Answering My Main Inquiry Question and Working on My Final Product

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We have been working on Capstone for a while now and we are almost finished. But before I talk about the final product I’m going to talk about answering my main inquiry question.

After I did research on my five sub questions and conducted my interview, I had to do research on my main inquiry question, What factors have had the most impact on the evolution of Hawaiian hula dancing? Our sub questions would help us answer our main question and get to learn some information on our topic. I started reading my notes and found the three ways that had an impact on the evolution of hula which were the missionaries, tourism, and the blending of different styles. After I found this out I started doing more research about these topics and started learning a lot. After I thought I had enough research I started the next step.

The next step of Capstone after the research was to make an essay about our main inquiry question. I had to make our research of the top ways hula has changed into a summary. We could also add in our essay were quotes from our interviewee. My essay was three pages long. I included some quotes and I also noted some dates. The essay was hard for me because I had trouble writing my research into an essay. After I did my essay it was time for the last step of Capstone.

The last step of Capstone was making the slideshow and presenting. This was when we would take the information from researching and sort of base it on our essay and make it into a script. After making our script and finalizing it, we would start our slideshow. In our slideshow we would add photos that matched our words and if we wanted we  could include a video. I made 24 slides for my slideshow. I also included a video of what hula looks like. After we finished our slideshow we had to do our presentation. The time limit for the presentation was 5 minutes. Mine ended up being 4 minutes and 30 seconds. We had to make sure we spoke loud, didn’t fidget, spoke clearly, didn’t stutter, and we had to make sure we memorized it fully.

In conclusion, I am really happy with my presentation so far and I have had a lot of fun with capstone. I hope I do well with my final presentation.

Here is a link to my essay: Capstone Essay

 

Categories: 5th Grade, Capstone, Writing3 Comments

Capstone Blog Post #2

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A few weeks ago we had to find someone to interview about our topic to help with our research. The interview would help us with our research. I was excited to interview someone because it would help me with my research.

To interview someone we would have to search up on the internet some experts on our topic. My topic is Hula. When we found someone on the internet, we would find their email or phone number and call/email them. Another way you could find someone to interview is to find the author of an article on your topic that you liked. I found 3 people and emailed them but they didn’t respond. So my Dad looked for some Hula schools near me and found one. He found a teacher that works there and called her, and she accepted the interview. Her name was Luana Haraguchi. One thing that was challenging about finding someone to interview was finding their phone number or email address.

Instead of doing the interview on call or zoom, we did it in person. Luana said that she had a Hula show in Chinatown in Columbus Park, and that we could do the interview there and we accepted. The show would have lots of activities including origami, puppy therapy, self defense, and more. It would start at 11 am. One of the activities was hula. So on the day of the show, we drove to Chinatown. We met outside of the park before the show started and we sat on a bench and I asked her my questions. The interview went as expected. Luana was really helpful and gave me a lot of information about hula. She knew a lot about the history too. One thing I learned is that it can take 5-10 years for a Hula student to become a Hula dancer.

Doing the interview was really fun because I got to learn a lot about Luana, and because I got to learn a lot about Hula. I also had a fun time conducting the interview because it was my first interview.

Categories: 5th Grade, Capstone, Social Studies, Technology1 Comment

U.S. Regions Blog Post

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A few months ago we started a project called U.S. Regions. The class would be paired into groups and would research some regions from the U.S. I got paired with my friends Lior, Chloe, and Ruki. We got the Northeast Region. We researched the states Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut, New York, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. We didn’t research all the states because it would be too much.

The first step was to do research on the states. Each member of the group would get 2 states to research. Since the amount of states were uneven. Ruki and Chloe shared a state. I got Maine and New Hampshire, Lior got Connecticut and New York, Ruki got Vermont and Rhode Island, and Chloe got Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Mrs. Edwards made a page of the essential information each group member should research for their state. We had to research the general, history, politics, geography, leisure activities (tourist attractions and sports), more to know about this region, and economy. 

