Runnin' (From Lava)

Year 11 is starting their second assessment on Surface Features of New Zealand. 

To gain the credits in this assessment students need to produce a report, create a Prezi or presentation, or make a tourism video or brochure about Auckland's volcanoes. 

 They need to explain processes happening UNDER the ground that cause Auckland volcanoes, as well as what occurs ON TOP of the ground during an eruption, and some process that happen over many years AFTER to form the familiar peaks or lakes around Auckland. 

Why is there a Beyonce song at the start of this post?

I love learning through music! 

One of my students was listening to Beyonce instead of me the other day (she IS fabulous, but can she teach about volcanoes? hmmm...) 

Turns out that she can, if we use her song but change some lyrics. That same student and her friend will hopefully record this song for their class in coming days, to help them learn about the hotspot under Auckland:

[Girls]

These four layers deep have changed the Earth’s surface

The Earth’s surface,

It’s changing still.

The heat it starts deep first from the outer core,

Heats mantle up,

Mantle just above,

Starts heating up.

Where else can it go?

Where else can it go?

Convecting up,

To the crust.

Crust then starts to melt,

Magma building up,

Hot magma

Hot magma

Hotspot, hotspot, hotspot, hotspot,

Hotspot, hotspot, hotspot

No hotspots at the plate boundaries,

Just in the middle at Auckland,

It’s a hotspot, hotspot, hotspot, hotspot,

Hotspot, hotspot, hotspot,

A hundred kilometers below,

The melted rock is building up.

If the pressure builds we lose it all

[Boys]

If I feel the earth shake I won’t be standing still,

Be gapping it,

To Hamilton,

As the magma pushes up through cracks,

And fissures,

To the surface,

Eruption time!

Where else can I go?

When Auckland loses control,

Lava on you,

Chasing you.

Hotspot, hotspot, hotspot, hotspot,

Hotspot, hotspot, hotspot

Eruption size and lava type,

Make different volcano shapes.

[Girls]

It’s a hotspot, hotspot, hotspot, hotspot,

Hotspot, hotspot, hotspot,

Caldera, strato-volcano,

Cinder cone and shield shape too.

[Boys]

When the lava cools,

It leaves behind,

[Girls]

It’s a ro-cky volcano,

slopes and sides,

[Boys]

Then it changes shape more

over time

[Girls]

When humans use it or,

e-ro-sion.

Blogs for 2016

Kia ora, 

Today is my first proper lesson with my Year 13 Bio class, and this year we've decided to set up blogs for the learning that happens during class time. 

I've given students some time to personalize their blogs, and then as a way to see what they remember from Year 11 write their first post. 

I am aware that blogging in the senior school will be a tricky path to navigate, balancing learning, creating and sharing towards internals and externals with the need for students to work individually while completing assessments and demonstrating their individual understanding. 

However, we are a collaborative and digital school, and giving Year 13's an opportunity to return to their Primary and Intermediate Manaiakalani roots where they share their understanding as it emerges and as they complete tasks to build knowledge will hopefully prove beneficial for them :) 

Here are the links for the Year 13's blogs! 

        Aki      Asinate     Bobbigrace     Cherub     Fiu     Lana    Rachael     Rita     Sela

I also took the opportunity to remind them about reliability of sources of information on the web, and perhaps to warn any potential readers that their post is purely what they can remember from 2 years ago, and may not be completely correct!