This experiment has been very interesting for me. It has also taught me a lot. My friends and I have all been in this together, and when we find a new Web 2.0 tool, we tell each other about it. I've found out about Ourstory (how to make a timeline), Polldaddy (how to make polls and surveys), Voki (an animated cartoon that says things for you), Let Them Sing It For You (where you type in words to be sung), Fancygens (free widgets!) and many many more. I think that I prefer to have my eportfolio on a blog, because with knowledge net, the only people who can see what your doing are you and your teacher (or your friends if you give them the password) but with a blog, the world is your audience!
Also this term, we had a Myths and Legends Contract. We had to read as many myths and legends as we could, and then complete an activity on most of the stories we had read. I read many legends - here are the names of some of them.
Legends I read:
1. Maui and the Sun 2. Maui and the fingers of fire 3. The great fish of Maui 4. Paikea and the whale 5. Rona and the Moon
6. Pania of the Reef 7. Uenuku and the Mist Maiden 8. The Kuia and her faithful dog 9. Battle of the Mountains 10. The Legend of Creation 11. Hatupatu and the Birdwoman 12. The Legend of Hinemoa and Tutanekai 13. The Legend of Waikaremoana 14. The Lone fairy of Pirongia 15. Rata and the Totara Tree 16. The Legend of Maouo 17. Kupe and the great octopus of Muturangi 18. Pourangahua and the great bird of Ruakapanga
Youtube movies:
Maui and the Sun ~
Hatupatu and the Birdwoman ~
Activities I completed:
Task: Write an interview with the main character in the legend.An interview with Maui, the one who asked for his grandmother’s fingers of fire.
How did you feel after you first met your grandmother?
Perhaps I felt a little bit scared: she’s quite intimidating, but I soon got over that when she agreed to give me one of her precious fire fingers.
Why did you put out the fire in the first place?
I wanted to know how to make fire, and by putting it out, we would have to find out how to make fire. Why did you make no attempt to save your first fire finger from the river when you fell in?
The fire fingers made a lovely sizzling sound when they were in the water, and at the time I didn’t realize that water put out fire. This I discovered later, which helped me to understand how to make fire. How did you feel when you knew that you must go back for yet another fire finger?
A little scared, actually, because each time I came back, she got a little bit angrier. By the time I had to take her last finger of fire, I knew that she wouldn’t tolerate it, but I didn’t know what she was going to do to me, which was worse! I dreaded this moment! Did everyone have faith in you while you retrieved the fire fingers?
My brothers have always been quite jealous of me - especially now. But I think they know me well enough by now to predict that I would succeed again. Everyone else was just hoping that I would be OK and hopefully come back with a fire finger or the secret of fire, which I did. What happened to your grandmother?
When I was hiding in the tree as a bird, my grandmother returned to her cave. I suppose she is still in her cave, but she was very old, and she didn’t have any warmth (because I took her fire fingers) so she has probably passed away now. Do you think that you will be seeing her again?
Once again, as in your previous question, she is most likely to have died already, so no, I won’t expect to see her again. But even if she was still living in her cave, I don’t think that I would want to encounter her once more (or her anger!). How did you escape when she was chasing you, how far behind was she, and did she see you turn into a bird?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Task: Find a song relating to the legend you have read.
The Great Fish of Maui(We don’t know how lucky we are!)
At the dawn of the day, in the great Southern Ocean Where the world’s greatest fish was being landed And the boat they were pulling it into was sinking And the sea was quite lumpy, and the weather was foul And the bloke with the map was as pissed as an owl And the boys called out “Maui, ya clown, let it go” In the noise he reached down for his grandmother’s jawbone and he winked at his mates and he said “Boys, we don’t know how lucky we are” “I have a feeling I have stumbled on something substantial.”
We don’t know how lucky we are We don’t know how lucky we are We don’t know how lucky we are We don’t know how lucky we are
So when things are looking really bad And you’re thinking of giving it a way Remember, New Zealand’s a cracker And I reckon come what may If things get appallingly bad And we’re all under constant attack Remember, we want to see good clean ball And for god’s sakes, feed your backs We don’t how fortunate we are to have that place We don’t know how propitious are the circumstances.
