Category Archives: 5th Grade

Capstone Blog Post #3

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Working on my final project was the hardest part of the Capstone process. In this blog post I will be telling you what went well with this phase and what I had a hard time with. 

Some parts of this phase in the Capstone process were really hard. Including writing my script. When I was writing my script, I took information from my Capstone note-taking slides and worded them so they sounded better. When I tried rewording the script though, my mind went completely blank. It was very hard. Eventually, after what felt like a year (it was really only a few days), my script was finished. 

The next step I needed to complete was to copy and paste everything into an organizer. Then, I had to figure out what pictures would be good for my script. I needed to find pictures that would match what I was saying. When I was talking about brass screws, I had to find a picture with brass screws. When I was talking about Derek Jeter, I had to find a picture of Derek Jeter. I did that until all of my pictures were found. Then it was time to move onto the next step.

Putting together the actual video wasn’t that hard. It was just very time-consuming. It wasn’t that hard because I just needed to say my script while recording. It was time-consuming because I had a very long script and it took a long time to find good pictures that were labeled for reuse. A lot of my pictures are blurry though because not many pictures available for reuse are of high quality. My process for putting together the video was to read my organizer to see what picture for that slide I needed. Then, I looked on the web for the photo I needed. I used the button to filter the search. I filter the search so that only photos labeled for reuse pop up. Then I tried to find a good, clear, high-quality photo. If I could find one like that, then I use that one. If I can’t find a photo like that, then I find the best photo I could find. After I find the photo, I save the photo. I go back onto the video tab and add an uploaded photo. I select the photo I want. Once I get the photo I want into that slide, I would look at my script organizer for what I was going to say. If the narration for that slide is short, then I memorize that sentence and record it. If the narration for that slide is long, then I copy and paste the text onto the video slide and record myself reading off of the screen. And then the slide would be done. I did that for over 50 slides and finally, after a couple of days, I was finished. 

Making the final video was easy and hard in different ways. I tried my best to make the best video I possibly could. In the end, I am proud of my video because I put a lot of thought and effort into it. I really enjoyed Capstone and I wish we could do it again.

Capstone Blog Post #2

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As we come close to finishing our Capstone research, we must find an interviewee to interview on our topic. The person we choose to interview has to be an expert in the topic. Originally, my grandpa reached out to Michael Loparo. He is the head of all retail at Yankee Stadium. It was getting close to the time our interviews had to be completed and he still hasn’t responded. I was getting nervous. So, my grandpa emailed someone else who knows people who are experts in Yankee Stadium. That guy got me in touch with Marty Appel. He is a baseball historian, author and worked at Yankee Stadium. He was happy to do the interview. He has done a lot with baseball so he probably knows a lot of information.

Now that I have someone to interview, we had to email back and forth to come up with a time that worked for both of us. After some emailing, we decided on Thursday, May 21st at 1:00. We were going to do it by phone call. Since I had someone to interview and a time, I started to get excited. Mr. Appel was going to provide me with information that will really help with my topic. I also started to get nervous. What was I going to say? Was he nice? I had all these questions about what was going to happen. The closer it came to the interview, the more excited I was and the more nervous I was. My stomach went from having ants to butterflies to birds to having giraffes. The last thing to enter my stomach was a blue whale. Eventually came interview time….

I picked up the phone and started dialing his number. Beep, Blorp, Bop. Finally, I got to the last number and the phone started ringing. “Hello, is this Ryan?” He said. I said “Yes.” I asked him if I could record the interview so I don’t miss any information. He said sure. That was the start of our conversation. He wanted me to tell him a little bit about myself. Then he asked why I chose this as my topic. Then the interview got started for real. I started asking him the questions. It was amazing how much he knew off the top of his head. He even answered some questions based on personal experience. He gave me a lot of useful facts and information. He was also very nice. Once we got that interview started I wasn’t nervous anymore. It felt like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders. These were the questions I asked in the interview:

  1. What foods were served at the old Yankee Stadium compared to the new stadium?
  2. What was the pricing of the foods in the old stadium compared to the new?
  3. What souvenirs and apparel were sold at the old stadium compared to the new?
  4. How does the size of the retail stores in the two stadiums compare?
  5. How does the pricing in the retail stores compare between the two stadiums?
  6. How many restaurants were in the old stadium?
  7. How many restaurants are in the new stadium?
  8. Which stadium took longer to build?
  9. Which stadium did people eat in more?
  10. Which stadium has more rules for fans?
  11. Which stadium allowed more behind the scenes tours of the stadium?
  12. In your opinion, which stadium was harder to work in?

