Monday, November 30, 2009

Collaborative Narrative Writing - Day 1

This week Room 9 are writing some narrative stories collaboratively with another class!

The class is in Grey Lynn, Auckland. They are year 3s and are from Room 10. We have been reading, looking at and commenting on their class blog for two terms.

We are using Google Docs, the Internet, a computer and a mouse to work together with them. Each morning this week at 9:30am we will be online and working with them.

Today 3 groups got to have their turn. They wrote amazing stories. Take a look at the fabulous writing they produced together with Room 10 in an hour:

The Bus Ride

Names of story authors
:
Nelson Central: George N & Denver
Grey Lynn: Celia and Anisah

One day Tim was walking to the bus to go to school. But he was too late for the bus because it left at 8.30am and he got there at 8.35am! The bus had already left and he was stuck there with nowhere to go like a little bird lost. He felt left out. His mum had gone to work and his dad lived in Wanaka.

Tim had chased the bus but the bus was too fast! He saw another bus coming and put his hand out to make it stop like magic. But this bus was going to the beach. He said to the old bus driver, "I need a ride to school, where can I get one?" The bus driver said, "hop on and I will take you there." Tim hopped on and sat down, but then he realised that he had forgotten to tell the driver what school he went to and the bus had already started moving. He wondered if he should say something, but he was feeling shy and scared of being growled at by the driver. Tim knew he needed to be brave, so he said "Stop!" "Ok," said the driver "I go to Richmond Street school" said Tim. "Ok" said the bus driver and he took him there.

The bus stopped Tim said "thanks," and went into his class but he realised the class was empty. Then he said "aha! My class is at assembly and so is the rest of the school." So he ran down the bumpy hill to assembly and went to his teacher. His teacher said "Where have you been, Tim?" He told her all about the bus ride. She said, "Well done for being brave" and he joined his class.

Tim felt really proud of himself for being brave and finding a way to school even though he missed his real bus. Now he knew exactly what to do if he missed his school bus again.


The Scared Cat

Names of story authors:
Nelson Central: Eden & Jayden
Grey Lynn: Sasha and Xavier


Once upon a time a cat named Ginger and a giant Bigfoot were walking through the woods. Ginger was on his way to the bank and was taking a short cut through the woods. Ginger didn't know that Bigfoot was next to him because Bigfoot had invisible powers. Ginger was scared as she thought she was all alone in the woods.

Ginger could feel the ground rumbling near him. He turned around in a circle to see if he could see anything near him that could make the rumbling, but there was nothing to see. Ginger slinked further into the woods, along the curvy path which was as curvy as a wriggly snake. Bigfoot was following her.

Suddenly Bigfoot appeared right in front of her! Ginger was very very scared. "Do you have any money?" asked Bigfoot. Ginger knew he was going to rob her, so he quickly ran up the tree behind him. Bigfoot couldn't climb the tree since he had no claws, so he stood at the bottom of the tree and shook it. Ginger climbed up to the very top of the tree and then leaped to the next tree that he could see.

Bigfoot raced to the bottom of the next tree and shook that too. Ginger
quickly jumped to the next tree, and the next, and the next. He was using the trees like trampolines. The trees were his own little cat path. Bigfoot got dizzy trying to follow him and he fell down and that was the end of Bigfoot. Ginger was not scared any more.

Ginger made it to the end of the cat path, jumped down and hurried to the bank. He had made it! He was cleverer than Bigfoot. He found all his friends at the bank and told them about his big adventure. He had learned his lesson, and on his way home he was NOT going to take a short cut ever again.


Lost and Seeking

Names of story authors:
Nelson Central: Katrina & Pete
Grey Lynn: Phoenix and Jaime


On Saturday, Nadia and John went to their friend Jack and Julie's house after soccer practice. They played cricket, but John hit the ball over the fence and they didn't know how to get it back. Over the fence lived an old, angry man who hated it when people went into his property.

They decided to risk it and go over anyway. They used a ladder to get over the huge fence and went over to look for it. When they finally climbed down the other side of the fence, they realised that they were standing in the middle of a spooky maze and there was a ghost.

The ghost had hid the ball at the top of the hedge. He would not give it back to them.

The kids knew that they needed to get out quick, but the ladder had fallen backwards to their house. They would have to go through the maze to get out the other side. The old man was guarding the end of the maze which would make it even harder to get out, but they knew if they waited until night he would be asleep because he was so old.

They started getting very tired but they knew they needed to leave. They raced out the paths to find the way out. Jack said, "This way, I've found the exit!" The others followed him out of the maze. They were exhausted and very tired so they went to sleep.

When they woke up it was night time. The ball had fallen back into the garden. "Perfect," said Nadia. "Now we can get past the wicked old man since he is asleep." Soon they were safely back at Jack and Julie's house. They would make sure to be more careful with the ball next time and would never forget the exciting maze next door.


Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Room 9 Teaching!

At the Nelson Kids' ICT Expo last week 12 students from Room 9 were extremely brave and confident...
They got to teach over 2,000 children from 8 different primary schools!!


Room 9 were running 3 stations. They had to demonstrate, teach and help the kids (and some of the teachers too!)

One station was using xtranormal to make animated movies, another station was using Tutpup for maths challenges and the final station was using Kidpix for artwork.

Take a look at some of the interviews and photos of Room 9 presenting in the video below. They were SOOOO fabulous!




A huge congratulations to the 12 students involved - you made us all so PROUD!

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Nelson Kids' ICT Expo

On Thursday Room 9 went in a bus to Victory School. We went because it was the Nelson Kids' ICT Expo.

There were lots of other schools there like Hampden Street, Nelson Intermediate, Clifton Terrace, St Joseph's, Auckland Point, Nelson Central, Victory School and Hira School. They all had something to show and children there to teach other children.

Most of the children from all of the schools came to visit and have a look at the expo over the 2 days. That was over 2,000 children!

At the Expo we saw a dinosaur, it was made by the children of Hampden Street School, they used it in their advert. There was a boy who had made a game called "The Adventures of Ball Man". Some children had also made a movie about the expo, some people from our school were interviewed for it. Victory School had a very cool craft shadow puppet show.

Some people from Room 9 got to teach at the Expo and got to show the children how to do things on the computers. We had a group teaching how to make animated movies using xtranormal, how to take a maths challenge on Tutpup and how to do beautiful artwork on Kidpix. They got to teach children as old as 13 years!

Take a look around the awesome Kids' Expo in the movie below :

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Our Stream Study

Last week we went to the stream up the Brook to learn about healthy streams.

This week some groups of students (who will be presenting and teaching other students next week at a BIG Kids' Expo) have been experimenting using the online website xtranormal to make their very own animated movies about the features of healthy streams.

Check out the groups' work below, we can't wait to show you the completed 'proper' projects after the Kids' Expo next week!


By Ellie and Luke



By Pete and Eden



By Charlotte and George N


Well done groups! They are looking FANTASTIC for an experiment, you will produce AMAZING movies next week when teaching all the other students from around Nelson in the Kids' Expo!!!

Friday, November 6, 2009

Goodbye Hannah!

Today is Hannah's last day teaching with Room 9.
We have really enjoyed having her with us over the past 4 weeks.

Here are Room 9's goodbye messages to Hannah :)