We don’t know how lucky we are We don’t know how lucky we are We don’t know how lucky we are We don’t know how lucky we are
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Task: Identify the different parts of the story. (Click on the table to enlarge it!)
This term, we have been studying The Arts. Team B, 4 classes in my school have been split into groups. Each class has a drama group, a music group and a dance group. We have all been practicing hard. This afternoon, we invited our parents to watch our performances in the hall. I was in the drama group, but there was no time to do our play, so sometime we will perform it again. Our play was about a New Zealander and his dog, who travel around the North Island, picking up people along the way who tell some information about that place before they get on the ute. I was a Maori warrior from Rotorua, where Maori culture is celebrated. It's a pretty cool play. Here is the script:
NEW ZEALAND
(Scene: Cape Reinga lighthouse in the background. New Zealander in ute.)
Trent: G'day mate! Just setting off for my trip around the North Island! All I've got for company is my good old mate, Mutton. Mutton: Woof woof! Trent: OK old pal! Ready for our trip? Let's go! Robert: And so this is where my story begins of a very interesting holiday that I just happened to be included in and about all the interesting people that joined us along the way. It started with me walking down 90 Mile Beach when I experienced my first near death experience. I was almost run over by a crazy guy driving his ute down the beach! "Kia ora mate! Going on a trip?" Trent: Yeah, I'm traveling around the North Island. Robert: Have you been to this region before? Let me tell you about the region... (tells some information about 90 Mile Beach) ... I asked him where he was heading next, and he wasn't sure, so I suggested that he go to Paihia. He thought that was a great idea and he asked me if I wanted to come along. I thought- Why not? And so my holiday began. We talked about fishing and boating all the way to Paihia. When we got there we were bombarded by people wanting to take us on boat trips. Aaron: Howdy! How can I help you today? Would you like to book a charter? Trent: No thanks, we've got a long journey to Whangarei. Aaron: Wait! Before you go, let me tell you about Paihia - Trent: Hey! Why don't you join us - hop on the back, and tell us about Paihia on the way? Aaron: Great! (hops in and tells some information about Paihia) Robert: We listened to what Aaron had to say and we decided that we would definitely come back and visit Paihia again.But we were on the road again and our destination was Whangarei. We had heard about the Zion Wildlife Gardens and we wanted to find out about this place. Have YOU heard about it? "I can see the sign!" Ellen: Hi guys! Do you need any help? Robert: No thanks, we're just here for a quick stop. Ellen: Where are you heading? Robert: Not sure yet, maybe Auckland to see the sky tower. Ellen: Yeah! I've always wanted to go there! Would you like to know some information about Zion Wildlife Gardens? Trent: Sure. Why don't you hop on the back and tell us on the way to Auckland? Ellen: OK, sounds cool. (hops on and starts talking) Robert: Have you been up the sky tower and walked around at the top? There's that piece of thick glass that you stand on and you always feel as though you might just fall through? Have any of you been up there and had that experience? You know, you can also... Quinn: G'day, would you like a tour up the sky tower? It's only $125 per person! Robert: We just saw a person bungy jumping! Quinn: Yeah. It's cool eh? Do you want to know about the sky tower? (shares information) Robert: OK. Want to come with us on our holiday? Quinn: Where are you going? Robert: Not sure, somewhere in Hamilton? Quinn: Well, if we're going to Hamilton, let's got to the Hamilton Gardens! Trent: Why don't you hop on the back? Everyone: Let's go!
(Everyone sings Summer Holiday... We're all going on a summer holiday No more working for a week or two Fun and laughter on our summer holiday...)
