Memories, writing from visual prompts

I follow my dog Charlie into the depths of the snowy woods. The smell of fresh morning dew surrounds me in nostalgia. I brush my numb hand over the familiar heart shape chiseled into the bark of a white birch tree.

I was twelve...

The song ‘Blank Space’ by Taylor swift had just come out.
I ran into the forest, wearing my new flowy dress, almost stumbling over the length of the garment and the fact that I was absolutely smitten, with the new kid in school. He was close on my tail, though I’d had a head start.
I’d stopped at one of the millions of trees, and collected a sharp rock from the damp ground. As I stand, Mason Beckett is suddenly behind me.
“What are you doing with that rock?”
“Oh, nothing,”
His face curved up into a grin, watching closely at what I was doing.
He whispered in my ear something I will remember always.
“Don’t ever forget me okay?”
“Okay” I said in a puzzled tone.

He was erased physically, but the memory is eternal.


This is one of the stories I wrote last week, and these are my goals:

1. Write in structured, well developed paragraphs that flow well from one to the next within the text.

2. Use the same tense throughout the text.

I think I achieved 1. by making sure each paragraph was relevant to the next, by using links between each part, that make everything flow together.

My second goal is something I need to work on though, but I think It's something that is quite hard to remember, since we switch between tenses all the time when we speak.

Area 21.8.20

For the last week, Nogo's math group have been learning area, perimeter, circumference, and area of a circle and triangle.

I found area and perimeter pretty easy, but I definitely had to get used to learning radius, diameter and circumference and area of a circle and triangle.

Here's how you find the area of a rectangle/square:

All you have to do is multiply the length x the width. 

So the equation is: 

A = 1 x w

    =12 x 4 

    = 48 sq m

Which means the area is 48m2.

Humpback Whale Food Chain

Maths 14.8.2

 Today in maths we were learning about finding the circumference of a circle.

Everyone headed out to the court to measure their feet against the middle circle on the netball court. Then we came inside and found the circumference. This is how I did it:

So I knew that 15.5 of my feet was the diameter of the circle, and so all I had to do was this equation:

C = π x 15.5

And I knew π = 3.14

Therefore C = 48.67

Maths 13.8.20- volume

 Today in maths, we learned about formula.

At first I didn't understand it at all, but I did get it eventually. 

Here's and example of volume:

It's just the length x the width x the height, which is actually pretty simple, if you think about it. 

Here's, for instance, an equation we had to work out.

first I multiplied those numbers, which was 264 then I had to work out the cost for concrete, which was $4 per m3. Then I multiplied 264 x 4 and the total cost equaled $1056. 

But next, Nogo told us that our friend that did the concrete was our best friend, and they gave us 30% off. 

So the first thing I did was convert the 30% into a fraction (because that makes the most sense to me) which was 3/10, and then it was 3/10 of $1056 .

The first thing I did was: 10 ÷ 1056 = 105.6

Then: 3 x 105.6 = 316.8

So 30% of 1056= 316.8. 

Then I used my calculator to minus $316.8 from $1056, and the answer was $739.2 

And that is some of the math that I did today, and how i solved it.

Snowboarding! 4/7/20

On the first Saturday of the holidays, my family and I went to Mt Hutt ski field.
I decided to try snowboarding for the first time, and luckily my brother Max, was there to teach me.
The drive up there was pretty windy, but I didn't get carsick! (Which I always do.)
Once we got to the mountain, the first thing I did was feel the glacial powder on my gloves. I hadn't seen snow in so long! The last time I remembered being there, I had hurt my ankle skiing, and my dad wasn't around. So yeah, Mt Hutt definitely needed to prove itself to me!

My brother and I strapped our front feet in the snowboards, (I was using his, and he was using a rental.) and we shimmied our way up to the magic carpet. To be honest, I was kind of terrified at first, but toward the end I was getting on and off the travelator like a pro! There was a slight dip before the magic carpet, so I had to go very, very steady as I went down. (It really wasn't bad at all, but obviously I would be scared on my first try.) I finally got on, following behind Max, and then we waited. And waited. And waited. And then guess what?
We were at the end!
Max told me to just slide down and into the wall, and then scoot out of the way and on top of the hill.
Easy for him to say!
(OK again it wasn't that bad but...)
So we got there, and all we had to do was clip our back foot in, and slide down!
so of course I didn't just slide down the hill on my first go, but Max would go down a little bit of the way, then I would go down to meet him. Thus practicing stopping and actually snowboarding at the same time.

 

Eventually I got to the bottom, and then we did the exact same again a couple more times, each time I got more and more confident in the board. On about the fourth go, Max wanted to go up to the top, so my dad came with me instead. (He also snowboards as well, so he knew what he was doing.) Now it was just a matter of practice. 

After about two more tries, my legs were on fire! 

We decided to go up to the cafe, as Abby (my stepmum) and Sophie (Max's girlfriend) were already there. Soon enough, Abby, Sophie, my dad, my cousins, (Hazel and Angus) Rach, (my aunty) my step sister, (Alice) and I were all sitting around a table in a cozy cafe, sharing hot chips and hot chocolates. (As well as some other food my aunty brought along. My uncle Conan and Max were still up the mountain.

When everyone's stomach's were satisfied, we went straight back to the mountain. 

it was a shock going outside again, as the cafe was so warm and toasty. I soon got used to it though, and all the cousins were sliding down the side of one of the ski tracks on toboggans. 

Abby got some cool photos of all of us sliding down together, and it was super fun!

After that though, Alice, Abby and I got stuck there, because my dad decided to go up to the mountain, so Alice and I were just watching people come down the mountain, me hoping it was my dad, and I have no idea what Alice was hoping for. 

Eventually, my dad came back, and he took me up the slope a couple more times, but after that, he took Alice up on her skis, so I had to go myself. 

After a few times on my own, I got used to it and didn't need my dad to help me at all! 

By the end of the day, I was completely exhausted and pretty confident going down the learners slope.

next time I go to Mt Hutt, I'll go up to Highway 72, which is the next easiest.

Overall, I really enjoyed snowboarding for the first time, and I can't wait for our school ski trip in September!  

 

Explaining Scientific Diagrams

Explaining Scientific Diagrams

Scientific diagrams include factual information, visual images that could make it easier to understand, and labels to show key points. The audience can vary, as the visuals and words play an important role in who it is written for.

The purpose of these diagrams are to inform people on a specific subject. It could be anything from the water cycle, to the perfect habitat for an Okapi.

We know these aren’t pieces of persuasive writing, or for entertainment, because they use factual language. If it were trying to persuade the reader, ‘Planting An Apple Tree’ would sound more like this: Apple trees can be soothing and rewarding, and will fill your life with joy.

But since it’s educating us, the text is telling us how to plant it, not why. For example: Apply 2 to 3 inches of mulch over the root ball and backfill. Keep mulch away from the trunk base.

The audience all depends on the language used and the visual images used. For instance, in text 1- How Do Plants Grow- the lively images and simple vocabulary are all clues to show that this text is aimed largely at a younger audience. Though not so young that they do not understand, therefore the author was probably thinking of the year 5 & 6 when he/she was writing.

On the other hand, with 'Planting An Apple Tree', teenagers and adults are the targeted crowd, because colours are more visually appealing to a younger audience, whereas colours and curiosity are lacking in this diagram. There are also more complex and scientific words, which may be much harder to understand, and less interesting in terms of what kids would like to read.

In conclusion, a scientific diagram all depends on who the author has in mind while writing, and including elements to build on that age group focused on.