Writing Examples

End of Term 2
Writing Focus:  Paragraphs
Topic: Spanish Speaking Countries


Kody has included information that he enjoyed finding out about.

Over Term 2, my class and I have been learning about Spanish speaking countries.  We have designed posters, completed reading tasks on different countries and found out what the countries sports are.

In Room 3, my class and I designed a poster each, of a country of our choice.  I choose to do mine on Argentina.  Argentina is an interesting country to research.  Did you know that Argentina’s capital city, Buenos Aires, has the largest avenue in the world?  It is so big, it has 21 lanes and you have to go underground to cross it.  Another tourist attraction is Iquazu Falls.  It is 80 metres high and is a fabulous place for a family photo.  It is also the home of the bot fly so make sure you have insect repellant!

About one week after we had completed our posters we got assigned some tasks to complete.  The task I chose was one where you had to find out how they celebrate special occasions.  I did mine on Puerto Rico.  The Puerto Ricans enjoy celebrations; in fact, nearly every day of the year is part of a special occasion.  The most important celebration in the Puerto Rican year is Christmas.  The Puerto Ricans love Christmas so much that they don’t want it to end.  Christmas in Puerto Rico goes from December 25^th to January 15^th.

Nearly every Spanish country I researched lately has had a main sport.  Most of them are soccer (that’s football to them).  The soccer we play here is a lot different than over there.  The crowd shout and scream, they have a variety of players to pick from and they play the game 90% mental and 10% physical.  Most of the Spanish speaking countries soccer teams have won FIFA World Cups.  If they haven’t, they have a least made the quarter finals.

I have enjoyed learning about the Spanish speaking countries and one day I hope to visit one.

Shea has an introduction and conclusion to his piece of writing.

Over the past weeks this term we have been studying Spanish speaking countries.  At first we were just learning about countries that just speak Spanish but then we were introduced to the language they speak today.

To be honest, I thought at first that it would be hard, but then when we were into it all, it didn’t have to take much skill.  Some of the words they use are the same as ours but they will only have one or two different letters.

Also for Theme we have been learning about famous people that were Spanish.  One of the most famous explorers of all time happened to be Spanish.  His name was Christopher Columbus and he was the first to discover South America.  He also persuaded the King and Queen of Spain five times but he was crueler than you think, he massacred an entire race of people he met.

We also did research for countries that spoke Spanish.  One of the countries I did was Mexico which has many different interesting facts.  One of them is that many Mexicans moved to America to work because 1 US dollar is equivalent to 11 pesos.  Also Mexico has many spicy mouth watery food that they eat every day.

Personally I reckon that it has been fun learning Spanish.  This has been one of the fun subjects for theme but I can’t wait to find out what our next subject is.  Hasta Luego.

Sam introduced his topic by outlining what he was going to inform his audience of.

This year my class has researched Spanish speaking countries.  We have learnt about Spanish food, celebrations, phrases, numbers and Spanish sports.  Spanish have different ways of living their lives than we do here in NZ.

The Spanish have a lot of tradition and celebration, a lot more than we do.  One celebration they have is called “La Tomatina”.  At this sticky celebration 30 000 Spanish flock to the Spanish town of Bunol to throw 240 000 pounds of tomatoes at each other.  One tradition the villagers of a country side town have is called “Castilla La Mancha”.  When the young boys of the village dress up as devils and dance around.  This is celebrated in February.

One Spanish country I researched is called Spain.  Spain has a variety of animals but only one is native to Spain and it is called the Liberian Lynx.  The Spanish play many sports like golf, soccer, football, water polo, tennis and cycling.  Rafael Nadal is considered the best tennis player of all time and he comes from Spain.

My class and I have learnt to speak Spanish as well as learning about Spanish countries.  We have learnt to count to 20.  We also learnt to ask “What’s your name?” in Spanish – “Coma te llamas”.  We can also say Hello and Goodbye – “Buenos dias” is good morning and goodbye is “Hasta luego”.

Eden learnt a great deal about Spanish speaking countries.  I like how she gave me plenty of information about the different foods and what they actually were.

Researching about Spanish speaking countries has been really fun and I have learnt lots about different countries around the world.  There are just over 20 countries that speak Spanish around the world, like Chile, Peru, Spain, Argentina, Bolivia, Mexico, Venezuela and many more.  The countries I found facts about were Mexico, Chile, Spain, Colombia, Guatemala and Cuba.