Robert: Look! The Hamilton Gardens! (Everyone points) Wow! It's so pretty! Sam: Hello. Have you come to see the Hamilton Gardens? Robert: Yes, they're amazing. I'm sure you've got something to tell us about this place. Sam: Sure mate. This here... (shares some information) Robert: I told Sam about our crazy holiday so far and Trent asked him if he wanted to join us. We now had 6 people in the ute and we were off to Paeroa. I love L&P - it has a very distinctive taste and when I drink it I really feel like a New Zealander. Kevin: Hi guys. How's it going? Everyone: Hi - do you drink L&P? Kevin: Would you like to know some more about Paeroa? Robert: Yeah sure. Kevin: OK then... (tells them) Trent: Would you like to come with us on our trip? Hop on the back! Robert: We were all, becoming quite friendly by this stage and we were getting a little cramped in the ute. Trent is a seriously friendly guy and anyone and everyone is his friend! After some general discussion we all decided that we wanted to see the boiling mud pools that we had all heard about in Rotorua. Nicola: Kia ora. Have you come to see the mud pools? Everyone: Kia ora! Yes we have! Nicola: Let me tell you about Rotorua... (shares information) Robert: Trent thought that Nicola would be a great person to have along on this trip and so he invited her along for the ride. I wonder if he thinks about the space in the back. Where are we going to fit all these people? And so we were off again. Quinn said that we should go and see the little glow worms in the Waitomo Caves. Everyone agreed that this was a good idea. Nicole: Hey, you need any help? Robert: Oh my goodness - a glow worm!!! This was turning out to be a very interesting holiday. Nicole: (says her bit) Robert: And so we all heard about the Waitomo Caves. Trent: Do you want to come along with us? Why don't you hop on the back? Robert: Next we traveled to an enormous lake called Lake Taupo. It was huge. You can fish, boat and swim in this lake. It is a great place for a holiday... What's this we have here? A bungy jumper. He asked us if we wanted to try it. We all said NO WAY! Anyway, he wanted to tell us about Lake Taupo and so we listened. Mathew: (tells them about Lake Taupo) Trent: Why don't you join us? Hop on the back! Robert: So we all squashed in and we headed away from the sun to experience some of the Winter chills and thrills that New Zealand has to offer. We headed off to Mt Ruapehu!
(Everyone sings Winter Wonderland... Sleigh bells ring Are you listening? In the lane Snow is glistening A beautiful sight We're happy tonight, Walking in a Winter Wonderland...)
Robert: Sam had gardening gloves, but that was all. We really needed to get the right gear for this part of the trip.Someone in the ute asked if it was cold there. They were about to find out. We headed into Ohakune and stopped at the information centre. "Could you tell us a bit about Mt Ruapehu?" Andrew: Of course... (tells them) Trent: What are you up to at the moment? Do you want to join us? Why don't you hop on the back? Robert: To get the right gear for all of us would have been very expensive and so we decided that we would come back to this place as well, another time. We had heard on the radio that the All Blacks were playing against the Springboks at the Cake Tin in Wellington, so we went there for the game. Ellen wanted to know what rugby was? Duh! I can't believe that she didn't know that it was our national sport - that we New Zealanders bleed black blood. Hennie: Hi! Do you want tickets? Robert: Yes please. 11 and one for the dog. Hennie: About the Cake Tin... (tells a little bit) - and here they go!!! Everyone: Go New Zealand! Robert: This is where our holiday ended. We all said goodbye. (Everyone acts this out and leaves stage) We will be good mates forever after such an amazing trip and we sure do know more about New Zealand - our beautiful country. ________________________________________________________ Our homework for a few weeks was to research a New Zealand artist, as we we were studying the visual arts. Here is a photo of my presentation. I researched Diana Adams.
VISUAL ART - SPECIALIST
My Musical Painting Self Reflection:
Drawing of instruments - 4 Use of space - 4 Composition - 4 Painting techniques - 3 Colour Choice - 4
How do you feel about your work? Overall, I'm proud of it but I could have improved it if I had had a bit more time, for example, the paintbrush strokes can be seen.
This year - 2007 - I have done a lot of things. At my school, we can sit the Australian Exams. I sat ... English and received Distinction. Maths and received Credit. Writing and received Credit. I tried out for... The Choir The Henry Choir (Henry was our school production, about Henry VIII) The Dance group Korean Fan Dancing The Reader's Quiz Gymnastics & Trees For Survival.
I got into... The Henry Choir & Korean Fan Dancing.
Other... The Anne Frank (60 years since her diary was first published) letter writing competition. I got shortlisted out of the whole world!
Now I've told you about all that I do at school, let me tell you a bit about myself! I have many hobbies - scrapbooking, French, Irish Dancing, netball, flute, crafts and sport are just a few of them.In netball, I play Centre, Wing Attack and Wing Defence. I have played for two years.
My Intermediate French class has just finished for the end of the year.
I have just started to learn the flute from a private teacher last term. I really enjoy playing the flute.
