It's news-time again - but this time we try to present it a little differently.....

Quite a lot of time has passed since we last had the opportunity to share news, what with long weekends and so on; perhaps that's why one or two of the stories we have chosen to share are not quite as 'current' as usual.

Anyway, this week, instead of presenting our news story orally, we decided we should write it in our own words first, and then read aloud what we had written.  We had to try and think of a suitable 'headline' (which Joe explained was like a title, telling us what the news story would be about) and make sure we had noted where and when our story took place.  Then we had to write what happened.  We also had to locate the place on a map.  So, quite a challenge; but don't let it be said that children in Class 2i can't rise to one of those!

Tanmay started us off.  Let's give his story the headline Volcano Erupts in Chile.  "This news is about a volcano (called Chaiten) that exploded in a town called Chaiten.  The country is Chile and the continent is South America.  Ash didn't just come in Chile but it also came in the country called Argentina.

This volcano didn't explode for 450 years but a few days ago* (when precisely?  A bit more research is required here, I feel!) it started dumping again.  Chile has the most active volcanoes of any country."  Hmm.....I am not so sure about this last fact; I think it might be Indonesia.  Why not click here to find out which country has the most active volcanoes?

Sofia decided to share the same news story.  She writes, "More than 400 people should leave their homes because a volcano is going to pop and all the people have to leave because the volcano will destroy the houses of the people.  That's why the people have to leave."

Next, Joe's headline reads 77 Year-Old Woman Crashes Through Window.  "A 77 year-old woman got confused with the gas (accelerator!) and brake and crashed through the lobby window and two people got hurt by flying objects.  It happened in America, Sacramento in California, 16th May." 

Now here's the cool thing.  "It happened really close to where I was born," adds Joe proudly.

Man Pokes Shark in Eye is Matthew W's headline.  "A 37 year-old poked a shark in the eye.  It was a great white shark 4 metres long.  His leg got bitten."  He provided a map of Australia to go with his story, with Albany marked.  This exciting event happened on May 11th.

Here's my attempt at a headline for the next story: Olympic Torch Scales Everest.  Max writes, "In Nepal the Olympic torch went over Mount Everest and the torch was designed by a rocket scientist (now there's something that I didn't know!) and when they reached the top they were happy."

Danah also chose this news.  Here is what she wrote for us, "The Olympic flame went to mount Everest.  Climbers from China climbed Mount Everest.  But they still had energy to celebrate." (as seen on the BBC photo below) 

My research showed that this took place on the 8th May.  Is it possible that we are losing our touch, and allowing the BBC reporters to get there first?

Rekik's news starts with the headline Burmese Kids are Desperate for Food.  "There was a cyclone in Burma. 

Maybe 78,000 people died and 56,000 are missing."  (Oh and do you remember our discussions about numbers in tragedies?  Our previous number for this particular tragedy, noted on the 6th May, was 22,500.....)

Now here is a story shared by quite a lot of us.  As Swati writes, "It happened in China in a place called Sichuan.

Some people were still alive but they were under broken buildings.  Some children died and buildings were broken."

Per gave his version of the story the headline China Mourns Earthquake Victims.  He writes, "A week after last Monday's earthquake that knocked down schools and buildings fell on the ground and shops fell and most of them fell on people, China has begun three days of mourning for those killed.  Exactly a week after it struck."  He wondered how many more people are going to die.

Naoya's headline was Big Earthquake Occurred in Sichuan, China.  He writes, 50,000 people died.  many people were still under broken buildings.  Japan also sometimes has earthquakes."

Now Matthew D, with the headline Big Earthquake.  "There was an earthquake in China.  Buildings fell down and some split."  Why did they fall down? he asked.

Chris chose a similar headline.  Earthquake in China.  He writes of a heartening story, "A girl got knocked down by a big building and she was still down there for five days and someone found her and she was still alive."  I might have chosen to use Girl Found Alive After 5 Days as my headline.  What about you?

