How did I write this essay? First, I organized by research into catagories: how did F1 help the world, how did F1 change the world negatively, and who reduced the negative impact? Then, I wrote 3 CERs, one for each catagory. In each CER, I put in the two best evidence and connected it back to the claim. Then, I wrote the introduction and conclusion. I did well on explaining the effects and why they were important. For example, I explained how F1 can create a large amount of money and full-time jobs that can help improve the economy, and help people that are unemployed. But, I think I need to work on citing information, because on my first draft, I couldn’t get the citations right, and I had to do it with Ms. Sawyer’s help. I can practice this with my own time.
In this unit, we learned about cells and organelles, and we got to choose one of the two essential questions about our body. The essential question for me this unit:
How do our body systems work together when we play our favorite sport?
My favorite sport is swimming, so I researched the body systems and microscopic cell parts that help us swim. I learned about cells and the human body system by doing stations, dissecting animal body parts, looking at cells under the microscope, and creating models. Throughout this experience, I learned stat cells are the basic unit of life, making up tissues that makes up organs, then organ systems, and finally the organism. I know this because, when we saw the tissue of the lung of a pig under the microscope, we saw cells that made them up. Additionally, we knew that tissues make up organs because when we dissected the pig heart, we saw many tissues there, like the connective tissue and muscle tissue. Also, when we were making the model for organ systems, we saw how there were body systems in our body that work together to keep us alive.
Here is my “Blind Box” model:
(The first one is a muscle cell, and the second one is a human body cell)
The most memorable learning experience was playing Gimkit, Kahoot, and Blooket, and also the group work (making models and stuff), because it is really fun to play a game while learning something new, and it is good to work with other people. In this experience, I learned about what the cell parts do and how they worked together.
I think I can impove on reviewing more on L2 quizzes, especially about cells, because I didn’t meet standard for that quiz. I will reviewing more by making flashcards, pay more attention in class work, and extra work at home. I hope next year I can make a difference.
In this Health unit, we learned about facing peer pressure, refusal skills, effects of drugs and alcohol, and more.
This is our decide model in this unit. The DECIDE model stands for define the problem, explore your options, consider the consequences, identify your values, decide what to do, and evaluate your decision. This model is really important to kids or teens facing bullying, peer pressure, friendship issues/conflicts, or any other problems, because it helps people when they are lost or have trouble choosing what to do. It reminds people about what they are facing, their priorities, possible options, and whether or not it is worth it. It may be hard to say no when your friends want you to do something or stand up and say the right thing when someone is mean, but using the decide model can help you value your choices, and make you feel supported.
In this unit, we learned about the effect of different substances like nicotine pouches, alcohol, vapes, and more. For example, alcohol could make you drunk, cause addiction, mental health issues, risk for cancers, etc. Vapes may lead to in increased blood pressure and heart rate, addiction, breaking the law if you are underage, damage in bladder and lungs, and more.
In this math unit, we learned about proportionality and how to make scaled drawing. I learned about the meaning of the vocabulary words like: scale, scale copy, and scale factor. I understood how to find the scale factor of the area and perimeter of shapes. It was interesting to do the orange challenge with red and run outside. It was tricky to remember the equation for the scale factor for area.
In Unit 1 summative, Reena and I worked on a project where we planned a party. We invited our friends, decided on a theme, created an invitation card, planned gift bags, chose the food we would like to eat, calculated chair & table rentals, and reflected on our expenses. I understood from this unit about how to find the constant of proportionality of the line.
WHAT WAS INTERESTING
Even though we spent a lot of money on lots of different stuff, we still ended up with nearly 2000 RMB. Our work was 100% correct, which I am very proud of, too.
WHAT IS TRICKY
It was tricky to explain how I know if the points are proportional or not.
In this unit of PE, we went to the aquatics center to swim, float, learn artistic swimming skills, and create a routine to perform. For the artistic swimming routine, I worked with Trudy, Isis, and Sophia. We created a routine with the song <Her> by JVKE with moves like splits, lfting people into the air, and back flips. I think what went well was how I successfully did the backflip in the air, and our timing was together (when we practiced, we didn’t do the movements at the same time). However, we didn’t get time to fully practice the routine, so we didn’t have time to organize when we will do each move to keep the routine synchonized to the music. I learned from this unit how to to sidestroke from Coach Michael and practiced it with Oscar and Akyn. This unit was really fun because we got to create a routine all by ourselves, but at the same time it was challenging to think of the movements and music.