When I finished the interview, I listened to the recording to see if I had missed any information. Only, there wasn’t any information. The problem was, my phone shut off in the middle of the call. 

Overall, I think that I learned a lot. I learned the cost of yearbooks. 15 dollars in the old stadium and 20 dollars in the new stadium. He told me that since the management is the same, the stadiums had the same amount of tours. I also learned that if I face my fears, good things can happen.

Capstone Blog Post #1

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Capstone is a very big project that matters a lot. So, I figured I needed to choose a topic that I will enjoy researching so I could do my best. So then, I started to brainstorm good topics. After a while, I had about four topics. I looked and looked through my list and my eyes landed on Yankee Stadium. I’m like Yes!!! This is perfect. So, I decided to use Yankee Stadium through the ages. The reason I chose Yankee Stadium is because I love the Yankees and I am interested in learning more about the history behind the stadiums. I thought if I enjoy my topic a lot, I can really work hard on the topic and have fun researching it. The challenging part about deciding on a topic was that we could only do one topic and I had a few that I really wanted to do. I figured that I would do my best doing Yankee Stadium. 

Then we had to start working on our main inquiry question. You may be wondering, what is a main inquiry question? A main inquiry question is what we will base our research on. When we got to that point I froze. I thought and thought and thought about my main inquiry question. Finally, I decided on Yankee Stadium through the years. Then, when we got to the sub-questions I realized I didn’t know what I was going to do. I loved my topic and I didn’t want to change it but I felt like it would be really hard to come up with answers. So I thought and thought and thought again and I decided on a topic that would be interesting but not too hard to research about. Comparing the two Yankee Stadiums. The main inquiry question I finally settled on is “What are the reasons behind building a new Yankee Stadium and what changes were made from the original” 

The next step in the process was to come up with five sub-questions. A sub-question is a question which we will research the answers to. The sub questions are questions within the main inquiry question. My sub-questions are:  “Why did they build a new Yankee Stadium?” “How does the size and capacity of the stadiums compare?” “Food served at the old stadium vs food served at the current one?” “ Are the stadiums built with the same material, why? If not, why?” “Does the new stadium have some things transferred from the old stadium?” I was really, really excited to research these answers. 

The next step was to start researching. We had to find websites that were reliable and had true facts. We had to choose at least five resources. They could be a book, website, database. Wikipedia I chose. I chose a baseball book that I have at my house, MLB.com, Turner construction company (the company that built Yankee Stadium) and I don’t know my last one yet. I went onto the websites and read the book and started writing in facts to answer the sub-questions. 

During the research phase, we also had to decide on a person to interview for your topic. I don’t know mine yet but I have some ideas on who I might interview. I am really excited about the rest of this project and I can’t wait to see where it will take us!!! I have learned about myself as a learner that if I don’t get frustrated my work will become even better.

MLK JR.

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Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1944 he graduated high school and enrolled in Morehouse College. In 1953 he married Coretta Scott. He led a bus boycott in 1955. In 1956 him and his brother’s houses were bombed. The U.S. Supreme Court desegregates Montgomery buses. In 1958, he was stabbed by Izola Ware Curry at a book signing. In 1960, he became a Co – Pastor with his father at the Ebenezer Baptist Church. When King Jr. became a Pastor, he used big words he heard from his father as a kid. During more bus boycotts, King was arrested and put in jail in 1963. In 1963 he also said his very, very famous speech called I have a dream. It was attended by 200,000 people. It was said on the steps of the Lincoln Monument in Washington, D.C. 1964 was the year that Congress passed the Civil Rights Act. There is no segregation in public and no discrimination in education and jobs. Also in 1964, he won the Nobel Peace Prize. In 1964 he published the book called Why we can’t wait. He also wen to India to study the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi. Some quotes he has said are, Hate Cannot drive out Hate; Only Love Can Do That. Darkness Cannot Drive Out Darkness; Only Light Can Do That. The time is always right to do what is right. In 1968, he was standing on the balcony of a motel in Memphis, then all of a sudden he was shot by James Earl Ray. Martin Luther King Jr. day is a day on the third Monday of January. It is a day in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. and all the great things he has done for this country. This is a structured timeline of his life:

