ROOM+7

Welcome to Room 7

I ntroduction Hi. My name is Marquerite Way and I teach a Year 7 & 8 class, Room 7. I currently have 24 students and we are all looking forward to Ngatuhoa Camp in the Kaimai Ranges next week. The entire class and 12 parents & teachers will be attending this camp. My class and I intend to use ICT to the maximum on camp and post camp. eg power point presentations, word document work, and hopefully some video presentations.

For the Teacher Inquiry I am working with Nadine and we shall be concentrating on a small group of accelerate readers. We have decided to work with these students as we feel these students are not able to communicate effectively their thoughts about what they have read (specifically novels). We are looking at creating a literacy reading circle in which students will use a wiki to collaboratively explore their thoughts and experiences about particular novels. This should also increase their reading comprehension and reading vocabulary skills. Currently students are working independently, reading chapters and working through set worksheets and activities with little interaction and discussion. When we come together as a group, we discuss the work but are limited by time for deeper conversations.

__ Term 2 __ The students were selected for this extension reading programme, The reading Literacy Circle based on their reading PAT and Probe test results as well as their desire and dedication to reading novels. First novel for the Reading Literacy circle was "Call of the Wild" by Jack London. Members include:- Melissa, Elanor, Tim, Calvin, Jonathon and Jordan. Wiki tutors are Calvin and Jonathon. This literacy circle was introduced to the concept of a wiki site for reading and then members requested membership and acceptance. Calvin and Jonathon showed group mebers how to go about this. Then we had a meeting as a group and discussed how the programme should be run...ie. the programme format. student and teacher expectations, the No's and Do's on a wiki site and times suitable for wiki work as well as the usage and timetable for the laptops. This session also included a question and answer time which proved to be invaluable for those who have never been and used wiki sites previously. I learnt so much from my two tutors and other group members! The learning was taking place for everyone!!!
 * __Week 4-6__**

__ Quoted Responses from Reading Literacy Circle re- The Positive Aspects of Using a Wiki for Communication:- __
**Calvin** “We are getting closer together as a group because we are learning together and it is becoming easier to talk to each other about things than it is in real life also we are a special group as the 1st people to do this in Room 7” **Melissa** “I like communicating on the wiki as it is something new for us to do rather than just having a vocal discussion on the mat. It also suits people who are more into computers and posting comments on sites. I also like the wiki as it is something new that we are learning like how to work the site. We now know how to work the wikis and could do this again.” **Elanor** “First of all, hi! And my answer is to 'I like the wiki better because...' sometimes it is hard to explain the story and answers in words and is easier to write it down. And also it is very embarrassing when I get the answers wrong. My second reason is that it is a lot more fun than sitting around all day doing boring worksheets. I prefer to type. And I think the answers and questions are a lot more fertile when everyone can discuss it. I really enjoy the wiki group.” “To be honest, it is sort of hard to say. Everyone is different and they learn at different speeds. But I think the whole group responds fully because they enjoy it! It is a lot more fun than doing worksheets and the posts are open for everyone to discuss. They may find it easier to type stuff out than say it in front of the whole group.” **Tim** “The wiki group gets us to post our own feelings about the books that we read rather than just reading the book then talking about the book on the mat. We can also talk about books that we read in our personal time on the homepage. Also other people will be able to look back at the books that we have looked at then they know things about the book like what this is, what it is about next year when people come into room 7. Also we are doing work and we're learning but we're also having lots of quality fun while we're doing it” **Jonathon** “The obvious answer is yes. I really enjoy writing about Buck via "wikispaces.com". It helps us communicate with people we don't usually speak a word with and we can really speak about what we're thinking and we won't be laughed at about what we write and how we write it because the only people who can see what we're writing are people involved with the "wiki group". It's really fun because it involves computers and reading; two aspects of school I really enjoy. I would recommend this idea of the wiki group to any school interested because it's absolutely enjoyable and I send my regards to the bright spark who thought of "wikispaces.com". I really hope we get more great books to write comments about.” **Jordan** **“I** believe that we have communicated and "talked" more than we would've in real life because it is a different process to usual. We would normally come in and sit in a group three times a week and have a discussion about the parts we have read and mark any work that we had been set throughout the week. The way of reading that we have explored and discovered in the wiki group have really opened up my mind to new ways of reading and communicating throughout the sessions that we have spent on it. I think that we have communicated more because it is a different experience and we can just type and click and read without having to pause and get up and go and ask someone about something you didn't find normal in the book. Instead you can just type and post a message and you will find more often than not, you will have a group of people responding and helping you out. It is more interactive. Avery good process overall.”

