My Capstone Experience

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Have you ever done a big project with multiple phases? If you have, you probably know what it is like. There are many phases when doing a project. The phases are research, essay, script, final project. I think the script was the hardest because you really had to chop a lot down from your essay. I think the essay was the easiest because all you had to do was take your research and put it into sentences. What do you think was the hardest and easiest phase of your project? 

Finding research for me was not hard because there were multiple articles on how social media is bad for you. Although there were a lot of articles, some were not useful and I really had to dig deep to find articles that would help me answer my sub question. I thought the amount of hours teens spend a day on social media was very surprising because I knew teens spend hours a day on social media but I did not think that much. I had to do so much research to answer all my sub questions but it ended up turning out alright even though at first I was nervous to not find enough research. Have you ever felt that way? 

I personally think the essay was overall pretty easy because you basically just had to take all your research and make sentences. I also had to answer my main inquiry question. It was how does social media negatively impacts teen mental health and what can we do to solve these problems. Although most of the essay was enjoyable, making the sentences was sometimes challenging because you are taking words and phrases and making them into sentences but you have to add some words to make the sentences make sense. You can view my Capstone essay Here.

Choosing between a movie and Ted Talk was so difficult because I wanted to do both. Eventually I chose a movie over Ted Talk because I love making movies and I thought memorizing a script was gonna be hard but when you do a movie the most challenging part would be finding images. Finding images was hard because you had to use what WeVideo had. WeVideo had a lot but I tried to get really specific photos to what I was saying. Making the script was hard because I had this big essay and then I had to chop so much down and pick what to say in my video. I chose the best information to say in my video but I still have so much more to say. Although it was enjoyable because it did not take too long and even though I had so much information to use, that was good because I did not need to find more information. Also, on the actual day of CapCon I did not have to be stressed about forgetting what to say. In a movie you do not have to memorize your script but in Ted Talk you have too. Overall I am glad I choose a movie and I think it was the right choice. You can view my script template here.

Making the final project was overall easy and hard. The first thing that I did was I recorded a rough draft audio just for time and I matched the images to it. It was really hard to find images because you had to use what WeVideo had or you could use Public Domain images from Google but there was rarely any good pictures. What was challenging was after that I went to do my final recording and it did not match the images at all. So, I just deleted the whole thing and restarted all my images. That was pretty annoying but it was just easier than adjusting all the pictures. After that my video was done! I just added music and made sure it sounded good. It took me hours and hours in order to perfect my project but now I love the way it turned out! 

In conclusion, I mostly enjoyed making the project even if there were some hard parts. I am really happy how the movie turned out!  I made a print out as well if you would like to print it view it here. Or you could view it online here.

 

Immigration Video Reflection

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Making the video was hard but fun at the same time. It was hard because it took a lot of time and we wanted it to be perfect but it was fun because we got to gather images and just learn a lot about the experience our interviewee had.

When we made the video we first had to make a narrative. Making the narrative was the most challenging part because after that we basically just copied and pasted it in the script. When we made the narrative we had to think of how we wanted to word sentences and how to describe what our interviewee said. Even Though some parts were challenging making it was still enjoyable, what was enjoyable was putting the photos in WeVideo because it was not too hard and it was interesting looking at what my great-grandma looked like when she was younger and her life when she was younger.  After we made the narrative we had to copy and paste it into the script with the time. We copied about one or two sentences per picture. We had to gather many pictures because we did not want someone looking at the picture for more than about six seconds. We were able to use photos that WeVideo had. That is the process of the video that we did.

I learned a lot when doing this project. One thing I learned is how to conduct an interview. I learned that you have to ask follow-up questions because you want as much information as possible out of one question, and it is good to record an interview because people talk faster than you can write or type. Another thing I learned while doing this project is how to create the video on WeVideo. I learned how to upload the photos from my drive, how to really make the video look professional with all the effects you can do, and that making videos take time, for example, you normally should re-record your narrative many times before using the right one.

