Encouraging Cultural Sensitivity

Four tips, using websites, that aim to encourage students to develop and display emapathy towards others:  https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2017/11/03/4-tools-to-help-kids-develop-empathy-and-cultural-humility/

The Tale of Sun and Moon

Adlaw, god of the sun; by James Claridades

We are privileged to have many Filipino children in our team and we will celebrate their culture through our art/drama/literacy unit.


We will be learning the Visayan myth of Sun and Moon from the Phillippines and using this as motivation for our sharpie and felts drawing of the sun and moon (for our calendar art fundraiser - I like to 'kill two birds with one stone'). This will be a good opportunity to talk about warm/cool colours too.


I found this cool animation of the story:


The inspiration for our artwork to kick it all off came from this awesome idea from The Lost Sock blog:

Next we will be constructing puppets to help us with some process drama as we tell the story in our own ways - this will of course involve reading, writing, drama and art all in one bundle!

We will read some other Filipino folk tales and break into groups to create our own drama versions, making puppets to help tell those stories.

 Creation Myth            Ancient Visayan Deities in Philippine Mythology

Visayan Folk Tales        Tagalog Folk Tales           

ANZAC resources

Image source

25 April 1915 - 100 years since the first ANZAC battle began...

Class mini-inquiry "Walking With the ANZACs" blog-posts:
#1 Intro videos


Poppy art idea "That Artist Woman" blog         Quiz

Link to the ABC Gallipoli documentary website - videos sharing the first day of the campaign - 25 minutes if watched back to back

Second ABC link - online 3D interactive documentary - very well done, lots of info, maps of the area, timeline, mini clips etc

Radio NZ - oral diary                     NZ Army museum

National Library online links  and  WW1 resource guide

National Library online images           NZ History WW1

NZ WW1 100 years website               TKI resources

Rachel Boyd blog - Anzac Day resources and videos            WW100NZ pinterest board


Definite read for anyone with a Year 6+ classroom! My pupils thoroughly loved it:

NZ author Susan Brocker's website

NZ War Memorials map              Stretcher bearers and donkeys            The Unknown Warrior

Research NZ soldiers          NZ Archives research a soldier           NZ Curriculum Online

English unit (NZ)            Teach Ezy maps of Gallipoli           Starters.co.nz NZ unit plan

Make a paper poppy                Last soldier to leave the beach           WickED Anzac resources

Imperial War Museum (UK)           NZ Battle of Gallipoli             Photo links

Walking With an Anzac           Capital E Theatre resource             Poppy Time lesson ideas

Someone has put a lot of effort into telling a little of the Gallipoli story with Lego:

A new link or two for Just Cool!

Am adding a couple of new links to my Just Cool! page -

-this is a gorgeous little animated film about persistence:

https://vimeo.com/98919897

- and some awesome photos of children from around the world doing what children do best...playing!

http://www.boredpanda.com/happy-children-playing/

Would be great for writing prompts, social studies, discussions, photography/art....

They are all fantastic...this is one of my favourites!

Image link

Updating the pupils' mihi (personal introductions in te reo Maori)

I am updating my learning partnership book (homework books) folder and thought it would be a good chance to review the pupil mihimihi which they use when they introduce themselves at the start of our weekly celebration time. Time for a bit of research as I have about three different versions in my folder, which all have slightly different spellings or words...

Looking at the Korero Maori website I found this advice...

Mihimihi are introductory speeches which take place at the beginning of a gathering after the more formal pōwhiri. Mihimihi are generally in te reo Māori and can be given by females and males.

Mihimihi establish links with other people present. Mihimihi involve individuals standing to introduce themselves by sharing their whakapapa (genealogy, ancestral ties) and other relevant information. It is important for Māori to know and to share their whakapapa - to know one’s whakapapa is to know one’s identity.

Mihimihi can vary in length depending on the reason for the gathering, how well the individuals at the hui know each other and their links to one another.

A person will usually identify specific geographical features associated with their tribal area including their maunga (mountain), awa (river) and moana (sea). They may also identify their waka (ancestral canoe), hapū (sub tribe), iwi (tribe), marae and an eponymous ancestor. This information is considered more important than the individual’s own name which may be the last piece of information given in mihimihi.

maori.org.nz

The website gives an example of a typical mihimihi - only a couple of my pupils this year have Maori ancestry but they would be most welcome to use the more relevant waka, hapu, rangatira and marae references if they wish to.

Also consulting the Ministry of Education teacher book "He Reo Tupu, He Reo Ora" I have taken the website and book spellings as 'law' and I have created this mihi for our pupils to use in their learning partnership books to practise at home, based on the model they have previously been using, as well as this version for them to personalise with illustrations for their classroom book:

MY MIHIMIHI – a simple version for beginners…

Tēnā koutou!

(optional)  Ko _________________ te waka.          (ancestral canoe)

Ko _________________ te maunga.                       (mountain)

Ko _________________ te awa.                             (river)

Ko _________________ te iwi.                               (tribe/family name)

Ko _________________ taku matua.                       (father)

Ko _________________ taku whaea.                      (mother)

Ko _________________ au.                                   (my name)

Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa!