Name Design

Ideation page

Circle pages

 At the beginning of the Name Design process, first Mr. Koltutsky showed us examples of exemplary pieces of work, then we made an ideation page, and started brainstorming what we were going to make. I ended not doing any of my ideation page ideas.







Next we made circle pages where we had to make circles making the first letter of our names in acrylic paint, water color, colored pencil, and oil pastels (not necessarily in that order). Mine doesn't look very good because I was trying to experiment a lot.

Final draft/Rough draft

Next we made a full size drafts of our ideas, then we were supposed to experiment on the colors and textures we wanted to use on our final draft (we used the light table to transfer the basic shapes of the rough draft to another clean paper - our final draft). I ended up not technically making a final draft, because Mr. K said that my rough draft could be my final.


The best part of the assignment was the process we went through. For example, we got to play around with different types of materials to find out what we liked the best.

The most challenging part of the assignment was thinking of the idea, and painting the blue acrylic - it was really hard because there were many hard spots to paint.

Supposed to be final draft

Dividing Fractions

¾÷⅛
You read the equation as how many ⅛'s there are in ¾.

3/4 ÷ 1/8 = 3/4 × 8/1 because 8/1 is the reciprocal of 1/8 meaning if multiplied together, it equals one. To find the reciprocal of a fraction, just switch the denominator to the numerator, and numerator to denominator. Only then you can multiply instead of divide.

Since 3/4 ÷ 1/8 has the same value as 3/4 × 8/1, you can just go ahead and write it out and multiply the numerators and denominators, then change the product from an improper fraction into a whole number or mixed number:

To make a model of 3/4 ÷ 1/8, make a rectangular bar, and divide it into quarters, and shade 3 quarters to show 3/4.

Next divide the bar into eighths, and to find the answer, count how many eighths there are in 3/4. 

There are 6 eighths in 3/4. 

¾÷⅛=6!

Personal Essay and Reflection

Video Games are Totally Overrated

Many people think that completing a new level in Octagon, making an enormous mansion in Minecraft, or successfully playing 5 Nights at Freddy’s for hours without being scared - is an accomplishment, but I disagree. A lot of kids should know that being an amazing video gamer is not an amazing status to have, and being great at a video game is not the best thing. I believe video games are totally overrated.

As a young student, I know that video games are bad - people waste their childhood playing video games instead of creating memories and getting things done. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve played video games, and now and then I game for short periods of time, but I used to throw away many hours playing video games. For example, when I got my Minecraft account, all I ever did during my free time was play Minecraft for hours on end. I distinctly remember spending many days working on an underground hotel, a glass mansion, a roller coaster, and many other monuments that I now regret making. I now realize that when a child gets addicted to video games, they usually spend time gaming rather than hanging out with friends and family, or getting homework done. Kids should be using their time more wisely, and instead of staring at a screen, they should do something more productive.

Furthermore, video games make it hard for people to socialize when they are addicted to computer or video games. According to Raise Smart Kid, too much video game playing makes kids socially isolated. Many video game addicts who are immersed in their screens probably don’t have time to hang out with real people. I remember a time in the past where I asked someone if they wanted to hang out on a certain day. This person said she couldn’t, because that was her gaming day. Let’s face it, it’s not normal - having a certain day just for playing video games, and wanting to hang out with fake creatures on a screen instead of real human beings. Additionally, video games has shown signs of making school grades worse. The article, The Positive and Negative Effects of Video Games claims, “Not surprisingly, kids addicted to video games see their school performance suffer.”

Video games rot childrens’ minds. Research has shown that up to 90% of video games contain some form of violent content. Is that okay? No. Do violent games negatively affect children? According to studies - yes. Studies have shown that violent games can replace positive actions to more aggressive emotions, thoughts and behaviors. ‘CHY.com’ states, “it is clear that exposure to violent games is linked to increased aggressive behaviour (as indicated by things like the degree to which they get into physical fights or argue with teachers).”

Some say video games have positive aspects. For example, there are some people that play video games as a job and as a living. They compete in video games and even earn money! Also, some studies claim that video games can help improve concentration. I think if people really want to pursue being a video gamer, they should know the downsides and control the amount of time they spend gaming.

Another negative effect is video games can also reduce kids’ helping behaviours. Not only that, video games also teach kids wrong values. Often in video games, being violent and representing bad actions are rewarded. In countless games, the character’s ‘mission’ is to physically hurt others, for example stabbing, shooting, and kicking, and in return for cruel behaviors, they are rewarded.

Finally, video games can cause many unwanted health problems. In the essay, Physical Consequences of Gaming Addiction, the author stated, “Physical consequences of gaming addiction include carpal tunnel, migraines, sleep disturbances, backaches, eating irregularities, and poor personal hygiene.” In many occasions, studies have found that video games also links to obesity and eye strain, which can lead to dizziness, blurry vision, and headaches.

