Reading Contract

This week we have started using a Reading Contract. This means that the children need to complete a certain amount of "Must Do" activities during the week and then they can choose from some other "Can Do" activities.

I have put this in place to challenge the children and to help them grow into independent learners. This has been a learning process, some children are choosing to complete activities, forgetting that certain activities must be completed first.

It has also produce some amazing presentations of their learning.

This is Roberts follow up after reading an article about the Terracotta Soldiers:

Terracotta Soldiers

On the 29th of March 1974 two Chinese farmers were digging a well when they

found a life size soldier made of terracotta(a type of clay).

They did not know at the time that they had found an ancient emperor's personal clay army. Archaeologists since then have discovered eight thousand terracotta soldiers and five hundred and twenty horses as well as hundreds of chariots of war.  They think that the Chinese emperor Qin Shi Huang made them to serve him in the afterlife.

As he grew older he became obsessed with escaping death.

The soldiers were made in separate parts head torso arms and legs the people who made them used eight different face moulds and added individual features later that's eight thousand different faces or one thousand faces a mould

The soldiers were found in pits buried standing up with the horses and chariots of war there were three pits one massive one one small one and a tiny one.

Robert Christie

This is Ben's follow up after reading an article on the Newsela website:

Scientists say California's Catalina Island is slowly sinking

Scientists have been arguing over Catalina for years. Some say it is sinking. Others say it is rising.

One Day, The Island Could Be Gone

Castillo says Catalina could be completely underwater someday. It could take 3 million years to happen.

Castillo says there is another problem. Catalina is not sinking evenly. It is tilting to one side. The tilting could lead to underwater landslides. Huge rocks and lots of dirt would fall to the ocean floor.

The landslides could cause a tsunami, he said.

The tsunami would put parts of California in danger, Castillo said.

Scientist Randall Schumann did a study of Catalina in 2012. His study shows that the island is rising.

No one really knows if Catalina is rising or sinking, he said.

Ben Alexandar

We were also captivated by Braden's character description of Professor Smarty Pants.

Professor Smarty Pants is called P.S.P for short. He wears the same thing everyday of the year. The Professor wears a brown belt and has glasses. He also has a brown moustache and has a zipper for a nose. If you haven't noticed he is a pair of pants. On the legs of the pants there is the words "PROFESSOR SMARTY" written on in pen. On his shoes is written "PANTS". P.S.P is a super hero because he is so smart, if you ask him a questions, he will know the answer every time. When someone urgently needs him, they just need to get a big spotlight pointing at the night sky and shoot the picture of a pair of glasses, pants, zipper and shoes into the dark sky and the Professor instantly teleports over.

Next week we will be starting our Maths contract.