Crafts is another thing that I love to do - knitting, crosstitch - everything!
Irish Dancing
Irish dancing is my FAVOURITE hobby by far. I am in my third year, and in the troupe: a group of dancers that will soon be peforming in public and competitions as well as our annual end of year concert. I have moved onto hard shoes this year - now I can tap! I love the music too, sometimes it is slow and beautiful for a reel dance, and sometimes it is lively and fun for a jig. I love Irish Dancing and will do it until I cannot move anymore.
Web 2.0 is a variety of free tools that the world can use on the internet. These include Wikispaces, Blogger, Podomatic, Bubbleshare, Slide, Ourstory, Voicethread and many others. At my school, computers are a big part of our learning. We present our work using Garageband, Wikispaces etc, but there are many other tools that we could use as well. Ourstory is a programme that creates timelines. We could make timelines of our learning or timelines of how we are achieving our goals. Most of these tools you have to register for, but it's free! Many schools still teach 'the old way' - using books and pens. My school uses laptops and computers everyday! I think that it is important that we use computers in our learning because we are the first generation that don't have the choice of whether to use computers, or to use paper. We are growing up in a digital world, so we need skills in ICT. Also, at my school, we have paper portfolios and e-portfolios. Paper portfolios often have the actual copy of your work: this is a plus. However, in paper portfolios you cannot put in sound / animations / movies. This is a minus. In e-portfolios, yes! you can have movies and other things that you cannot put in a paper portfolio. But e-portfolios do not hold all your assessments or tests that you have done at school. With e-portfolios you can access them both at school and at home. Your parents can view them from home as well. My school has knowledge net. Each student has a 'space' that is passworded and protected. It is still on the web, but only the students and their teachers can enter their space. On knowledge net you can chat with your classmates and create pages. Within a student's space, they have their e-portfolio. They can create pages within their e-portfolio (within their knowledge net space) for specific things such as their achievements. We like to personalize our homepage with things that we like and what we do out of school. This is why I have created an e-portfolio on a blog. I am in an experiment with a few of my classmates. We have all created a second e-portfolio on wikis and blogs. Then the teachers will see whether they should keep going with knowledge net next year, or use wikis and blogs (where your audience / viewers are the whole world.)
This week (Week 8) we have started to look at poetry. I love to write poems, so I am glad that we will be doing a lot of poems for the rest of this term! For our homework (http://kiwianainroom5.wikispaces.com!) we have to write a poem a day using many different formats. Then we will put them together, so we each have an anthology! I have started and written a poem for homework this afternoon.
My teacher has created another wiki on poetry where we each have a page that we can upload our poems onto.
This term, in pairs, we are writing a pourqoui, a story that tells why. (Pourqoui is the French word for why.) We are writing them about New Zealand. Then we are recording it on Garageband and making it into a podcast digital story. Here is my pourquoi...
Why the Rotorua mud pools bubble.
Long, long ago, Rotorua was famous for its crystal clear, cool springs surrounded by luscious green ferns and bush covered hills. But the people of Rotorua were too scared to swim in the springs on the sweltering hot days when Te Ra, the sun was large and full in the sky because under the ground there was a sleeping taniwha. The taniwha's name was Te Wheke, and he had been sleeping under the ground for many, many years. One hot summer day, the villagers decided that they could not stand the heat any longer and they wanted to go for a swim, so they decided to set a trap for Te Wheke, the taniwha. One brave person named Tahitoa volunteered to be the bait. He jumped into the spring and started to swim. Very soon, Te Wheke woke up, only to see Tahitoa swimming in is spring! Furious, Te Wheke lunged for Tahitoa, but Tahitoa was too fast, and swam to the bank. Te Wheke sprung out of the water... and into the trap! But Te Wheke's anger was so great, the ground shook, which caused massive cracks in the earth. Suddenly a volcano started to erupt sending ash and lava flying into the springs. The springs began to bubble from the hot rocks and the ash, and to this very day the springs have never stopped bubbling. And so this is why the Rotorua mud pools bubble.
This term, we studied kiwiana. I did a collage on fish and chips - a kiwi tradition!