In conclusion, making the immigration project was such a fun and interesting experience and would love to do it again. The project was challenging and enjoyable. Those are the reasons why I loved the project.

Immigration Interview Reflection

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Have you ever immigrated? The immigration project was really interesting because I got to learn about a topic I have never really talked about. I had to come up with questions then I sat down and asked the questions and I had a conversation about it. Overall, I would love to do the project again. Do you know anybody that immigrated?

When I found out about the immigration project I immediately started to think of who I wanted to interview. I had a couple people in mind so I chose the person who I thought had a really interesting story and background, which was my great-grandma. Then we had to come up with questions to ask. It was hard to come up with so many questions because I knew the answer to most of them already so I had to come up with new ones. My teacher had a sheet of examples of questions so that really helped me think of more. I had fifteen questions to ask and those questions really helped me come up with the story. That is how I prepared for the interview.

Conducting an interview was really a cool experience. My interview was in person and I had my chromebook with all the questions on it. When she would answer the question I would follow it up with follow up questions to make a conversation out of it. It was really amusing to learn and talk about her experience. The most impressive thing to learn about was why she wanted to immigrate to the US. The interview went as expected. We got to really have a conversation about it. One thing I learned about conducting an interview is you need follow up questions to make a conversation out of the question and that also you have to be open to learning new things. That is how my interview went.

In conclusion, preparing for the interview and conducting an interview was fun and interesting. I would like to do this project again anytime. Do you know anybody that immigrated?

Crazy Curling

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Have you ever gone curling? Curling is a sport started in Scotland but then became popular in America. My class went to the Ardsley Curling Club as a field trip, it was really fun. When I went curling it was harder and easier on the ice than in the gym with no ice. But then the gym was also easier in some ways and harder in other ways. I am going to tell you my experience and why I thought the curling club was harder and different in some ways.

In school and in the curling club were different. They were both easy and hard. What was easy about the school curling was there was no ice so it was not slippery. Also, the stones were lighter and were easier to deliver. Lastly, was because we did not have to do any sweeping and sweeping definitely requires a lot of strength in my opinion. Then also curling at the curling club was easy too. It was easy because there was a stabilizer for our feet and when we deliver the stone so we don’t slip or fall. Another example why it was easy is because even though the ice was slippery the stones glided nicely on the ice. Lastly was because sweeping is tiring but it definitely helps get the stone into the house making friction on the ice. That is what I thought about what was easy curling in the school gym and curling at the curling club.

When we were curling in school and at the curling club it was different, hard and easy. What was hard in school was there was no stabilizer so it was harder to balance. You needed more force because it’s not ice so the stones don’t glide as well. I remember falling down when I was delivering the stone and I was thinking oh no there goes my legs as I’m falling down! Other than that school curling was easier in my opinion. Then what was hard about the curling club was it was on ice so we kind of kept slipping. Also, we had to sweep even though it helped. It was really tiring. Lastly, the stones were heavier so they were harder to deliver. Since we all mostly struggled with the same parts, my friends really encouraged me and said “ you got this” or “ you’re doing great!” That is what I thought was hard about curling in school and curling at the club.

Overall, that is what I think was hard and easy about the curling club and curling in school. They were different in many ways and both were super fun. I would love to go back to the curling club some day and it was overall a great experience. Even Though some parts were hard I still enjoyed it. 

 

Feature Article Reflection

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Have you ever made a feature article? Making a feature article was definitely harder than I thought it would be. My topic is about dance. It was hard to make because a lot of thought had to come into making it but I definitely think it came out well.

When we started talking about making the feature article we had to come up with a topic and a message we wanted to communicate to the reader. When we were coming up with a topic we had to do one that we know a lot about. We didn’t really do any research about our topic. When I was little, I did dance which helped me learn a ton about it now. When I was little, I did so much dance which helped me learn plenty about it. Then, we had to pick a message we wanted to communicate to the reader. A lot of people think dance is actually really easy and they can wear whatever they want and just dance. But, that’s really not all you do. So I wanted to tell the reader dance is not that easy. That is how I came up with my topic and message. 

