Fibonacci Sequence

Here is a very interesting mathematical concept to investigate... It also holds a clue to unlocking some valuable secrets on the island.


There is also a question to answer below relating to The Fibonacci Sequence :

edieval mathematician and businessman Fibonacci (Leonardo Pisano) posed the following problem in his treatise Liber Abaci (pub. 1202):

How many pairs of rabbits will be produced in a year, beginning with a single pair, if in every month each pair bears a new pair which becomes productive from the second month on?

from http://www.mathacademy.com/pr/prime/articles/fibonac/index.asp

http://www.mi.sanu.ac.rs/vismath/jadrbookhtml/part42.html from more info on Dynamic Symmetry and the Golden Section

And check out this maths page discussing Pascal's triangle and other info.

Divine Proportion

Symbols, numbers, alphabets, codes...

Some of you are finding things which need to be decoded or unlocked somehow... some of these images may provide clues. There will be more to come...


And this is a dead Inca mummy... Burial sites often house great treasures...

Novel study wikispaces

Each of you is in a novel study group to practice reciprocal reading.
In your group you have a leader. You also need someone to post your responses on your group's wikispace. You need to follow the link and apply to sign up.
:-)
This is a chance to showcase your literacy skills online. I'm sure the BoT, Principal, DPs, your parents, etc will be delighted to follow your academic work online.

http://onmyhonour.wikispaces.com/

http://thecharlotteswebgroup.wikispaces.com/

http://thelostcolonygroup.wikispaces.com/

http://thethieflord.wikispaces.com/

http://theholesgroup.wikispaces.com/

Bright Sparks Awards

Our famous friend, Drumbledoor, is in the finals of the Bright Sparks Competition for 2009 !!!
Hooray!
Please go online and vote for him and his Robotic Room Guard invention.

super speeches!

Speeches are due in week four ... Hey! That's next week!
Remember the criteria. Keep as close as possible to 3 minutes. Use props, tiny cue cards, costumes, humour, researched facts, and whatever it takes to deliver the best speech you can. The best thing about doing your best is that you will make the experience more positive for yourself AND the audience.
Remember all my personal stories about public speaking and do your best to develop this important and highly valuable life skill.
List tips, reasons to succeed and other personal anecdotes here for our audience.

http://arb.nzcer.org.nz/resources/english/oral/1000/ol1520.htm http://www.ljlseminars.com/monthtip.htm http://www.ljlseminars.com/elements.htm

And try to remember some of what made Winston, MLK, Adolf and others such effective speakers.

Think of an act - it's a speech, not a discussion.

Base 10 versus Base 12

In class today I challenged MysteryMan to uncover a reason why a base 12 counting system might be superior to a base 10 system, like ours.
Feel free to be the person to beat Mysteryman to provide me with answers to my advanced maths challenge.
I will provide links to several sites that may help you, but as always, it is best to think critically about the sources of info online and to triangulate your data to see if it is reliable.
One link in particular is clearly someone's opinion rather than hard facts. It is interesting though and does include some valid points worth investigating.

I found this amazing diagram related to someone's musings over base 12.
http://www.milesokazaki.com/imgs/majorminor4.jpg

Here are the other links:
http://www.rattlesnake.com/notions/base-12.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numeral_system
http://mathforum.org/dr.math/faq/faq.bases.html

Ancient Maths and secret symbols...

On Matainui there are many mysteries to solve. You have been discovering ancient structures, mysterious inscriptions and symbols. Some of you have found artifacts and others have narrowly escaped horrifying demises...
Part of your adventure involves unravelling codes and cyphers. You can reap rewards by posting your theories and research discoveries on your won blogs. Benefits will befall you...

Mayan structures and maths may be of interest. Similar historical facts may also be of use. But don't think it's all about the past, because it's not.

Remember this morning's Mayan maths? Well, the ability to read coded messages in other languages may prove very fruitful if you find structures, caves, tunnels, chambers, or mysterious advanced 'machinery'.

Scenes on Matainui

Here are some scenes from the first day ...

Packing for Survival on the "Return to Matainui!"

We are returning to Matainui to camp for two weeks. We shall travel by sea plane and you may take what you are wearing and a backpack with ten other items in it. Your lunch for the first day will not count as an item. Think about your list and pack for any potential survival situations. You may cooperatively pack to make sure you get more items amongst your group.
Weather will be similar to what we are experiencing in Hamilton at present, but possibly colder and wetter.
Island inhabitants, flora and fauna will be only as you would have found 1500 years ago, before the arrival of humans. Everything you say you want to do on the island will have to be something you can actually do with the equipment you have.
No other adults will be with us. We will travel from Kawhia Harbour in a plane like the one pictured above.
All skills and knowledge you wish make use of on the island will must be posted on your own "Return To Matainui" blog. Show images and descriptions of equipment, etc.
Daily diary entries of your adventures and experiences need to be posted, free of errors.
Good luck!

Links to relevant sites:

Survival items

Fire starters

To Ten Survival Tools

Survival kit ideas

Hexagonal Packaging

As we discovered today, hexagonal packaging is a highly efficient way to use space and i s found widely throughout nature as well as in human-made structures.
Add comments stating examples of places where this pattern can be found in nature. Add one per person to allow others to have a go.

Term 4, Week 1 ... Themes, Concepts, Contexts

Firstly, congratulations to our yr 7 and 8 class citizens. It was genuinely hard to choose. Based on my observations and your votes, it came down to between three and five people for each year level, so well done to the lads who made the grade.
As for this week's homework, you need to post something interesting on your blog that you have written in your own words and referenced any sources you used.
You also need to scan and skim the Room5ian personal blogs to find some quality narrative writing. Look for posts relating to Kakepuku Catastrophe and/or diary writing. Leave your chosen favourite blogger a comment showing your appreciation.



As for Term Four work, it is as follows:

• We have a novel study to work on in groups, based on short novels and with a booklet to work on through a process known as reciprocal reading. Your response work will be posted on a wiki set up by and for your reading group. Instructions will be given in class.
• Maths will be based around geometry and mapping for starters, as well as numeracy based on fractions, decimals, etc later in the term.
• Writing will be around the co-construction of creative stories [narratives] based on your experiences surviving in a fantasy-based life on the Matai Islands.
  
• You will also write and deliver a 3 minute speech [- you can use props and ICT] due in week 4.
  
• Your overall theme will be based on "Relationships" and "Making a Difference". We will write our stories to share with other students who find reading boring or difficult. We could also do something to make a contribution to the disaster relief in Samoa.
  
• In P.E. we will be developing our fitness and skills for athletics. We also need to learn social dancing skills for the Yr 8 formal.
  
  

Learning for noob teacher Bloggers :-)

Welcome to Blogging, teachers.

Create a Google account. Gmail is also useful, but not required for setting up your blog.

Create a blog using services like Blogger or Edublogs.

Why let our Students blog? Clever Kiwi teacher Rachel Boyd tells us why using Youtube :-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKoEZJseVXU

Learn from legendary ICT guru SuzieVepser

Blogger support coordinator tells us how to set up a blog. Its very simple :-)

Cybersafety Blogging Guidelines for schools from Netsafe

Join Twitter to create your own Personalised Learning Network [PLN].



Have fun playing a we will be here to support you. You may even get comments from students in
my class or other teachers who keep an eye on this blog.

Youtube links from Slideshow:
How to use...
Twitter
Flickr
Diigo

Woodmonstas Wonder Wiki [and some of your blogs]

It's not so wonderful, but it's a start... and yes, this is what I look like during the holidays.

http://woodmonstas.wetpaint.com/

Well done to The Other Boy and LittleMissRoom18 for editing the site a little.
All trusted bloggers will be given access to the passwords so you can add content. Ability to edit and proofread will be important as well as being responsible, reliable and interesting.
:-)
I wonder if the world famous author of Midnight Baloney or even The MysteryMan might comment.
These are great blogs too ...

http://blogfieldresistance.blogspot.com/

and how could we forget the famous Arsenal Lover! http://gunners4life18.blogspot.com/

At my old school we had a very special blog worth a look.

Why is blogging cool?

Hey Kidlets - tell me here in [English, Spanish or Japanese] why blogging is fun, engaging, encourages you to write and is a good idea for using at school and home.
I'm going to show this to teachers at Ulearn in Christchurch next week.
I am also getting a cup made for the blogger of the Week. It will be handed to the best blogger each Friday and will be based on comments in this blog and posts on your own blogs. Currently you guys are being out-blogged on your own class blog by Room5ians from last year. [oh the shame!]
Blogger of the year in December will keep the cup for good :-)
Encourage each other to go on here to enhance our world famousness :-)