These are just a few consequences of video games, and there are still so many more things they can do to aggravate a child’s health and daily life… Now you know that while you are completing a new level in Octagon, making a mansion in Minecraft, or playing 5 Nights at Freddy’s for hours - you can be doing something way more productive, and you just may be changing your life possibly in a negative way. So shut your computer, and stop playing those video games!

I have grown as a writer from my PE On Demand and my recent personal essay, because I now know how to make a nice, easy flowing plan for my essay (which made my writing much easier), and I learned a couple of ways to start and end my essay (from mini-lessons). A new skill I learned that I will now apply to my essays is my plan layout. Challenges I faced while writing my personal essay was constant writer's block, adding a strong voice (strong 'I' voice), and concluding my essay. I surprised myself as a writer because I realized I really believed in what I was writing about, and I was surprised that the personal essay planer really helped me. Feedback I received (from Mrs. K and peers) that helped me grow as a writer was; to add anecdotes to make my essay more meaningful, to have a stronger 'I', and to add more transitions.

Egypt Museum Project Reflection

How might you create an interactive exhibit that will encourage young visitors to care about the civilization of Ancient Egypt?

How well did you feel that you as an individual and as a group-member were at solving this problem?

I think my group and I did well in thinking of an interactive exhibit that will encourage young visitors to care about the civilization of Ancient Egypt, because we all had a wide variety of different interactive exhibit ideas. I let our visitors use my 'reed pens' and write in hieroglyphs, and another person in my group taught them how to play senet. Over all, I think we all had a fun, interactive way of teaching others about our artifacts, and about Ancient Egypt.

Describe your learning process from start to end... an an individual, and as a group-member.

First I was assigned my characteristic, which was technology, and I made MIDAS notes on the topic of technology. Then I picked an artifact that somehow represented technology - I chose the scribal palette. My group members and I then researched our artifacts in books and online, and after that we made MIDAS notes on our artifacts too. Next we made slides answering questions about our artifacts, and we figured out the interactive elements for Museum Day. Then we finally made our artifacts and we wrote a paragraph caption. We also continuously practiced what to say to our visitors, and before the actual Museum Day, we presented our artifacts to our class. 

What are aspect(s) of the project challenged you the most?

An aspect of the project that really challenged me was researching the scribal palette. I barely found good information in books, so I referred mostly to websites (like museum websites). I also found it hard to think of interesting facts to add while speaking to my audience.

What are you most proud of?

I am most proud of how smoothly Museum Day went, and how as a group we worked pretty well together. I am also very proud of my interactive element, and I how the visitors enjoyed figuring out how to write in hieroglyphs with the reed pens (that surprisingly worked pretty well).

What part(s) of the overall experience do you think you will remember the most?

I think I will remember Museum Day the most, because it was the big, actual event we had been preparing for. I also think I will remember the process my group and I went through (lots of disagreements) to be very successful during the class presentations and Museum Day.

Student vs. Beast

Spanish Reflection First Semester

What were you asked to do exactly?

I was asked to make a video on my favorite athlete, but I don't have one, so instead I picked an accomplished figure skater; Michelle Kwan. I was asked to explain he story, and facts about her in Spanish.

Ultimately, what did your teacher want you to achieve? (Asking questions, using connectors, etc.)

She wanted us to achieve using connectors, and talking about sports and athletes to prepare for our summative test.

What was easy about the task, and what was challenging?

It was easy recording the video after making a script and reading off of it, but it was challenging finding information, pictures of her accomplishments, and making the script. It was easy for me to include connectors because I was reading off a script I made which included multiple connectors to add in. I found it challenging finding pictures online of her competitions so for many of the pictures I had to look up the whole competition on Youtube, then screen shot her.

What did you do well, and what things will you continue to work on?

I think I did well making my presentation and presenting it, and I will continue to work on the facts I include, the right way of saying things, and using more connectors.

Link to my video:

https://drive.google.com/a/sas.edu.sg/file/d/0Bx7R1amkev0kOVlLSXk3MlJWRWc/view?usp=sharing

Drama Assignment #2

7

TEN is a person who is dying to hit the stage on day one of drama and would willingly perform in front of all of 6th grade right NOW!  ONE is a person who would rather be ANYWHERE but the stage and would prefer to be wrapped up in a blanket back in their bed hugging their teddy bear. On this scale of one to ten, I would be a 7, because I have been playing the flute for three years, and I perform a lot. I am sort of confident being on stage due to the fact that I have been playing for so long, and my first concert was only about four months after I started playing the flute, and I continue to do concerts and competitions. I still get nervous when I have to perform in front of big audiences. I am hoping to get better stage presence, and learn to act and be more confident on stage. What I want Ms. Fulcher to know about me, is I am not that great at acting, but I find it really fun to do.