Summer Learning Journey (Teaser week) Day 3, activity 3

Activity 3: The Columbian Exchange

Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer born back in 1451. He started sailing when he was 14 years old and spent a lot of his life looking for a passageway from his home continent of Europe to Asia. He never found one. Instead, he spent much of his time in the Americas (North, Central and South).

Christopher Columbus was, and still is, a very controversial man. Some people would even call him ‘infamous’ (well-known for doing something bad) because he spent much of his life sailing around the world, enslaving innocent people, spreading diseases and taking natural resources from the countries that he visited. His actions had a significant impact on the lives of others.

Who has had a significant impact on your life?

For this activity, please think of someone who has had a positive impact on your life. Who is this person? What did they do that was positive?

On your blog, please tell us about this person.

My positive person is the amazing Jonah Lomu. Jonah Lomu was a rugby player and was super strong and fast!. Throughout his rugby days, He scored 37 tries, which made him the sixth-highest try scorer for New Zealand and the eighteenth highest on the all-time list. He was someone to look up to when I used to play rugby. I always wanted to play like him and I still do! Even my brothers look up to him. I used to watch the highlights of his matches to watch how he played. But when the news hit my family, we were all devastated, but me and my brothers still try and play like him. Jonah Lomu was and still is a rugby legend and he will be missed.

Summer Learning Journey (Teaser week) Day 3, activity 2

Activity 2: When the Rubber Hits the Road

The Amazon rainforest is the world’s largest tropical rainforest. It is located in South America and is home to an incredibly special and unique environment. Unfortunately, the long-term health of the forest is at risk with hundreds of people entering the rainforest and cutting down trees without permission. Activists, like Marina Silva, are fighting back against this illegal logging and, in some cases, they are winning.

Marina actually spent her childhood working in the Amazon rainforest as a rubber tapper. She did not attend a school or learn how to read or write until the age of sixteen. In fact, she was the first person in her family to ever go to school and the first one to earn a university degree. Her family must have been so proud of her accomplishments.

For this activity, please interview three friends and ask them what they are most proud of. It could be something that they, or someone in their family, have accomplished.

On your blog, please share who these people were (first names only) and what they were proud of.

• My friend AJ is proud of his family for working hard to pay the bills, putting food on the table and for providing everything he needs to attend school

• My friend Ezekiel is also proud of his parents for providing everything he needed and wanted in life.

Summer Learning Journey (Teaser week) Day 3, activity 1

DAY3: ENVIRONMENT&EXPLORATION

Activity 1: The Rainman of Rajasthan

Arguably, the most important resource that we have on this planet is water. Without water, we simply would not survive. Here in New Zealand, almost everyone has access to free, clean drinking water but this is not the case in other parts of the world (e.g. Rajasthan, India; sub-Saharan Africa, etc.).

In fact, almost 1 billion people do not have access to clean drinking water. People like Peter Chasse have set up organizations like The Water Project to help address this issue and bring drinkable water to communities that do not currently have access to it.

For this activity, please watch this short introductory video from The Water Project.

On your blog, share what you have learned about The Water Project with us. What is the goal of the organization? Where do they work? What have they achieved?

I have learned that The Water Project is a charity that is helping Africa by providing water for those in need. The goal of the organization is to help African children by providing water for them. They work all around Africa. The Water Project is currently working in Sub-Saharan Africa.