After researching we had to make a presentation of all the research we made. We had a few weeks to finish it. Our group made a slideshow. We had to be creative while making the presentation. So our group decided to include a slide about a famous recipe from that state. We also decided to do a game called Kahoot at the end to test our classmates’ knowledge of the Northeast region. We made each of our categories on a different slide. Everyone had the same type of slides and the same order. We wanted to keep it organized. We also wanted it to be fun. One way we made it fun was by making the politics look like a newspaper.

In conclusion this project was fun because I got to learn a lot about the Northeast Region. I also had a lot of fun making the slideshow because I could be creative and fun with it.

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Capstone Blog post #1

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A few weeks ago our class started a big project. It’s called capstone. Capstone is when we choose a topic and then choose a specific question about the topicand research about it. We have 3 choices of how to present it. Our choices are to do an ignite, TED talk, or a movie. I was nervous because I didn’t know what to do for my topic.

The first step was to make a topic. I chose to do Hawaiian Culture because it is unique and interesting. But it was too big of a topic so I decided to do something apart from Hawaiian Culture. My choices were Hawaiian myths, Hula Dancing, or Hawaiian traditions. After researching these topics, I ended up choosing Hula dancing because it is more than dancing. It’s also a way the Hawaiians tell storys.

After thinking of our topic we had to make a question to focus on. There were 4 levels of how good the question could be. The best were level 3 and 4. I wanted my question to show how hula dancing has evolved over time. I wanted to talk about more than the dance. I wanted to talk about the instruments, the clothes, and the chants. So I asked my teacher for help and she helped me think of a question. My finla question is, “What factors have had the most impact on the evolution of Hawaiian hula dancing?”. This question is a level 4, it shows how hula has evolved over time, and I can talk more about the dance.

After thinking of our main question we had to come up with sub questions. These sub questions would be questions about our big topic. We had to make 5 sub questions. Siome challenges were making the sub questions fit my topic. Another thing that was hard was trying to make the sub questions different from each other. These are my sub questions, What is hula? Why is hula significant to Hawaiian culture? How do hula kahiko (Ancient Hula) and hula auana (Modern Hula) compare? How did hula spread around Hawaii? And What influenced hula over time?

Overall I am happy about my topic, main question, and sub questions. I am excited to learn more about hula dancing.

Categories: 5th Grade, Social Studies, Writing3 Comments

Creating My Immigration Interview Wevideo

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After our interview we made a video of the immigrants journey. Our choices were a wevideo or an adobe video. It was supposed to sound like a story instead of an interview. 

Before we made the video we had to do a script for the video. I chose to do a wevideo. We had to write down what we would say and how it would look like/sound. We also had to write the timing. This would help us form the video more easily. The script was hard to make because if I changed one thing I would have to change the whole thing. For example if I changed my wording I would have to change the timing. We also had to choose photos for our video. This was hard for me because I didn’t have any photos from my dad so I had to choose photos from the internet that match what I was saying.

When I finished my script I started doing my wevideo. It was easy because I knew what to put because of my script. But while I made the wevideo I noticed some things that needed to be changed so when I changed them I also had to change my script. After putting my images I had to do my voiceover. This was frustrating because if I made a mistake I had to record it over again. It was also hard to find a quiet spot but I ended up using the closet.

But in the end my wevideo looked really good and I think that this was a really fun project because I can carry this video on and always know my dad’s story.

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Reflecting on My Immigrant Interview

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A couple of weeks ago our class started our immigration unit. We were assigned a immigration project. The project was to interview an immigrant. But before we did the interview we had to make 10-15 questions about immigrating.

We first had to create 20 questions and then narrow it down to 10 or 15 questions. I ended up with 15 questions. Some questions I prepared were why did you come to America? Would you rather stay in America or go back? How old were you when you left? How did you feel about immigrating? I read past students’ questions for ideas. I also looked at some examples.