Our homework is put onto a wiki so that we can access it at home, and at school. http://kiwianainroom5.wikispaces.com. Our homework one week was to make a kete (a woven Maori bag) or use an existing bag and put in at least 5 kiwiana items, or pictures of them with typed up factfile cards. Here are some pictures of my kete...
KIWIANA REFLECTIONS
Can our culture survive without the arts?
Diana Adams Research Reflection:
Two things that interested me the most about the artist I studied and their art were * how she is obsessed with river stones and loves to paint them! * and how she was going to be a lawyer but decided to be an artist instead.
My time management durig this inquiry project was
poor satisfactory good excellent
One thing that I did particularly well in this inquiry was my presentation. I am proud of it and how I limited my colours to red, black and white.
One thing that I need to work on with regards to researching in the future is gathering information from as many sources as I can to form in depth questions and answers.
The things that I was pleased with about my presentation were my little group of 6 paintings done by Diana Adams, all of plants!
The things that I would change about my presentation are next time I would make my answers longer.
I am a better researcher after this inquiry because now I have repeated this process 4 times and I am familiar with it.
WILL OUR CULTURE SURVIVE WITHOUT THE ARTS?
Our fertile question (a question where there is no right answer, nor wrong answer) for this term is Will our Culture Survive Without the Arts? I think that it cannot: The Arts are a huge part of our culture. This includes Maori culture. Maoris have the poi dance in their culture, and also the haka, another way of expressing their feelings. Language is also a huge part of culture, and, in its own way, an art. Tourism has been big in New Zealand, especially since the movie Lord of the Rings was filmed here. Maori weaving is a visual art, and music is a part of New Zealand as well. For example, Dave Dobbyn's song, Welcome Home, has a little bit of Maori language incorporated into the lyrics. So you see, if we were to take all these arts out of our culture - visual art, drama, music and dance - that are specific to New Zealand, I do not think that New Zealand culture would be the same, or even survive. The Arts are a huge part of our culture.
Promoting New Zealand through the Arts reflection: The Thinking Hats:
Our NZ play - the script is in a more recent post for you to read - The Arts.
WHITE HAT How did your performance promote New Zealand? What aspects did you include that were specific to New Zealand?
* Our play was about visiting different places in New Zealand. * We 'learnt' a little bit about each place while we were there. * The places we visited promoted New Zealand - like when we went to the rugby.
YELLOW HAT What were the good things about your performance and how it promoted New Zealand and its culture?
* We may be able to persuade people to visit these places when they learn a little bit about each place that we visit. * We incorporated Maori culture into a play - I was a Maori form Rotorua, where Maori culture is celebrated.
BLACK HAT What were the bad things about your performance? In what way did it fail to promote New Zealand and its culture?
* We haven't got many microphones, so we will have to speak really clearly and loudly. * Our play was meant to be maximum of 5 minutes, but it us over 10!
RED HAT How did you feel about your performance? How did you feel about the impacts that your performance had in promoting New Zealand and its culture?
* The planning of our play was fun, but limited in time. * We haven't performed our play yet, but I think that it will teach everyone a little bit about our amazing country and the places that you can go.
GREEN HAT What would you do differently in the performance? How could your perfomance have further promoted New Zealand and its culture?
* Our organisation and time management could have been improved. * More microphones! * In promoting New Zealand and its culture, we only had New Zealand destinations and a powerpoint in the background. We sang a New Zealand song, Summer Holiday, and I did a Maori dance, but they weren't obvious things and we could have included other aspects of New Zealand and The Arts.
BLUE HAT What type of thinking did you use in planning, practicing, performing and promoting New Zealand?
* Positive thinking. We were a little bit pressured with the time. * Creative thinking. How were we going to promote New Zealand and The Arts?
Score: 5-
Towards the end of this study, we all brought something representing Kiwiana culture and put it in a time capsule, to be buried in the foundations of one of my classmate's new house. I brought one of my dad's old jandals!
I have decided to put in the time capsule a jandal.
I have chosen this item because jandals are a kiwiana icon! And many New Zealanders wear jandals.
I think that it is important to preserve this and pass it on to future generations because fashion changes - who knows whether jandals will still exist?
The item that I have chosen reflects New Zealand culture in the following ways: Jandals are a kiwiana icon. It shows that New Zealand has a lot of coast line - the beach is a kiwi tradition for many. People associate jandals with New Zealand.
