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Here are some words about our current Mantle of the Expert work, which is with a class of year 4 students.

In this Mantle of the Expert unit the children are in role as a team of earth scientists who work in a fictional company called 'Geo Ready' (modelled on New Zealand’s real crown institute ‘GeoNet’).

Working in this role children will have jobs and tasks to complete that will lead to learning about:

a. New Zealand’s geological hazards: volcanos, earthquakes, and tsunami

b. Scientific equipment used to measure land movement/activity

c. How earth scientists at 'GeoNet' decide where to place their different monitoring systems. In making these decisions children will have to consider things such as types of land forms and rocks in an area, environmental factors such as weather, read maps, investigate history of land, look at old land records, and investigate land ownership and explore ways to seek permissions from land owners.

The work will involve inquiry research, writing in a range of genres including letter writing and report writing, reading a range of materials including lots of map-work covering a variety of keys and scales, and mathematical skills including measuring, and diagram/graph work.

We hope you enjoy sharing our learning journey and the discoveries we make! You can also read past learning journeys by selecting from 'Previous Mantle of the Expert Work at Muritai School', which is a tab on the right hand side of this blog page.


Detail from a map of Wellington geology

Sorting rocks

13 August 2012

DAY FIVE

TRIREMES AND TRADING SHIPS

Today we started with some inquiry work on:
  • the Athenian naval fleet of warships called ‘triremes’ (boats that had 3 tiers of oarsmen), 
  • the Port of Piraeus, and 
  • Athenian trading ships. 

We learnt about Themistocles and how he was an excellent strategist and leader of the Athenian naval fleet during the Golden Age.  Themistocles was responsible for establishing the Port of Piraeus as a successful navy base.  He was responsible for having 200 more triremes built when Athens discovered silver at Laurion.  He was also responsible for building major fortifications at the Port of Piraeus.  There were defensive walls all around the port and long walls running all the way from the port of Piraeus to Athens!


We also looked at maps showing the trade routes of ships from Athens around the Mediterranean during the Golden Age.  We discovered that the Athenians during the Golden Age traded things such as pottery, silver and gold vessels, olive oil, wine (carried in amphoras), and textiles.  


 Click on the link 'Athenian Navy' under the heading 'Websites for our Mantle' on the right hand sidebar to see a you tube with images and words about the Athenian naval fleet of triremes.

Following our inquiry work we then created representations of the two different types of ships using ourselves, chairs, and newsprint (and some bamboo sticks that were found in the corner of the classroom!).  This was a great creative exercise with the teams working together to generate ideas, use their imaginations, and problem solve to best create a representation of the boat, (finding the best way to represent 3 tiers of oars was a good challenge!)

Representation of an Ancient Greek trading ship with a cargo of amphoras in the centre.   Evie is the mast and sail.


Representation of trireme with the prow for ramming out the front and the three tiers of oars.  The other Evie is the mast and sail and Olivia is the pipe blower keeping everyone rowing in time.
CONTINUING WITH THE STORY OF THE ODYSSEY

Next we continued listening to the story of Odysseus and making our story maps.  We listened to how:
  • Odysseus’s men were punished for eating the sacred cattle of the sun on the island of Thrinacia, 
  • Odysseus then lived with Calyspo on the island of Ogygia for 7 years, 
  • The gods then decided to let Odysseus return home and sent Hermes to tell Calyso she must release Odysseus.  
  • Poseidon then got angry, when he saw Odysseus on the sea once again trying for home, and sent a storm to destroy his ship and
  • Odysseus was saved by the nymph Ino, who in the likeness of a gull, lent him her immortal scarf.
Below are some of the illustrations that were drawn on our story maps today.

The sacred cattle of the sun on the island of Thrinacia

Zeus sends a thunderbolt to destroy Odysseus's ship after the men hunt one of the sacred cattle of the sun, despite  Odysseus's warnings.

Hermes the messenger god.

Hermes the messenger god.

Hermes arrives on Ogygia to tell Calypso to release Odysseus and let him return home.
Poseidon (still angry with Odysseus for blinding is son the Cyclops) wrecks Odysseus's boat as he tries to sail home.
The nymph Ino comes in the form of a gull to help Odysseus get to land safely by giving him a scarf of immortality.

AN INTERESTING NEW LINK

‘In Search of the Goddess Athena’.  
I have just added a link to a digital application that allows you to ‘walk’ through the Acropolis museum in search of representations of the goddess Athena.  We have been learning a lot about this goddess who was the goddess of wisdom in war and patron goddess of Athens.  Click on the link 'Acropolis Museum - search for Athena' under the heading 'Websites for our Mantle' on the right hand sidebar.  If the site comes up in Greek you can change it to English by clicking ‘English’ at the bottom of the screen.  


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