Archive of ‘Social Studies’ category

Capstone Blog Post #3

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!

Here’s my TED talk video:

Capstone Blog Post #2

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.

Capstone Blog Post #1

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.

20 Facts On The Boston Tea Party

  1. It took place on December 16, 1773.
  2. It was a protest by the American Colonists against the British in regards to the tea taxes that had been imposed on them.
  3. This protest involved throwing chests of tea from three British trade ships into the Boston Harbor.
  4. The colonist group, the Sons of Liberty, organized the Boston Tea Party to protest the Tea Tax created by the British.
  5. The import tax on tea imposed through the Tea Act was actually lower than what the colonists had already been paying.
  6. John Crane was the only “tea parier” man harmed in the Boston Tea Party.
  7. American colonists consume 2 to 3 cups of tea each day.
  8. It took place a few years after the Boston Massacre.
  9. The three ships in the Boston Harbor that were raided in the Boston Tea Party included the Dartmouth Ship, the Eleanor Ship, and the Beaver Ship.
  10. The fourth ship, the William, ran aground in a storm off Cape Cod and never made it to the Boston Harbor.
  11. The Dartmouth Ship was carrying 114 chests of tea.
  12. The 342 chests of tea would have made approximately 19 million cups of tea.
  13. All 342 chests of tea were dumped into the Boston Harbor in the protest, destroying all of it.
  14. The chests of tea on the three ships included 240 chests of cheap black tea, 32 chests of superior cheap back tea, 10 chests of superior black tea, and 60 chests of green tea.
  15. The Tea that was marketed in America, was sold by shipment dealers selected by the East India Trading Company.
  16. Most of the tea from the East India Trading Company was actually from China.
  17. The Boston Tea Party monitored another pre-Revolutionary occasion called the Boston Massacre that occurred on March 5, 1770.
  18. 90% of the tea drank in the colonies was smuggled in.
  19. The new import tax on tea of 3 pence was considerably less than the previous one.
  20. Only ships owned by the East India Company could carry tea.

Practice Ignite

In this blog post, I’m going to be talking about my Ignite. What is an Ignite? An Ignite is a five minute presentation on a topic. And think about it as a story. You would tell a story on, let’s say, gymnastics, if you like gymnastics. My presentation is one minute and forty five seconds long. I was given the choice to do whatever topic I want. So I chose Greek Mythology. I think doing an Ignite is fun, except presenting it. I always get nervous. This is a practice Ignite, because after this Ignite, I’m going to do an official one on Colonial America, but that’s later. In the process, I wrote stuff in a script, and then, after that, made a slideshow with pictures, no words. It’s because I’m going to be talking, so if I put words on the slideshow, then the audience would focus on the words, and not me. In the speaker notes, I put in my script for each slide. In total, there are seven sides, and an eighth slide that says “Time is up!” There’s an eighth slide that says “Time Is Up”, so that you wouldn’t keep talking. Each slide would stay up for fifteen seconds, so I would have to talk for fifteen seconds. Originally, there’s supposed to be twenty six slides. In the script, there are four sections: time, picture, slides, and words. In the beginning of the project, I was super nervous. But now, I’m mostly not nervous, except on the part that I have to present it to twenty three people, plus, their parents. But I love doing this project because it’s super fun and exciting. Mr. Casal kept on teaching me what to do, so that’s how I got to here.

Cultural Universals

Cultural Universals is Politics, Cultural Arts, Beliefs, Social Aspects and

The leader of my house is my mom and dad. Most of our rules are for safety. For example, don’t open the door if someone knocks and I don’t know them and a grown-up isn’t home. Also, we don’t pick-up phone calls if we don’t know the number. My dad works at a insurance company. We have a TOYOTA van and a BMW. My family celebrates Chinese New Year and Christmas. Every time it’s Chinese New Year, my brother and I both get $100. I am Asnic Chinese. The sports I do are Martial Arts, swimming, tennis, softball and basketball. I play the piano. I want to play the viola or the cello. My school is Heathcote. We have about 30 hours a week.

I chose these land marks on the map because they are part of my life. I live in Scarsdale. My mom sometimes goes to Lord & Taylor to shop for clothes. My mom and I sometimes go to Balducci’s to get a sandwich. Sometimes I go to the Crossway to play tennis. My school is Heathcote and it’s located on Palmer Ave. One time, I went to the Greenburgh Nature Center. My brother is going to go to the Scarsdale High School soon.