Writing

 Guy Fawkes Recount

Today you are going to write a recount of one of your favourite memories of Guy Fawkes or an incredible fireworks display that you have seen. During Guy Fawkes I am sure some of you will have had your own fireworks at home or would have seen other people in your neighbourhood letting off fireworks! Think of all the things that you saw and heard during this time.

Planning

Setting: Where is your recount set?	At Mission Bay in Auckland city.
Who: Who was there with you? Were you with your family?	I went with my four brothers, my dad and my Mum.
What: What are the key things that happened?	There were lots of fireworks at Mission Bay.
Senses: What did you see, feel, taste, hear and smell? Be as descriptive as you can	I saw lots of colourful fireworks up in the sky. I felt happy and joyful. I could taste the smoke in the air.  I could hear loud bombing sounds. I could smell the smoke in the air.

Recount:

On friday the 5th of november me, my four brothers, my dad and my mum went to Mission Bay in Auckland city. We went to see the fabulous fireworks up in the sky like shooting stars. It was incredible. I saw lots of colourful fireworks up in the sky. I felt happy and joyful. I could taste the smoke in the air.  I could hear loud bombing sounds. I could smell the smoke in the sky. Me and my family went down the beach to see the fireworks properly, it was the best guy fawkes day of my life. It felt beautiful. All the fireworks colours were mixed up and beautiful lines came up the sky, just like a star. People were screaming, cheering and they were all so happy and shouting “HAPPY GUY FAWKES DAY!”. It was like a dream in my head.

Design

 

Research

 

Word Work of The Day: Entertain

 

Response to text: Guy Fawkes

 Response to text:

Fireworks

Highlight the correct answer or write down the appropriate response.

1. Fireworks were first made from… 

a) Bombs b) Bamboo

c) Baboons d) Gunpowder

2. Where were fireworks first invented??

a) Italy b) USA

c) United Kingdom d) China

3. Explain where the word “pyrotechnics” comes from, and what it means.

The skill of creating and setting them off is called pyrotechnics. The word comes from Greek words that mean fire and art

4. True or False: Sodium salts create deep-red coloured fireworks.

a) True b) False

5. In what year did Guy Fawkes try to blow up the King?

a) 1506 b) 1605

c) 1650 d) November 5th

Article

 History of Fireworks!

A firework can be defined as a device that uses combustion (burning) or an explosion to produce a visual or audio (sound) effect. The earliest fireworks can be traced to around 2,000 years ago in China. People then are said to have roasted bamboo stalks. The stalks turned black and sizzled. The air inside the hollow stalks would explode. Baozhu is a Mandarin Chinese word for firecracker. It means "exploding bamboo."

Years later, Chinese chemists took fireworks a step further. This happened sometime between 600 and 900 A.D. People filled bamboo shoots with gunpowder. They threw them into a fire pit. Steel dust or iron shavings were added to make them sparkle. In China, these firecrackers were often used in celebrations.

There are different shapes of fireworks and each shape has its own name. The skill of creating and setting them off is called pyrotechnics. The word comes from Greek words that mean fire and art. Historians believe that fireworks were invented before gunpowder, that gunpowder came as a result of experimenting with different quantities of the same substances in the mixture. Thus fireworks existed before guns!

There are three main components that are required which are an oxidizer (fire needs oxygen to burn), a fuel (the something that is burning, in this case gunpowder), and a chemical mix to produce the colour. Sodium salts give a deep yellow colour; calcium gives us red, barium gives us green and copper burns green and blue. Magnesium and aluminum can provide an electric-white effect. Blue is the hardest firework colour to produce. This is the reason why blue-colour fireworks aren’t as bright as the other colours.

Fireworks were manufactured in Italy as early as 1540. By the 1600s they were widely used in England and France. Most of the fireworks we  know today, such as display rockets, aerial bombs, pinwheels (or Catherine wheels, on the left), and fountains were used in this early period. For centuries the Chinese set off fireworks to celebrate their holidays. In the 19th century the United States adopted the custom of shooting off fireworks to celebrate Independence Day. In Great Britain they celebrate Bonfire Night (we call it Guy Fawkes Night) on November 5th to celebrate the day when a man, named Guy Fawkes, tried unsuccessfully to blow up the Houses of Parliament, and kill King James I on November 5th, 1605.

Fireworks have helped to create many useful, and life-saving products. Railroad trains, trucks, and cross-country buses carry red flares, which are placed behind broken-down vehicles to stop crashes. Airplanes carry parachute flares to light up the ground when they are forced to land at night. Rockets, Roman candles, and blue Bengal lights were long used as signals between ships at sea and from ship to shore, and rockets still are used as signals of distress/trouble. In World War I, army divisions sent information to the artillery (bombers) behind them by sending up rocket signals. In World War II, rockets shot from airplanes, ground vehicles, and ships were used by the soldiers fighting on both sides.

Unfortunately, the careless handling of fireworks causes many injuries every year and even occasional deaths. Property damage in the United States may exceed more than 1.5 million dollars annually. The week of Guy Fawkes night this year in New Zealand there were more than 50 firework related injuries. Fireworks are also known to scare household pets, so next time you’re thinking of setting off fireworks, think of the poor animals who think the world around them is exploding!

4 Facts About: Guy Fawkes