Finding Root Words

 We are learning to identify a root word.

In Reading we have been looking for root words and discussing different word endings we find in the book.  By practising this we are able to decode unknown words more effectively.

"It's easy to read the books", said Hadi.

Descriptive Words

We are learning to add interesting language to our story.

In Story Writing we have been brainstorming adjectives (describing words) and trying to use them in our stories to make our work sound more exciting.  Guy Fawkes gave us the opportunity to practise some of these words:

"Red and orange are describing words", said Hadi.

Diwali Divas

We have been learning about celebrations around the world.  One of the celebrations we explored was Diwali.  We learnt that it is known as the festival of light and one of the parts of this festival is lighting diva (pronounced "diya").  We made our own diva using clay and tea-light candles and then we decorated them with paint and glitter.  Happy Diwali everyone!

"People do special dances when it is Diwali", said Hadi.

I am learning to use my word card

In Writing we have been learning to use our word card.  It has some words in the colourful boxes and these help us to write our story.  If we need to write a word that isn't on our card we can say the word slowly and write down the sounds we can hear instead.

"It is easy using the word card to do my writing", said Hadi.

I am learning to complete word families

In Reading we have been learning how to complete a word family.  We know that all the words in a word family rhyme with each other.  We also know that they have the same letters at the end of the word.  Here is a screen shot of an ipad game we played about word families:

"It was easy to make the word Dad.  It was tricky to make the word glad."

Bunnings visits Elm Park

This week we were lucky enough to have Bunnings come and visit us and put together a fun day where students got to build a project.  Nga tamariki had an absolute blast hammering, glueing, problem solving and painting to create a masterpiece.  Here is a brief snap-shot of the fun:

"It was fun using the glue to build my photo box.  It was tricky doing the painting."

I am learning to add numbers where 5 is one of the numbers

In Maths we have been learning to add numbers when 5 is one of the numbers.  To help us get faster at solving these equations we played a game called "Murtle's Turtles".

"This game was easy because I could remember how to play and I could remember the answers."