Instruction Writing

We are learning to write instructions learn. Use this interactive site to practice making sure your instructions are clear.

Tell Us What This Message Says!!

How Does Popcorn Pop?

The popcorn kernel has tiny droplets of water inside. When this water heats up it turns to steam and builds up pressure inside the popcorn kernel. When the pressure finally becomes too much the kernel explodes and the two sides fold back on themselves, exposing the white starch.

Progress Report 1 on Popcorn Seeds

On the 8th day after putting our seeds into the cups we checked them and here are some of the results:

Both of the above photos are of the cup that was kept in the dark.

This photo on the left is of the cup that was kept in the light.

Maria Gill - Author

Today we had a visit from Maria Gill from Auckland. Maria is a non-fiction children's author who enjoys writing about conservation.
She explained how she became a writer and what is involved in writing a book.  It can take quite a long time from writing the book until it is published, sometimes 2 years. 
Maria read us part of the story of The Call of the Kokako.  This is a beautiful book about the endangered bird, the kokako (known as the mysterious grey ghost). Now we have to read the rest to find out what happened.  Half the book is pictures and information about the birds and the other half is a story about saving kokako in the Matahina Forest.
She also showed us her book
New Zealand's Hall of Fame: 50 Remarkable Kiwi.
This is an colourful non-fiction book on famous New Zealanders
such as Sir Edmund Hillary (Climber), Dame Susan Devoy
(Squash player), Sir Peter Jackson (Film Maker), Margaret Mahy
(Children's Author), and many more.

Bike Wise Day

We were supposed to be having a bike wise day today (Wednesday).  It was cancelled because of the rain, so will now hold it on Friday. We bring our bikes and helmets to school and take part in fun activities that will be set out on the school field, such as:
Slow Bike Race
Circuit which includes weaving between road cones, riding under the high jump pole, riding along a wooden plank
Riding a figure of 8
Riding around tight U shapes and then winding through cones
We will attach some photos from the day.

Wow, what a fun day we had.  Some of the senior students (Year 6) came out and gave us a hand as well.  They were great - checking our helmets for us, helping us with activities.  The slow bike race was really funny - very difficult though because you needed great balance so you didn't fall off.
We hope you enjoy the photos.

Facts About Popcorn

Here are some facts we have found out about popcorn!!!
Popping corn kernels are harder and drier than ordinary corn.
The pericarp (the outer covering that protects the kernel) is hard fibre and makes your poos float.
People have been eating popcorn for over 7000 years.
The oldest known popcorn was found, still fluffy and white in a bag attached to the belt of a mummy in Chile.
In the 1700's colonial women made the first tasty breakfast cereal by pouring milk and sugar over popcorn.
The popcorn kernel is actually a seed.

Parts of the Popcorn Plant

We looked at the popcorn plant and labelled the parts.  Hopefully our seeds will grow into a plant as healthy as this.

Growing Popcorn Investigation - Fair Testing

We began an investigation on Friday with growing popcorn seeds.  Investigation: How do Popcorn Seeds Grow the Best?
Things We can Change or Vary: Depth of the seeds, types of seeds, light or dark, warm or cold, water or no water
Things We can Measure: Length of stalk, how fast it grows, how many grow

Today, Monday, 5 March we put a piece of paper towel into four plastic cups.  Next we put six seeds down the outside of each paper towel. Then we added two dessertspoons of water to each cup. Finally we placed each cup in its position (ie warm, cold, dark or light) .




This is our Investigation
My Question: Will Popcorn grow better in the Light or Dark?
I will Change:  We could choose from putting one in dark and one in light or one in warm and one in cold.
I will Measure: We decided on 'How High the Plant will Grow'.
I will keep the Same: Same amount of water, seeds from the same packet, same type of cup, same type of paper towel, same amount of water, seeds on outside of paper towel.

We will keep you informed of our popcorns progress.

Wanaka A and P Show

On 9 and 10 March this year is the annual Upper Clutha A & P Show, which is held in Wanaka. It is the second largest agricultural and pastoral show in the South Island. This is mainly an agricultural show, judging farm animals, horse riding events, home baking, crafts etc and selling farm machinery and vehicles. There are hundreds of stalls selling food, clothing, toys, items people have made, basically anything you can think of. It is one of Wanaka's major annual events and is supported by the whole community.

Every class at each of the schools in the area put in some artwork. This is not judged, just for people to look at.
We are finishing our artwork at the moment and will put some up on the blog when we have finished in the next couple of days.

We looked at the Gerbera flower.  It looks like a single flower, but is actually hundreds of individual flowers.

Kimiya

Will

The petals were made by cutting shapes from paper and the centre has been given texture by using rice.





We each made a quarter section of a flower, then put them together to make whole flowers.
                                                

This is how our artwork looks all put together ready for the Show

Parts of the Plant

As part of our Popcorn unit today we looked at the parts and functions of a plant.  What the parts are called and what function each part has.