Writing a feature article is similar to writing a personal narrative but also so different. Writing a personal narrative is a much shorter process than writing a feature article. There is normally no formatting you have to do and you don’t really need pictures, fun facts, and vocabulary boxes. That is mostly the difference between a feature article and writing a personal narrative.

Although making the feature articles was super fun to make, there were some challenging parts of making it. One thing that was hard was formatting it. We had to find the right size pictures and have everything consistent. All the sizes had to be the same, fonts, and colors. Another thing that was challenging about creating the feature article was deciding what made sense to include in each sentence. Also what was challenging was coming up with the title, subtitle, and section headings. The section headings had to make sense on what we are gonna talk about. The title has to be catchy and fun but also make sense. The subtitle had to explain the title a little more but it was still super short. Like I said it was challenging but it was also super fun to make. One thing that I enjoyed was adding the pictures and even though I said formatting was hard it was also super enjoyable. I thought it was enjoyable because we kind of just got to play around with it and see what works and what doesn’t. Lastly, what was enjoyable was making the fun facts box because I knew a lot about dance but I even learned more because I searched for some fun and interesting facts about dance. That is what I enjoyed and what I thought was challenging about creating the feature article.

I used a bunch of interesting techniques to make my feature article more interesting. One thing I used a lot was a vocabulary box. I also used a fun facts box once just to give some more information. I also put a ton of pictures because it is hard to describe some sections. So, I thought the pictures would help describe what I am talking about. I also named the sections what it is about to talk about and for the title we choose a catchy title. On the top and bottom of the page I put a strip of purple to add some more color to the page. For the vocabulary boxes and the fun facts boxes I did a darker purple and white writing, just so the reader would know it is a text feature, and not part of the article. I am also very proud of how my feature article came out but there is one thing I am particularly proud of. I am proud of how the formatting came out because In the beginning the format looked pretty bad but I played around with it a lot and it looks really good now. Before I started to play around with it I duplicated the slide so I will still have the original slide. That is what techniques I used and what I am proud of. That is my reflection of the feature article and now that it is done I am really happy on how it turned out.

Happy Halloween!

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 BOO! Did you know Halloween came from the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain?  If you did not now you know. That’s what I will be telling you about. I will tell you how I celebrated it in school and at home.

This year’s Halloween was super fun in school and out of school. In school we had a 5th grade Halloween party and a parade. At the Halloween party my favorite things were the DJ. I loved the DJ because they played good songs and it was fun dancing with my friends. Secondly I loved the spider candy and the gummy bears. They tasted so good,Yum! Last but not least the chicken costume was my favorite. I loved it because I thought it was super funny and made everyone laugh. Then there was also a parade. It was super fun because all the parents got to see our costumes. Additionally, it was fun walking around the parking lot listening to the music they played ghost-busters and it was really fun. We all were just having fun. Then we took a grade photo at the end.

Trick or treat! I also celebrated at home. I went trick or treating and when I came home me and my sister counted our candy. I went trick or treating with my friends. I saw a bunch of them too. I got soo much candy. I enjoyed seeing everybody’s Halloween decorations at their home. Lastly, I thought all the different costumes were so amazing and cool. When I got home me and my sister got so much candy I even got some full sized candy bars. It literally looked like we both had thousands of candys.I did not count though I basically had too much candy to count!

I had an awesome Halloween at school and at home and I am looking forward to more Halloween experiences. Did you enjoy Halloween? How did you enjoy it? 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Crazy Course

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 Imagine hanging upside down on the rope falling off the beams walking on the wires holding on to your dear life and then bam! You fall and get a big rope burn well, that’s Bedford Ropes course. That was one of my 5th grade field trips, we went to the Bedford Ropes Trip. I really liked it because there were five challenge courses which were really fun. We really got to work on our teamwork and encouragement. I also learned about my classmates and friends. Even myself. We encouraged each other and helped each other. 

