Vote For Me

If you want a more relaxing and fun environment  then think like the champions and vote for Spencer! Hi I’m Spencer and I would like to let you know that the difference between you and a better you is time management. This is one of the many changes I would love to make in this classroom that I believe can get you to the next level.

Firstly, as a fifth grader I’ve struggled heavily doing certain things for long periods of time. This causes me to say that in my opinion and something I think as a class we need is the ability to take breaks. In my opinion this helps us as students work on not only expressing our needs, but also doing what best. To me, taking a five minute break results in a better version of you, coming back into the classroom. I believe a way we can make this happen is having a section near the class library facing away from everything else.

Another change I think we need in this classroom is to improve our time management. I think this is a skill we need to work on as class because we as 5th graders will need it later. I think having weekly homework that’s due Friday can help us work on our time managing skills. I also think that we should get the time which can be our quiet time or independent time to plan out a schedule on when we can do our homework.

Now that you’ve heard about the positive change that can make our class a better place. What are you waiting for? So, think like the champions and vote for Spencer.

Board of Legislators Reflection

As we sit down in the conference room the guide says in a firm and serious voice. “This is what it’s like to be a legislator.” “Now look down at your sheet and decide, what do you think?” This was one of my favorite parts of the trip as it put me in a deep thought. In addition I also learned a lot of new things that were very interesting and surprising.

Last Friday we had a field trip that while I had mixed opinions on it, there also were moments that I really enjoyed. So, firstly something I enjoyed was when in the conference room the guide had us vote on laws. I really enjoyed this due to the fact that I felt like I had a role in the voting process. This also made me think hard about the opinion I believed in. Another thing I liked, which was also in the conference room, was when we had to estimate things like the amount of legislators and the populations of Scarsdale and Westchester. Just like the voting it made me think hard about my opinion. Another thing I like about estimation is how 90 percent of the time you are shocked about how off your guesses are. I thought the population of Scarsdale was 60,000 and then later realized that my guess was three times the actual answer. Lastly, the bus ride. This might be a shocker towards the end of the trip. I really needed a break and the bus ride did just the job. Secondly the bus ride is also great for people like me with small attention spans because it’s not required at all. Something I remember from the bus ride was playing a game about my knowledge on Soccer players. For me this was a huge reset from all the information I had to take in. 

But I will not take away the fact that the information I had to take in was very interesting and surprising. So here’s three facts I learned on this trip that really met my eye.

Firstly, one thing I learned is that there are 17 districts in Westchester and mine is the fifth. This kind of shocked me due to my district sort of being my world. So the fact that there were 16 other districts really shocked me. Another shocker was the fact that my district is one of the smaller districts. I remember hearing 20,000 after guessing 60,000 and my mouth was wide open. Following that another number that shocked me was that the population of yonkers is over 10 times the population in Scarsdale. This also puts into perspective how big westchester is and makes me really think. But lastly something that shocked me the most was when the legislator told our class. Someone in our district’s high school recommended a law that took action in real life. To me this was diabolical and made me really want to take action myself. This also made me think I could do this myself even though I know I couldn’t.

In conclusion, this was a great field trip that had many interesting and mind blowing facts that really made me think. But, I ask you, do you think you can create a law? How far do you think the law will go?

My First Weeks of School

 

Before the first week of 5th grade I always thought it was nothing more the year before sixth. But, little did I know 5th grade was much more than that. From what’s now in the past to what is coming up. 5th grade is in its own category.

After a very long yet very short first week of school. Something that I enjoyed was the math puzzle that was introduced on the second day of school. One reason I enjoyed this so much was because it challenged me to really think outside the box. Secondly why I enjoyed this was because It really challenged me as a whole and wasn’t something that took me five minutes. It was so fun that once I finally completed it. I asked if there was going to be another puzzle. Secondly, a special that I really enjoy is art. What I love about art is because it’s like the math puzzle. This is because it pushes you to think outside of the box. Another reason  I like art is it is very calm and relaxing and does not require most of what subjects and specials require. Thirdly, a social activity I really enjoy is recess. Firstly it allows me to spend time with all my friends, and  secondly I get my energy out during recess. For me recess is a period I need in the day. As exciting as the first week of 5th grade has been the best part about it is there’s so much more to come.

One thing that really meets the eye that’s more towards the end of the year is capstone. For me, experiencing things just like capstone makes it seem even better because the topic has basically no limits. Which seems really cool. While from last year I’ve learned the ups and downs about projects like these I’m really excited to see how mine turns out. Secondly 5th grade math seems like a blast. After barely over a week, things like the four fours challenge and of course the math puzzle Make me think I’m in for a good year. Lastly and best for last, the volleyball game. For someone like me who’s been here since kindergarten, I’ve always been excited for this moment.

In conclusion, one week has told me that this year is much more than the year before sixth. Now I ask you, what do you think 5th grade is? Because I’m sure excited to find out.

American revolution blog post

After finally finishing this social studies project I don’t even know where to begin. So to hop straight into it I’ll begin where I started and that was choosing my topic. For me this was George Washington’s Crossing the Delaware. I chose this because when I read a magic treehouse book It seemed like a pretty big thing that I wanted to learn much more about. To make matters better two other of my classmates were also doing this making it so I wasn’t the only one. 