I used to think wellness influencers always shared true information, so I believed many of the videos I saw. I thought that the influencers all had degrees and special education about the topic they were sharing. But now, after learning about the “CRAAP” development and health literacy and seeing some exemplary videos, I know that some influencers aren’t truth worthy and may spread false information. Luckily, we can use “CRAAP” to help us. “CRAAP” stands for currency, relevance, authority, accuracy, and purpose. This can help me identify if the information was outdated, corrected, relevant to real-life problems, said by an expert, evidence-based, for selling products, and appropriate for the problem. If the media follows most of the keys of CRAAP, then the media should be truthworthy. At first, it was hard for me to remember what each word stands for and what they mean. But as we practiced using them more, it became clearer what CRAAP means. Now, I can use the CRAAP test to see if social media posts are reliable or not.
Check the date of when it is posted. Is it outdated? Is there new information that proves the media wrong?
Does the topic relate to what you are finding? Is the author talking about a real life problem?
Is the author of the media an expert about the topic he/she is sharing about? Check for degrees and jobs.
Did the media have evidence from a trustworthy cite or person? Is the information correct?
Why did the author send the media? Notice if it is for subscribers, likes, and advertisements.
For this unit, I analyzed a video about bed rotting and used the CRAAP test on it. Here is the PPT for my presentation to the class:
The video was around the topic of bed rotting causes more harm than what happens to people.
Based on the CRAAP test, the video that I analyzed is pretty accurate and trustworthy. The video was posted recently (posted 8-9 months ago), the topic is relevant to bed rotting, the author was a psychology student, the video cited trustworthy information, and the video isn’t to advertise products or to have more likes.
For this project, what was challenging was finishing the project on time, because when the class started working on the project, I was sick at home and slept through the day without any time to start the project. When I came back to school, I only had 2 lessons to finish a graphic organizer and a presentation. Luckily, by making the presentation the day before we present, I finished the PPT and did a great job on presenting.
In this unit, we learned about the different types of media, how media can be biased or fake, the safety of our privacy, how authors of the media make the audience feel how they want us to feel, and word choices. Bias is having a strong feeling towards one side and favoring towards one side. If people had the same perspective all the time, then there would not be fights or debates. However, this may also mean that people will not have their own opinion and study to support their perspective.
For my project, I created an influencer video of Michael Phelps, which entertained and inspired the viewers to work hard. I am proud of the strong words I put into the video, which makes my audience feel motivated and excited. I used words like: stand alone, world record, Olympic history, champion, journey, defied limits, and more.
However, I would like to continue to work on talking more loudly and clearer in recordings. In my video, I think my voice was a little quiet, and not clear. I need to keep checking in the future. Last class, our classmates gave me some peer feedback on my presentation for the video, so I listened to their suggestions and made some changes.
Most people’s feedback was elaborate more and use fewer filler words. During the final presentation, I explained the connotations of the words in the video in more detail, elaborated on my design choices, and practiced to become more fluent while presenting.
In the first unit of Health, we learned all about the “Harvard Plate”, which is a visual guide created by Harvard nutrition experts to promote healthy, balanced meals. According to the Harvard Plate, a person’s meal should consist of 1/2 a plate of fruits and vegetables, 1/4 of protein, and 1/4 of carbohydrates. Here is the photo of the Harvard Plate:
In class, I realized that potatoes, milk, and beef should be limited, and more of chicken and colorful fruits and vegetables should be eaten. Also, for the first time, I found out that what you eat can affect global warming. When you eat lots of beef, many cows are killed, which means that more carbon dioxide is released.
So, by just eating less beef, or even just meat, can help warming get better.
For this unit, we worked on two projects: Healthy Menu Design & Master Chef. For the Healthy Menu Design, Ruby and I created a 3-day menu that includes three meals every day and a snack. The menu was for a girl (Teresa), who played sports a lot. So, in the menu, we added lots of protein and carbohydrates to help her get lots of energy. Our food choices mostly aligned with the Harvard Plate, which means that it included healthy vegetables like broccoli and cucumbers, and better protein choices like fish and chicken. This is our menu:
However, for this project, we didn’t include what else an athlete needs, except for high-energy food, the benefit of protein, and didn’t follow the instructions on the front page.
For the Master Chef project, Simba, Ruby, and I created Quesadillas, with whole wheat tortillas, lettuce, tomatoes, and (healthy) cheese. We planned to meet on a Sunday at my house. Two days ago, we bought the ingredients and stored them at my house. Unfortunately, when we were making the Quesadillas, we realized that we didn’t buy any chicken. So, we used the beef that we already had at home. By doing that, we didn’t waste any food, and used the resources that we had.
At school, our Quesadillas were very popular and we got lots of votes. However, we didn’t bring the phone that recorded, so we didn’t submit the video for proof that we made the snacks. Here is the video:
My goal for the future: Be aware of food choices. In the future, I will be aware of eating foods that are aligned with the Harvard Plate. Also, I will make sure that I eat less beef, less milk, more fruits and vegetables, less sweets, and less processed food (not natural).
