Why do you think the earth is sick?

Over the last few weeks we have been thinking about why our world is getting sick. We have been learning about global warming, the greenhouse effect and pollution. Here are our ideas about why the world is getting sick:

* People are throwing garbage around the world.
* People cut down trees.
* People wreck bushes and flowers.
* There is poisonous stuff called pollution.
* There is too much smoke.
* People are hurting animals. They are dying.

Penguin Stories

This week we have been writing stories about penguins to share our knowledge with each other. We wanted to share some our great penguin stories with you.

AIDAN'S STORY
The Emperor Penguin has an egg and when the mother penguin goes to sea the father penguin has to look after it!!!

RORY'S STORY
Penguins have flippy floppy feet. I love penguins. They have yellow patches on their head. They are black and white. They are fluffy when they are born.

HOPE'S STORY
Mother penguins can go under the sea for 50 minutes. They are nearly as tall as a 5 year old person. They bring the food home to the baby.

DANYA'S STORY
The mother penguin gives the baby penguin to the father when the mother penguin goes to get the fish.

Thinking Hats

Last week we put on our black and yellow thinking hats. We thought about all the good things about being a penguin and all of the hard things about being a penguin. We came up with the following ideas:

BEING A PENGUIN - The Good Things

• You could slide on your tummy.
• You can stay on the ice for a very long time.
• You could swim really deep underwater.
• You can travel on the ice.
• You can waddle.


BEING A PENGUIN - The Hard Things

• You have to get away from sea lions and seals.
• You have to travel for a long time.
• The ice you are on might crack.
• You might fall in the cold water.
• You would have to live in a cold world all the time.
• You would have to walk all day.
• You have to wait so long for food.
• It is slippery.
• It is hard to move the egg to the Dad.

ROOM 1 Wonderings

To tune into our Inquiry Unit we watched “The March of the Penguins” with Room 3 and Room 5. We then made our own collage penguins and added our wonderings. Here is a list of our wonderings:

I wonder how the babies die? Elizabeth
I wonder how they walk? Aliya
I wonder why they have got beaks? Alicia
I wonder where the bird came from? Tyla
I wonder why the dad brings up the wee bit of food and feeds it to the baby? Rory
I wonder how they crack the egg (hatch)? Naquoia
I wonder why they die? Nicole
I wonder how they grow up? Sam
I wonder why the grown-ups feed the babies? Aidan
I wonder how they were born? Hope
I wonder how they swim? Cameron
I wonder what they eat? Turi
I wonder how the egg hatched? Jayden
I wonder why penguins are black and yellow and white? Danya

"How are we responsible for the planet?"

At Pine Hill School we are taking part in an inquiry into, “How are we responsible for the planet?”

As part of this inquiry we are gaining a greater understanding of
1. The future of our planet is at risk

2. The choices we make impact on the state of our planet.
We can do things to help our planet.
People do things that harm our planet.

3. Understand the relationship between penguins and their environment(s).
The penguins need certain conditions to survive.
People's actions can hurt the penguin’s environment.

4. Through a variety of actions we can make a positive difference
There are things we can do to look after our planet

During this inquiry students from Room 1, 3 and 5 will be sharing their learning through this blog. At Pine Hill School we are learning to give and receive comments and feedback that help us with our learning.

Keep checking out our blog and share in our learning!