 

 

Event Date Information
Born  January 15, 1929  Born in Atlanta, Georgia
Graduates High School 1944 Goes to Morehouse College
Graduates College 1948 Gets BA in Sociology at age 19
Gets Married 1953 Married Coretta Scott, they have four children
Leads Bus Boycott 1955 Does not want Segregated Montgomery Buses
MLK’s house is bombed 1956
No more Segregated buses 1956 U.S Supreme Court to desegregate Montgomery buses
Becomes Co-pastor with father 1960 Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta
Is arrested and put in jail 1963 During more Boycotts
I have a dream speech 1963 200,000 go to Famous speech
Congress passes Civil Rights act 1964 No segregation in public and no discrimination in education and jobs
Wins Nobel Peace Prize 1964
Writes book called Why we Can’t Wait 1964
Stabbed with a knife 1958 Izola Ware Curry stabbed him in the Chest
Assassination  1968 On a balcony of a motel, MLK is shot in Memphis

Launching and Graphing Rocket #2

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For the second rocket launch, I was very excited but also very nervous. I was nervous because I didn’t want a repeat of last time where our rocket didn’t go anywhere the first time. I wanted the rocket to shoot up on the first time we release for that number launch. That’s why my group worked hard on the rocket. Making every measurement precise. That little detail could make the difference form the rocket going two hundred feet and two feet. I was excited though because rocket launches are fun. Everyone sees the groups rockets go really high. 

 

The first group went then the second. Why can’t time go faster. “Finally” I said as the group before us just released their rocket. Soon I was standing a few feet away from the rocket ready to countdown. Then I began…. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Release. We watched in amazement as the rocket shot up like a real one. Everyone was cheering. They were all impressed. I definitely was.

 

Soon later it was time to graph the results, everyone in my group graphed one and we picked the best one. The final result was 131 feet. The other launch our result was 146 feet.

 

Our group agreed that the clinometer readings were a little off this time because some of us felt this one went higher than the first launch. We had different opinions. Overall we were pretty confident in this launch. Our group thinks we did well and our rocket went high. I certainly agree. 

Designing and Building Rocket #3

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Since this rocket is the last one we will do, everyone in my group wants it to go the highest out of all of them. The parents were coming and we wanted to make this our best work. To do this though, we will have to work really hard and not fool around.

 

 When our group started designing our first rocket on google drawing we didn’t know what to make and how to make the rocket, but now that we are on our final rocket, everyone in our group knows how to make one. It didn’t take long and once we were finished the rocket looked pretty good. We all decided on changing the rocket so the nose cone was taped on the outside of the rocket instead of on the inside.

 

The next step in the process was to start building. Our group’s final rocket colors were green and yellow. We decided to name the rocket, The Lemon-Lime Rocket. So someone wrote it on the side of the rocket. First we tried making the body. When it was finished, it was too big and thick, so we tried again and this time the body was good. The next thing for the rocket was the nose cone. After a few tries the nose cone was pointy and not too thick. Soon we taped the two together. Then it came time to make the fin design. Everyone sketched one out and we agreed to use the best one. After the fins were cut out on cardboard, we started hot gluing. Three people got to glue one fin fully on. One person glued the borders of each fin making sure they were on tight and wouldn’t fall off during the launch. 

 

We all felt confident in this rocket. We worked hard and gave our best effort. Hopefully the rocket will go just as high as we were hoping for. 

Designing and Building Rocket #2

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Designing rocket number 2 was no easier than designing rocket number 1. The hardest part was definitely agreeing and disagreeing with things. We made three rockets than voted on them. One kid didn’t care and everyone else voted. Of course, it was 1, 1 and 1.  So we had to do things differently. We ended up picking a skinny rocket, with 3 fins and a long nose cone. Everyone agreed. 

 

When we started building, things didn’t start out that good. The body was too wide. We started over and that one was a success. The fins were sketched out a few different times and we picked the best one and went with it. Our teacher cut them out and then it was time to make the nose cone. The first one wasn’t the best, we kept on making nose cones until someone in my group made a really good nose cone. We used that one. 

