Any Questions - Popular Topics RSS

NCEA exam papers

Wed, 03 Aug 2011 12:49:51 GMT

Where can I find old exam papers for NCEA?

External assements - including exams - are available from the NZQA site. This is the link for the subject resources page. You will find exam papers (external), exemplars (real answers, with comments about why it was marked like that), and lots of other information.

Remember, websites change all the time - so the links we have now may be different in a couple of months! Just let us know in the comments.

HOT TIP: try your local library, or school library, as they may have some printed out for you. A list of New Zealand public libraries (those with websites) is available at the National Libraries' directory of New Zealand libraries.

We also have tips on finding exam papers for IB.

Board Games

Tue, 18 Oct 2011 11:25:15 GMT

How do you make board games?

LEVEL: Primary/Intermediate

A search engine is a good place to start for this type of question. You can pick your favorite search engine and choose some search words (these are the most important words in your question). We used Google, with the search words “making board games”.

HOT TIP: Look for addresses in the results that have .edu in the URL. These are quality sites from educational institutions such as universities.

One educational website we found was Making Your Own Board Games. This site doesn’t have any pictures, but has useful tips, and tells you how to make ancient Viking and Egyptian board games too!

Another website we liked from our google search was an online Board Game Maker that lets you make your own board games on your computer and then print them out. The website is designed for teachers, but it’s easy to use and has lots of themes to choose from.

A Wikihow website also came up in our search, with easy to follow instructions for designing your own board game.

HOT TIP: You have to be careful with Wiki sites, because anyone can put information there. In this case, the entry is someone sharing how they made something, so it is likely to be helpful. It’s generally a good idea to compare the information you get from Wiki with information from other websites and books.

How many kids are there in the world?

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 16:39:17 GMT

Right now how many kids are there around the world?

LEVEL: Primary / Intermediate

We thought this was a really interesting question! But, it all depends on what you mean by 'kids' - we thought about it and decided to search Google for world population under 18.

Some of the sites we found are:

Wikipedia: World population - scroll down for demographics of youth. Remember, anyone can edit wikipedia, so you have to check the information found there against other sites and books.
Population Reference Bureau - scroll down the list for relevant entries, like population age <15 or Youth Ages

For New Zealand information, check out the People page at Statistics New Zealand.

Newton's third law of motion (experiments)

Tue, 05 Oct 2010 15:13:16 GMT

How can I explain Newton's third law (that for every action there's an equal and opposite reaction) in a simple demonstration?

We recommend using the search engine dogpile to find some good websites. Dogpile searches using 'natural language' so you can just type your question into the search box.

HOT TIP: Dogpile suggests other possible searches to try under Are you looking for? (on the right hand side of the page). Sometimes this is great for narrowing down or expanding your topic if you are not finding what you want. When looking at your results list, try to avoid the links which say "sponsored link". These are usually trying to make money or sell you something. They may have some useful info, but try other websites first.

Try the keywords demonstrate Newton's third law. There are lots of options but we quite liked Swift's Newton's 3rd law site.

One of the sites we often use for science-type questions is How Stuff Works - and they have a whole section on Newton's laws.

HOT TIP: Check out our ManyAnswers entry on Science Fair Projects for more great links!

Beehive

Wed, 29 Sep 2010 15:49:41 GMT

I need to know about the history of the Beehive.

Level: Intermediate / Secondary

The Beehive is the name of one of New Zealand's government buildings.

The New Zealand Parliament page is the best place to find resources on the beehive. They have a section on the history of the buildings. You can also take a virtual tour! To find the information:

Click on the tab for About our Parliament.
Then click on History and Buildings on the left hand side of the page.
Click on the photo or heading for Parliament's Buildings
From here you can click into more about The Beehive

HOT TIP: There's even more info for school students (and teachers) under the Education tab.

New Zealand History Online also has some information under the Politics & Government heading. This is another of our recommended sites for any projects on New Zealand topics.

Louis Sachar (author)

Wed, 28 Apr 2010 15:16:29 GMT

How long did it take Louis Sachar to write the book Holes?

Level: Intermediate

Many authors have their own websites including Louis Sachar. From his homepage you can click on Holes: The Book. There's a very useful Q&A section which has more about writing this book (including how long it took).

HOT TIP: If you want to find an author's website you could try these things:

Just type their name into a search engine. Often it will come up at the top of the results list!
If there are too many websites (which there might be if the author is very famous) you can also add the words official site onto your search e.g. J.K. Rowling + official site
Sometimes the publisher of an author will also have some great info and interviews at their site - so look for publishers names in the URL address.
To find information about New Zealand authors, such as V.M. Jones - check out the NZ Book Council site. You can select the authors name from the alphabetical list.