The students read the novel three chapters at a time and then we held a wiki forum and thought, reflections, responses were entered and edited then shared.
 * __Week 7-9__**

__ Term 2 __ We were restricted greatly with the wiki site access due to network issues and the students not being able to access their edit rights on their wikis. There were also timetable and programming issues due to the School based Inquiry Learning unit "Ramarama Footprints" requiring all laptop times for research etc. As a consequence there has been little progress during this time. The student were appreciative of this and it was not a major concern for them, although they were disappointed.... they love the wiki interactions and feedback. __ & Term 3 __ Before we continued the Reading Literacy Circle we revised the wiki group purposes and aspects that were discussed when we first started the wiki reading group. The students expressed a great desire to write a new ending to the story and spent a lot of time on this but the deep thinking and creative ideas was well and truly worth it. Please feel free to read the new endings below. We spent time reading each others endings and then working on a constructive criticism on each. The students wrote objectively about their own endings and then about each others endings and these reflections are available in their Reading exercise books. Improvements were mentioned for some as well as the positive deeper and surface features in each piece of writing. []**re: Bluestar1s real ending** [|bluestar1] Buck goes with them through many passes and rivers and into a hole in a rock carved into the face of a huge flat rock.
 * __Weeks10-11__**
 * __Weeks 1-2__**
 * “Call of the Wild” Individual New Endings**
 * Calvin**

Buck stepped inside and was then attacked by many different scents of rotten meat to the smell of dirty fleas.

Buck found a nice space near a small outcrop of the cave where he felt himself slowly fall to sleep. He dreamed of his possible new life among the wolves even if he didn't belong with his companions. He knew his master would be looking for him or worse, he could be dead.

He woke to the sound of heavy growling and to his surprise he saw the wolves all of them standing over him ready to kill. He saw it in their eyes. Then they attacked. The fight was a gruesome one.

Buck felt the fur of an opponent and the blood that trickled from some wounds he had scored. But he had taken major wounds all over his body there was a draining sensation as he knew it was blood dripping down his flank and onto the floor.

He bit down hard onto a wolf’s front paw and he heard it release an agonizing scream Then all went black!

The wolves had won! They instantly, p feasted on his lovely warm flesh, pulling out his intestines and greedily gobbling them all up like it was the last food they would ever eat.

All that was left of Buck in this whole world was ravaged and teeth scored bones. The wolves now felt stronger, braver, faster and more powerful.

**Melissa** [][|Melissairving] I think a good ending would have been Buck going off with the pack of wolves. He would slowly and steadily dominate his way to the top of the pack ladder. Once he'd established his rank, he would go out hunting with the wolves and start slaying large moose and deer.

He would start to have a full belly again. His muscles and body would have filled out and Buck would be a strong, healthy, happy dog who not only had he received the Call of the Wild but he had answered it.

Eventually he might run off with a female wolf and start a pack of his own. Buck would have his own territory of tall mountains, raging rivers and snow covered ground. He would live happily until he died.

**Tim** [][|tim123456143] And Buck ran with them, side by side with the wild brother, yelping as he ran. But everything was not as it seemed. The Yeehats ran for a mere mile before they reached a ghost camp. It seemed as if there was no sign of any life around any corner. Unfortunately it was a foolish prediction. Thirty men suddenly came rampaging out of the log cabins, with shotguns, pistols and revolvers. Not mere clubs.

