Tag: Writing

Letter to Grandma

LI: To vary our sentence lengths to create pace and impact.

My partner and I have been focusing on the story “The Boy in Striped Pajamas” which focuses on a boy named Bruno who is sent to live in a new home far from his old home in Berlin. He has moved to Auchwitz due to his Father being an high ranking officer.
With this story LS2 has learnt how to vary the length of their sentences to create speed and depth.

To do this we recaped on the types of sentences such as simple, compound, and complex. To vary between these is to use a pattern that works, such as short – medium – long – medium – short. A simple sentence would be the base, adding a brief 1-3 word sentence that still adds a hook for the reader to invest more. Then using a compound after that (2 simple sentences combined by a FANBOYS) can give the story some depth and interest. Now to use a complex is easy but so effective!

Now combining those two can help us with the task “Letter to Grandma”. In this task we act as Bruno sending a letter to his Grandma back in Berlin while nhe explains the situation and how he feels of the house. The hard part of this task was to sound like a 10 year old Bruno. But I still pushed through.

FANBOYS are connecters helping you connect and link related ideas and show balance (Simple sentence + FANBOYS + Simple sentence). FANBOYS: For, and, nor, but, or, yet, so. “A WHITE BUS” Are subordinating conjunctions (like because, although, while, since if).  That can help add extra details or elaboration on the main idea of a complex sentence.

Fly by Night

LI: To structure and write a narrative

I used a Gemini Gem to help us add detail to a narrative. Our Gem asked us questions that made us think of different ways we could add detail and description to our narrative. When I finished I used the Storybook feature in Gemini to create an illustrated version. This was a bit harder to do because I had to keep adjusting the prompts to get as close to my original narrative as I could.

It was abit hard and took many attempts but I managed to get a illustrated story book that is almost identical to my narrative writing.

Fly by Night, TOPES Narrative,

LI: To write a narrative from the point of view of a baby owl on its fist flight

 

The sun was gradually vanishing from my line of sight, hiding behind the towering trees as the moon began to take its place in the sky. As I looked down I saw how high I was and was a bit nervous. My talons gripped the thick bark tighter than usual as I was looking down and anticipating the thoughts of my first flight, which was taking place tonight.  
I watched my family as I questioned my mother “is it time yet?” “she murmured a quiet “yes,it is time”.  I drew my wings as I was ready to fly. I flapped my wings. But I realized I couldn’t move my body as if time took a pause, the fear inside of me was too much for me to even move. 

My mother watched me and realized it was not my time yet.  She spoke softly “Maybe another time”. I drew back my wings in disappointment as I watched from afar, as my family flew off one after another.
Everyday after that moment I tried and tried, and grew my confidence being able to jump but still failed to flap my wings within the ideal time. I gripped my talons one last time as I was about to give up, I had the constant thought of this was gonna be it and this was my time to fly. 
My family saw my struggle and supported me, especially my mother, she spoke with confidence “believe in yourself and fly like the wind”.  I drew in my wings as I was thinking this was the time, the time for me to fly. I let go of the bark and started flapping my wings and I realized at last, my talons were finally off the bark, I looked beneath me and finally saw me hovering above. I moved forward, gaining more speed.  I looked at my right seeing my family but to the left I saw my mothers face filled with happiness, I was proud and thankful of myself and my family for helping me build up the courage to fly and soar through the sky.

Mrs Anderson read us the book ‘First Flight’ by June Crebbin. We talked about the narrators point of view and used a Gemini Gem to prompt us to think more deeply about what the story might look like when told in the first person.

I enjoyed using the Gem because it helped me add more detail and be very specific with using sensory words.

Life in the Annex

LI: To write a description of life with the Frank family in the annex in 1942

The annex was quiet except for our hearts skipping a beat as we heard rattling at the book case.  The echo of the clock chiming, feeds the nervousness in us, growing by each chime.   Persecuted  by Germans everyday forced us to hide away in this secret annex that was very cramped, old and basic.  Consisting of dull colours from the floors to walls with scares of the past,some containing the passage of time with centimeters.  We needed to be very silent during the daytime making sure we wouldn’t be caught or we’ll  be sent away to a concentration camp  where the Germans take and make lives miserable for the Jewish.  Everyday was like the day before, sleeping, eating, repeating and fearing every second of it,  yet Anne Frank recorded all of it and  her experiences in her diary.  

Food wasn’t any better, as it was limited, repetitive and we relied so much on helpers to get it from point A to point B. Which for them was a very risky job because if they were found they would have been eliminated on the spot.  Soon enough food was falling out of reach we needed to ration everything,  the longer the war the shorter the food.  We wouldn’t have food to fill us to the brim and most of the time we’ll be starving.  

 

We are reading the book ‘Diary of Anne Frank’. Mrs Anderson created a Gemini Gem to protmpt us to think more deeply about what life would have been like in the annex, what we felt and why we felt that way.
I enjoyed using the Gem because it helped us include more detail in our writing and gave us questions we could answer to get a deeper understanding.  It also helped me be more specific and descriptive about what I was writing.