After making the questions, I had to do the actual interview. I chose to interview my dad who immigrated from Turkey and came to America. I did the interview on Sunday, in person. The interview was fun because I got to know more about my dad and know about his history of coming to America. But it was also hard because sometimes the answers weren’t that good. From this interview I learned that you need to be patient with the interviewee and that you should make sure they are comfortable. The most interesting thing I learned was how someone helped him in America and I thought this was very interesting. I think that it went as expected.

In conclusion the interview was fun because I got to learn another side of my dad that I never knew. It was very interesting and fun. I think it was good for my first interview.

 

 

 

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Rube Goldberg

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Our teacher, Ms. Edwards assigned a project called a Rube Goldberg. A Rube Goldberg is a complex machine that completes a simple task. I will be writing about the list of resources, my final sketch, and the video.

I came up with ideas for my rube goldberg contraption by watching videos of different rube goldberg machines. After our Rube Goldberg we had to make a video of the whole experience of making the machine. I made lots of changes in my video so I had to keep on changing the script. In my video I included different angles of my machine. I only used this angle in the success so the viewer could get a better view of the success. I Also put music in my video. I put some of my fails in the video too. I tried to show different fails instead of showing the same type of fails. I also showed some pictures of my machine and mentioned the supplies I used before showing fails of my machine.

Some resources I used were Joseph’s machines, past students Rube Goldberg’s, and some youtube videos. Joseph’s machines inspired me most because he used lots of different materials for his machines. Some of my friends have helped me think of ideas and some materials to use. At first I wanted to knock down bowling pins, but I decided to make my contraption give treats to my dog.

After my first sketch I made my final sketch. I removed some steps like knocking down books and more. I made these changes because I realized that they wouldn’t work that well and it might be too much. I also changed the name from Rube Goldberg to the Dog Treater. In the corner I put a chart with what simple machines I used and what I made for them. 

Overall I think that this project was really fun and it gave me a chance to be really creative. It was hard and frustrating because it didn’t work and I had to set it up each time it failed. But I really liked this project.

Here’s my Wevideo: https://youtu.be/nkPyPc7tYVE

 

 

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Rube Goldberg

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Last month we learned about something called simple machines. There are six simple machines. The pulley, wedge, inclined plane, lever, wheel and axle, and screw. Simple machines make a simple task easier. For example an elevator. Instead of walking up or down a staircase you can go on an elevator. An elevator is an example of a pulley. Once we learned about simple machines. We started learning about Rube Goldberg machines. A Rube Goldberg machine is a complicated machine that involves simple machines. This completes a simple task, such as putting a water bottle in the recycling bin.

The first thing we had to do for this project was do research. Our teacher, Ms Edwards gave us some videos to watch. One helpful resource was Joseph’s Machines. The videos helped me get a good idea of what I would be doing, and helped think of some objects that I could use. When we were done with our research we started planning. We had to think of what type of materials we would use, and how our machine would function.

After this we had to make a sketch of what our machine would do and look like. I chose to make my machine give treats to my dog. The materials I chose to use for my machine were dominoes, marbles, a marble maze, a toy car, bowling pins, a ramp, toilet paper, and a pulley. We were supposed to use 3 simple machines in our project. I used the pulley, inclined plane, and wheel and axle. For the pulley I made a homemade pulley. For the inclined plane I made a ramp, and for the wheel and axle I am using a toy car. We were supposed to have 8 steps or more. I ended up with 10 steps.I think that making the sketch was hard. This was hard because I wasn’t sure what to do. I also had trouble with choosing simple machines because I wanted to do a wheel and axle. But I couldn’t find anything to use. Eventually I found a toy car to use. The inclined plane was hard because I wanted to make a ramp but I didn’t know what I could make a ramp out of. But then I decided that I would make it from scratch.

I think that this project is really fun and I am excited to see what my machine will look like at the end. I am also curious about how many tries it will take for my machine to work.

