Metas for trimester 2

This trimester I'm going to try harder on big projects because that is when I need my grammer to be at its best for those projects. I feel good on homework but in class work I find to be a little harder like when we are talking to one another because I often stumble and I lose points on projects. So I think I just need to focus a little harder in class when Sr. Heskamp is teaching. I need to focus more on prewriting also because my mechanics have gotten very bad and I have lost a lot of points. So my main two focuses will be speaking grammar and little annoying mechanics.

Science Test Reflection

On my test I got most of the questions right but I made careless mistakes on some of them like not giving enough detail in the long answer questions.  On the multiple answer and equation questions my mistakes were very simple and I think it was because I just didn't study enough or I wasn't focused. I messed up a lot on the 2 graphing questions because I didn't pay attention to the instructions and it made a big difference. I think I messed up most in the written answer section just because I didm't pay attention to detail so that Mr. lammers would understand exactly what I was talking about. To do better on the next test I am going to study more and eat a better breakfast so I am more prepared and more focused for the longer questions because they have always been my weak point in tests. At school I will also listen more to get all the information I can to prepare for the upcoming tests on the given information.

When comparing this test with the marshmallow challenge it shows that I work much better hands on instead of paper and with a partner to help me work. My group was the one that got the highest on the marshmallow challenge so I think it shows that I like hands on projects much better than boring tests. I find it very stress relieving when working in groups or pairs because they can support you in your work or vise versa. When I am working on a project like the MC my thinking flows much easier because I'm not staring at a piece of paper trying to figure out wether the answer is A,B,C or D.

Middle East Essential Questions Relfection

1.How has physical geography shaped the region?  

It has shaped the region to live near the shore of the ocean or the rivers because it is a very dry place. It has also made many countries greedy for that resource so there has always been an edge of tension in the Middle East to come out on top by having the most resources. Having these few but precious amounts of water it has made the middle east a large farming area instead of hunting which is also due to that there isn't much to hunt in the desert. Oil has made them a very desirable place and that too has caused many feuds in the Middle East from outside of their own territory but it has also given them many allies like America because we want their oil. Between the oil and the water the Middle East has become a very dangerous place due to recent disputes.

Why is the region important both historically and currently? 

Right now religion in the Middle East is very important because it is what has led many terrorist attacks to kill lots of people. The Middle East has always been very strong in defending its religion by using its people as a tool to kill thousands of people. A long time ago it was still important because new religions were being made and it was causing disputes and many countries were made when groups of people would break off and start there own cultures by expanding on old ways. This expansion process has is still happening and it is affecting people all over the world on how they look at things today. Some groups aren't even leaving and starting in a new place the syrian rebels are trying to take back their country from the suppressive dictator to start their own government and culture. The Middle East has always been a changing country but it seems like it is dawning on a more peaceful time as soon as all the smoke clears out and they see what they have done.

How can I research reliable facts about the Mideast?

I think the best way to find facts is to use the student resources on the upper school library because all of the sites are very reliable and I feel like they are very organized so it is easy to collect information and then compile it in a slightly improved format. I think I could improve on my compiling process so I can filter out the less important stuff and get the really good facts that explain a lot. I think I just need better focus to get the best out of these websites and my time.

saber conocer presentation reflection

I think the presentation has helped me learn how to use real life situations to tell others about people and things we know how to do. It also helps us write with it better and when we present it it will help us know how to speak better spanish. I have gotten a lot of help on this project because it was confusing at first but now I understand it much better. Another thing I like about this]s project is that it lets me tell others instead if just writing down on a paper so it like you could be talking to some in a spanish speaking country. I like presentations better than tests but I think it should be a little bit more like a conversation so we will know how to respond while we can ask and talk.

I was Impressed with Win's presentation because he is knew and I easily understood what he was talking about and he had good comprehension and acted like he had been taking the language for quite a while. Win didn't seem like he was just focusing on a part of new york but all of it that he had ever been to and I thought the pictures were really good at relating with what the slides were about. I think Sam R. also had a good presentation because he had a lot of text in it but he needed to work a little on his annunciation.

LA/SS interim reflection

In my interim report for the first half of the trimester (first sixth) we had already gone through a lot of work and our teachers based us on a developing to proficient on our skills. I never expected any of the X's to be very close to proficient but about half way in most of the skills. But some of them I feel that I am exceptional at and for the most part my teachers agreed with me never straying far from my decisions. I feel like my best skills are in turning things in and managing time so I can get at least most of my work done on time. I think the fact that I can do that is because I start with simple little homework and gradually move on to bigger homework. I also thought that I was good at using a larger vocabulary when needed and I easily understood new vocabulary. To be able to do this I had to use another skill of creating my own ideas and using them to solve problems. Together I used these skills to complete work efficiently and clearly.