My favourite country that I researched would have to be Mexico.  I liked researching Mexico because I found lots about it.  Some of the facts I found out about some countries are that in Mexico they have 31 states and each one has it’s own leader.  Also Mexico was its own country in 1821.  Another thing is that in 1492 Cuba was discovered and in Chile they celebrate by having festivals.  Also in Colombia, salsa is a traditional dance.  Guatemala is located in Central America and did you know that the population in Cuba is 11 241.

In Mexico they have a lot of different foods.  Some of their food we don’t have in New Zealand but some is the same but made differently.  Some different food from Mexico are churros which is a straight fried donut covered in cinnamon and sugar.  Also flan which is a dessert that is a vanilla or caramel custard dessert.  Some food that is made differently are salsa and nacho chips or tacos.

So as I finish my story on Spanish speaking countries, I would so love to visit one of these countries and see how life is different over there.  For me, I would love to go to Mexico.

Niamh didn't put in a beginning or an end, but what she has written flows nicely and is a good example of having one main idea in a paragraph and backing it up with information.

Celebrations.  What comes to mind when you hear that word?  Christmas, Easter, a birthday or Halloween.  Many cultures celebrate these events but in different ways.  In some Spanish speaking countries, they have Day of the Dead, which is kind of like Halloween.  They dress up in costumes, scare each other and go watch plays that make fun of the dead.  They also make and decorate sugar skulls, which are edible and sweet.

They also have Three Kings Day, which celebrates the three kings – Balthazar, Caspar and Mekhior.  The people (especially children) make paper crowns and dress up.  Adults make giant puppets.  There is also a parade that everyone can join in.

Columbus Day is celebrated every year on October 12.  Christopher Columbus founded the Americas in 1492 on October 12^th.  That is why it is celebrated.

Spanish speaking countries also have lots of different foods as well.  In Mexico a popular dessert is flan.  Flan is like custard jelly - custard stuck together but not frozen and usually served with berries.  Guacamole and salsa are Mexican.  Tacos are Mexican.  Tacos are baked shells that you put filling of your choice in.  Churos are very popular.  They are fluted strips of dough covered in sugar and cinnamon.

Spain has different food to Mexico.  The Spanish love prawns.  Most of their dishes are prawn dishes.  Even omelets.  A Spanish meal that is crunchy, tender and has the most delicious smell is roasted baby pig.  One very popular snack is wedges.  Wedges are spicy potato chips cut into crescent shapes.

Kieran wrote the following on Archery.  While it is incomplete, and there are very few fullstops(!!), the language is exceptional.

Archery is a sport that requires dedication, focus and a steady hand. 

It also requires over $200 worth of gear and equipment, including a bow (The model and size change the price), arrows (with or without feathers), hay (to protect the tips of the arrows when practising), an arm guard (included with most bows) and a quiver (for serious archers only) to hold your arrows when hunting and, if you’re willing to go all out, a hunting knife and camouflaged facepaint, tent and cloak.

Now, the best place to hunt is the nearest forest that allows hunting, so for example, NOT your nearest wildlife reserve.  Somewhere in uncharted bush would be perfect, as it is secluded, there’s no competition, and it’s densely packed with small game.  Although you will need to leave markers to find your way back, and an emergency beacon in case you get lost.

When stalking game, make sure to stand stock still, without making a sound if it looks in your direction, as any sudden movement will give you away, and even if it looks straight at you, just freeze and it won’t see you if you are a distance away, as if you are part of your surroundings, which means no movement = stealth.

David wrote the following on Boxing.  While it is incomplete, there are several examples of good writing that is of a Level 4 standard.

Boxing is a fun contact game or sport.  The aim of this sport is to punch them as many times as you can in three minutes.  A knockout is like gold in boxing, hoping that they stay down in the count of ten.  This would be called a K.O and a win.

Before you fight, you would train yourself two hours before you’re confident enough to walk into the ring.  If you want your punches to be quick and fast, this is where the speed bag comes in handy.  It helps with your agility and fitness, same with skipping.  You wouldn’t want your punches fast and weak.  The combination of powerful and fast is the answer.

When you’re in the ring, you should be multi-tasking because there are two things you should be doing – attacking and defending.  Attacking is the key to this sport because that’s the only way you would earn points and knockouts to win.