Rugby World Cup Task 4

Talofa Lava Room 19,

As we end the penultimate week of term, we start a mouth watering weekend of rugby.

We kick off with South Africa vs Samoa tonight. The bullish South Africans are so far undefeated in the tournament and seem to be hitting form at a good time. Samoa will need to put on a better display than the one against Fiji which was full of errors and very stop-start. Both teams are very physical and more than capable of finding their way to the try line.

Australia vs Russia is the first fixture on Saturday which should be a straight forward job for the Wallabies. France vs Tonga will be more competitive with Tongan pride up against French flair. France will also be looking to bounce back from defeat at the hands of the All Blacks.

The highlight of the weekend will undoubtably be Scotland vs England. The Calcutta Cup clash is always hotly contested and there is a lot at stake here. Scotland need to beat England by 8 points, no mean feat against an English side that is still to be defeated in the pool stages.

The final pool games of the tournament see Ireland take on the Italian Azzuri. Wales vs Fiji should be interesting depending on which Fiji side turns up and Argentina vs Georgia shouldn't throw up too many surprises despite Georgia's impressive result against Romania. More importantly, New Zealand will take on  Canada at 3.30pm on Sunday. Although Canada had a great result against Tonga, they will face their hardest challenge yet in the All Blacks. Mils Muliaina will be looking for his 99th international cap and what better way to celebrate it than with a try...

Your task is to comment on the following:

- Who is top of the groups?
- What do you think the quarter final fixtures will be?
- What do you think semi final fixtures will be?
- Think about the team you are supporting. How have they gone in the tournament so far?

The usual blog rules apply. For more information on fixtures and results click here.

Spiders Cloze Reading Task

Kia Ora Room 19,


Here is your cloze reading task for today. You have the whole day to complete it in your reading book and may work quietly with a partner. Check that your work makes sense and is factual! For information on spiders, click here.

Spiders

Spiders are small, eight-legged  that are best known for spinning silk webs. Spiders spin webs so they can catch  for their food and even larger and  insects cannot escape.

All spiders spin  but some don't spin webs.  spiders spin a single line with a  end. Any insect near, gets trapped when the spider swings the sticky line near them.

All spiders have fangs and most kinds have  glands. They use their fangs and poison glands to their food. A spider's bite can kill insects and other small animals. A few kinds of spiders are  to human beings. In North America, six kinds of spiders harm people, they are - the Brown Recluse, Sac, Black Widow, Brown Widow, Red-legged Widow and the Varied Widow. Four of the Widow  are known to bite humans. The bites of these six spiders often cause mild . Usually a person iritates a spider several times for it to bite you. In Australia, the most dangerous spider is the  with the , a type of Black Widow spider, also being .

Spiders are helpful to people because they eat  insects. They eat  and
locusts which destroy . Spiders also eat flies and  which carry diseases. Spiders feed mostly on insects but some capture and eat tadpoles, small frogs, small fish and mice. Most f are larger and stronger than the males and occasionally they eat males. Spiders can live anywhere they can find food like fields, woods, swamps, caves and deserts. One kind of spider spends most of its life . Another kind lives near the top of Mount , the world's highest . Some live in houses, barns, and other buildings. Others live on the outside of buildings, on walls, windscreens and corners of doors and windows. 

The life span of arachnids in temperate areas is a single season, therefore they rely on  to perpetuate the species from year to year. In warm regions, certain groups (some scorpions and tarantulas) appear to live more than a single year, in fact some tarantulas in captivity have survived for as long as  years.

There are more than  kinds of spiders. Scientists believe there may be up to 50,000 to 100,000 kinds. Some are smaller than than the head of a  but some are larger than a person's . One kind of spider, a South American tarantula is measured at 25 centimetres but that is with its legs extended.

Most people think spiders are insects but scientists classify spiders as s. Insects are different in a number of ways. Spiders have  legs but ants, bees, beetles and other insects have only  legs. Most insects have  or antennae which are feelers. Arachinids include daddy long legs, scorpions, mites and .