 

       

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The Greensboro sit-in

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Last month our teacher, Ms Edwards assigned us a project. She told us to choose an important person, event, or an amendment. I chose to do something about Black lives matter. I ended up doing the Greensboro sit-in. I chose to do the Greensboro sit-in because it was something I had never learned about or heard of so I wanted to know more about it. I think that this project was related to our constitution unit, including our work on the Bill of Rights because this project let us explore how rights can be shown and what they are.

The first thing we had to do was research on our topic. We had a few weeks to research. We had to find at least 3 websites.We had to take notes from the websites. Researching was harder than I thought because I found the same information on websites. But I ended up having some good information at the end.

After our research we had to write an essay about our topic. The essay would help us make our script. My essay was about how the Greensboro four affected the fight for civil rights. My answer for this was, it was important because it showed that you can fight back peacefully.

The step after this was to make a script. The goal was to make it 2 minutes and thirty seconds but I ended up making it two minutes. Each part was fifteen seconds long. I copied my information from my essay into the script and then made some changes if needed. I ended up having 8 slides at the end.

After making the script we had to make a slideshow. We had to put images or words on our slideshow. We had to have under 6 words or one image. I only did images on my slideshow. Finding images was hard for me because I couldn’t find what I was looking for.

The final step was to make a screencastify. We had to record ourselves saying our script. I had to do it over again a lot of times because I made a lot of mistakes.

I think the most challenging part of doing this project was making the slideshow. This was hard because I couldn’t find the images I wanted and they didn’t work that well with what I was saying.

The thing I enjoyed most while doing this project was doing the research. This was my favorite part because this was when I got to really learn about the Greensboro sit-in and learn lots of new facts.

One thing I learned about my topic is that the Greensboro four kept coming each day despite the cruelty they faced and they protested peacefully

Overall I think I did a good job and I really enjoyed learning about the Greensboro sit-in. This project was really fun. I am proud of how my slideshow turned out at the end.

Here is a link to my Screencast:

https://watch.screencastify.com/v/oZbdvGMwIrNAELaDqzxe

Categories: 5th Grade, Social Studies, Writing6 Comments

Feature Article Reflection

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About a month ago I made my Feature Article. My feature article was about cats. I chose cats because I really like cats, and I wanted to know more about them than the basics.

I was stuck on my title, I wanted to make it sound interesting but I couldn’t think of anything. But then I finally came up with an idea: “Thinking like a Cat.” I chose this because my article was about how to take care of a cat and things that you may have not known.

For my introduction, I did an anecdote. I did an anecdote because personally I think that they are interesting and really hook the reader.

The next thing I had to do was actually write. The writing process wasn’t as hard as I expected it would be. The topics I wrote about were, “Getting your Cat,” “Health,” “Grooming,” and “Feeding.” I chose these topics because they were the basics of having a cat. I wrote and at the end I edited it.

There were some challenges in making my feature article. Formatting was hard because I had too much information, and I couldn’t fit all of it on my pages so I got rid of some of it. I thought of making a fun facts page. But then I changed my mind because I didn’t have enough room for this. Another challenge were the images. I couldn’t find images that I liked. For example. I wanted a cat diagram, but I couldn’t find one that I liked.

One feature I included in my article were pie charts. I didn’t have enough room for images, and I couldn’t find a good image, so instead I made pie charts. I did this because they gave information and they also gave some facts that most people didn’t know. I also included a little, black cat icon on two of my pages. I couldn’t fit it on my other pages. I also wrote about what I do with my cat, so then the reader could also do the same.

In my conclusion I summarized my main idea. The main idea I wanted to bring forward is that cats are harder than you think, but they’re still worth it.

At the end when we were all finished with our articles we had a publishing share. We put our articles on our desks and everyone read each other’s and commented on things that they liked about their article. The thing I got commented most on was my information/detail and my pie charts.

Overall, I think I did a good job on my feature article. But I do think I could have done better with the formatting. I also think that I could have done better with my “Health” page.

 

Here is my presentation:

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