Japan

For the Summer Learning Journey I have chosen the country Japan.
Here are two fun facts about Japan:
1. In South Korea and Japan, there is a 'Cat Cafe'.  The cat cafe has actual cats inside to hang out with while having a coffee. :)

2. A building in Japan has a highway going through it.

I'd like to visit Japan one day because I love travelling to new places.  I like going to different countries and exploring new things.  

-  -  -

1. The capital city of Japan is Tokyo.
2. In the year of 2015 (October), Japan's population went to 13.491 million.
3. The weather in Tokyo during January is: 10 degrees (Celsius) which can be converted to 50 degrees (Fahrenheit) This is all for the daytime weather.  The nighttime weather can be 2 degrees (Celsius) also 36 degrees (Fahrenheit)
4. Tokyo is located in the middle part of the country.
5. The main language spoken in Tokyo is just Japanese.

What is a Capital City?
A capital city is where the government of the country mainly functions.  A capital city includes all leaders and officials, because a capital city is their home.

RESOURCES:
https://www.factslides.com/s-Japan
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2273.html
http://www.metro.tokyo.jp/english/about/history/history03.html

Te Reo

This Term we learnt to say where things are placed in Maori.  We used the words "on" and "under"
For example:

Kei runga i te pukapuka te makatiti
The stapler is ON the books.

What I enjoyed: Creating the class
What I need to work on: Try and go slower as we pronounce the sentences.
What I did well: Working together with Nika.

Showered In Thoughts

WALT: Show not tell. We are learning to write to imply. We are showing what we are feeling, not tell. What feeling could you infer from my piece of writing? I found it hard to use different describing words to describe the feeling without telling. I did well on describing how I felt before going on stage to do something. Next time I could shorten the writing.

My heart drops to my stomach.  Quick deep breaths. Bright lights lit the stage up showing the graceful dancer.  There my body stood. Completely frozen and unsettled. Sweat was already making its way down the side of my face.  It felt like a shower but only in sweat. My face heated up, my cheeks turned a deep dark red. The music suddenly stopped.  My heart felt like it stopped. I didn’t blink for a minute. I could feel vomit coming up but I held it back. Everything and everyone went silent… I realised I was supposed to be on!  Tears formed and slid down my boiling cheeks. It felt like swimming in a pool full of anxiety, fear and many other thoughts swimming along with me. My eyelids were heavy as my heart beat calmed.  My eyes closed… The chatter from the audience dug into me; hearing different whispers every second. Mouths moving constantly. Not one or two made me feel better, they were getting frustrated..

Ngatu

Ngatu

Have you ever heard of a Ngatu?  Not familiar with it? Nope, okay.  Well you’re in luck to learn all about this magnificent art!

Exactly what is a Ngatu?
Ngatu is a cloth, a cloth made from bark, that may be used for many different situations.    The cloth is created by women and young girls, they would sing traditional Tongan songs while they are forming the cloth.  Ngatu is the given Tongan name, as the Maori name is Tapa. The cloth can be worn as clothes and be able to wear during a traditional dance.

How is Ngatu made?
They first peel the bark, and they use the bark peeling to make the cloth and then they hang it up in the sun.  The bark is dipped into water to make it soft. They beat the bark with an ike so the cloth will be more thin and wide.  Next, the bark is hung\

up once again so it can dry.  After it has dried, the lay pieces of material on a table and it becomes the backing of the ngatu.  They spread a paste that is made out of flour and water onto the material. They then safely set down the feta’aki on top of the material.  Then, the cloth is leisurely rolled up into one piece and pick it up to take it outside. They unroll the ngatu to be shown to sun and left to dry.  Last but not least, the women will design or as in paint onto the ngatu with brown dye.

My Ngatu
The picture at the top is my design of a tapa cloth.  The creation of this was quite hard because we had to do layers of our prints.  We were inspired by photos of different Tapa cloths on the internet. That’s when we decided to chose 2 designs we like and use them.  A very popular pattern was the flower and another pattern which is quite difficult to describe but I can mostly say it has triangles.

