Year: 2026

Samoan Language Week

Last week for Samoan Language Week, we created a Google Slides presentation with useful phrases in Samoan and English that could be used in everyday school situations. We chose important phrases such as asking to go to the bathroom, borrowing a pen, finding the sickbay, and asking for help with our work. We also used AI to generate images that matched each phrase and made the meaning easier to understand.

While working on this task, I learned more about the Samoan language and how translation can help people communicate and feel more confident. I found it interesting creating images to match the phrases and thinking about how these expressions could be useful for people who are still learning English. This activity helped me appreciate the importance of language and culture, and showed me how communication can help people feel welcomed and included.

Friendship and Culture Poem

In writing, we created poems based on abstract nouns of our choice. Me and my partner chose Culture and Friendship, and used descriptive language and sensory details to explore deeper ideas and emotions. Through my poems, I showed how culture connects people through traditions and shared experiences, and how friendship can provide comfort, trust, and hope even during difficult times. We also used AI to generate images that matched the mood and meaning of our poems, helping to bring our ideas to life.

While working on this task, I learned that poems do not always have to rhyme to be powerful. I found it interesting how imagery and carefully chosen words can create strong emotions and deeper meaning for the reader. This activity helped me become more creative with my writing and showed me how words and images can work together to communicate important ideas in different ways

Word problems

LI: To identify important information and use it to solve word problems accurately.

In maths, We learned how to read each question carefully, identify the important information, and decide which operations or strategies to use. We also included examples to show how some word problems can involve more than one step and require us to think carefully about what the question is asking.

While working on this task, I learned that word problems are easier to solve when you break them down into smaller parts and focus on one step at a time. I also learned that it is important to show your working, as it helps explain your thinking and allows you to check your answer. Something I found interesting was that there can sometimes be more than one way to solve a problem, but you should always choose a strategy that makes sense.

 

Building Hope

LI: To use creative expression to explore the hopes and dreams of people in a text.

After reading The Diary of Anne Frank and The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, we talked about what people must have felt like having their whole world turned upside down. I can’t imagine what it felt like to be separated from family and friends and have your freedom taken away. We discussed the hopes and dreams that Anne Frank and Bruno may have had, such as being with loved ones, having hope for the future, and living a normal life again.

Yesterday, we discussed how we could put their Cloth of Dreams back together again. There were no strict rules for this activity, which allowed us to express our ideas creatively and share different perspectives. Working collaboratively in two groups, we combined our ideas and created drawings that represented dreams of Whanau, peace, hope, and freedom.

This activity was inspired by the book Teaspoon of Light. I enjoyed having the freedom to be creative and seeing how everyone interpreted the dreams differently. It helped me understand that even during difficult times, people can still hold onto hope and dream about a better future.

The boy in the striped pyjamas

We listened to the audiobook of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne. After each chapter, we explored the mood and atmosphere. The mood is the emotions and feelings created in the story, while the atmosphere is the feeling or tone that the setting and events create for the reader.

We worked collaboratively to summarise each chapter in 10 sentences. This helped us practise using a range of sentence structures, including simple, compound, and complex sentences, to show characters’ emotions and important events. It also helped us improve our vocabulary and think more deeply about the mood and atmosphere in each chapter. I found it interesting how changing the length and structure of sentences could make a scene feel more tense, emotional, or dramatic.

 

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas Contrast

LI: To compare and contrast characters, ideas, and events in a text.

In reading, we explored The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and looked at the similarities and differences between characters and their experiences. We used a compare and contrast DLO to identify what was the same and what was different, helping us understand the story in more depth.

Working with others, we discussed our ideas and used evidence from the text to support our thinking. It was interesting seeing how different characters had different perspectives, even though they were living through the same events. This activity helped me develop my understanding of the text and improve my ability to compare and contrast important ideas and characters.

Mood, Atmosphere and Characterisation

LI: To understand how characters, mood, and atmosphere help shape a story.

In reading, my group created a DLO about mood, atmosphere, and characterisation while learning about The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. We explored the difference between protagonists and antagonists, as well as round and flat characters. We also looked at how mood and atmosphere can affect the way readers feel during different parts of the story.

Working together, we used examples from the text to explain our ideas and show how characters and settings influence the story. Something I found interesting was learning that characters can change and develop over time, while others stay the same. This activity helped me understand how authors use characterisation, mood, and atmosphere to create emotions and make stories more engaging for the reader.

Mood-o-meter

LI: To identify and explain the changing moods in a text.

In reading, my partner and I created a Mood-O-Meter based on Chapters 19–20 of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. We tracked how the mood changed throughout the chapters and connected different emotions to important events in the story. Some of the moods we included were hopeful, nervous, devastated, and furious.

While working on this task, we discussed how Bruno and Shmuel’s emotions changed as the story became more tense and emotional. We also added explanations and images to help show the atmosphere and mood more clearly.

This activity helped me understand how authors create emotion and tension in a story. It also helped me think more deeply about the characters’ feelings and the changes that happened throughout the chapters.

 

Bruno’s contrasting moods

LI: To explore and explain character emotions in a text.

In reading, my partner and I used Nano Banana to create four AI-generated images showing different moods from The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. We had the choice to focus on Bruno’s or Shmuel’s moods/emotions during important moments in the story for example like choosing moods like hopeful, petrified, sad, and brave.

For each image, we explained what was happening in the scene and why the characters were feeling that emotion. It was interesting seeing how the mood changed throughout the story and how friendship stayed important even during difficult moments.

This activity helped me think more deeply about the characters’ emotions and how mood can change depending on the events happening in the text.

Learning Journey 2026

LI: To reflect on and share our learning journey.

For this task, I created a Learning Journey DLO to showcase some of the work I have completed this year in reading, writing, maths, and AI. I linked my learning to my blog posts so my teachers and whānau could see the progress I have made throughout the year.

While creating this DLO, I reflected on the different activities and skills I have worked on across each subject. It was interesting looking back at all the tasks we have completed and seeing how much my confidence and understanding have grown over time. This activity helped me prepare for student conferences and gave me the opportunity to share my learning journey in a creative and organised way.