CSI Day

This week, Ako 3 came to school on Monday to find their room full of desks. The students became CSI agents for the morning and had a series of challenges they had to complete in order to protect their 'idea'. The students really enjoyed their morning pretending to be agents. Here are some photos of the students completing their challenges. 

Bee Bots in Ako 3

Last week, Ako 3 had the opportunity to be the first students in the school to use the new Bee Bots. The students were given no instructions on how to use them and managed to figure out how they worked on their own. Such amazing learning happening in Ako 3. 

Exploding Milk

Here are some pictures of students testing what happens when we add food colouring to milk. We then added vinegar to the mixture to see what would happen. Once we watched this process the students then added baking soda to see what would happen next. The mixture bubbled up and gave the students an exciting experience to write about.

Melting Skittles

This week in Ako 3, one of our exciting activities that we got to write about was skittles in water. We lined a plate with skittles and added water and then watched the magic happen. The students produced awesome writing, including a challenge word. This week I introduced challenge words to the students which is where I pick a word that a student has used to describe our experience and then challenge the students to use it in their writing. 

Exploding Bags

This week to inspire out writing in Ako 3, students exploded some snaplock bags. To do this we put food colouring and vinegar in the bottom of the bag and then pegged that close. We then put baking soda on top and sealed the bag. Once we let the peg go the baking soda hit the vinegar and then began foaming. The students had an awesome time and got some descriptive writing from the experience.

Ako Three Language Experience

Ako 3 has been using exciting activities to give us inspiration for our writing. So far we have made magic snow and giant bubbles. Here are some photos of the students creating their giant bubbles.

STEAM Afternoons

This week at Pukemiro school we have started whole school afternoons working under the STEAM umbrella. This stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics. The students have been working throughout all three Ako classrooms on many activities. We have been focusing on building persistence and the willingness to never give up during these activities. In Ako three the students were working on constructing a bridge out of popsicle sticks and seeing whose bridge could hold the most blocks. Students have been very successful in this activity and are showing persistence as they try and try again to make their bridges work.