Now, we’re on the final part: making our presentation. For me, it’s pretty simple considering I just have to make a slideshow with pictures and a few words. But some people are making movies/videos from iMovie, WeVideo, and Adobe Spark.
Answering my main inquiry question was not that hard, but not that easy. Making my script was nerve-wracking. I asked my mom for help on reducing my script, but she helped me get more information. I was scared that my script would end up longer than five minutes, because that’s the maximum time your presentation can be, but it was three minutes and thirty seconds! I was pretty surprised because my script was pretty long.
Overall, I think Capstone was a really good experience for me because I got to interview people, I got to work with deadlines, and it was just fun!
Yesterday, on June the second, I had my Capstone interview. I interviewed the EPA Regional Energy Star coordinator, Juan Gutierrez. I was super nervous because I was afraid that I would mess up, and also because I was interviewing an EPA coordinator, and he’s a professional! But at the end, the interview ended up well.
Around fifteen minutes before the interview, I talked with my mom, and she gave me some tips. For instance, if your interviewee stops talking for a second, don’t hurry on to the next question. They are willing to give you information, just ask them if they are done talking.
When the interview started, I was a bit nervous and scared. A few minutes before, I was so nervous and pacing around a lot.
At the end, I was so much happier. I was late on the deadline for the interview, and was super nervous that I might not get enough information. But it was a great experience for me, and I definitely enjoyed it.
My grade is starting a project called Capstone. Capstone is where you find a topic, and answer a question about it. You have to make a presentation and present it to people. My topic is global warming, and my main inquiry question is “What is the economic effectiveness of planting trees to reduce global warming and how can it be made more effective?”, and I want to try and find information to answer that question.
I think what was helpful while choosing my question was my teacher. She helped us by making a Zoom meeting for us, and had a Google Doc made for us so that we could find our interests and then she would guide us even more. I am very grateful for that.
I was a little stressed about what my teacher would think about my Google Doc questions, and I was a little scared that my teacher would be disappointed in how my questions were formed. But I forgot that my teacher’s motto was “No Stress”. And at the Zoom meeting, it actually took about 8-10 minutes! I thought it would take about half an hour!
Capstone seems like a very fun project, and I looked forward to it ever since I knew about it. In fourth grade, we got to see the fifth graders’ presentations. It was really interesting, and got me even more excited for Capstone. But now, I realize how much work it is to do the work. That’s what I always realize when I start working on stuff.
I think that Capstone is really fun, and that I’m really happy that my school has this project.