It was an epic bloody battle between man and beast. Unfortunately the thirty men prevailed with only five men dead and fifteen badly wounded. Using their ruthless and brutal skills of armed combat. Buck got away but was mortally wounded. This carnage would stay with him for the rest of his life which, very sadly seemed like it was not going to be very long.

He hobbled half a mile which was an impressive effort but he fell to the ground and was ready to go to his paradise. But two explorers found Buck an hour after he passed out and took him to there camp on a stretcher. He was laid down by a fire and one stranger wrapped his injures in linen bandages. Buck was in a coma and the explorers weren't sure what his reaction would be when he woke up or if he woke up.

The next morning Buck woke from his coma but he understood that the explorers had bandaged most of his wounds. But for the next two weeks of his recovery he wasn't very bright due to the sad loss of his Yeehat brothers.

When he made a full recovery anger overran him and traveled to the enemy he sought to destroy. But he didn't charge in like a bull. Instead he sneaked in without making a single sound. First he went to the barracks and killed anyone there. After he went to the first aid cabin and killed everyone there. Last he went into each other log cabin to kill the remainders. This mission was great success and Buck preformed it perfectly.

When he returned to the camp a party was thrown in honour of Buck, for his brave deeds. His revenge was complete. But his body suddenly gave up and his heart stopped beating. His wounds had become infected and he was not aware of the cost of the infection. He fell heavily to the ground and slowly expired his last breath.

**Jonathon** [][|theantibieber] ... Side by side with his wild brother, yelping as he ran.

And for many winters they ran, howling in the cold, cold wind that inhabited the snow peaked North; the evil, unforgiving wilderness that had decimated the one true friend he had ever known. But Buck did not seek hopeless revenge, for age had also brought wisdom and he knew that there was no point.

One cool night there was a blizzard, a blizzard that ravaged both man and beast together. Buck couldn't stand blizzards but blizzards were common in this part of the planet and this one was the mother of all blizzards. So the pack were eventually diminished and Buck was soon left with himself and his wild brother.

Food was small and man couldn't hunt like they used to; and this particular blizzard lasted for months on end. A few courageous men would quickly scan out and kill anything they could find in the hour of hell.

And luck had it, that Buck and his brother strayed into human hunting territories. Buck sniffed a man but it was too late. A gunshot, echoed throughout the valley and a disgruntled yelp raged through Buck's ears. His brother fell onto his face and was dragged away by the man. Buck was furious and before the hunter could raise his rifle, Buck fell upon him in hate and tore him apart.

The man's lifeless corpse collapsed with a thump. Buck panted in horror and disgust before realizing that he could do no more for his brother, and he fled into the forest.

Without his brother, Buck could not hunt or find food, and water was rationed. Now the North had taken everything he cared about and ripped it into tiny pieces.

Buck had starved half to death and heavily dehydrated and now he realized he couldn't carry on. He collapsed in a shivering heap and curled into a quivering ball.

Buck knew he was hallucinating because then he saw Thorntorn's face in the clouds. And Buck seemed to float towards the sky. Finally, this book shall come to an end. And the two friends have joined once more. With Thorntorn, Buck met many other friends he missed; His brother, Curly, the husky team, even Spitz. So now Buck's disturbed life shall come to an end. And Buck was finally, since his kidnapping at Judge Miller's place, at peace.

The next day, the blizzard had ended like Buck's death had put the blizzard at peace. Man stopped using husky dogs for gold mining and the world had reached a new generation of peace in the North.

The Yeehats tell of a Ghost Dog that runs at the head of the pack. They are afraid of a Ghost Dog, for it has cunning greater than they, stealing from their camps in fierce winters, robbing their traps, slaying their dogs, and defying their bravest hunters.

They call this dog, Buck...

Based on a true story....