Scientists classify spiders as either  spiders or Tarantulas, according to certain differences in their bodies such as the way their  point and move. In addition, spiders can be grouped according to the way they . Web spinning spiders spin webs to catch s. Others lie and wait for insects to come.

Spider Information Report

Ciao Room 19,

This term we have been learning how to write an information report. 

We know the features (it is factual and detailed) and structure (paragraphs and subheadings) of an information report and have been doing research on spiders so that we have prior knowledge on the subject.

When writing about animals, some useful subheadings may be:

- appearance

- habitat

- movement

- food

- behavior

- lifecycle

Your task is to choose a particular type of spider eg. Wolf Spider, Tarantula, Funnel Web Spider, Silver Tail, Goliath Bird Catching Spider etc and write an information report on it. 

Use the information you gathered through your research. The usual blog guidelines apply. 

Anti-Bullying Task

Malo Room 19,

This week we are going to be tackling the issue of bullying. Look at the ideas below and comment. The usual blog rules apply.

- What is bullying? List all the possible behaviors.
- Why is bullying a problem?
- Who does bullying affect?
- What do you do if you are being bullied?
- What do you do if you know somebody is being bullied?
- Why do people bully?
- How do we stop the problem of bullying?
- Add a link to a website that helps with the problem of bullying.

Penguins Cloze Reading Task

Good Morning Room 19,


Complete this cloze reading task using the words provided below. Check that it makes sense and has the correct grammar. 

Penguins

penguins flightless submerged species

incubating stone hatched flipper

Killeroffspring enemies humans

insulatedplumage squid rookeries

When you think of Antarctic wildlife, ______________ are often the first animal that come to mind.
Penguins are true _______________ birds. To survive the harsh conditions of the Antarctic, their bodies are _______________by a thick layer of blubber and a dense network of waterproof ____________. Penguins' bones are solid and heavy, which help them to remain __________________ and reduce the energy needed for pursuit diving. Some ______________ can reach depths of 300 metres or more and stay submerged for up to 25 minutes, though most prefer shorter, shallower dives.
Penguins feed heavily on fish, ______________ , and other small crustaceans.
Penguins generally breed in large, dense colonies called ______________, some with 180,000 or more birds. The sights, smells, and noise of one of these huge colonies are unforgettable. Most penguins build nests of ___________ and there they incubate one or two eggs. Adult pairs take turns _______________ their eggs and feeding the chicks once they have _______________. Communication at these crowded rookeries can be very important not only in locating mates or ______________, but also in courting rituals or signalling danger. In addition to vocal signals, penguins also communicate by head and _______________ waving, bowing, gesturing and preening.
Natural _______________ of the penguin include seals, _____________ whales, and, in the case of young chicks and eggs, several species of seabirds. Healthy adult penguins have no predators on land, so they have no natural fear of ____________.

Axelotle Cloze Passage

Commonly known as ____________, Axolotls are actually ________ like frogs and toads.

Amphibians usually develop from an ____ into a larval form and finally into an adult. But axolotls remain in their larval form throughout their life. If they did grow to adulthood, axolotls would look just like their closest relative, the Mexican Salamander.

Salamanders live on _____ but axolotls are completely aquatic. They do have _____ but breathe through their _____ and also through their skin.

Axolotls only need to be fed every two or three ____. They eat tadpoles, soft insects, _____ and even small fish but can also be fed small pieces of raw meat.

An _______ for Axolotls should have ______ at least 15-20cm deep and between 14-20 degrees Celsius. Other fish shouldn't share the tank or they could be eaten and if there are too many axolotls in one tank they might ______.

Luckily, if your little axolotl loses a leg it will _____ back! Axolotls are famous for their amazing ______ abilities. They can regenerate almost any injured part of their body, including the limbs, tail, skin, and even major organs like the heart, liver and kidney. 

The most common ______ for axolotls are shades of grey and brown but there are also golden albino, white albino, black and spotted varieties. 

Axolotls can _____ to be as large as 20-40cm and _______ for as long as 10-15 years.