The significance
Ngatu is important to Tonga because it is part of their culture for the past years.  As said before, it can be used for many different situations. Surprisingly, it can also be used a kite.  Ngatu can be used for different types of occasions, like a birthday and also for funerals. This can be passed down generation by generation and can be noticed by others who are not Tongan.

Lastly, to wrap this up, the ngatu is part of the Tongan culture.  It can be used for special occasions and also can be used for an activity; as in traditional dances.  

What I found difficult: I found it difficult to put the text in my own words because I personally think the original text was awesome. What I found easy: I took a few notes in my literacy book and tried to memorise the bits and pieces I have. So, to make it easy I had memorised and put it onto here. What I could do next time: Next time I should try and write more than just short sentences.

Cellphones shall not be banned!

WALT: Write a persuasive text. Should cellphones be banned in schools?

There was once a time where phones hadn't existed.  Now they do, you see them everywhere. In someone's hand, pocket or even in their bag. Before we had this advanced technology, we had flip phones.  Then, those were replaced with attractive favoured phones. Where you actually touch the screen, I mean back then we had buttons on phones. Okay okay, I'll get to the main topic.

Should phones be banned in schools?  Tweens and teens have phones now. It could possibly change them in a way where they would use their phones 24/7.

Firstly,  I disagree with this because phones can help you in a way.  I recommend the age of 12, for a child to start bringing a device to school.  Imagine this: The bell had just rung, students are leaving. You notice that no one has come to pick you up.  Your phone! Your phone is in your bag. You take it out and decide to ring your parents. You've informed them that you can now be picked up.  A phone can help you contact someone. You could possibly tell them about your day or just have a normal conversation.

Furthermore, phones can give a child or teenager a full responsibility for the phone.  It can help them look after their own things as they are growing older each year. But, it may take over them and could get the feeling of using their phone all the time.  Although, you can tell them when to stop using their phone or give them a time limit on how long they can use a phone. So, they will get used to the time limit and will know for themselves on when to stop.

Finally, a phone can give facts about the day.  An example is, you can set a calendar and will tell you about the events coming up for the day.  It can help you from forgetting things like a test or an activity that may happen in the day. A phone can give you facts about the recent news.  It might probably tell you about the weather and how cold or hot it might be. Phones can actually help you wake up in the morning by setting the alarm, the ringing will mainly wake you up so you can start getting ready for the day.  Most of us would probably sleep through it, but it's worth a try.

In conclusion, I feel that phones shall not be banned from schools because they are what we need to help us throughout the day.  A calendar to remind you, an alarm to wake you, a responsibility to help you and lastly a way to contact people.

What I learnt: I learnt how to use different words for a new sentence and how to back up my reasons correctly on why phones shouldn't be banned in schools. What I enjoyed: I enjoyed writing the whole persuasive text because persuasive writing is my favourite way to convince people about how I see things. What I found difficult: I mostly found it difficult is to actually come up with different reasons and I had some seconds thoughts on disagreeing with the topic but I finally chose my way to disagree. What I need to work on: Next time I could work on giving my opinions more of an understanding information to give my readers a chance to know what I am saying so no one would go 'huh?'.

Fractions, Decimals and Percentages

What I did well:
I think I did well on explaining on how to convert, though I had some trouble along the way so I may have mixed a little bit of words up due to some confusion.
What I enjoyed:
I enjoyed that I got it finished and I'm proud of how my presentation had worked out even if I had trouble, I had it finished.
What I could next time:
Next time I could justify on some on how to convert them to make sure that the people who are viewing understand what I am trying to say and teach them.

Posted

These are my posted activities for the past weeks.  The slideshow will update every time I finish and add a completed activity.

'Posted' is a book which contains with cellphones being banned because of some issue.  Kids have found a way to communicate through post it notes.