Rose's Information Report

Hector's Dolphins

Did you know that Hector's dolphin is one of the smallest dolphins in the world? They live around the West Coast and Christchurch in the South Island of New Zealand.

The Hector's dolphin is so small that one could fit in a bathtub! They grow between 1.2 to 1.4 metres. The female weighs up to 45 kilograms and the male weighs about 10 kilograms less.

Catching food takes most of the dolphin's day up. They mainly eat red cod, flounder, hake and stargazer.

The Hector's dolphin is a small gray, white and black dolphin. They are mostly gray with a white belly and black face, tail and fins.

 

Did you know the population has fallen from 30,000 to 7,000? Their population has declined because of  rubbish in the sea. The dolphins see the rubbish and think it is food, or they get tangled in the rubbish and cannot swim or feed properly. Without being killed by rubbish, the Hector's dolphin can live up to 20 years.

Hector's Dolphins are the rarest dolphins in the world. They can only be found in New Zealand and their numbers are getting very low. I think Hector's dolphins are very special and should be saved. What do you think?   

Hector's Dolphins by Rose

Here are some interesting facts about the Hector's Dolphin. I will use this brainstorm to help me when I write my information report.

Making Jellyfish by Rose

Jelly fish

In Room 5 we have been studying the sea. We have learned that turtles sometimes mistake plastic bags for  jellyfish. Now we have made plastic bag jellyfish we can see why turtles think they're jellyfish.

This is how we made a jellyfish in a bottle…

1. Cut a plastic bag in half and cut the handles off
2. Put your finger in the middle and flip it upside down so it is on top of your finger
3. Slide your finger out and tie some string around the neck, but not too tight that you can’t get any water in
4. Pour a little bit off water into the head of the jellyfish, so it fills the top half and then pull the string so the water can’t escape.
5. Get a clear bottle and fill it up to the top with water and then put a pinch of blue food colouring in.
6. Get your jelly fish and put them in the bottle
7. Put on the lid and then have fun! Turn the bottle upside down and watch your jellyfish floating around like a real jellyfish!

Here is a video to show you what to do:

The Change of Room 5

 The Change of Room 5

In Room 5 we have moved all our furniture around. First we talked about were things should go and we came up with this:  

We had a fun time moving the furniture. We put the Teacher's desk in the middle, so that she could see everyone and conference with people more easily. We created the different subject areas to help our learning by working collaboratively with people who are working on the same subject as we are. The tote trays are at the back of room to keep them out of the way, but so they are still easy to get to. We used the tote trays to create a little separate area where people can work on devices that need to be plugged in. We are proud of what we created and we think it will help our learning - we'll let you know!

I hope you like how we designed our room.

By Rose

The Sun

The Sun

I am the sun

I swoop my red flaming hair

On to earth, for warmth.

The Earth is my friend

I try to stop Mr Snow

But my hair is not long enough to reach all of earth.

I am the sun     

by Rose

Rose's Comic Life

Rose's Piha Poem

Piha poem

Sun bearing

Waves curling

Sunblock slapping

We’re having fun

Enjoying the sun  

The waves sound like dogs lapping

Learning about a rip

Makes my heart skip

Sandcastles taking place

I love camp

It is so champ

Running into the water like a giant race

Restless in my sleeping bag

I feel like a rag

Learning about the sun

Rain does not come

My biscuit is yum

I don’t want to go, Piha is so fun!    

Our Amazing Water Filter

On Monday the 18 we enjoyed creating a water filter. We forgot the bottle (the main ingredient!) so we made a deal with another  group to swap some sand for a bottle.

We had to research the best way to make a filter, before we could get started. 

1. First you get a bottle and cut it near the top and poke tiny holes in the bottom.

2.  Put a layer of cotton on the bottom.

3.  Then place dry sand on top of the cotton make sure it covers all of the cotton.

4.  Crush charcoal into dust then put it on top of the sand (do this activity outside!)

5.  Place a thin peace of material  over the charcoal.

6.   Place the top of the bottle that was cut off and put it underneath the bottle to catch the drips.

7.  Pour water in and enjoy.

We learnt that we always had to try our hardest and never give up - the first time, our filter didn't work at all, so we had to try again and again. If we had given up after the first time, we would have felt like we failed, but by figuring out the problems and fixing them, we ended up with a working filter and we felt soooooooooo proud!

We were amazed that with just a few simple ingredients that we could find around the house, we could make a simple filter that actually works - our final water was clean, germ free and delicious!!

We were surprised that charcoal helped to clean the water. It made our hands so dirty, that we were sure it would turn the water black!

We learnt afterwards that we could have added grass to our filter. A lot of other groups used grass and it helps to clean the water even faster.

We reused water and kept putting it through the filter until it was completely clean and safe to drink. 

We really enjoyed breaking the charcoal because it turns into dust and it was really interesting.

Have you ever made a filter? What did you put in to make it clean the water? Do you think you'll try making a filter now that you have heard about our success??

By Rose, Axel, Joe and Madison