I learned about Dystopian Characteristics by writing academic paragraph related to the text, and discussing with peers.
What did I learn?
Building vocabulary, writing academic paragraphs, collaborating discussions with peers, and using transition words.
What worked?
I am proud of my discussions because I think I collaborated with my partners pretty well and I talked about a lot of topics. Also, we respected each other and listened to each one’s ideas.
What did not work?
I think that I could work better with my vocabulary tests and conversations because I think I could’ve reviewed more words.
Personal relevance
I think having discussions help me collaborate and communicate with others later in life. Also, it makes me an active listener.
We started by completing an investigation to determine the relationship between potential energy and height. We also built a model of the rollercoaster. In the end, we recorded data and made a lab report.
I learned how to pass balls, shoot, and dribble. We learned the Brazilian tap and how to receive high balls. Also, I learned that we need to pass the ball to our teammates and not keep it and dribble by ourselves.
What worked?
I passed a lot of balls to my teammates during the races and we scored a few goals. Also, I was the goalie a few times and you have to always pay attention to the ball and see where it’s going.
What did not work?
Sometimes only one person in our teams goes with the ball to the other side, and there’s nobody that our teammate could pass to causing the ball to be taken by the other team.
What did you improve on?
I improved on my dribbling skills. Now, I can dribble without the ball being far away from my body. Also, I think I improved on my running skills and ran faster than before. Furthermore, I believe I improved cooperating with others. I could easily receive a ball passed to me by others.
What can I work on?
I can improve on my passing skills because most of the time I panic a little and I just kicks it wherever I want and my teammate ends up missing my pass.
In this unit, we converted measurements from the U.S. system to the metric system using the system Ms.Shelton gave us and using scale factors. We learned to calculate the unit price of each ingredient. We used the total price to divide the amount per pack to get our unit price. We found out the price and amount per pack from a grocery store online. In addition, we learned to calculate the batch price by timing the amount for recipe by unit price. We also learned how to determine our batch price. We determined our batch price by adding up all the cost of the ingredients. We learned to determine our sell price by determining my markup percent and markup price. After determining that, we rounded our sell price and calculated a new markup price and percent. When we finished the calculating, we bought all our ingredients on Taobao. We made snowflake crisps following the recipe and was successful. On the bake sale, we sold out all of our product and answered a lot of math questions by our customers.
What worked?
We were successful on making snowflake crisps. Also, it was easy for us to calculate our markup price and percent because our division wasn’t a circulating decimal. It was pretty easy to round and we found our final markup price easily. In addition, it was easy for us to convert measurements because we understood scale factors and we listened how to convert the measurements.
What didn’t work?
We had a hard time on the last few parts because we changed a recipe in the middle of the calculation. We figured that the first recipe was too difficult. We ended up changing the first few parts of the calculating, but it worked out at the end. Another problem is that I think next time we should make more. We ran out of products at about the middle of the bake sale.
Personal Relevance: How might this learning help you achieve your goals in life?
It helps you spot marketing traps like limited additions for a brand without real value. For buying different things, unit price saves money and helps you see if something is worth buying or not. It is also useful to compare similar products making you get the most value for every cent.
During the Otzi unit, I used a lot of evidence from pictures, articles, and a museum video to find out if Otzi was murdered or not. I worked on the CER graph to prove that Otzi died from natural causes. Also, I worked as a lawyer in the Otzi mock trial and asked a lot of open questions to the expert witnesses.
What did I learn?
I learned about a 5,300-year-old ice mummy found in the high Alps that was preserved perfectly. I studied his belongings, his body health, and tattoos all over his body. In addition, I looked at an arrowhead that was struck on Otzi’s left shoulder and hit an important artery. We learned about closed and open questions and how to make CER graphs.
What worked well?
I am proud of the open questions I asked the expert witnesses during the Mock Trial for Otzi. I think my questions allowed the expert witnesses to clearly prove that Otzi died from natural causes. Also, I think I collaborated well with the other lawyers to help our team with the Mock Trial.
What did not work?
I think I didn’t do well on the CER graph. A lot of evidence from the articles I found and wrote was pretty much the same. Also, I don’t think all my evidence made sense.
Personal Relevance: Why are the collaboration and communication skills that you practiced in this unit important for your future?