From there was the research process which was simple besides finding the information that in my opinion was the most straightforward, in a way that until ducksters came up I didn’t know if there even were three crossings nor when the 2nd and 3rd even happened. But In the end I was successful as the research process was completed. Besides that the sources that were the most helpful were wikipedia, ducksters, and  mount vernon in that order. 

After this was transforming my narrative into a script which to keep this short and simple was very easy, probably the easiest part of the whole thing not time wise but was just not something that gave me one bit of a challenge. Not soon later a surprise came to me as choosing the format of my project was much harder than expected. I was either gonna do a ted talk or a movie. After a lot of thinking I did a movie which I have no regrets about. So I hopped on wevideo, was taken into the makerspace and did a recording which was into parts which was just as simple as it seemed. Next came images which was by far the hardest part, I tried to walk through it but I really couldn’t due to the restrictions I was given. First when getting a picture I had to use creative commons. which for sure narrowed my options down. I kept arguing about this and even though It took me nowhere I kept doing it. Secondly I also had a small issue with screenshotting because I did it to later figure out screenshotting wasn’t allowed but, due to citing my sources this didn’t have a big affect on me. After that, another problem I had was how I could only use an image if they were a jpeg. which narrowed down things even more and gave me steam for all my arguments.

 After all of that last but not least was the timing of my images which each image had to be in a range of 2-6 seconds long which made things even harder. There was a certain point in this process that I was basically stalling telling my teacher to talk to Mr Casal about the whole 6 second rule thing. It was like I genuinely expected him to make these restrictions less harsh. The thing was when the results were back nothing went my way. It wasn’t until wednesday June fifth where I realized the clock was really ticking and that’s when I pushed through as the project was all I wanted to to to the point where I skipped recess in the morning just to do my project which I thought was the turning point of the whole thing then after all of that after all my activities were done I decided I was going to finish my project and the rest is history. I came to school the next day with a basically finished project and after adding some finishing touches the whole thing was complete. 

Something I learned that I hope to apply to life more often is first whether you win or lose, 99 percent of the time arguments take you nowhere. Secondly another thing I learned is just to get things done. Besides that, I’d like to reflect positively on this whole process besides the images, whether it was for the better or the worse the images is the only thing I remember about this whole project. I’d like to say It was because it gave me the biggest challenge or just because it was something I needed in life. To conclude this was a fun process that I definitely needed in life now I just need to finish it off and present my project.

Persuasive Writing Process

My Reflection on the process

I started this project with an open mindset. While feeling excited I didn’t really know what to write about. I brainstormed in a group for a little while and wrote my first draft on scamming. After a little time, I came to the point where I didn’t really care about scamming and that the final project had to be about something that matters to me. Then for the first time I got the hang of it, my ideas were more field trips, more recess, and less homework. After that I decided that my persuasive essay would be about more field trips. After two changes my claim would be “I believe that students should learn both inside and outside of the classroom.” Then we put our claims and examples on an organizer and then it was time to type. That I also flew through because the organizer made it easy to do. I struggled turning my essay into a script and felt really behind but then I realized each slide could be as long as you wanted and then one day I just got it. I put the pictures in, then I ended up being called as one of the first two people to record. Obviously I took this to my advantage and just before lunch, I was finished. I think this was a fun project that kids my age should do.

My Essay on Field Trips:

Why We Should Have More Field Trips

By Spencer

I may only be a kid but, I believe students should learn both inside and outside of the classroom.You may be thinking, learning in the classroom is very important, however there are so many benefits to going on school trips. You may think there is a lot of planning to a school trip, but a lot of people can help with the planning and the experience is always worth it. First of all, school trips bring the units of study to life. You may think to make a model, but the trip explains the units of study better, and makes it easier to visualize what is happening. Also, because school trips help us understand the units of study, they allow for the discovery of new interests in a way the class does not.

Another reason why we should go on more school trips is because they help students learn in different ways. In the classroom we all share a similar experience where sometimes, not everyone gets what they need. On school trips you can see a lot of  things you can’t see in the classroom. You may say you can get to look at photographs of a piece of art or an old artifact, but on a school trip you can hear from an expert who knows a lot about the unit of study and see these interesting things in person. While in school you may do time-consuming research,  it may not always be specific enough. Also, when on trips students get the confidence to explore new things beyond the limits of the classroom and form new interests.

The last reason why we should go on more school trips is because on school trips its about equity not equality. In the classroom, some of the content we learn is very similar. However, on school trips we get what we need in a way where everyone gets the experience that they need and nobody is left out. You may be thinking students have more difficulty listening on a school trip because of the distractions around them. On the other hand, a listening mindset can be taught ahead of time before students go on school trips. Field trips engage students in a way for them to listen, learn, care, and all get the experience they need. Also, wouldn’t it be nice to get fresh air more often?