**Jordan** [][|thedevilhomina]

Part 1 Buck followed the wolves through the dark dense forest. They flew past small clearings and trees, leaping over fallen branches and barreling through the undergrowth. As they ran, many other little animals ran from them, the fearsome sight of the wolve pack and their newest recruit, one that would influence and change the wolves for many years to come.

For he was not a wolf, he was Buck. He galloped throughout the forest, the wolves leading him to their home. Little rabbits scattered, the whole forest went silent as they rocketed through the areas of the forest that were used by animals as homes.

They stopped briefly at a large clearing at the other end of the forest, with a waterfall and a river flowing next to it. For a moment this reminded Buck of John Thornton, and as he bent down to lap up some of the cool, refreshing water, he felt a small touch of remorse, but this stopped abruptly as the wolves took off again, racing on towards their lair into the mountains.

In his hesitation, Buck was behind the pack by a considerable amount. He ached to catch up, every muscle of him yearning to get that extra yard of pace that would enable him to catch up to the pack. But as he rounded a corner, he flew straight in to the arms of a giant grizzly bear. The bear reacted before Buck could even register what was happening, smashing him in the chest with a giant paw. Buck flew to the ground and lay still, as another bear came out from behind some trees.

Buck was panting, but the burn in his lungs was nowhere near as bad as the pain in his chest. He looked down and saw his chest covered in blood. It was seeping into his sleek, shiny coat, turning it a dark red. Specks of blood were dropping onto the ground, and somewhere inside him, he felt that this was the time. He wouldn't last much longer.

As the two giant bears closed in, Buck knew he couldn't give up. His adventure had only just begun. The wolves had accepted him into their cult, he still had many years left to go. But the bears didn't see it that way. Buck growled his fiercest growl, but the bears were not going to be fooled that easily. Buck was desperately trying to get up, but he didn't have the strength. In what was to be his final possible stand, he let out a long wolf howl. It echoed and rang through the forest, rolling through the hills and the valleys. One of the bears stood on his two hind legs, doubling him in size. He prepared himself, then swung down...

Part 2 A long, moaning howl ripped through the forest. But the howl hadn't come from Buck. He opened his eyes and looked around. The bear that was about to kill him was lying on the ground, blood draining from a smashed skull. His cracked skull littered the earth and his brain began to ooze slowly onto the ground. Standing there next to him were three wolves. Teeth barred, and still snarling at the now dead bear.

Just then, the second bear came out of the bush. He had hidden behind a mass of bush, and was invisible to all of the wolves. That was, until he shot out and leapt at the wolves. The bear swung one of his giant paws and within two seconds, he had bought the life of another wolf to an end. With a high-pitched yelp, he fell to the ground, blood pouring from his mutilated face. Buck desperately tried to get back up, to re-join the fight, to make the bear pay for what the had done, but he couldn't. He was still far too weak. He could barely (get it?) even lift his head to see what was going on, let alone take on a fully grown grizzly bear.

The fight was still going strong. The wolves were leaping backwards and forwards, nipping the bear and making it more frustrated as it couldn't touch them. They were too agile. But then disaster struck. One of the wolves had decided that the fight needed to end. And as he went for another bite, he had leaped too high in attempt of going for the bear's throat. He was struck down with ease, and all of a sudden, it was all square. The wolf did not stand much of a chance.

Miracles happen. As the bear went for yet another killer strike, four more wolves shot out of the bush, hitting the bear in the side, like a cannonball. An angry roar escaped through the bear’s throat, and he tried his hardest to fight back, but it wasn't working. The sheer numbers of the wolves would finish off the bear this time.

The rest of the pack followed, a couple of them attending to Buck's many wounds. And with that, the bear was killed. It was impossible for it to defend itself against more than fifteen wolves.

And that brings us to the end of our story. Buck was nursed back to full health, although it was a few days before he had the strength to move. So he lay in the same spot for three days with a dedicated, strong and courageous twenty four hour guard. Buck became a part of the pack and progressed into a strong leader of the pack.

At the end of his adventure, eight years later, he finally realized that he had answered “the call of the wild”.

