Tag: Reading

Mood, Atmosphere and Characterisation

This term my group and I created a DLO, we focused on explaining the various roles these characters have. For example, the main character who drives the story forward is called the protagonist, while the character who goes against or causes trouble for the protagonist is called the antagonist or bad guy. We also looked at how some characters are more complex and change a lot through the story, which are called round characters, and how other characters stay pretty much the same throughout, known as flat characters.

Additionally, we discussed two important storytelling elements: mood and atmosphere. Mood is the overall feeling or emotional tone of the story like whether it feels happy, sad, tense, or scary. Atmosphere refers to the environment or vibe created by the setting and story details, which helps create that mood. We studied how these elements are used to make the reader feel certain emotions during important parts of the story.

The focus of our DLO was the book “The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas.” We explored how the mood and atmosphere in this book influence how the reader experiences the story, especially during key moments. For example some scenes are made more intense or emotional because of the way the author sets the mood or creates the atmosphere, making readers feel tension, sadness, or fear. These feelings help make the story more powerful and memorable.

Overall, our project aimed to explain how the different types of characters and the emotions they evoke are really important in telling a story. We showed how understanding these elements can help us see why certain scenes stand out or how they make us feel. This is especially true in this particular book, where the use of mood and atmosphere helps highlight the serious and emotional themes. Our work helps explain how authors use these techniques to make stories effective and engaging for readers.

Building Hope

After reading the books like the Diary of Anne Frank and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, which tell stories about people who went through really hard times during difficult periods in history. After reading these books, they talked about how tough it must have been for those people to have their whole lives turned upside down. It’s hard to imagine what that felt like, but it probably meant losing everything they knew  their homes, their routines, their loved ones and facing really terrible conditions.

The conversation also included ideas about how those people might hold onto their hopes and dreams even in such dark times. We discussed ways on how we could think about putting those hopes back together, almost like rebuilding something that was destroyed. To express this, we drew pictures on a big piece of cloth together, drawing symbols that remembered those who suffered and showed respect for what they went through. The drawings focused on themes like hope, freedom, family, and dreams things that those people lost but still kept alive in their hearts.

This activity was inspired by an idea called the “Teaspoon of Light,” but one thing I learnt was about spreading small acts of kindness and hopefulness, even when things seem really hopeless. Also another point was to remind everyone that even during the darkest times, hope can still exist, and small acts of compassion can make a difference. It’s about thinking that no matter how terrible things get, there’s always a way to find and share hope, and to keep believing that better times can come.

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

This Ls2 listened to an audiobook called “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas” by John Boyne, going through it chapter by chapter. After finishing each chapter, they talked about the mood and atmosphere. Mood is about how the story makes you feel or what the characters might be feeling; it helps you imagine yourself in the story’s situation emotionally. Atmosphere is the overall feeling or vibe of the story, like a certain tone or energy that you get when reading it, which some people might find hard to describe exactly.

They worked together to write a summary of each chapter in about 10 sentences. This exercise helped them practice different types of sentences simple, compound, and complex. Sometimes, they used a special tool called a Gem to help them write these sentences, and other times they used a laminated sheet that gave them guidance, like prompting them to start with short sentences of 1 to 3 words.

One thing they learned from the story is that the soldiers in the story were very cruel. This was because they had to follow strict orders from someone named Hitler, who was a very harsh and powerful leader. The story shows how the soldiers’ cruelty was connected to their obedience to Hitler’s commands, which made them act in harsh ways.

Mood-O-Meter Chapter 19

Today in Reading, our teacher made up something called the “Mood-O-Metre,” which is a tool to show how the characters’ feelings changed throughout the story (Boy in the striped Pajamas). We looked at Bruno and Shmuel, two boys who became friends, we also tracked how their emotions shifted during different parts of the story. The Mood-O-Metre covers a range of feelings from very sad to very happy. We started by placing their mood at “Elated,” meaning very happy, as they first became friends. As the story went on and difficult things happened, their mood dropped all the way down to “hopeless,” which shows they felt very sad and despairing. Later, their feelings improved again, and their mood went back up, especially at the very end, when they died. This shows that despite everything, they shared a strong bond and cared about each other deeply, even in the face of terrible circumstances. The Mood-O-Metre helps us understand how their emotions changed over time and highlights the strength of their friendship, which remained important until the very end.

 

Contrast – Chapter 16

LI: To use AI to create an image that shows the contrast between events or characters

Today we have done something different so for this task we first as LS2 read the book “The boy in striped pajamas” chapter 16. The task today was to make a AI image to show what contrast is. Bruno and Shmuel is best friends. They can only do small thing when they hang out because there are a endless fence separating them.

What is contrast, contrast is the opposite of things. For example: Bruno can eat 3 meals a day but Shmuel eats 1 piece of bread a day.

Something I enjoyed is learning how to define what contrast is and using Nano Banana AI for our task.

