Sustained Silent Reading 5

Today for sustained silent reading, I read "99 random facts about the world". The purpose of this text is to inform the reader and the target audience is for people of all ages. Here are some of the facts I read about.

The 'Mimic' octopus can not only change colour, but can also mimic the shape of other animals such as flounder, lion fish and sea snakes.

If you were to remove all the empty space from the atoms that make up every human on Earth, the world's entire population could fit in an apple.

In the 1960's, the CIA tried to spy on the Kremlin and Russian embassies by turning cats into listening devices. The program involved surgically implanting batteries, microphones and antennae inside of cats.

Dr Seuss wrote the book 'Green eggs and ham' to win a bet against his publisher who thought that he could not complete a book with only fifty words.

Sustained Silent Reading 4

Today in English for sustained silent reading, I was curious about World War II and decided to read about facts on a website called weird and rare facts about World War II. Here are some of the facts I read about.

1. Adolf Hitlers nephew, William Hitler, served US Navy during World War II

2. The siege of Stalingrad resulted in more Russian deaths (military and civilian) then the US and Britain sustained combined in all of World War II

3. They youngest serviceman in the US military was Calvin Graham aged 12, who lied about his age when he enlisted in the US Navy.

4. In 1941, more than 3 million cars were manufactured in the US. Only 139 cars were manufactured in the entirety of World War II

Sustained Silent Reading 3

Today for Sustained Silent Reading I read more random interesting facts on a website called all that's interesting. The authors purpose is to both entertain and to inform, and I think the target audience is people of all ages. Here are some of the facts I read about:

Abraham Lincoln is in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, having only lost one out of 300 matches.

The longest time between two twins being born was 87 days

Domestic cats kill between 1.4 and 3.7 billion birds and between 6.9 and 20.7 billion mammals every year.

There is a single mega-colony of ants that spans three continents, covering much of Europe, the west coast of the U.S., and the west coast of Japan.

For more facts visit this website

Sustained Silent Reading 2

Today for sustained silent reading I read an article about '100 Random Fun Facts'. The authors purpose is to both inform and entertain the reader, and I think this article was written for people of all ages.

Here are some of the facts that I read

The French language has 17 different words for surrender
In Uganda, 50% of the population are under the age of 15
The 29th of May is officially "Put a Pillow on Your Fridge Day"
Cherophobia is a fear of fun
The person who invented the Frisbee was cremated and made into a Frisbee when he died
Panphobia is a fear of everything
There is a company in Taiwan that makes dinnerware out of wheat
The average person walks the equivalent of walking around the world twice in their lifetime
The most venomous jellyfish species in the world is called Irukandji and is smaller then a human fingernail

                                                   For more facts visit this site

Sustained Silent Reading

Today in English for SSR (Sustained Silent Reading), I chose to read "It by Stephen King", which is now also a major motion picture. Like most of the other books Stephen King has written, it is a horror. The author's purpose is to entertain the reader, and the target audience is any from the age of 13+.

Diffusion

Today we did an experiment to observe how particles spread in water. 

We used a two halves of a petrie dish and poured water into each one (cold water into the lid, hot water in the bottom half). We then sat the two halves on a white sheet of paper to make it easier to see how it changes. Using forces, we put a small amount of potassium permanganate in each half.

Here are some before during and after shots of the experiment:

           

           

As you can see, the potassium permanaganate molecules spread much faster in the hot water then they do in the cold water.

Facts About Monarchs Mindmap

Maori Music for a Modern Audience

Māori Music for a Modern Audience

1. Aotearoa

What style of music is this?

Aotearoa is a pop song

Who performs it and what was their inspiration?

This song is performed by Stan Walker, Roy Hall, Troy Kingi and Maisey Rika. This song was made to celebrate Māori Language Week, and it was inspired by the song Poi E by the Patea Māori club.

What did you like about this song?

I liked the fact that it was all in Maori (though that makes sense because it was written for Māori Language Week) and I like the fact that it was made to sound modern.

What did you like about the music video?

I thought the way they added the clips of the different scenery around New Zealand was interesting.

What is the song about?

As quoted by Stan Walker- "it's a song to celebrate our nation, our landscape, our uniqueness, our language and our people. Here is a version of the song in English:

2. Māreikura

What style of music is this?

The music genre for Māreikura is pop

Who performs it and what was their inspiration?

The song 'Māreikura' is performed by a Māori pop band called Modern Māori Quartet, and Awhimai Fraser.

This is Modern Māori Quartets inspiration 'we, MMQ, wrote this waiata to acknowledge women as the pillars that provide the foundation of our world'

What did you like about this song?

I liked the way the singers voices harmonised, and I also liked the background vocals.

What did you like about the music video?

 The music video was actually just a video of Modern Māori Quartet and Awhimai Fraser recording the song in a studio, which I liked.

What is the song about?

"Women are the doorway to life, the heartbeat of Māori culture and the first voice heard on the Marae. Our song reflects these aspects. It is strong and warm, and ranges musically from traditional chant and haka to a contemporary rhythmic guitar with melodic vocal flow"

-Modern Māori Quartet

3. Wairua

                               What style of music is this?                                              The music genre for Wairua is pop

                Who performs it and what was their inspiration?                  Wairua was performed by a band called Maimoa

What did you like about this song?

I likes how it sounded really modern, and I liked the music (instruments) in the background

What did you like about the music video?

I thought some of the dancing was pretty interesting

What is the song about?

One of the group's singers, who’s also famous for his performance on the hit series NZ’s Got Talent, Tawaroa Kawana says, “Since breaking into the music industry last year with our hit single Maimoatia, we wanted to go down another avenue in terms of uplifting our rangatahi (youth)."

4. Kalega

What style of music is this?  
'Kalega' is R&B/Soul 
      
Who performs it and what was their inspiration? 
The song 'Kalega' is performed by Rob Ruha and The Witch Doctor. This is what Rob Ruha said about their inspiration for the song: Picture glistening coastal views, fresh fish and chips after a swim, ice cream stops and BBQ’s on the beach while your favourite jams ring out the car window and you have ‘KALEGA!’ An upbeat waiata that celebrates a unique slice of Aotearoa heaven – the East Coast, where the word ‘Kalega’ is as legendary as a kina tongue on bread!

What did you like about this song?
I liked that they used both English and Maori in the song. I also like how modern it sounded.

What did you like about the music video?

I thought the scenery in the music video was amazing

What is the song about?
"It’s a song about the great Aotearoa summer pilgrimage back to the beach to chill, unwind and get away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life in the city. No matter where you’re from, what you’re day job is or what language you speak, everyone can relate to that!" -Rob Ruha

States of Matter

On Tuesday, our class did an experiment that demonstrated what happens to particles when they are heated up.

For this experiment we used;

• A Bunsen Burner
• A ball and Ring
• A beaker filled with water

To do this experiment, we first set up our Bunsen Burner on a safety mat. The ball and ring sets were made out of brass, and designed so that the ball fit through the ring perfectly.

After our Bunsen Burner was set up, we turned the collar to the blue flame and held the ring over the flame for approximately 1-2 minutes. When the brass ring was heated up, the spaces between each particle grew, making the ring appear to be larger. Because the ring was larger and the ball remained the same size, there was now more space in the ring when the brass ball was in it. We then placed the ring in a beaker filled with cold water and repeated the process with the ball. Just like the ring, the space between the brass particles in the ball grew, and the ball became bigger. This time when we tried to put the ball through the ring, it wasn't as easy 

and the ball only just fit in the ring.