Animal Classification

Today we learnt about how animals are classified into groups. Animals are either vertebrates (which means they have a spine) or invertebrates (which don't have a spine).

Invertebrates are animals like jellyfish, crabs, insects and octopus.


Vertebrates are put into five groups. They are mammals, birds, reptiles, fish and amphibians. Mammals have fur or hair and give birth to live young. Birds have feathers and lay hard eggs. Reptiles are cold blooded and lay soft eggs. Amphibians breathe through their skin and need to keep their skin moist. Fish breathe through gills and have fins.

5 examples of each type:

Mammals: dog, cat, human, seal, walrus

Birds: peacock, sparrow, raven, pigeon, kiwi

Fish: gold fish, tuna, snapper, shark, sea horse

Reptiles: chameleon, crocodile, alligator, snake, turtle

Amphibians: newt, frog, toad, salamander, caecilian

Hansel and Gretel

In drama this term we have been learning about the elements of drama. This week we split into groups and performed scene from Hansel and Gretel. I played Gretel.

Limerick

In class we learnt about limericks. A limerick is type of funny poem, here is one I made.

There was once a man called Charles Dickens.
who had a lot  of very big chickens.
They pecked at his feet.
So he turn them into meat.
That was the end of his chickens.

Ode to Chicken pox

In class we have been making odes. An ode is a type of poem that usually dedicated to something you love but I decided to do one about something I hate!

To chicken pox
You are the baddest of all bad things
Having you is like having a swarm of mosquitoes under your skin
You are the plague
I know you are annoying me on purpose
You are evil chicken pox, how I hate you! 

Maori Phrases

In class we have been learning Maori phrases, here are some I have learnt.

Hi -kia ora

Hang in there -kia mau

Awesome -ka mau te wehi.

I like these phrases because they are useful to know. 

Food Circle

In class we have been learning about having a healthy diet. We made food circles. A food circle is a pie graph of what foods you should eat more of and what food you should eat less of. You should eat more fruit, veges and carbs. Here is the one I made. 

Life Cycle of a Little Blue Penguin

You know they’re cute, you know they’re tiny, but do you know their life cycle? That's what I’m going to explain.

Incubation Time

It all starts off with an egg not unlike the one of a chicken, 70mm long 55mm wide to be precise. A chick spends between 32 to 68 days in an egg before hatching.

Chicks

When a chick hatches it is helpless, completely blind and instead of have waterproof feathers they are cover from head to toe in fluff, you may think that is cute but have to rely on their parents to keep them alive. After a few hours they can open their eyes, lift up their head and beg for food. Their parents must go out get them food. When the parents find food they eat it, then when they get back they regurgitate it into the chick’s open mouth.

Molting

When a chick becomes a young penguin it starts molting, which means it’s fluffy non-waterproof feathers start to fall off and they start to grow waterproof adult feathers, once they have finished molting they can leave their parents.

Then this penguin will go mate with another penguin, they will lay an egg starting the the life cycle all over and again.