Strong communicators share their thoughts with others and often get better jobs. Also, you would think of a lot of ideas when working with a team. You would easily adapt to different environments and make new friends quickly. In addition, you wouldn’t get into big arguments when working with others if you have good collaboration skills.
I learned different hand signals to communicate with my pal. I improved on my freestyle, breaststroke, and backstroke. I learned to stay calm in different circumstances. I also learned how to enter the pool when you have snorkels on. In addition, I learned to cooperate with my pal and the processes of putting on your snorkel gear.
I made a car out of 3 pieces of A4 paper, 2 axles, 4 wheels, a straw, a meter of tape to protect an egg with my partner Jonnny.
What did I learn?
The egg car keeps moving down the ramp and doesn’t want stop because of inertia. I made a seatbelt and an airbag to keep the egg in the car. I also made a crumple to absorb force and keep the egg from cracking.
What worked?
I made a car that has a sharp head and a oval back. It has a seatbelt and a crumple zone in the head. (My egg didn’t crack!!!!) I taped the head to make it steadier.
What did not work?
At first, our head turned out to be very soft and we didn’t have enough tape. To solve this problem, I asked for a little more tape from Ms. Cutter. I wrapped another layer of paper and wrapped some more tape.
Personal relevance
I learned that the cars in real life have crash tests, and crumple zones to absorb force. They also add seatbelts because of inertia. It is crucial to add air bags to keep people in the car and safe.
The balloon car was build using 2 axels, a styrofoam, wheels, a balloon, glue gun, tape, a rubber band, and 2 straws(a big one & a small one). We used it to learn about Newton’s 3 laws.
What did we learn?
Newton’s first law says an object staying at rest will stay at rest, and an object moving will stay moving unless acted by another unbalanced force. We see this law action with the balloon car when it stays at rest and when it keeps moving unless bumped by another thing or stopped by friction.
Newton’s second law states the greater the mass of an object, the more force it takes to move it. We see this law action with the balloon car when the it moves slower and slower when more pennies are added.
Newton’s third law states every action has an opposite reaction. We see this law action with the balloon car when the car doesn’t float because the normal force of the balloon car and the gravitational forces are balanced.
What worked?
Using a bigger straw on where the balloon pipes air out worked because that gives the car more force causing it to move faster.
What didn’t work?
I struggled to attach the balloon to the car because the hot glue can easily melt the styrofoam base. To solve this problem, we made a hole in the styrofoam base and put the straw inside.
Personal Relavance
The balloon car was like an air balloon with wheels in the real world. I see Newton’s first law in real life when a car on the highway suddenly turns but your body slides to the side because of inertia. It is important to understand newtons laws because they tie into almost everything we see in everyday life. These laws tell us exactly how things move or sit still.
Writing a fictional story based on a theme that matters to me.
What are we learning?
Theme (my purpose for writing this story, my message to readers)
Character Development (creating believable characters with positive & negative traits)
Plot (the sequence of events in my story; Western and Eastern approaches to storytelling)
Setting (the world that I create for my story)
What’s Working:
What story elements did you enjoy planning and writing?
I enjoyed developing my characters and giving them a personality. In addition, it was really fun to develop the plot and write how the characters react.
What elements of my story are you proud of?
I am proud of the how I made my setting and the quirks of my characters. I am also proud of how I used the stories I’ve read to think of ideas.
How did you get the idea for your story?
I got the ideas of the stories from the adventure stories I’ve read.
The Best Line from My Story: Julee rolled her eyes. “Great. More decoding. Just what we need.”
I really like this line because it really shows Julee’s personality.
Areas for Growth:
What story elements were challenging to plan and write?
I think it was challenging to make up the setting and maybe the quirks.
How did you deal with these challenges?
I talked with my partners and worked it out using my worksheet.
What is your least favorite part of the story? Why does it bother you?
My least favorite part is where it starts because I think it sot of gives out the setting too directly.
Personal Relevance:
How can creative writing help you in real life?
It can improve your communicating abilities and it enhances your empathy.
Do you enjoy creative writing – would you possibly like to continue using your imagination to tell stories that matter to you?
I enjoy writing. I like the process of making the plot, developing characters, and exploring different themes.
