What we did: We reviewed how to swim, eggbeating, and saving people. What we especially worked on was playing Water Polo.
Improvement: I knew how to swim, eggbeat, and save people in the water before the unit started. But during this unit I learned how to play Water Polo. So, this is what I improved on: my water polo skills.
Outdoor Invasion Games:
What we did: We played soccer during the outdoor invasion games. At the start, we practiced some common soccer skills like maneuvering the ball around and shooting. After that, we played lots of games.
Improvement: I knew vaguely how to play soccer, but during this unit, I practiced by defensive skills more. Last year, I just focused on offense and shooting.
What I liked about this project was how fun and engaging the making of the sticker is. What I wish was different was that I would have wanted to create multiple stickers to make the experience more interesting.
 I chose Question 8 from Unit 1 Celebration of Learning as evidence of my best thinking because it demonstrates my good critical thinking skills and my logic on how to solve questions like that, and have clear reasoning.
 I chose Question 1 from Unit 1 Celebration of Learning as evidence of my best thinking because it demonstrates my good graphing and understanding of sequence skills. This is also evidence of my best thinking because I was able to write down the transformed shape and explain the clear transformation mapping rules.
Throughout this unit, I improved the most at finding transformation sequences and graphing new shapes. I feel that I still need to work on being meticulous when finding out if shapes are congruent. Three of my strengths right now are graphing, finding transformation patterns, and having great critical thinking skills. Three things I want to improve on next unit is being more meticulous, double checking my work, and having a better understanding of congruence between shapes.
In the next unit, I want to hand in homework on time. My bad time management skill might get in the way, but I can always create a to-do list to help.
A time I solved a problem in PE is when I was struggling to do the table tennis spin. I solved this problem by asking for the teacher’s help and stepping out of my comfort zone.
I think I kind of worked hard, so I didn’t get a really bad grade. An aspect of the table tennis I would like to work on is friendly collaboration more.
A time I worked well with my peers is when I encouraged my partner even when they couldn’t receive the ball sometimes. My great communication made this experience successful.
A specific unit that I enjoyed was sculptural relief because it was a really long yet fun process for me. I decided to add many details to my drawing and show great craftsmanship. The different symbols showcased the aspects of my personality, and the colors also represented my personality.
Another unit I enjoyed was Making an Impact. This is because I got to think of what message I wanted the rest of the world to receive, and how to represent it with my artwork.
The game that we created is called Plushie Paradise Adventure. The rule of our game is that there are 5 levels. The first level is that someone has to roll a 6 faced dice and get 3 or more. The second level is that they have to flip a coin and get heads. The third level is that they have to play rock-paper-scissors and win thrice in 5 times. Then, they have to choose a section from a wheel that has 5 sections and get the section that they chose. Lastly, they have 2 chances to flip a bottle and they have to land it on the bottom. If they succeed all of it, then they can win the grand prize.
My partners Joy and Xinyao worked very hard with me to create this game. We decided to not buy a lot of things and make it ourselves. No conflicts came up during the making of this project, so it went pretty smoothly.
A lot of things went well for the Probability Fair, but one thing that might be better is to change the ticket system because having unlimited tickets is not very fun.
The experimental probability is way more than the experimental probability. An example is that the level 5 probability was 15%, when in reality, no one got it, despite the 100 customers that came.
Part 1: Essential Question and Standard Reflection
Considering our exploration of our favorite food dishes and your answer to the essential question: What chemical compounds are found in my favorite foods?
Some chemical compounds that are found in my favorite food are sucrose, (C12H22O11) and omega-3 fatty acids (C60H92O6).
Discuss the simple molecules and extended structures you have identified in your food.
The simple molecule I have identified in my food, salmon salad, is sucrose. While the two extended structures I have identified are omega-3 fatty acids and Selenomethionine. Sucrose is a pure substance, and omega-3 fatty acids is a mixture. Selenium is also a pure substance.
Make a conclusion about signs of physical and chemical changes that occur in the preparation of your favorite food.
Physical Changes:
Change in Shape/Size:
Cutting salmon, vegetables (e.g., cucumbers, onions) into smaller pieces.
Shredding or flaking cooked salmon.
Mixing and Blending:
Combining ingredients (salmon, greens, dressing) without chemical reactions.
Chemical Changes:
Alterations of Proteins:
Cooking salmon: Heat disrupts protein structures, turning translucent flesh opaque.