My Video:

 

Infographic on Democratic Republic Of Congo

I chose the Democratic Republic Of Congo to show equity around the world. My only background knowledge was it was the fifth poorest country in the world. Some facts that surprised me were how they had so many rich minerals and how poor it gets. I really learned to be happy with what I have. When making the infographic, research came very easy to me. Most of my research was about equity not equality, but it did take me a bit of time. Fitting it into a graph was easy for the most part, but I did research about the minerals. It was challenging to make a graph. There was a little period where I was stressed because I felt very behind, but slowly and steadily I caught up and was even a little ahead. I felt finished and after adding my finishing touches, I felt it was close to the best it could be. Overall, this was a very fun project that I think students my age should do.

My Expert Book: Soccer

 

First, is where I started off and coming up with my idea, it was very easy. I really just chose what was simple for me and I knew a lot about it. Then was the process for me, it was long and simple. I always thought my book great and really just wanted to type. Besides that it was fun and simple.The one challenging thing was making it sound good. My favorite part was how it was completely mine and I got to decide when this would happen or that would happen. I learned how much I know about my topic. I felt great about my final project.

This is my expert book.


Thank you for reading.

Personal Narrative Reflection

I enjoyed writing personal narrative stories because It reminds me of how much work I did and the story reminds me of how much I do and how lucky I am to be in this life and to have such an amazing family.

I chose my story because it reminds me of how much I love sports and really everything about the word FUN. I also love how it includes everyone in my family. Also, it’s long and I love typing a lot.

Writing the heart of the story was easy because I wrote about one of my favorite things to do and I remember every bit about the patriot game every first down every touchdown and more so i didn’t need help.

I thought the revision process was fun but also very challenging because each time I read my story I think and feel I can make it more interesting, add more punctuation and add more detail but besides that the revision process was very fun.

Typing is fun for me because in my opinion typing is a memory game knowing what is where i don’t close my eyes or use multiple fingers but i’m still a really good typer in my opinion.

Personal Narrative

I whispered “goodbye” to Scout, my dog, and my babysitter Jessica, and hopped in the car. The 3 hour car ride has started. The three hour car is so bad that I feel car sick writing this. But I survived. 

 “Guess where we are?” mom said happily.

I looked to my left. A big  stadium with the word Gillette was staring at my eyes…

We were at the patriot stadium.

Tailgate.

 I hopped out of my car and I thought I was going to see a patriot game. This is where I introduce my favorite 2 words, porta and potty. They’re 5 letters each. It’s fun to say and it’s fun to use. And that’s where I went to the bathroom, the porta potty I gotta tell you. Those porta potties were awful. We went to our tailgate spot and of course a game of Rummikub was going on and then we saw a man with a camera a sweater and pants he was tall as he appeared to our sight he told us that he took pictures for newspapers mom told me that grandpa cooked a five star meal with a back injury and its was very nice. We asked him “is it confirmed to go on the newspaper” “there’s a chance” he replied we smiled and the camera clicked  He stated it was a great picture. And it was time to eat,

 I helped myself to some steak “best steak of my life”

It was chewy but that was only a small margin of time and after a long Rummikub game it was time to enter the stadium.

The game

“O say does that star spangle”

Then it was the coin flip the ref asked one of there players heads or tails he replied “tails”

It is heads they asked the patriot player to defer or attack he answered “defer” 

With the kick of the feet to a sprint and black the game started. 1st and 10 at Ba 20 BA there were two straight punts and we went to get food. I got popcorn and a Sierra mist and Blake, my sister got fried dough and popcorn and we got gummies to share.

And before we new it we were losing 7-0 but it’s never over for new England and before we knew it mac jones got us in to field goal range on a 4th and 5 we went for the field goal “lined” “hold” “kick up the middle” “its good”

The stadium was like a bee hive with buzzing bees 

3rd and 7 Ba ball hike Jaxon gets the ball throws it incomplete! Patriot ball at NE 20 4th and 1 at the Ba 30 complete at the 10 D harris run up the middle td patriots we roared as the scoreboard changed from 3-7 to 10-7 we were winning with 3 minutes left in the first half kick sailed caught at the 40 to the 45 50 and down 1st and 10 we were up but with luck on our side this happened 1st and ten “caught td Baltimore” “boo” we roared

Trailing 4 in the first half with no luck we did have De Vante parker and with a screen route being double teamed DeVante parker made a 1 handed grab to a roar of patriot fans with 3 seconds left in the first half the kick sailed and it was good “agh” we screamed “lets go” this time parker ran a different route and was wide open and a TD patriots 20-14 pats  But a quick drive made us trail 21-20 we punted Ba ball in prime field possession  Jaxon’s pass to Andrews its intercepted “yes” I screamed 

Ne ball at the 30 mac jones pass to the end zone high and  caught “Yes” we yelled everything was going great 26-21 as we went for a two point conversion no good 26-21 still Baltimore scored a TD 27-26 them new England pass up the middle caught fumble “####” I yelled “####” and of course a field goal 30-26 Baltimore 3rd and a long 8 “incomplete” yelled the commentator in a horrible accent 

A touchdown scored for Baltimore my teeth were clinching, it’s never over i said to my self and with 4 seconds left in the game this happened “ready hike” mac jones slight throw bobbled in the air “intercepted” and mac jones is jumping on one leg…