Reflecting on my learning: Do we have a responsibility to pass on our culture from one generation to another? Justify your answer. No one knows when our time capsule will be found, nor what life will be like in a couple of hundred years. Jandals may not exist, and people can find out what life was like in 2007.
Are the Arts an effective way of preserving culture and passing it down from one generation to another? Will our culture survive without the arts? Justify your answer. The Arts are a way to express your feelings. They are a huge part of New Zealand. Everywhere, the Arts are incorporated with our culture. (See above) If we were to take away the Arts from our culture, I don't think that our culture would survive.
In Term 3 we studied Human Rights. Here are some pictures that I selected that represent Human Rights...
In Term 3 we studied Human Rights. We learnt about refugees,
the problems they face, why they flee and how they flee.As part of this, we read as a class, Boy Overboard, by Morris Gleitzman. This story is about a boy named Jamal (11), his younger sister Bibi (9), and their parents. They live in Afghanistan where there are many landmines planted under the surface of the desert, and girls aren't allowed to go outside unaccommpianied by a male relative. The government in Afghanistan also forbids fizzy drink, music and soccer, which is Jamal's life! Jamal's mum runs a school for the village kids, which is also forbidden. When the government finds out, Jamal's family is forced to flee. He hopes that one day he can come back and he and Bibi can show the government their soccer skills, then maybe the government will let his family come back and live in Afghanistan. But when practicing his soccer skills outside one night, Bibi joins him and does an amazing kick.....................right through their front door. Just then their house blows up! The government had planted a bomb in their house. Luckily, no one was inside. In the middle of the night, Jamal's father takes Jamal and Bibi far away. Without Mum. Jamal's father goes to find their mum and Jamal and Bibi stay the night an in old, abandoned shop. The soccer stadium is just down the road, and in the morning many people are heading towards it, so as Jamal and Bibi's father hasn't come back, they go too. But it isn't a soccer match after all. A government truck drives onto the pitch and unloads Afghani women held captive. Soldiers hold guns to their heads, when one of the women gets up and runs. Instantly, Jamal and Bibi recognise their mum, but the soldiers are catching up. Suddenly, an old taxi - Dad's illegal taxi - drives up, helps their mum to safety, and drives off. Jamal and Bibi run after them.
When they finally find each other again, they hide in the back of a truck while the driver takes them out of Afghanistan. He drives them to a refugee camp, where they stay for a couple of of days, until their father pays some officers to get them to Australia. First they go to the airport. It's night time by then. Along with some other refugees, they stowaway in a plane. The plane flies them to the coast, where two ferries await to take them to Australia. There is along wait, so Bibi and Jamal play soccer. They get separated from their parents in all the hustle and bustle, and are put on the wrong boat. They meet a girl named Rashida who looks after them. One day, the sailors sail away on another boat, leaving everyone alone in the middle of the sea. They get robbed of anything valuable by pirates, until some Aussies rescue them and take them to what is apparently Australia. There, Jamal and Bibi learn that the other boat was shipwrecked and their parents died. Then news came in that there were survivors, and yes, Jamal and Bibi's parents had survived. They arrived on the island, for that is what it was. It wasn't Australia at all. The people of Australia had voted not to let refugees in. The story ended there, when Jamal and Bibi had been reunited with their parents, not been killed and escaped the government of Afghanistan.
We all did activities on what we had read, and the best of these went onto a Boy Overboard blog.
We also realised there was a sequel to Boy Overboard, named Girl Underground. Bridget's family are criminals. She starts at a posh boarding school, where she meets Menzies, son of a politician, who communicates with, and worries about two kids in a detention centre, named Jamal and Bibi. They break into parliament to try and persuade the prime minister to free them, but he reckons that they are locking them up for the people of Australia. Together Bridget and Menzies attempt to rescue them with the help of Jamal's dad (who was let out of the detention centre) and Bridget's dad. So they drive to Canberra. A news reporter interviews Bridget, 'The Parliament Girl'.