**Elanor** [][|C0zmicCreepers] They ran for miles through the valley. It was dark and cold, but they did not rest until they got to a small river. They each drank and rested. Buck decided to go up river. He could smell the wild scent of moose. So he ventured alone through the dense forest. It wasn't until he got closer then he could smell something else. It smelled familiar.

Curiosity took over his mind, even though it was screaming to him, to get back and to stay away. But it smelled so familiar. He stalked around a tree and saw the moose. It was two metres high, with a spear in it’s backside. The realization hit Buck like a wrecking ball. The scent was that of the Yeehats. They must have hunted earlier that day and got the moose. But it didn't kill the moose. The beast turned and saw him. He reared his powerful legs and charged at Buck. But he saw it coming and got out of the way just in time. The moose turned and charged again like a battering ram. Buck was swift and bolted out of the way again. If the moose got him then power of his muscles would have crushed him as easily as breaking a toothpick. Buck raced away with the moose in pursuit. It was gaining on him fast.

While Buck was running, he could smell the scent of Yeehats again in the ground. So he decided to follow the trail. He glided along the rich, damp soil while the giant moose galloped along behind him. Buck got closer and closer to the Yeehats. There was a fresh trail and due to his concentration on this trail, Buck forgot about the moose. Revenge bubbled inside of him and rage took over. He sprang into the unsuspecting camp and ravenously began to kill anyone in sight. He wasn't over the fact that they had killed John Thornton. The men raced out of their tents and grabbed the nearest weapon in their reach. Most had spears and bows. They began to shoot at Buck as he went on a killing spree. He ripped and sliced up a woman's leg, and while she was down writhing on the ground in agony, he slashed her throat. The Yeehats screamed and tried to kill him. And to make things worse, the moose charged out into the battle field. Buck turned to the moose, not seeing the spear that came flying towards him. It penetrated his belly, ripping it open. Buck plunged to the blood stained ground in agony. The moose trampled and pawed him and broke his bones.

The Yeehats quickly turned, rounded together on the vicious, red eyed moose and used all their spears in succession to penetrate the moose’s body. The sound of the falling moose sounded through the valley… some still refer to this, even today, as “the call of the wild”!

__ Term 3 __ **__Weeks 3-4__** Time for a new book... "Bow Down Shadrach" by Joy Cowley. The students were keen to get going and did not hesitate to work at a fast pace, knowing that Miss Koperu would be with us and that reading sessions would have to be altered again for timetabling of the laptops as well as the quantity of interruptions, zone days etc that we were experiencing. (Feel free to gaze at my yearly timetable/ calendar for this!! Black book in my room).

Some of the work we decided as a group included: 1) Have you ever had any experiences with horses, gymkhanas, pony clubs, riding for the disabled...etc? Explain. 2) Do you know any breeds of horses? List. 3) Do you like to know the truth about issues or are there occasions when you would rather not be told? Think back on your life to some occasions where by your parent(s) with held the truth from you. List those times and briefly explain why they with held the truth from you. 4) How do you think the children at Waitaria Bay School knew about Shadrach's true destination?
 * __Time to think back...__**

__**Deep Thinking...**__ 5) If you were Joe or Sophie, and Hannah, Mikey and Sky were your children, how would you handle the problem with Shadrach? 6) In your Reading books, chart the events from the time the three children set off for school until they were discovered bt their parents. You could use a map and illustrations to assist your presentation. Title your work clearly and use a key if necessary. This wiki group concluded the programme at the conclusion of Week 5 due to Willow being here and having such restrictive time with the class. The group exchanged farewells and thank yous on the wiki site on the 5th August. Their personal responses to the introduction of the wiki site is one of great delight, enjoyment and has intensified their yearning to read and communicate with each other as to what they have read and how they feel about it.
 * __Term 3 Week 5__**

I feel that this inquiry has empowered the students in their communicative skills and has also assisted me in learning about a new way for students to express themselves and one which utilizes ICT in a most meaningful manner.