Poetry and Percussion

Exploring Language Features Through Nature Poems

The poem 'Rain' by Hone Tuwhare was explored this week. Students identified a number of different language features such as personification and repetition in this wonderful poem. 

Rain - Hone Tuwhare

Rain

I can hear you making
small holes in the silence
rain

If I were deaf
the pores of my skin
would open to you
and shut

And I

should know you 
by the lick of you
if I were blind

the something 
special smell of you
when the sun cakes
the ground

the steady drum-roll 
sound you make
when the wind drops

But if I should not
hear
smell or feel or see you

You would still
define me
disperse me
wash over me
rain

With our college teacher Miss Te Huki students explored using percussion in different ways to enhance their poetry reading.

Rhythm and tempo were explored.

We will continue to practise reading poetry aloud in preparation for week 5 students will read a poem to the class.

Water Exploration in Science

Thinking about erosion...

Last week's Fun Friday we went outdoors to begin experimenting with water. We talked about erosion around the city. We considered how water shapes landforms.  Students began the week by thinking about earth's 4 spheres. We wondered how the hydrosphere affects the geosphere, so we explored weathering and erosion.

We conducted our fieldwork in the school sandpit.

We created different land forms for testing including river beds, a beach, mountains/hills. For the beach landform we simulated wave action.

Some of us created a river bed.

We used our drink bottles to simulate rainfall and tested out what can happen to landforms when too much rain falls.

Some of us added plants and rocks to find out if this slowed down erosion.

We drew scientific diagrams before and after testing and then created our own definitions of erosion.