What is an Earthquake?

We looked at lots of models for explanations from reading books and exemplars.
Then we wrote success criteria we wrote for our explanations..,.

• I wrote a title (a question)
• I wrote an introduction - said what an earthquake is
• I used paragraphs to organise my ideas
• I used cause and effect
• I used an ending (summary)- include the main points or an interesting comment about earthquakes
• I used different sentences and sentence beginnings
• I used earthquake words - eg faults, S-waves, p-waves, tremor,
• I used verbs (doing words) like shakes, trembles, rumbles, clash
• I wrote in present tense - now
• I used capitals, full stops, commas, question marks in the right places
• My explanation was clear and easy to read
• I used a bibliography ( a list of books, web sites)
• I sampled and corrected some words on my own
• I checked my explanation ( proof-read)
• I changed some sentences to make them better (edits)
• I self or peer assessed
  

Types of Disasters

Today we began our investigation into the different disasters we might experience in NZ.

These are the disasters we came up with...

Floods
Earthquakes
Tsunami
Volcanoes
Storms

We then went to 'What's the Plan Stan?' CD and found out there was one more called non- natural. We are going to investigate this further later in the week. We then looked in depth at tsunami and floods by looking at a fact sheet, photos and a video on each disaster. Then we completed a quiz. Our next task was to complete a table with the following headings.

Disaster Type & Cause
Similarities
Differences

Floods
Floods are one of New Zealand's most frequent hazards. Flood waters can ravage the land, destroying roads, bridges, railway tracks and buildings. Crops can be inundated and livestock drowned. Human lives are also at risk, particularly in flash floods and tsunami, where fast-flowing water filled with debris can sweep people away.
Tsunami
New Zealand is a country surrounded by water, so many coastal communities are at risk from tsunami. In a near source tsunami the water level may fall very quickly past the normal low tide mark, then return just as quickly. If this happens, there won't be enough time to issue a warning and it is important that you know what to do, and that you act quickly.
Earthquakes
New Zealand experiences thousands of earthquakes every year. Most are either very deep or centred well offshore, causing little damage or injury. However, a severe earthquake can occur at any time with devastating effects.

We used a model Annie had completed on tsunami and discussed each heading. Then we completed our own for Floods. Tomorrow we will move onto Volcanoes and Storms.

Making Chocolate Bubble Cakes

Today the Arrow's maths group made Chocolate Bubble Cakes. We had a Master Chef bake off competition (boys against girls). We even had judges. Paddy and Kerry judged the crackles and the girls won! But we had to also take into account the tidiness of the groups while they were cooking and the boys won that. We decided it had to be a draw! They were certainly very yummy! The teachers enjoyed theirs as well.
Here is the recipe:

Chocolate Bubble Cakes

250 g vegetable shortening
100 g icing sugar
25 grams cocoa
100 grams rice bubbles
100 grams coconut

1. Put vegetable shortening in a saucepan.
2. Cook over a low heat until melted.
3. Sift icing sugar and cocoa together.
4. Add sifted ingredients, rice bubbles and coconut to saucepan, stirring until well combined.
5. Spoon mixture evenly into paper patty cases.
6. Chill until firm.

How many cakes did you make?
What is the mass of each cake?
What is the mass of coconut in each cake?
If I wanted to make 100 patty cakes how much cocoa would I need?

Snow Farm Trip

Our Winter skills programme this year included another trip to the Snow Farm. We had a brillant day and the weather was amazing. Look at our photos and see the action from the day.

Measurement - Mass

Today the Smiley Faces math's group made Lolly Cake. They looked at the weights on the packets and measured out the correct amounts. It was a yummy lesson!
Here is the recipe:
Make Lolly Cake using this recipe.

Be sure to measure your ingredients carefully!
Lolly Cake
Ingredients:
120 g butter
250 g malt biscuit crumbs
180 g fruit puffs
1/2 tin condensed milk
coconut – for coating
Method:
1. Warm butter and condensed milk together in the microwave.
2. Add biscuit crumbs and fruit puffs.
3. Stir well.
4. Roll into one log or small balls. Coat in coconut.