There were five challenge courses and I loved all of them but if I had to pick my three favorites these would be the Indiana Jones (beams,swings,wires), Rope Swing, and Lava island. I really enjoyed the Indiana Jones challenge course because it was a mix of all the elements.I also really liked that challenge because I think it was definitely hard but also fun. My favorite part of it was walking across the beams. It was hard but we never gave up. Although it was not a teamwork course those who finished helped guide our teammates across and encouraged them to finish if they were having trouble on the wires we were lying down on it and i was like “omg, hold on tight!” Another challenge that was one of my favorites was the rope swing. I really liked it because it was fun to be able to experience swinging on the rope and I also learned a lot of teamwork on this one because in order to do this we need to know teamwork. When someone was on the rope we were like “ Hold on, don’t fall down the cliff!” When you were on the swing underneath you were the fake cliff. Last but not least was the lava Island,I liked that course because it was fun getting to know each other and working together. We were encouraging each other and yelling “you got this,pass the block to me!” There were three blocks and we needed to get everyone to the third block with a long wooden stick! I was thinking “ we got this” Those were the challenge courses I enjoyed most.

Mostly me and my teammates encourage each other but I also learned about my teamwork,classmates,and myself. One aspect about myself is that I don’t have to do everything by myself and it’s ok to need help because you are never really gonna do something all by yourself. I also learned about my classmate,Mary. I learned that Mary is really good at encouraging somebody else. I also learned she is really good at the courses when I was having trouble on the course she would yell to be “you got this!” At that time I was thinking to myself that I can do it. Then The last thing I learned was about teamwork. I learned that if you argue it takes up time don’t argue, agree on something and stick with it. I also learned that you should encourage others; they will really appreciate it especially if it’s not from a close friend. That is what I learned and I am looking forward to learning more on other field trips.

Those were my favorite courses. I learned a lot from that field trip and so did my classmates.I learned about myself,classmates, and teamwork. I think that field trip was very fun for me and I would love to go back someday. Would you want to go there? What was your experience? Was it good?

 

 

Home of The Brave Reflection

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In the novel Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate I have windows with the main character, Kek. He is a young boy from Sudan. Due to war in his village, he is a refugee seeking safety in America. But he is alone. His mom is missing and the rest of his family got killed. One window is Getting used to new technology and the way things work in America are hard, that is a window for me. Another window for me is Living in a refugee camp is very difficult.

The first window for me is Getting used to new technology and the way things work in America are hard. That is a window for me because I never had to get used to new technology. For example Kek did not know how to work a TV when he first came to the US and he thought it was a super cool invention because he never saw something like that before he came to the US. Another example is Kek did not know how to work the washing machine. He put dishes in the washing machine and then they all broke because Kek thought dishes were supposed to go into the washing machine, not clothes. He put the dishes in the washing machine because he wanted to help out in the house.

The second window for me is feeling lonely and missing his family because he came to the US by himself. I have never been to another place without my parents so I have never experienced what Kek did. For example Kek had to move to the US all by himself with nobody. He had to move to his cousin and his ants house. They were not always home a lot so he was lonely most of the time. Another example is since he had to move to the US by himself he misses his parents and his family. He lives with his cousin and aunt but he still misses his actual parents. Kek is still trying to stay hopeful that his mom is alive.

Wow! This makes me think that Kek’s life is challenging and pretty hard but he deals with it pretty well. Reading this book taught me a lot. It taught me what living in a refugee camp is like and what challenges people in the world are facing. 

 

Identity Map Reflection

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I loved making the identity maps because I liked how we got to express ourselves. The three things that probably express me the most are dancer, basketball player, and tennis player. I also learned about my tablemates’ identity.