While I have good aspects of working alone I don't always collaborate and cooperate the best in groups. I feel like I let the others do the work while I keep their grade and I tend to stray off of what the rubric says I need to be doing lowering the grade for the whole group. Generally I don't work so well at revising work and planning effectively before my work. These weaknesses I feel are just careless and could easily be improved. These issues may be small and easy but I think they are what have been lowering my grade.

Like I said earlier all may mistakes are simple and I just need to pay more attention to what I am doing and stop to figure out what to do. I will need to work hard and persevere to get through group projects and collaborate with others to solve problems hat I can't myself. Really all of my problems are in my head and they can be fixed with a little patience and speaking my thoughts.

Interim Science Reflection

In my interim report it was very clear Mr. Lammers and I had very similar opinions for what I had done. I like what he has rated me which gives me space to improve on my science skills but I don't have to start at rock bottom and work my way up. I feel I may have given myself a little to much credit for my perseverance and problem solving though because usually I let my peers do the main job while I  watch them do the work. I agree with my assigned work because I haven't always been on top of things when it comes to late work because for me when it is late it is always very late. I think my collaboration should have been a little higher though because I have been trying to collaborate more with my peers to have a greater outcome of everyones work instead f one person leading the whole group. I don't think the writing and presentation should have been as high because I think that my invisible speed project presentation wasn't very good and my Jet Car Report wasn't very informative. I have improved defiantly since the beginning of the year but there is more to go through and I feel like I have gotten off on a good start.

roller coaster reflection

The roller coaster project was really fun but it was always hard to make them work with pure consistency because the marble never liked to stay on the track. We redesigned multiple times  always making the coaster bigger and better after our failures. We all had to collaborate with one another to fix things like when the marble would almost always come off the track. While we were just building the roller coaster we were learning about the power of motion, acceleration, and force. Our failure always seemed to be the little things that got us and they weren't always fixable which made us have to redesign our whole coaster to fit the small needs of the mistake. When we were collaborating it always made us think about how the forces of gravity and other aspects of motion were affecting the marble. Overall it was a good group project where we could have fun and learn at the same time.

SCAVID Reflection

     SCRAVID is the system my class uses when we read a book. It is an anagram for summarize, connect, reread, ask, visualize, infer, and decide. When I was reading the book Enders game I used most of these strategies but the ones I most constantly used where asking, inferring, and deciding about what characters had been doing. It helped me to record my questions a lot so I could talk abut them in class the next day when we would discuss the chapter we had read. I wouldn't always ask questions but I never did lots of variation. What we would have to do to remember the question etc. we would write it down on a sticky note which would later be brought out in class. I tended to read the whole chapter first then go back over the pages and find out what hadn't already been said ahead so I wouldn't be wasting my notes.

     Asking, inferring, and deciding were my three most used reading skills because they always helped clarify things that didn't always make sense. Like in inferring and deciding I would right down what I thought was true and then share it in class to see if it was correct or if there was anything I had missed. In enders game I often asked what Bonzo's motive was because it was a little unclear. I don’t think there was ever even a single chapter without a question in it and usually they were good questions that some of my peers couldn’t answer. Most of my questions were about the militaries use of Ender and how they would make him do it. One that I think everybody automatically uses is rereading and I use it a lot but I never really could write it down or talk about it but that was what I would do before I thought about writing my thought down as a question. Really all these skills I used were mainly based around the questioning skill but they all helped me through the process of reading this book.

     I hope to use these skills in the future to not only get the answer to my question but also to understand it from a different point of view. I think these skills will help not only with literature but also in life and business. They will be most important in my high school years ahead and this year in language arts and social studies to improve my vocabulary.

Gregorio reflection

At first in class when we read the short story Gregorio I didn't quite get everything because I hadn't studied the vocabulary very much yet but I understood the basic outline of the story through what I already knew. I soon better understood it as we talked about it in class and through homework which made me look over the story again to see what was being said. Through the homework and the presentations it helped me learn some new vocab and when to use it too. To study for the final retelling each night I would pull out my flashcards every half hour or so and present out loud to the wall and when I began my other homework I would simultaneously criticize myself. I was ok with the new vocab that was given to us but I would have liked some more mind preparing work but I also don't think I studied it enough. But in the end I felt ok with my work but it wasn't near as good as it could have been and I would have liked to have just focused more in class and been more involved

spirit doors

The spirit doors were dominated by the congo advisory. My door was willy the wild pumkinhead and it won us the most original award. It brought my advisory out of the pits and into glory while controlling the other doors spirit with fear.