Comprehension box 2: Australia's unwelcome guests 🇦🇺

1. The word eradicate in par. 4 means to:
b) Get rid of ✔️

2. The main idea of the text is:
a) Many species welcomed to Australia are now pests ✔️

3. After myxomatosis was introduced, Australian authorities tried:
c) Rabbit calicivirus ✔️

4. Cane toads are different from koi because they:
a) Are very poisonous ✔️

5. It is most likely that the effect of koi herpesvirus on native species will be:
c) carefully tested ✔️

6. You could conclude from the text that the writer:
c) cares about native fauna ✔️

7. Which sentence summarises what Par. 3 says about feral animals?
c) They survive by destroying land and native fauna and flora. ✔️

8. Introduced species are called guests because when they came they were:
a) welcome ✔️

9. Rabbits in dry areas survived myxomatosis because:
b) there were fewer mosquitos ✔️

10. It is an opinion, not a fact, that cane toads are:
b) repulsive ✔️

11. The text was written to:
b) Give information ✔️

12. The word retard in Paragraph 6 means to:
c) Change the results ❌

13. Cane toads were a failure because they:
c) Didn't eat the beetles ✔️

14. The pronoun they in Par. 4 refers to:
c) cane toads ✔️

Comprehension box 1: How volcanoes came to NZ

How volcanoes came to New Zealand

In Paragraph 1, the word indigenous means:
a) original ✔️

Along with leader and master, which other word is used to describe Ngatoroirangi?
c) chief ✔️

The area of NZ with the most occurences of geothermal activity is:
b) Rotorua ✔️

4. How the Ring of Fire was created is the main idea of: 
a) Paragraph 6 ✔️

5. What happened directly after Kuiwai learned of her brother's distress?
a) The fire demons were sent to rescue him ✔️

6. It is most likely that upon reaching the base of the mountain, Ngatoroirangi:
c) Reprimanded his men for disobeying him ✔️

7. Which word do you think best describes Ngatoroirangi?
c) Determined ✔️

8. Ngatoroirangi's orders to the men is the main idea of:
b) paragraph 3 ✔️

9. You can conclude that Ngatoroirangi's sister, Kuiwai, had incredible:
a) Powers ✔️

10. In Paragraph 8, it states Aruhoe was beyond their assistance, which means:
c) He had passed away ✔️

11. What caused Ngatoroirangi to double over in pain?
b) His men breaking their fast ✔️

12. Complete the sentence to make a fact, not an opinion: Ngatoroirangi was:
a) A spiritual leader ✔️

13. The author's main reasons for writing this text was to: 
a) describe a Maori creation myth ✔️

14. In Paragraph 3 the pronoun we in we'll share a celebratory feast refers to: 
c) The chief and his men ✔️

Score: 100% :)

Te Tiriti o Te Waitangi | Māori Gods 💫

Social studies activity: Gods

1. Write next to each god what their Deity is
2. Then find their equivalent in Roman, Greek and Hindi
3. Make a poster of one or more of the gods and a summary story about them

Māori	Deity	Ancient Greek	Ancient Roman	Hindu
Ranginui	Sky	Uranus	Jupiter	Indra
Papatūānuku	Land/Earth	Gaea	Terra Mater	Prithvi
Tāwhirimātea	Weather	Zeus	Jupiter	Indra
Tāne Māhuta	Forest	Ceres	Silvanus	Aranyani
Tangaroa	Sea	Poseidon	Neptune	Varuna

Is climate change a lie?

Is climate change a lie? I will be arguing against this question. 

• Scientific evidence to prove that climate change is true - most scientists agree
• We are seeing the evidence of climate changes already - hotter temperatures mean ice caps are melting, leading to the sea level rising and flooding the Earth
• There is a reason that climate change is happening - we are releasing excessive carbon emissions into the air and not planting enough trees

THESIS: It's the question that the world is wondering: is climate change fake news or is it true? In this essay, I will be discussing why climate change is a very real issue on Earth, and the facts behind it. 

IDEA ORDER:
1. We are already seeing the effects of climate change: hotter temperatures, ice caps melting, sea level rising etc.
2. There is backed up scientific evidence that climate change is real and is happening: include researched info from the internet etc.
3. Climate change isn't happening because of nothing: it's happening because we are releasing too much carbon emissions into the air and destroying the trees.

a collection of poems

Should energy drinks be banned for adolescents?

For today's essay brainstorming, I decided to plan an essay based on 'should energy drinks be banned for people under the age of 16?'. 

This is a topic that's been popular in New Zealand after Countdown banned the sale of energy drinks to all people under this age. I argued for this idea. 



Some reasons why I am against energy drinks:

• Health is not benefited, there are only disadvantages
• Unhealthy and barely effective
• Addictive and costs a lot of money
• There are many better alternatives to energy drinks
• High levels of sodium

Strongest ideas (1 being the strongest, 3 being the least strongest)

1. Many health disadvantages/side effects of consuming energy drinks

- Rapid heartbeat, insomnia, nervousness, irritability, increased blood pressure etc.

2. Expensive and addictive

- The ingredient caffeine found in energy drinks has a tendency to cause withdrawal symptoms

such as anxiety and panic attacks in some frequent users.

Caffeine is addictive and harmful if consumed too much.

3. There are much better alternatives to energy drinks

  - Getting the right amount of sleep improves your general well being and replaces the need for

energy drinks enormously.

Gender portrayal in musicals (Critical Literacy)

Focus-representations
Vocab-stereotypes, construction, bias, gender, masculinity, femanity

Masculine:
woodcutting/lumberjack
barbeque, rugby, alcohol

Feminine:
the colour pink
raising children, cooking and cleaning


LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS: (1960s) Somewhere Green (interpretation)
 How does the text depict age, gender, and cultural groups?
In 'Somewhere Green', the woman is portrayed as soft, pink, delicate - a complete stereotype of women and femininity. It's almost as if she wants everything to be perfect, 'somewhere green' after reading a magazine where everything is perfect, and she longs for a life like that, a future just slightly out of her reach. 

Whose views are excluded or privileged in the text?
It's the woman's views who are privileged in this text, the man and children are mentioned only very briefly. As this is a song written purposefully to depict the emotions many women in the 60s maybe felt, it is only natural for the woman to sing it. The men and children's perspectives have been left out purposefully. 

What if this text was told in a different time period?
If this text as told in a different time period, or if it were made now, it may have seemed that the director was challenging gender stereotypes back in the 60's, by making it 'satirical' or emphasising the stereotype that now seems very wrong in modern-day society. 

Why has the composer of the text presented certain people in certain ways?
The director composed the woman to be very stereotypical as it is how women were viewed, or had to be like, in the 60's. Women often had to cook and clean and raise the children whereas men had the high-paying jobs and owned the fancy cars and houses. Women were literally there to do the work only. 

LEGALLY BLONDE (2010's) I'm So Much Better (interpretation)

In Legally Blonde the woman's goals are much bigger and better, and they are achievable because of how the world has changed in contrast to what stereotypical women were actually able to do. 
Back in the 60's, women definitely did not go to law school, whereas in Legally Blonde, times have changed and so this woman is able to achieve her dreams. 
The women from Legally Blonde and Little Shop of Horrors each have goals, but they are very different.