for Minecraft.

a. Minecraft is an online game

b. Minecraft is a popular video game in which players use blocks to build and create digital, three-dimensional worlds.

c. Minecraft is a fun game that can be played on a computer.

Which Minecraft mode do you think you would prefer to play? Explain your answer.
What are ‘mobs’? Write your answer and then draw an example of what a mob might look like.
What do you need to be able to play Minecraft? Choose all correct answers.

a. computer/digital device

b. wooden building blocks

c. a Minecraft account

d. a book about Minecraft

e. a Minecraft T-shirt

f. parent permission (if you are under 12 years)

wednesday

Fake News

Fake news is written and published to look like authentic news. It is made up and not true and can be used for propaganda. It is written to interest or shock people enough that they will want to read it further and believe it. Fake news websites and channels push their fake news stories to try and mislead viewers. They want to spread incorrect information through social media networks and word-of-mouth.

Types of Fake News

Some news articles have misleading headlines. They are written to grab the reader’s attention but do not match what is written in the article.

Clickbait is used online and encourages viewers to click onto other links that will take them to other pages or advertisements.

Journalism can also be a source of misleading information when the facts and information have not been researched and checked correctly before being published.

Propaganda is a type of fake news where a person or group is trying to promote one side of an argument or opinion. This is usually seen in politics.

Satire stories are written about people or an event for entertainment and are mostly not true. They are more commonly found on social media and websites. Unfortunately, sometimes people read these stories and believe them because they do not realise they are made up.

Fake News and Social Media

Anyone can share information online, whether it is true or not. This is especially the case with social media, making it one of the most common ways of publishing fake news today. Fake accounts or names can be used to hide who is creating the fake news, pages and clickbait advertisements. Lots of newspapers and channels have social media pages which make it harder to know what is fake news or not.

How to spot fake news

When using social media, reading news articles or researching on the internet, you need to use critical thinking skills to figure out if it is fake news or not. If it sounds amazing or shocking, there’s a high chance it is fake news.

Here are some tips to help decide if something is true or not:

Check where a news story has come from. Is it a well-known news site or a website you can trust?
If you are researching, it is always a good idea to double-check the facts you read with a different source.
If it is an opinion piece of writing, check who wrote it. If it has political content, is it just showing one side from a political party?
If it is a news article, does it have a journalists’ name on it? Does it have a recent date on it?
Check the spelling and grammar of advertisements and stories. If you spot some errors, this is a sign that it is probably fake news.
Read stories about the same topic from other sources.
Be careful when looking at photo images used in fake news stories or advertisements. Photos can easily be changed through software programmes. You can always do an internet search on the photo to see where it came from.

Glossary (Important words)

authentic – Something that is genuine and true.

journalism – The creation of news articles and reports.

propaganda – Misleading information used to promote a certain point of view.

satire - A genre of literature that uses wit, irony and sarcasm to criticise someone or something.

Questions

What is a clue that a news story is fake news? Pick one

a. It is on a well-known website.

b. It has a journalists’ name on it.

c. It has spelling and grammar errors.

d. The same story is on other news websites.

Draw three lines and match the type of fake news with its definition.

Find and copy one word that means the same as genuine.
Fill in the missing word.

It is written to interest or __________ people enough that they will want to read it further and believe it.

What is the type of fake news commonly found in politics?

thursday

Diwali - Celebrating the Festival of Light

What is Diwali?

Diwali is a religious celebration from India. It is celebrated by people of the Hindu, Sikh and Jain faith. Diwali is the Indian version of Matariki and it is celebrated to mark the start of the new year.

Just like Matariki, the dates of Diwali change each year. It depends on the position of the moon but it always lasts for 5 days and is always in October or November.

Traditionally, Diwali celebrates new beginnings, the celebration of good over evil and light over darkness.

Diwali means row of lights.

What happens at Diwali?

There are lots of different traditions during Diwali. Because it is the Festival of Light, people decorate their homes with lights and oil lamps. These are called diyas. The light is said to help the goddess of wealth, Lakshmi, find her way into people’s homes and bring good luck for the next year.

Diwali is also all about people coming together. People exchange gifts during Diwali, have a meal together, enjoy fireworks displays and wear new clothes. It is also a time to clean and declutter your home in preparation for the year ahead. This is to help encourage Lakshmi to come into your home as Indians believe that she only enters your home if it is clean.

Rangoli Patterns

Rangoli patterns are another part of Diwali festivals. Rangoli patterns are made on the floor out of coloured rice, flour, sand and flower petals. These brightly coloured patterns are another way to welcome Lakshmi. Each year, people try to create exciting and bright rangoli patterns to impress her. These traditional patterns are passed from generation to generation and are an important part of celebrating Diwali.

Although the actual patterns of the Rangoli can vary a lot, some common pictures that are found in them are lotus flowers, peacocks, mangos, feathers and fish. They are often quite symmetrical and geometric in design. The main thing about a Rangoli pattern is that it should be super colourful!

The 5 days of Diwali

Diwali is a 5 day celebration. Just like in western culture of having the 12 days of Christmas, Diwali has the 5 days of Diwali with each day having something special attached to it.

The five days are:

Day 1: Buying jewellery (gold or silver) is to help you have future success.

Day 2: Known as Narak Chaturdasi is when homes are lit up with 14 diyas to ward off evil spirits. Day 3: This is when Diwali is actually celebrated. On this day, 21 diyas are lit.

Day 4: A remembrance day for Lord Krishna who is said to have lifted a hill to shelter people from heavy rain.

Day 5: The final day observes Bhai Dooj which is a traditional day to strengthen the relationship between brothers and sisters.

Questions

When is Diwali celebrated? Pick one.

a. Between September and October

b. Between October and November

c. Between November and December

d. October 14th

Draw four lines and match each word to the correct definition

Find and copy one phrase which shows when Diwali is celebrated.
Fill in the missing words

These brightly coloured _____________________________ are another way to welcome Lakshmi and people try to create exciting and __________________________ rangoli patterns to impress her.

List two things that can be used to make Rangoli patterns.

friday

Gangsta Granny - Nosy Neighbour

Mr Parker put his foot inside the bungalow so the front door couldn’t be closed on him.

“Who are you?” he barked, nasally.

He had a very big nose which made him seem even nosier than he was, and he already seemed extremely nosy. Because he had a big nose he also had a very nasal voice, which made everything he said, however serious, seem a little absurd. But his eyes shone red like a demon.

“I am Granny’s friend,” spluttered Ben. Why did I say that? he thought. In truth, he was in a terrible panic, and his tongue was running away with him.

Questions

What does the word ‘nosy’ mean?
Give an example of a simile from the text
Explain why the words ‘Why did I say that? ’ are in italics.
Why do you think that the illustration shows Mr Parker carrying a pair of binoculars?

Page updated

Report abuse