Rugby World Cup Activity 3

Good Morning Room 19,

So we are now well into the group stages of the tournament and so far there have been no great upsets... apart from one. The plucky Irish took on and defeated a lackluster Australian side on Saturday night, beating them by a margin of 15 points to 6.

Robbie Deans' lads will need to have a good look at themselves and raise their game if they are to stand any chance of progressing beyond the group stages. Thankfully for them though, the USA will be less likely to pose the same threat as Ireland. Samoa came close to beating Wales but the boys from the valleys did enough, winning by a converted try at the death whilst France cruised past their Canadian rivals.

Looking ahead however, the game that everyone in Aotearoa is talking about is Saturday's clash which sees the All Blacks take on France. There is a great history between these two sides and France have a habit of disrupting Kiwi world cup dreams. What will this year hold? Your task is to research and analyse the fixture:

- give reasons why the All Blacks will be beat France
- list possible reasons why the All Blacks might lose to France
- who are the key players in this game and why
- predict the score
- are there any injuries or injury worries in either team
- what are the details of game for example kick off time, venue etc.
- create a travel plan from Papatoetoe to the game and back

Remember, the usual blog rules apply. Go All Blacks/Allez Les Bleus!

Rugby World Cup Activity 2

Bonjour Room 19,

Another day and another resounding win for mighty Scotland as they smashed Papatoetoe South's adopted 2nd team Georgia into a quivering pulp. Dan Park's boot kicked point after point and the world will now surely have their eye the omnipotent Scots.

In other news, Tonga had the wind taken out of their sails by the Canadian underdogs in Whangerai. Canada's bearded loose trio charged around the pitch, moose-like, taking no prisoners and the normally abrasive Tongans were humbled by the sheer physicality on display from Canada. 

The All Blacks face John Kirwan's Japan on Friday and the boys in black will be wary of their Japanese counterparts after a tenacious, thought ultimately unsuccessful display against France. Another game that will turn heads is the so called Cold War when America take on Russia. But until then, have a look at the questions below and comment with your thoughts. 

Who do you support in the RWC? Why?

Which pool are they in?

Who are the other teams in their pool? 

Have they played any games yet? If so, who did they play? How did they go? What was the score?

Who is the captain of that team?

Provide some information about one of the players in the team.

Provide some Interesting facts about your country.

Rugby World Cup Activity 1

Kia Ora Room 19,

The rugby world cup is now in full swing and we are loving it! There have been some great games, including a thumping win for the All Blacks over Tonga, whilst the mighty Scots put a whopping 4 tries past Romania and will be hoping for more against Georgia tonight.

Your task is to comment on the Rugby World Cup so far. Choose to comment on any of the ideas below:

- What has been your favorite performance so far?
- Who has been the most impressive player?
- What has been your favorite moment or moments so far?
- Who do you think will win each group?
- Predict the results of the fixtures that are coming up.
- What have you learned about each nation?
- What have you learned about rugby?
- What are you looking forward to?
- You could write a match report for one of the games.

The usual blog rules apply. Go the All Blacks!

Homework Task Week 6

Kia Ora,

Your homework task for week 6 is to complete activity 12, 13, 14 and 14 from the rugby world cup booklet. You need to brush up on all your tables because Friday's test is based on your knowledge and understanding of the 5x table.

As usual, all the information you need to help you complete the booklets can be located on the 'Georgia - Our Adopted Second Team'  section of the blog and our spelling words are on the spelling page.

We will be peer assessing our work on Friday so make sure it is completed to the highest standard.

Week 6 Reading Task

Konnichiwa (Hello in Japanese) Room 19,

This post shows the task that you will comment on for reading one day this week. Mr Begg or Mrs Stowers will let you know when you need to comment. Write your answers in sentences and remember, the usual blog rules apply!

Week 6 blogging task

1) What are you reading today?

2) Why are you reading it?

3) What are you learning to do as a reader?

4) How will you know when you are successful?

5) What do you need to work on to be a better reader?

6) How will you do this?

Our new reading strategy is mental imaging.