WHY DOES THE MOON LOOK DIFFERENT EVERY NIGHT?

In Week 6 of Term 2 our class focussed on how to write great explanations.We wrote about the Moon’s different phases as we are in the middle of learning about Planet Earth and Beyond.

Introduction

If you are wondering why the Moon does not always look like a perfect spherical circle?If you are I will give you a full explanation why.

First Paragraph

5 Sentences

If there are confusing facts about the Moon than I will clarify all of those facts. You can believe anything you want but shadows do not have anything to do with the phases of the moon. Another clarification is that the moon actually happens to be on the opposite side of earth from the Sun. It actually depends on the light to see what type of Moon it is. The Moon actually needs thousands of it’s own to get to the same brightness of the Sun.

Second Paragraph

4 Sentences

If you are confused about the phases it is not your fault it is confusing, I will tell you all about it.Half of the Moon is always lit up by the Sun. The phases of the Moon are the New Moon, Full Moon, Waxing Crescent, Waxing Gibbous, First Quarter, Waning Gibbous, Last Quarter and then the Waning Crescent. Sometimes when it gets to the New Moon people call it a Dark disk. As the Moon orbits the Sun it changes shape depending on the reflection of the light that shines on the Moon from the Sun.

Third Paragraph

Between the time of the first and last New Moon is called a lunar month. It is about 29.5 days to call a normal month a lunar month. The time for the moon to successfully orbit the earth is actually less it is really 27.3 days. Auckland’s latest New Moon was on the 18th of May.

Conclusion

I hope this explanation has inspired you to write you own about this topic or any other. If you think this topic is very fascinating than you should visit this website http://www.kidsastronomy.com/other_worlds.htm.

My Explanation Success Criteria:	Self	Peer
My heading:
is the question WHY DOES THE MOON LOOK DIFFERENT EVERY NIGHT?	YES	YES
My opening paragraph/introduction:
introduce what my writing is about in a clear way	YES	YES
hooks the reader	YES	YES
clear topic sentence and supporting sentences	YES	YES
2-3 sentences maximum	YES	YES
My main paragraphs/body paragraphs:
clear topic sentence and supporting sentences	YES	YES
are organised so that each paragraph is about a different aspect of the subject	YES	YES
give detailed information (factual descriptions)	YES	YES
include specific, technical vocabulary	YES	YES
are generally balanced (have a similar amount of detail about the different aspects I write about)	YES	YES
connectives and time connectives	YES	YES
descriptive language	YES	YES
formal language	YES	YES
My end paragraph/conclusion:
draws the report together/sums up my main points	YES	YES
may give a personal opinion; ask the reader a question and/or tell the reader where further information may be found	YES	YES
write an interesting fact (optional)	NO	NO

THE WEIRD AND DEADLY PLANET MARS!

This is my information report put in to a word cloud. Also this my information report on it's own. Hope you like

In Week 5 of Term 2 our class focussed on how to write great information reports.

We wrote about the planet Mars as we are in the middle of learning about Planet Earth and Beyond. Learning how to write a great information report will help us with our self-guided topics in a few weeks time.

Here is my writing, after I have self-assessed and peer-assessed my work.

The weird and deadly planet Mars

                                                                Introduction

Have you ever wondered all the things on Mars and about Mars? Well if you have, carry on reading. Mars is a blizzardy red planet that was named after the Roman God of war. It is also 227.9 million kilometers away from the Sun.

Appearance

This paragraph is about the appearance of the very glowing red planet Mars. Mars has a very thin atmosphere. Mars is a planet that can be confused by looking like a star. Also, Mars has no gas liquid it is all solid liquid. The only type of water that is in Mars are the frozen water poles. The red colour of Mars is caused by the rust in its sandy soil.

Mars’ Orbit

This paragraph is about Mars’ Orbit. Did you know that it takes 687 day for Mars to get around the Sun. Mars is estimated to be one ninth as heavy of the earth. Mars is the 4th planet from the Sun. Mars rotates on its axis as efficiently as the earth. Also Mars rotates on its axis every 24 hours.

Could humans live on Mars

Mars is uninhabitable for it’s sand storms, so you can’t live on Mars. Also, Mars has a thin atmosphere so the effective UV RAYS can hit you and it could lead to skin cancer. You can not live on Mars because there is no oxygen and h2o. Another thing is that you can not survive the huge volcano eruptions because the biggest volcano in our solar system is on Mars. Therefore it’s your choice if you want to go to Mars but I guarantee you will regret it.

Conclusion

I hope this information report gave you a lot of information about Mars. If you think that Mars is an interesting topic, than I guarantee this website will be great for you http://www.kidsastronomy.com/mars.htm.

My Information Report Success Criteria:	Self	Peer
My heading:
is an interesting title (I might have phrased the title as a question.)		yes
My opening paragraph:
says what my report is about in a clear way	YES	yes
gives a general “classification” – and maybe a technical classification	YES	yes
outlines the main features of the subject	YES	yes
My main paragraphs:
have sub-headings where helpful	YES	yes
have clear topic sentences  (topic and main point)	YES	yes
are organised so that each paragraph is about a different aspect of the subject	YES	yes
give detailed information (factual descriptions)	YES	yes
include specific, technical vocabulary	YES	yes
are generally balanced (have a similar amount of detail about the different aspects I write about)	YES	yes
may have helpful: tables, pictures and/or diagrams to add information
My end paragraph:
draws the report together/sums up my main points	YES	yes
may give a personal opinion; ask the reader a question and/or tell the reader where further information may be found	YES	Yes

My Spelling Checklist

This is my progress for spelling tests in Term2. I just wanted you to see my progress before the end of the term.

My Term2 Week1 reflection on ANZAC

What: We have been learning about ANZAC since last term and this week. We have also been learning about the soldiers who sacrificed their lives. This week we have been working mainly on the nurses. I have learnt that if you were 18 you had no choice of going to war or not, you have to go or you get persecuted.

So What: We chose ANZAC because it was a close event and because it was a very great topic to learn about. Also because they sacrificed their lives for us. We wanted to show some appreciation by learning about what they did. Another reason why is because they were are a big inspiration so if we wanted to join the army or the navy we would know what we have signed up for and how hard it is.

Now What: Now I am going to research more about ANZAC. Also say prayers for them. Another thing I am now going to do is find out people that went to war and learn about them. Also I am now going to learn about other countries that went to war.