 

The next step was to hot glue and tape everything onto the rocket. Our group was gluing and taping a lot onto the rocket so the nose cone and the fins were on sturdy and tight. Nobody wanted the rocket to explode in mid air. 

 

Overall I think when our group got into arguments we didn’t do as well. When we all agreed and didn’t fight, we did very well. For the third rocket design, build and launch we have to agree for our rocket to go high.

Launching and Graphing Rocket #1

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The Rocket launch was super fun. I was just as excited as everyone else, if not more. I couldn’t wait to see all the rockets soaring through the sky higher than the birds. Well everyone’s rockets did except for my group. The nose cone blew clean off right when we released the rocket. Boy were we disappointed. All this hard work for a broken rocket. 

Just as everyone in my group (Including me) were dragging our body’s away, our teacher surprised us. She said we could run inside, rebuild our rocket, run back outside and launch again. So we did, running at top speed back to the classroom, built as fast as we could and them came running back out confident in the rocket that was in my hands.

 Before I knew it, we were counting down till launch. 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 release!!! We watched in amazement as our rocket went shooting up to the clouds.Going, going, gone, soon we could not see it, then the rocket came flying back down. Everyone in my group was super happy. The rocket went a lot higher than we thought. The nose cone landed in the ground and when a classmate pulled it out, the nose cone was all bent and ruined. But after what I just saw, a broken nose cone didn’t bother me one bit. 

When everyone got inside, each group had to make a graph of how high the rocket went. Our second launch went 146 feet high!!! I made a graph of our first launch. That one went 8 feet high. I used a ruler to get it exact but I kept messing up. With all the erasing marks the paper looked messy and hard to read, so I asked the teacher for another piece of paper and on my second try, I got it right. 

Our group got the third highest out of six groups. We were in the top three. When I got home I raced into the kitchen to tell my mom about it. I even showed her the video of the launch. She thought it was amazing. From what I saw, it was.

Designing and Building Rocket #1

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The first unit in science is rocketry. We were put into groups and we had to go through a process and eventually launch paper rockets that we made as teams. I have been looking forward to this unit all of last year. I just hope it goes well.

The first step for Rocketry is to research as much as you can on rockets. After that we had to  get with our groups and come up with a team name. Our group argued over a lot of different names. We finally settled on Blast Off!!! because everyone seemed to like that.

The next step in the process was to make an inspiration board on google drawing. We had to put facts, diagrams and quotes. My group got into a lot of arguments. One was over what quotes and facts we should put on. Another was on which diagrams to put on the google drawing. In the end my group agreed on certain things and were ready to print.

The step after that was to print out the images and facts from the google drawing and put them on a big poster board. We argued over how to put the pictures on the board and which pictures to print out in color. Other things we agreed with though like which pictures to print out. Eventually our poster board was finished and it looked great. We ended up in front of all the other groups.

When we completed the inspiration board our job was to now come up with our first rocket idea. 2 people came up with one idea while another kid and I came up with another idea. We couldn’t decide who’s to use. Eventually we all voted on which one to keep and 3 people voted for one idea and 1 person came up with another. So we used the one the other kid and I came up with.

The building step was fun but hard. We learned how to make a nose cone with just one piece of paper!! Our group made a long nose cone thinking it would be better than making a small or medium sized one.  For the fins we decided to go with four because we thought the balance would be better than three. We wanted the skinny PVC pipe for more concentrated air flow. We went with a skinnier body. Then the rocket will fit over the pipe. The rocket will shoot up. Of course as usual our group got into a lot more arguments. One was what colors for the rocket we should put on. I came up with an idea where the first launch two people get what they want and the second the other two people get what they want. Some people in our group didn’t like that idea. Finally everyone agreed on certain colors. The second argument was on how much tape should go on the nose cone. Everyone finally agreed on putting a lot of tape but not going over the top with it. The reason that’s what we did was because we wanted the rocket’s nose cone to be sturdy and not fly off. We didn’t put too much tape on because the tape might have weighed the rocket down, the rocket wouldn’t of went as high.

The building and designing was fun but hard. I learned a lot about how to make and put together a paper rocket. Now we just have to see how our rocket does when we launch.