Calendar Art

Parents:
Call in and look at your calendar art. It is ready and looks great. You can order calendars and cards. This a Parent Forum fund raiser. A flier went home today with the newsletter. Also the Parent Forum are still waiting on the chocolate fundraiser money or returns. There is a large amount of money owing. If you cannot sell the chocolate then please return it.
Cardrona Ski Trip is on Friday. Please make sure you read the notice that went home today regarding clothing, lunch and other important info.

Drawing Diagrams

WALT... draw and label a diagram to help people understand a science idea

A few weeks ago we developed success criteria after looking at lots of diagrams. We discussed the importance of a diagram in visual communication. Drawing scientific diagrams and drawings has helped our observation and drawing skills. We drew examples of faults and S & P waves. We labelled the parts to give more meaning to the diagram. We also included a title. We plan to use some of our skills and knowledge of diagrams in our explanations. They will help explain what we writing visually.

Here are some examples of diagrams we viewed and analysed.

What's The Plan Stan?

We are using the resource 'What's The Plan Stan' to learn all about what to do in an emergency such as an earthquake.
Earthquakes, floods, storms, tsunami, and volcanic eruptions, as well as non-natural hazards such as fires and pandemics, can be frightening because they strike at any time and often without warning. Understanding what causes these hazards and knowing what to do will help you to be better prepared when they happen.
Next week we have a visitor coming to talk about the role of the Civil Defence. His name is Brendan Winter (Queenstown Lakes Civil Defence). We are going to prepare questions to ask at this session and also learn about how to welcome and thank a speaker. We look forwar to meeting our expert on civil defence emergencies.

Explanations

We are writing explanations at the moment. Our focus is Earthquakes and our question is...

What is an Earthquake?

We have done a lot of work on cause and effect and can write lots of examples. We also viewed lots of models on the NZ Exemplars and developed our criteria for assessment. We will be self assessing our explanations against this criteria.

We also have learnt lots about note taking & making. We learnt how to surf, slurp and summarise information from web sites, fact sheets and books.

Earthquake Safety Posters

Over the past week we have made posters to promote Earthquake safety. We have developed criteria for our posters. Some children used the computer and others pen and paper. The key messages were 'Drop, Cover, Hold' , 'Get Ready, Get Thru' and 'Fix, Fasten and Forget'. We will share some with you when they are finished.

This week for homefun we have to complete our Household emergency checklist as well as a home hazard map. We learned about the 16 important survival items we need in an emergency.Click on the sheet to download a PDF.

The Emergency Items should include:

Emergency items
Torch with spare batteries
Radio with spare batteries (check all batteries every 3 months)
A change of clothes for all family members (wind and waterproof clothing, sun hats, and strong outdoor shoes)
First aid kit and essential medicines
Blankets or sleeping bags
Pet supplies
Toilet paper and large rubbish bags for your emergency toilet
Face and dust masks

Food and water for at least three days

Non-perishable food (canned or dried food)
Bottled water (at least 3 litres per person, per day for drinking)
Plan how to get water for washing and cooking (check your hot water cylinder, pond, toilet cistern if it is free of chemicals)
Click here for tips on storing water
A primus or gas barbeque to cook on
A can opener
Check and replace food and water every twelve months.

Supplies for babies and small children

Food, formula and drink
Change of clothing and nappies
Toys or favourite activity
Assemble everything you need for your Emergency Survival Items and place it somewhere that is easy to get to in an emergency. Make sure everyone in your house knows where your Emergency Survival Items are kept. If you prefer to keep some of your Emergency Survival Items in the house for everyday use, make sure you know where to find them quickly when an emergency occurs.

Richter Scale

How much does the ground shake during an earthquake? Scientists can tell using the Richter (RIK-ter) scale. It measures the shaking on a scale from 1.0 to 9.0. The weakest earthquakes are 1.0, or less. The strongest earthquakes on the scale can measure is 9.0.