2. Acid-Base Reactions:
Lemon juice/vinegar reacting with proteins or greens
Part 2: Improvement
If you could have done something differently to enhance your learning in Unit 6 (for example, spending more time reviewing for the L2 quiz, collaborating more effectively during the fun food fair project or planning /our simple and extended structures models a little more effectively), what would it have been and why?
I would not have done anything differently to enhance my learning in Unit 6 because this unit has been very engaging and fun, and taught me many things. I believe that this unit has been a success overall and does not need more changes.
If you could suggest one improvement for the unit to the teacher, what would it be and why?
I would not suggest any improvement for the unit to the teacher because this unit has been very successful, and it should be kept this way.
The green discoloration in Pleasant Pond is primarily caused by algal blooms fueled byexcess nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus entering the water. These nutrients likely originate from human activities near the pond (e.g., fertilizer runoff from the golf course).
1. Role of Matter Cycling
Water Cycle
Runoff: Rainwater carries fertilizers/pesticides from the golf course, park, or hiking trails into the pond. This introduces nitrogen and phosphorus.
Carbon-Oxygen Cycle
Photosynthesis: Algae absorb COâ‚‚ and release oxygen during the day, but at night, respiration consumes oxygen.
Decomposition: When algae die, bacteria decompose them, consuming oxygen. This leads to hypoxia (low oxygen), harming fish and other aquatic life.
Nitrogen Cycle
Fertilizer Input: Nitrogen-rich fertilizers from the golf course leach into the pond, providing algae with excess nutrients.
2. Photosynthesis and Energy Flow
Energy Source: Algae use photosynthesis to convert sunlight into chemical energy (glucose), forming the base of the pond’s food web.
Overproduction: Excess nutrients cause uncontrolled algal growth. When algae die, decomposers break them down, releasing COâ‚‚ and consuming oxygen.
Ecosystem Imbalance: Reduced oxygen levels disrupt energy flow, leading to die-offs of fish and other organisms.
2. How did the experiential activities related to photosynthesis and ecosystems (carbon cycle game, ecosystems in a bottle, stations activity on food chains and webs, starch test in leaves (photosynthesis lab), and Gizmos simulation) deepen your understanding of energy flow and matter cycling?
The experiential activities helped deepen my understanding of energy flow and matter cycling by providing visual support and displaying real-life energy flow and matter cycling. The ecosystems in a bottle project helped the most, because I got to take care of real-life animals with my understanding of the ecosystem. The stations activity was also a big help, because I learnt a lot of information. Lastly, the photosynthesis lab also helped, because I got to experiment on leaves and observe the results by myself.
3. If you could have done something differently to enhance your learning in Unit 5 (for example, spending more time reviewing for the L2 quiz, collaborating more effectively during the stations activity, or selecting a different method to present your cycles of matter and energy), what would it have been and why?
I would have spent more time reviewing for my L2 quiz. I also would have wanted to collaborate more effectively during the station activity. This is all because it helps me deepen my understanding.
4. If you could suggest one improvement for the unit to the teacher, what would it be and why?
If I could suggest one improvement for the unit to the teacher, it would be to give us a bit more time to review for the L2 quiz. Other than that, the entire unit has been very engaging and interesting.
Firstly, we had to determine our project topic. Then, I gathered credible sources for our research. After that, I created a research document containing all of the information I would need. Then, my partner and I wrote our script. After that, we recorded our voices, made the video, and inputted our voice.
One thing I did well in my Documentary:
One thing I did well in my documentary was the balance between background audio to the voice, and how great the timing of the video with the voice was.
One thing I still need to learn to do or would do differently:
One thing I still need to learn to do or would do differently is that we should have more appropriate pictures that matches our topic, or less repeating pictures.
For this unit, I chose to do a floor plan, and I had to find the surface area, area, volume, and perimeter for the plan. My plan was pretty complicated, so I only chose a few furnitures.
One thing I am proud of…
One thing that I am really proud of is how detailed my floor plan was and how clear my work was. My math reasoning was detailed, and I found the surface area, area, volume, and perimeter for each furniture, even though it is not required.
One thing I want to improve on…
One thing I want to improve on is to use more algebraic reasoning and mathematical language to explain my work rather than writing a lot of words. I would also want to include more complicated and sophisticated shapes to challenge myself furthur.
