Yesterday we presented our Ignites to our parents and I think it went well. Everybody remembered their lines and barely anyone used note cards. I went fifteenth. My strength was one of improvisation. If I forgot the script or went too fast or slow in one part I would cut a line out of what I would say or think of a line on the spot. But the weakness was sticking to the script since I had to make up all these things.
On Friday we went to the Weinburg Nature Center. We were there to learn about ecosystems. It was a little boring since the guy was talking for 30 minutes, then he would let us pet the animals for five minutes, then keep on talking. My favorite part was petting the animals because the guy would stop talking and we got to pet animals. I will probably not change anything in my life because I don’t litter at all. The bus ride home was bumpy but short. We got to eat lunch there, and after we got to school we got to have our recess.
I am thinking about the outcome of the American Revolution if the Americans lost the Battle of Saratoga since we just read about it in King George: What Was His Problem? and if there would be the North American Republic or something like that. Or we might be in the British Commonwealth and probably would not have Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and south California since the Mexican-American War would not have happened and the Spanish-American War might not have happened so Puerto Rico would be Spanish instead of American.
So would we be an empire spanning across North America? Or would we be the independent colonies all being their own country, and the North American continent being divided? It’s all kind of a big thing to wonder about.
This is a political cartoon about the Boston Tea Party.
I made this as a part of the American Revolution unit, and I chose to do the cartoon about the Boston Tea Party because it was easy to make funny. The point of view is a Loyalist and the deeper meaning is that the Patriots are not very smart but you can look as it as a joke too. You might need to zoom in a little but the guy is telling the other that this is New York, not Boston.
My political cartoon about the Boston Tea Party.
We began researching the American Revolution, and what I am most interested in learning about is the Battle of Bunker Hill. The reason I want to know more is because I don’t know who REALLY got the victory there. I mean, I know the Americans inflicted 1,000 casualties but the British took the fort. But the British would say they won since they took the fort but the Americans might argue that they had less casualties, and if I know more I can decide for myself who won.
We made posters for our colonies, to promote our colonies in Europe. While making this poster I learned that people in Europe would probably be poor and looking for somewhere to go. And when we were building the actual colonies I learned that the landscape makes a much bigger impact on the colony than I thought it would, since we also needed to make sure our colony was able to get water and food (But since we were New England we could just make a port since lots of their food was imported).
My poster connects to my colony since in New England lots of people were looking for a new start, and my poster said “A New Start in New England” on the top. And since New England trades a TON, the bottom says “Jamesville: The Trader’s Dream”. Plus, as you can see the photo looks old-timey.
Today we finished Wonder and what stayed with me is when Auggie’s mom says “You are a wonder.” This just holds on to me because it is just beautiful and kind. What also stayed with me is when Auggie won the Henry Ward Beecher prize because it was so nice, everyone applauding and cheering. It was a great read, the last part. I really enjoyed reading Wonder and it’s a great book in the whole.
We read the book Wish in class and Ms. Volpi told us to write a blog post about what we think Charlie’s wish should be, after we finish our Biblionasium log reflections. So here’s my idea.
I think that the best possibility is that Charlie is wishing for a true family. If you think about it, Charlie’s family back in Raleigh didn’t give her much of a proper family experience, so she’s wishing when she get’s back or if she has to stay, she will get a family who gives her the best “family experience”.
Another possibility is that Charlie is wishing to go back to Raleigh because she has all these friends there. Because in the beginning of the book Charlie was talking to her friend, and her friend was saying that she’d hate it with all those country people (she called them “hillbillies” but apparently it’s offensive so I’m going to try to not use it).
My last theory is that she is wishing for a friend after moving because inside she knows she might never get back to Raleigh so she is hoping there will be someone who is fun so she can have a good time.
I made an infographic about John Cabot for a Social Studies project. He was an English Explorer, although that’s not where he was from.
Here it is…
Today we went to the Teatown Lake Reserve. My favorite part about it was doing this activity in a sandbox where we would make a land formation (such as a ridge) and see what would happen if it rained. And also, there was a color scale for on how high or low it is. It was my favorite part because it was like a game and I like games a lot.
I learned that land affects how deep water is. For example, if the area around a lake is eroded and sloped towards the lake the lake can get deeper and bigger. But if it’s sloped away from the lake then it probably won’t get bigger. I also learned that the more vegetation there is the less dirty the water will be.
I suggest that they switch lakes. Because in Croft Pond, in my group there was not much we got to talk about (especially since it was man-made) but I bet in the other ponds there was more vegetation and animals.