 

 

My Mural (Painting the town)

>This week, the students in LS2 including me,were challenged to do a special project. But before we started working on our special project which is a mural, everyone had to read the story called “Painting the Town” by Renata Hopkins. This story talked about what happened to the city of Christchurch back in 2011. That year, there was a very strong earthquake that caused a lot of damage, especially in the middle part of the city, called the downtown area. The earthquake broke buildings, made roads crack, and caused a lot of destruction, making the city look very sad and broken.

After the earthquake, the people in Christchurch wanted to make their city look better and help everyone feel happier again. So, they started painting big murals these are colorful wall paintings on the sides of buildings all over the city. These murals were bright and lively and made the area look cheerful and full of life. The main idea was to help people feel hopeful and to make the city beautiful again. The murals worked as a kind of art therapy, helping everyone heal emotionally and restore the spirit of the community after such a big disaster.

For the project, each student was asked to create their own digital mural, which is like a colorful tracing or drawing on a computer. The murals had to show where they come from like their hometown, family, or culture and what they see or feel about who they are. In simple words, they could use their artwork to share their background, their experiences, and what makes them unique. This was a way for each student to show who they are without using words, just pictures. By making these murals, the students could express themselves and their feelings, and they could also be part of the effort to help their city recover and look nice again.

Their murals are personal they tell their own stories but they also help the bigger picture of Christchurch becoming a better and more welcoming place. The project helped the students understand how art isn’t just something pretty to look at but can be a powerful tool to help people feel better, to share their stories, and to help a community heal after something really upsetting or destructive. In the end, they learned that art can bring people together, make a community stronger, and help a city rebuild after difficult times.

The mural I made using Google Draw shows where I come from and what I see as part of who I am. It’s my way of showing my background and what makes me myself, all through pictures. I wanted to share a piece of my life and feelings in my artwork, so others could see a little bit of who I am just by looking at it. I think that art like this can be very helpful for a community. It can help people feel hopeful again after something bad happens, like a big earthquake. My mural is personal, because it shows my story, but at the same time, it’s part of the bigger effort to make Christchurch look nice and feel welcoming once more. Making this mural helped me see how drawing and art can be more than just pictures. They can be tools to help heal, to express yourself, and to bring people together after hard times.

 

Letter to Ah Sum

LI: To understand we make judgements based on stereotyping, assumptions and prejudices

Today we went over a story called “Bok Choy for Reading.” The story talked about how Chinese immigrants, like Ah Sum, were treated badly and unfairly judged in New Zealand a long time ago. It showed that many people didn’t see Chinese immigrants as equals and often had negative ideas about them just because they looked different or came from a different culture. The story also taught us that it’s important to understand and care about people who are different from us, even if we don’t fully understand their situation. Showing kindness and empathy is the right thing to do.

After reading the story, our task was to write a letter to Ah Sum to thank him properly. When we visited him in his hut, we didn’t have the right words to express how grateful we were, so now we need to take the time to say it the right way. This exercise made us think about how important it is to be respectful and thoughtful when talking to others, especially those who might have helped us or who are going through tough times.

What I found most interesting about the story is how it revealed that even though a long time has passed, there are still challenges and unfair treatment faced by people who are different, especially because of their race or background. It shows that racism and prejudice are still problems today, not just in the past. The story made me think about how important it is to treat everyone equally and to stand up against unfairness whenever we see it. It reminded me that kindness, understanding, and empathy are needed now just as much as they were back then.

Johnny Pohe and the Great Escape DLO

Today, we had a task to make a DLO, the task was to show two different sides of an event, give a summary of what happened, and also share our own opinion about it. Our group talked mainly about Johnny Pohe, a Maori man who became a pilot during World War II. We debated whether the risks he took were worth it or if they were reasonable. We found it interesting that Johnny Pohe was actually the first Maori person to be a pilot in the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF). In my opinion he was the first official Maori pilot because he was the first to go through training and become officially recognized as a pilot under the new RNZAF during the war. Overall, our work involved explaining what he did, looking at different viewpoints about his actions, summarising his story, and sharing what we thought about it.

The Lady who said ‘Kia Ora’

Dame Naida Glavish is a woman who decided to greet people with “Kia Ora,” a Māori phrase meaning “hello,” instead of the usual English “hello.” By making that simple choice, she sparked a big shift in how New Zealand sees and celebrates its different cultures, especially Māori culture. We think Dame Naida Glavish was someone who started a big change because her small act showed the importance of respecting and using the Māori language, which helped more people recognize and value the country’s indigenous roots. Her action encouraged others to do the same, leading to a stronger awareness and pride in Māori traditions, ultimately changing how New Zealand views and embraces its cultural identity.

Idioms

For this task we were challenged to make our own idioms. What is an idiom, an idiom is a sentence that isn’t real and is a figurative. My idiom was Carry the weight of a wet sponge, which means “To be weighed down by an overwhelming or impossible task, especially one that feels like it will never be solved or completed”. One thing I found intersting about this fun challenge is that we use idioms but don’t know when we use them.