Great Shearer’s Strikes

LI: Understanding How Hard it was to Earn Incomes from Shearing Sheep

 

This week for Reading , we needed to create a DLO explainging the 1891 Shearers Strike, But If you don’t know what is the backstory behind it, let me explain : The 1891 Shearers Strike: Standing Up for Workers’ Rights

What was the 1891 Shearers Strike?

The 1891 Shearers Strike was a significant event in Australia’s history when sheep shearers across New South Wales decided to take a stand for their rights. They wanted better pay and working conditions, and when their demands weren’t met, they chose to go on strike. This meant they stopped working in the shearing sheds, refusing to shear any more sheep until their requests were taken seriously.

 

Tragedy at Tangiwai

LI: To Identify the author’s purpose

In our reading session, we explored the Tangiwai disaster. We watched a video that detailed the Tangiwai railway bridge tragedy and took notes on vocabulary (words we didn’t know) and questions we had.

Key Learnings
We discovered the differences between open and closed questions:

Open questions invite more detailed responses.

Closed questions typically require a simple yes or no answer.

For our assignment, we read through the story and responded to the questions using our own words in a comment tool to express our opinions and ideas.

Group 2 created a Google video where we took turns sharing six facts about the historical tragedy. We utilized our research skills to succinctly explain what happened, using our own phrasing. For example: “The disaster occurred on Christmas Eve, with many passengers traveling home to be with their families, which heightened the tragedy of the event.”

I really enjoyed this task.

Diary World War 1

LI: To retell an event in history through the fictional eyes of someone who was there

 

We have been looking at the events taking place at ANZAC Cove on 25 April 1915, during WW1. We seen videos of  how life in the trenches in the perspective of a ANZAC soldier, explored many things about the soldiers in WW1 using ANZACs site we also had read Hami Grace’s diary giving us a understanding of what was needed to be written.  Using what we researched and learnt we put our own diary entries together.

We used Google Vids to record our diary entries. I enjoyed using this as it allowed me to make everything within a small amount of time due to how simple it was to use.

Something I found interesting about this task was that the diaries of the ANZAC soldiers were very engaging to read.

PapyrusAI

A Tale of Friendship and Adventure

Ariel is a mermaid who lives in the enchanted kingdom beneath the depths of the ocean called Atlantis. She is curious about the world above the sea. Belle, a girl who was once imprisoned in a castle with a beast, now enjoys exploring beyond the walls that once held her captive. One day, Ariel makes a brave decision. She trades her voice for legs, hoping to explore the land with wonder. Without knowing how to walk, Ariel struggles, tumbling onto the shore.

 

Belle notices Ariel from a distance. Thinking that Ariel might have been pushed ashore, Belle hurries to help. As she reaches Ariel, she realises Ariel’s confusion and nervousness. “Do you need help?” Belle asks softly as she helps Ariel up. Belle takes Ariel to her home and offers her some dry clothes.

 

After Ariel changes into the dry clothes, Belle gives her a tour of the kingdom. She teaches Ariel how to use utensils and shows her how to sit in a chair. They have so much fun together that Ariel forgets her nervousness. Even without a voice, Ariel’s laughter and smiles say everything.

 

But trouble is near. Ursula, who used dark magic to take Ariel’s voice, is watching them. She feels threatened by their growing friendship and plans to break the bond between them. Emerging from the ocean, Ursula attacks Ariel and Belle. Ariel, though unable to speak, is determined to protect her new friend.

 

During the battle, Ariel finds her inner strength and, miraculously, her voice returns. With a determined spirit, she fights back, forcing Ursula to retreat into the depths of the ocean.

Belle and Ariel celebrate their victory. Now that Ariel can talk, they share stories and laughter, cherishing their friendship. With a heart full of gratitude and joy, Ariel says goodbye to Belle, promising to visit the land again someday. Until then, the bond they’ve created will remain, bridging the ocean and the land.

LI: To write a narrative from an AI prompt

This week we got to explore Papyrus AI in Writing.  Papyrus AI is a generative AI which has to do with creating things. We used it to help us write a narrative story that incorporated two different fairy tales : Beauty and the Beast, and The Little Mermaid.  Papyrus asked us for our ideas, and gave us feedback to improve our paragraphs, until we had completed our whole narrative story.

Source of image Pinterest

Ariel and Belle, by Ano Sbee

Figurative Language DLO

This week for writing we learnt about “Figurative Language” and the different ones there are.  First we learnt the basic one like metaphor, hyperbole and simile before moving on to other one like Idiom, symbolism & personification.

Next we needed to create a DLO explaining the different figurative laguages.  Lastly we needed to Blog.  I did good at explaing each figurative laguages but I need to approve on adding more examples, I liked this task because I like learning about figurative laguages.

Sally Sutton

This week we had a special guest coming to our school, an author named “Sally Sutton”.

First the whole school gathered into the hall besides the year 7 & 8 senior because they had a sports session going on, as everyone sat down in there places we all could see some of Sally Sutton’s books aligned on the staged where we could see them.

Next Sally Sutton introduced herself before telling us more about herself, she also read us one of her books “The Cat From The Muzzle” she explained she was inspired to write about a cat who walked all the way from its home back to the farm muzzle which took the cat 5 weeks know one how he did it, she explained her publisher gave her the idea in the first place.

Lastly we were allowed to ask Sally Sutton a question about her career as an author before waving good bye and left for our sport session.