 The first thing I chose to share about myself was I love to play basketball. Last year I was on a team called The Sharks. Also on the sharks I played competitively. I also play basketball for my school each year. I enjoy watching basketball. I think it’s very interesting. Playing tennis is also one of my favorite things to do. I play tennis once a week. I think tennis is a very fun sport to play. I also love to watch matches. I have been playing tennis for a while.

At our table we shared our identity maps together and I learned so much about my table mates. I loved hearing what they had to share.I also have connections with them and what they shared about themselves. For instance, my connection with Dowlat is that he likes vanilla and chocolate ice cream, I also love it so much. He said he likes how much flavor it has. He and I both also like hamburgers. He also likes kabab on his hamburgers. Mary said she loves Taylor Swift and I also love her music a lot which means we are both swifties. We both enjoy traveling too. I travel so much we both have been traveling since we were little. Jason said he loves playing basketball and so do I! We both have been playing for a while. I said before. Jason is also Jewish and I am Jewish too. That’s what I learned from my table mates.

What did you learn? I thought it was very interesting to learn about my table mates identity. I learned some important parts about who they are that I thought I would never know.  I hope you enjoyed everything I said about what I learned and shared about myself. I think it was very interesting to learn about my table mates. I loved to share my identity map with my table mates .

First Week Of School

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“Beep”,”Beep”, my alarm clock is going off! I realize its the first day of school! I have butterflies in my stomach and have a lump in my throat. Im so nervous and excited to meet my teacher! I enjoyed the first week so far but also looking          forward to so much!  I enjoyed the identity map, letter to my future self, and how we get a choice on where we can sit at lunch. I am also looking forward to the volleyball game, Bedford Ropes course, and hot dog field day.  There were many things about the first week of school that I liked. I enjoyed making my identity map because I liked how I got to express myself and really show who we are. Also, it was really fun to sketch and draw out the pictures. Finally, I definitely know more about my classmates now that I also have looked at their identity maps. I also enjoyed writing a letter to my future self because I think it will be cool to see how we changed over the year. Also we can see if we enjoyed the things we were looking forward to because in the letter we added what we are looking forward to in the letter.To add on, it will be fun to have a letter to open before we go to middle school. Finally I enjoy how we get to sit with our friends from the other class because I’m not in the same class as some of my friends and we have a great relationship so it’s nice to still chat with them so it’s nice to sit with them at lunch. Also we don’t talk that much anymore so we can catch up at lunch and tell eachother everything that has happened. Finally I miss being in the same class but at lunch It feels like we are in the same class again because we did not have that opportunity last year. Those are the things I enjoyed about fifth grade so far and can’t wait for the things ahead.

 There are many things I’m looking forward to this year. One example is the Hot Dog Field day. I’m excited because I like hot dogs and playing games. I think playing games and having lunch outdoors will be a fun opportunity before middle school. Also I think being outside for the day is gonna be fun because I love being outside and playing with my friends or classmates. Finally, we get to spend time with our friends before middle school. In middle school we all won’t be in the same house so you are not with your friends as much as you are in elementary school. I also am excited for Bedford ropes course because I love climbing and I have done it before.I have not been to Bedford but I have been to Boundless which is like Bedford because you go climbing on ropes courses. Also field trips are super fun and cool because you get to explore a lot and its with your teacher and friends so it’s extra fun. To add on I have done many ropes courses before but not bedford but places like bedford. Also school can super stressful so its fun to go somewhere else for the day. Finally i am excited for the volleyball game because i have never tried volleyball but i want to because I have watched volleyball and it looks super fun. Also volleyball is a sport where you have to work together and its good to practice cooperation . Finally It’s cool to watch it because sometimes people do really cool moves or sneaky moves. Thats what im looking forward to what are you looking forward to?

I hope you enjoyed everything I wrote! As you can see, I really enjoyed my identity map, letter to my future self, and free choice sit. Also as you can see I am excited for the volleyball game, hot dog field day, and bedford ropes course. If you could tell me one thing your excited for what would it be? What are you excited for?