Evangeline reported on the same disaster, but she chose a different aspect.  Here is what she wrote under the headline The Worst Earthquake in China in 39 Years.  "70,000 people are thought to have died.  Many aftershocks measuring up to 6.1 on the Richter Scale.  200 relief workers were buried by a mudslide."

I think we will be hearing about this story for some time to come, don't you?

I subscribe to a Telegraph news feed called called 'How about that'.  It finds the kind of weird stories to which you might say, "Well, how about that?' after hearing them.  Here is one such story:

Under the headline Flying Man, Giulia writes, "There is a man called Yves Rossy.  He made a black pair of wings.  When he finished he buckled himself to his wings and threw himself from he plane and he went at 200km/h and he flew over the Alps.  But he lost control and opened his parachute and landed safely (unlike that other poor chap with the balloons!)  But he realised that part of his wings had gone!  So he made a new pair and this time the pair was red and he flew well this time."

Michelle's headline for the same story was A Man Flew at 200km/h.  "A Swiss man made metal wings.  He jumped from a plane.  First his wings were folded.  Then the wings opened.  He flew over mountains and trees.  When he was ready to land, he folded his wings and opened his parachute and landed."

Isabella's headline was brief - and to the point.  Bird Man.  She writes, "There was a man called Yves Rossy and he made wings like an aeroplane and he tried to fly with his wings and it worked.  He could fly with the wings and the people called him, 'Bird Man'."

Umar wrote thus: "Mr Rossy wanted to fly like a bird.  He made wings with 4 jet engines.  On 14th May he flew for six minutes.  He jumped from a plane.  He landed with the help of a parachute.  His mother was watching him.  She was proud."  As a mother, I am not so sure I would have shared her sentiments!

Maya's news now.  Exploding Supernova! screams her headline.  "Scientists have found out about a young supernova that exploded.  It happened in space, in the Milky Way."  Now here is something a bit hard to cope with.  When I asked Maya when her news happened, she told me, "25,000 light years ago."  Now that's just a bit hard to comprehend.  New news?

Here is a real headline that I found.  Lyon Win Seventh Straight French Football Title.  It goes perfectly with Justin's news.  Justin is our resident football expert, and I am beginning to think, something of a Lyon fan.  He wrote, "On Saturday Lyon played a football match.  They had 3-2 (actually my sources have the score at 3-1, but what's a goal between friends?)  Bordeaux did 2-2 (a draw).  

 

Another football story, this time from Azri.  Under the headline Football he wrote, "Ronaldo, a football player, gets a top award.  Why did the football player get a top award?  Because he is a great football player."  Although Azri read his news in Switzerland on Sunday, actually the award was presented in London on Thursday.  Oh well.....

The map has Manchester marked (rather than London).  I am sure Azri will be able to tell you why.

Fiona starts with the headline Island For Sale.  "One of the British Channel Islands is for sale.  It is an island called Herm.  It is 1 and a 1/2 miles long.  The last family to rule was called Heyworth."  Anyone have £15 million spare?

 

Maybe you get your own coat of arms, too!

Patricia's story was about hair-cutting.  "There was a man who lived in Israel.....

and he was called Danny and he cut one person's hair with ten (10!) scissors at a time and he broke his record because last time he cut with 7 scissors."  That story reminds me of another rather scary tale about someone called Edward Scissorhands....

And finally.....another story from Dangi.  Not a frog this time though.  Chicken Lays Giant Egg, he writes.  "There was eggciting news (groan!) in Cornwall at a chicken farm. 

A chicken laid a giant egg.  The owners David and Julie Hewitt said that they had never seen anything like it in 25 years of farming.  They are planning to keep the shell and put it on display.  The giant egg was the size of a tennis ball!"

 

What I want to know is this.  Was it scrambled, or fried?  Or are they perhaps waiting for it to hatch?

I wonder, did anyone notice the scale of the maps we used?