Richter Scale

9.0 — Causes complete devastation and large-scale loss of life.
8.0 — Very few buildings stay up. Bridges fall down. Underground pipes burst. Railroad rails bend. Large rocks move. Smaller objects are tossed into the air. Some objects are swallowed up by the earth.
7.0 — It is hard to keep your balance. The ground cracks. Roads shake. Weak buildings fall down. Other buildings are badly damaged.
6.0 — Pictures can fall off walls. Furniture moves. In some buildings, walls may crack.
5.0 — If you are in a car, it may rock. Glasses and dishes may rattle. Windows may break.
4.0 — Buildings shake a little. It feels like a truck is passing by your house.
3.0 — You may notice this quake if you are sitting still, or upstairs in a house. A hanging object, like a model airplane, may swing.
2.0 — Trees sway. Small ponds ripple. Doors swing slowly. But you can't tell an earthquake is to blame.
1.0 — Earthquakes this small happen below ground. You can't feel them.

What is this?

Tell your parents all about this. What is it?

What is it used for?

Visit this site to see if you are right.
http://www.thetech.org/exhibits_events/online/quakes/seismo/

Hazards and Disasters

We learned to describe a hazard and disaster and identified some hazards around ourclassroom, school, community and the wider world.
Hazards
We identified hazards around our school and classroom. We found out thta a hazard is a phenomenon or a process, either natural or humanmade,that can endanger a group of people, their belongings and their environment, if they do not take precautions.
There are different types of hazards. Some are natural while others are caused by human beings, such as so-called industrial or technological hazards (explosions, fires, toxic chemical spillages). Wars and terrorism are also hazards caused by humans.These hazards can turn into disasters, but only under certain conditions. Earthquakes are natural hazards.

Disasters
A disaster is a tradegy from a natural or human-made hazard that negatively affects society or environment.
A disaster takes place when the following three conditions occur at the same time:
When people live in hazardous places eg close to an active volcano, on unstable slopes where landslides are likely to happen, close to rivers which could flood.
When a hazardous natural phenomenon occurs eg an earthquake or man-made.
When the phenomenon eg an earthquake causes a lot of damage.

Are disasters caused by people or by nature?
Natural phenomena can sometimes strike very hard and cause disasters if preventive measures have not been taken or if some human activities have harmed the natural environment or upset the balance of the ecosystem. For instance, too much water that the soil is unable to absorb can cause floods, while too little water in some regions can lead to drought. But people can make the situation worse, for example when trees are chopped down and no new ones are planted. This makes the soil very dry and dusty, which can lead to erosion. When the rains come, there are not enough roots and vegetation to bind the soil together, and a landslide can occur. If we destroy parts of nature such as coral reefs, forests, or fragile mountain plants, weare destroying the natural barriers that protect us from tsunamis, drought, landslides, floods and other hazards.

Drop, Cover and Hold

We have been leasrning all about what to do in an earthquake. We have had practises in class and are very quick, quiet and calm. Here is what to do in an earthquake emergency. We made posters to put around the school

• Move no more than a few steps to a safe place, drop, cover, and hold on.
• Do not attempt to run outside
• If outside, move no more than a few steps to a safe place, drop, cover, and hold
• If in a lift, stop at the nearest floor and get out
• If you are driving, pull over to the side of the road. Stay in the vehicle until the shaking stops
• If you are near the coast, drop, cover and hold during an earthquake, and then move immediately to higher ground when the shaking stops.

Drama

Today we did drama using our bodies and no talking. We had to get into a variety of statues on a given theme. We used freeze frame where we used our bodies to make an image to capture an idea, theme or moment in time. We had to stay connected to one another in some way. The group sculptures were amazing! It was good to see creative thinking, space beenig used well, different levels and body sapes. What wonderful kids! I didn't know my class could be so quiet for so long. They had to come up with other communication means. We also played a drama game called ' What are you doing?' where a person had to act out a given activity, then someone had to come up to them and ask, 'What are you doing?' and they had to tell them a new activity to do. . Here are some photos from today's session.