When the guards don't let the two dads into the detention centre, Bridget and Menzies start digging a tunnel under the fence in the middle of the night, when they are found out. By Jamal's dad and Bridget's dad. After much persuading, the two fathers help to dig, when they really are found out! Politicians, including Menzies dad arrive. Then news reporters come, followed by many Australian people. By 'The Parliament Girl's' interview the previous day, many people start to feel persuaded, until the only ones who want tto keep refugees in the detention centre, locked up, are the government, so they are forced to agree. The refugees don't escape the detention centre, but it becomes a better place. Because two young kids cared.
As an individual study, we each had to focus on an issue of Human Rights. I focussed on Poverty in Darfur. We developed some questions, and found the answers. Here is what I found out:
Half the world live on less than $2 a day. Less than 1% of what the world spent every year on weapons was needed to put every child into school by the year 2000, and it didn't happen. 1 billion children around the world live in poverty. 640 million people don't have adequate shelter. 400 million people don't have access to safe water. 270 million people don't have access to health services.
In groups of 4, we chose a topic from Human Rights that was a problem in our community, and took action to help it. My group addressed people in need of clothes. All our planning went onto a group wiki. You can visit this wiki at: http://communityrights.wikispaces.com/Group+Three.To see the planning that other groups did, click on their group's name in the navigator.
POVERTY IN DARFUR REFLECTION
The three most important things that I learnt from this investigation were:
1. There is a huge crisis in Darfur. The government supports the Janjaweed, a malitia group.
2. As part of the fighting, villages are attacked, causing villagers to become refugees. They flee to camps.
3. In the camps, they make makeshift shelters out of grass and torn grass e.t.c. but these do not stay up very long.
Two main articles from The Universal Declaration Of Human Rights that are being violated in this situation are and why:
The right to adequate living standard is being violated when the refugees are living in poor conditions in the camps. Also, freedom from interference with family, privacy e.t.c. is being violated when the Janjaweed attack the villages.
This is how I believe rights and responsibilities are linked after this research:
The people who have had to flee have had their rights violated, do we have a responsibility to help them? Do the charities that help them have a responsibility too?
Score: 5
Inquiry Learning - Human Rights - Community Rights Issue Reflection
Can you have rights without responsibilities?
1. What was the community issue that your group decided to investigate? Poverty: Need for clothing.
2. Why did you feel that you needed to do something about it? I felt that I needed to do something about this issue because all humans have equal rights; some of us have had them denied, others haven't. Why?
3. Using a copy of the Declaration of Human Rights, write the articles below that relate to your community issue. Give a reason for each. * The right to adequate living standard (#25) because anyone who doesn't have proper clothing doesn't have necessities and doesn't live adequately. * The right to equality (#1) because we always have clothes to choose from, but others don't. This isn't fair! We're all humans - and everyone of us deserves to be treated equally.
4. Name three things you found out in you research on community issues that are an example of needs or right not being met. * Yes, there are people in our community who don't live like us. * We don't often stop to think about other people that would give anything for some of the things that we take for granted, * although it's true.
5. Describe one thing that you learnt about planning and carrying out a community action (e.g the order in which you do things, making sure that each group member had a designated job, getting permission, planning events e.t.c.) We had a lot to prepare. First we rung the Salvation Army to confirm a date and time to deliver our donations. Our teacher then put together a permission slip for us to take home and get signed.
6. What are some things that you know now about people and their rights as human beings? Although every human deserves to be treated equally, a lot aren't. A lot of us don't spare a thought for those suffering people.
7. Choose 2 Human Rights articles from the Universal Declaration Of Human Rights and write them on the lines below. For each article, write one responsibility that people need to take to ensure that the right is met for all people.* (#1) Right to equality - We, who live in good conditions can help those that are less fortunate. It's up to us to donate e.t.c. and do whatever it takes. * (#5) Freedom from torture and degrading treatment. For example, refugees. They have a responsibility to look after their children, as do we, to look after them.
This experiment has been very interesting for me. It has also taught me a lot. My friends and I have all been in this together, and when we find a new Web 2.0 tool, we tell each other about it. I've found out about Ourstory (how to make a timeline), Polldaddy (how to make polls and surveys), Voki (an animated cartoon that says things for you), Let Them Sing It For You (where you type in words to be sung), Fancygens (free widgets!) and many many more. I think that I prefer to have my eportfolio on a blog, because with knowledge net, the only people who can see what your doing are you and your teacher (or your friends if you give them the password) but with a blog, the world is your audience!