Olympic Games: Ancient Greece

Wed, 14 Apr 2010 14:53:49 GMT

Where can I find information about the Ancient Olympic Games?

Want to learn about the games in Ancient Greece? These sites all have a lot of information.

The Official Olympic website has information on the Ancient Games.

In the BBC schools page, follow Thespis and Melina, your guides to the original Olympic Games in this interactive quiz. Tip – to get to the party make sure you scroll over and read each text box. Note, you will need flash installed.

Are the modern games more political? Have we strayed from the values and spirit of the original games? Find the answers – and lots more information – at the Penn Museum site.

Travel through an online tour of artefacts related to the ancient games at the British Museum.

Features of a newspaper article

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 15:42:43 GMT

What are the main features of a newspaper article?

LEVEL: Intermediate / Secondary

We found some good sites by typing features of a newspaper article into Google. We also tried substituting different words for features (like parts and components).

HOT TIP: some of the headings in your Google results list may have [doc] or [pdf] at the start. This means that if you click on the link your computer will download a document.

We like this page from Bitesize BBC, which covers all the features of a newspaper article (they call it a newspaper report).

You can find out more at Let's Write a Newpaper Story!, a site put together by The John Hopkins University. Click on the 'for students' section, and you can be guided through all the steps of writing a newspaper article.

Fairfax Media has an online Newspaper Factory so you can follow the steps to produce a newspaper.

Hot tip: Another place to look is Wikipedia which has great coverage of many topics, including an entry on newspaper articles, which lists all of the features of a newspaper article. But you need to be aware that this information is contributed by lots of different people. If you are using this site, it always pays to check the information against that on other sites or in books from the library.

New Zealand Authors

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 14:48:28 GMT

I need information about a New Zealand author. Where should I look?

Level: All

There are a few really good sites with profiles of New Zealand authors and illustrators. These are our favourite:

A great site to find information about NZ Children's authors is the Christchurch City Libraries Kids page. These interviews have both serious and fun information - so if you want to know their favourite food - this is where to start!

Go to Homework Zone
Find New Zealand authors
Choose A-Z Authors List
Choose the first letter of the author's surname
Scan down the list to find the author you want
Click on their name to read their interview

The New Zealand Book Council has excellent author profiles. You can use this any time you want to look up a New Zealand author. Many of our famous children's authors are listed there too.
Start at the homepage

Click on the tab called Writers
Choose the first letter of the author's surname
Scan down the list to find the author you want
Click on their name to read their interview

The Wellington City Libraries Kids Catalog Web has great author websites.

Open the catalog.
Choose "Find it"
Click on the icon for "authors".
Browse the authors by alphabet (they are sorted by the authors last name) until you find the one you want.

You can also browse through a selection of book series, subjects and famous people.

As this is a book catalog, it will first come up with a list of books. To see web pages, click on the icon with a spider sitting on a web (on the left hand side of page).

Another site for New Zealand authors and illustrators is the Storylines website.

If you would like to find out info on how to write books for children and young adults visit Kiwi Write4Kidz. It is a unique and amazing organisation for adults who like to write tales for children. They have information about technique, direct from the mouths of the finest Kiwi children's authors.

HOT TIP: If you want to find an author's website you could try these things:

Just type their name into a search engine. Often it will come up at the top of the results list!
If there are too many websites (which there might be if the author is very famous) you can also add the words official site onto your search e.g. J.K. Rowling + official site
Sometimes the publisher of an author will also have some great info and interviews at their site - so look for publishers names in the URL address.

Candy floss - making

Tue, 18 Jan 2011 14:42:59 GMT

How do you make candyfloss at home? (without a machine)

Level: Primary / Intermediate

Most sites for candy floss recipes are for using a special machine which you can either buy or hire. Note in the USA they call it Cotton Candy.

At first we tried the search cotton candy + making, but it was really hard to find the homemade recipes. So to find a recipe for making it at home we tried this search using Dogpile: cotton candy + homemade. It was much more successful with some excellent recipes at sites called Foodnetwork and Sugarstand. We learned sometimes you have to try a few different search words until you get results!

HOT TIP: When looking at your results list, try to avoid the links which say sponsored link. These are usually trying to make money or sell you something. They may have some useful info, but try other websites first.