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.

 

       

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: