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Friday, March 14, 2014

Albert Einstein's Birthday

Today is Albert Einstein's birthday. We learnt that he was a famous scientist and mathematician.  We have been trying to be great learners this year like Einstein and ask questions, take risks with our learning and find learning opportunities in our mistakes.
Today we tried to answer some of our wonderings about our topic New Zealand - Aotearoa.
Sajid and Cameron asked, "Why are the New Zealand and Australian flags so similar?"
Both countries were colonised by people from Britain.  The New Zealand flag came first and may have inspired the Australian flag.
Alana and Azariah asked, "Why is Stewart Island named Stewart Island?"
William Stewart came to New Zealand on a sealing boat called Pelorus in 1809.  He made maps of the South Island and Stewart Island was named after him.
Parth and Kobe asked, "Why are Moa extinct?"
The early settlers to New Zealand hunted the Moa for food.
Sanglok and Francois asked, "Why are Moa fast runners?"
They have long, strong legs but they couldn't fly.
Sajid and Cameron asked, "Why is New Zealand called New Zealand?"
When the country was founded it was called Staten Landt but the name New Zealand was used by Dutch explorers who called the islands Nova Zeelandia after the area in Holland called Zealand.
Tyrese and Brock asked, "How many people live in New Zealand?"
4,519,395 as at Friday, 14 Mar 2014 at 11:27:53 a.m.
Havana and Madison asked, "Why are kiwifruit called kiwifruit?"
Kiwifruit are brown and furry like the kiwi bird.
Alana and Azariah asked, "How many kiwi are left in New Zealand?"
In 2008 it was believed that 72,600 kiwi were left.  By 2018 it is thought that only 63,500 will be left.
Sajid and Cameron asked, "Why is the kiwi so important to New Zealand?"
The kiwi is a unique bird with characteristics not shared with any other bird.  No other birds have their nostrils at the end of their beak and they can smell food underground.  The kiwi is endemic and endangered.
Nandhu and Vivesh asked, "What do Moa look like?"
They had a very long neck and long, thick legs. They had feathers that are similar to kiwis and look like shaggy, brown fur.  They had very small eyes and a short, thick beak. Their nostrils were in the middle of their beak.
Iafeta and Kevin asked, "Why can we only see kiwis in the dark?"
Kiwis only come out at night, they are nocturnal. They come out of their burrows to search for food. they like to eat crickets, worms and spiders.
Michael and Aria asked, "Why are kakapo almost extinct?"
They were hunted for food by Maori. When Europeans arrived they started to disappear.
Aiden and Braydon asked, "Why are Moa extinct?"
Maori hunted the Moa for food and used their bones to make fish hooks and spear tips.
Chaeyee and Tyreese asked, "Where do tuatara live?"
They live on little islands and places where people can look after them and there are no predators, especially rats.

Questions

We thought of questions that have no answer or would be very difficult to answer.

  • What is the biggest number?
  • Are there aliens in space?
  • How many computers are there in the world?
  • How many fish are in the oceans?
  • What will the future look like?
  • What will animals look like in the future?
  • What weapons will be used in World War Three?
  • What will schools look like in the year 3,000?  Will there even be schools?
  • What will my future be like?
  • When did life first start on Earth?
  • When did the first volcano erupt?
  • How could we count the drops of water in the ocean?