Summer Learning Journey - Week 3: Day 4

DAY 4: Like a Scene Out of a Movie

Activity 1: The Southern Lights [4 points]

Once in a while a very special event takes place in New Zealand. It is a show of beautiful, bright lights that appear in the sky over the South Island. The lights are called the ‘Aurora Australis’ or ‘Southern Lights.’ They are similar to the ‘Northern Lights’ that are often seen in places like Northern Canada, Iceland, Sweden, Finland and Denmark. The southern and northern lights are so stunning that they often leave people, who are watching them, speechless.

For this activity, you are to write a short acrostic word poem about the beautiful lights. Hazel has written an acrostic poem about summer to give you an example.

S - Sun outside,

U - Umbrellas in the sand.

M -  My friends and I, having fun,

M - Making sandcastles,

E - Enjoying ice cream on a hot day,

R - Racing to the beach!

On your blog, use the word ‘LIGHTS’ to write an acrostic poem about the Southern Lights. Be as creative as you can!

For more information and examples of acrostic poems, check out this poetry website. :

L: Lots of colours

I: I am enjoying my time

G: Gods creation

H: Harmony in the Air

T: Time to remeber

S: Speechless

Activity 2: The Seven Sisters [4 points]

In the middle of winter, a very special cluster (group) of stars appear in the sky over New Zealand. This cluster is called the ‘Matariki star cluster.’ It re-appears in the sky each May/June and signals the start of the Māori New Year. Many songs (waiata) and stories have been written about the cluster. One of these is called ‘The Seven Stars of Matariki.’ It was written by a New Zealander named Toni Rolleston-Cummins. She is from Maketu. Click here to listen to Toni read her story.

On your blog, write a short summary of the book. What was it about? Try to summarise the story in 6-8 sentences.

Once there was a man named Metai who was raised by a man who knew many magic, he taught Metai how to turn into a bird. Metai had 6 other brothers who were very handsome. One day he and his brothers went to a hill where they saw 7 beautiful ladies. The brothers (except for Metai) fell deep in love with the ladies, but Metai warned them they were faires because of the bright white skin and their golden hair. The brothers took the ladies back to the village but they were very picky. The brothers were so spell bound that they never looked after themselves and soon became skinny and ugly. Metai was suspicious so one day he waited behind a tree when he noticed 7 birds sitting closly to each other. They transformed into the ladies and were talking about starving their husbands to death. Metai heard this and went to go tell his brothers and then they made a plan. The brothers caught the sisters in magical nets and then Metai turned into a bird and took the sisters to the god of the sky. The god of the sky trapped them in the heavens and once a year, their beauty shines from the sky.

Activity 3: Crazy, Cool Clouds [5 points]

Have you ever looked up into the sky and seen a cloud that had a really cool shape? I certainly have, and so have dozens of other people. Take a look at the three pictures of crazy, cool cloud formations below.

From left to right: Picture 1, Picture 2, Picture 3

Clouds are formed when small drops of water stick together. To learn more about clouds and how they are formed, you can watch this cool video. Once you have learned about clouds, please choose your favourite cloud picture.

On your blog, tell us what you see in the photo. What shape(s) do you see? Be sure to tell us which picture (1, 2 or 3) you have chosen and describe what you see in lots of detail!.

1) In the first photo, it looks like an bunny, or maybe a kangaroo. The clouds enhances its fluffiness which makes the cloud even more adorable.

2) This cloud reminds me of a tornado. It looks like it is spinning. It also looks like cotton candy.

3) This cloud looks like the old timey mustaches.