Zeitgeist

Above is my zeitgeist for the first semester of sixth grade (August 3- December 17). The zeitgeist shows how I felt during the semester. I hope you enjoy!

Collaborating Constructively in Literature Circles with a Twist

For literature circles with a twist, instead of filling out the discussion sheet by ourselves, we had to work with a partner. To do this, we had to collaborate constructively. My partner and I both had to pick on passage and write about why we picked it, think of one question, do one response to the question, one connection, and one vocabulary.

What are the benefits of working with a classmate?

There were a lot of benefits from working with a classmate. One of them was that you didn't have to do as much work. When you work with a partner, you only have to do half the amount of work. Before we started working with a classmate for literature circles, we all had to do two of everything. Now all we have to do is one of everything, which is much easier. This is very helpful because you can spend more time editing your work. Another of the benefits of working with a partner is that you get a lot of helpful feedback. This can help us get a higher grade. For example, when my partner read my passage and noticed a few grammar mistakes. With her help, I fixed them. If I hadn't fixed my mistakes, I would have gotten points of from them, giving me a lower grade. The last benefit of working with a classmate is that it makes you do your work on time. It makes you do your work on time because if you don't, your partner would remind you at school. It is good to have someone to remind you to do your work because sometimes to forget and have to rush to do it at the last minute. Having someone to work with you is really helpful because they help to improve your grade.

What are some of the challenges and obstacles which you overcame or tried to overcome?

There were a few challenges that I had to overcome on the way. One of them was my question. I find it really hard to think of a level three question. At first, my question was only at level two. To get it a little higher to a level three, instead of asking my partner (she wasn't online at that time), I asked my sister instead. She helped me by giving me feedback. Another challenge that I faced was that my partner didn't do her work according to the recommended daily workload. I got worried that she had forgot to do her part and told her to do it the next day. Though my partner started doing filling in her part on the discussion sheet on Friday, she still did a really good job.

What are some of the new understandings that you gained about the novel?

There are many new things that I learned that helped me understand the novel better. But all the new information that I learned was not from working with a partner. This was because my partner and I both think from the same view. One of the things that I learned was that Captain Jaggery is a murderer. The captain killed Cranick by shouting him with a pistol. This was very surprising to me because I thought that Captain Jaggery was a gentleman and a gentleman would never do that. Even though it was surprising to me that the captain is a murderer, it fits right into place and I finally know the answer to the mystery of who is the "bad guy." Another thing that I learned is how brave Charlotte is. Charlotte had whipped Captain Jaggery on accident and got him really angry. Though she knew that she had made the captain really angry, Charlotte still managed to find the courage to go and apologize to him. This is really brave of Charlotte because she knows that Captain Jaggery is a murderer and could murder her at any moment. I have learned a lot of things that have helped me understand the book much better.

Collaborating constructively really helped me to improve in filling out the discussion sheets. Learning to work together is very important because by working together, it makes your job easier and better.

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle Discussion Reflection #1

In humanities, I am reading the book The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi for literature circles. In literature circles discussions, my group and I have to share the passages that we picked and why we picked it, our questions and answers, our connections to the book and some new vocabulary that we learned. This is my reflection for our first literature circles discussion for The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle.

How did your discussion help your understanding of the novel?

My discussion helped me understand the book better because my group made me think about the book from a different view. My group members and I all have very different personalities and that causes what point of view we think from to be different. Before the discussion, I thought that Captain Jaggery was the "bad guy" in the book. After the discussion, my group members gave me a few more possibilities. The discussions also help me understand the book better because if I have any questions, I can ask my group during the discussion. The last way that the discussion helped me to understand the book better is because during discussion when we share our questions, it makes me think deeper into the book to try and answer my groups questions. That makes me realize some things about the characters that I never realized before.

What connections did you make during your discussion?

My group and I made a lot of connections during our discussion. Some of them were when we were sharing our passages. A lot of the passages and why we choose them were the same. We also made a lot of connections when we were sharing our connections to the book. Sometimes when another person is sharing their connection, it reminds me of something similar that happened to me before. The last connections that we made was that we all thought that the book was interesting to read.

What do you predict will happen in the book?

I predict that there is someone on the ship that wants to harm Charlotte. I think that it might be the Captain, Zachariah, or Mr. Keetch. Charlotte is in danger. I also think that in the next few chapters, Charlotte would start to feel lonely and start to become friends with the crew. I think that because the only people on the ship with Charlotte are the crew and the captain. Charlotte likes the captain because he is a gentleman but he is also very busy and does not have much time to sit and talk to Charlotte. The only other people that Charlotte can talk to is the crew. I think that at first, Charlotte would try to avoid the crew but soon get too lonely and start talking to them. When she talks to them, they would slowly start becoming friends. 

Even though I find it hard to fill in the discussion sheet, I think that it is worth the time. The discussions help me understand the book much better in many different ways. I also think that the discussions are fun. In my opinion, they are the best part of literature circles.

Graphic Citations:

http://boughanfire.com/2009/09/book-review-true-confessions-of-charlotte-doyle/

Developing Malaysia

A map of South East Asia

           

           Malaysia is part of a big group called South East Asia. It is located Below Thailand and above Singapore. Malaysia is very close to the equator. Being close to the equator gives Malaysia some advantages such as having only two seasons: the rain season and the dry season. Malaysia doesn't have to worry about snowstorms or blizzards. Being close to the equator keeps Malaysia warm all year round. This means that tropical fruits and farms can survive through out the whole year. 

          Another advantage that Malaysia has is petroleum gas. Petroleum gas is an important natural resource found in the ocean. The petroleum has made Malaysia very wealthy. Malaysia sells the petroleum to other countries and makes a lot of money from it. It helps Malaysia to develop with modern technology. An example of how rich and powerful the petroleum company is when Malaysia wanted a building that would be famous in the world. The petroleum company was very rich so they decided to build the Petronas Twin Towers. Local Malaysians also get to enjoying a lower price for the petrol gas.

Petroleum oil is what makes a car move. 

           Malaysia was once the world's largest producer of palm oil, rubber, and tin. Palm oil is a natural resource found in Malaysia. It is an edible oil. Palm oil is used for cooking and baking. Rubber is another one of the many natural resources of Malaysia. Rubber is used to make the wheels of a car. When the car was invented, America needed a lot of rubber to make tires. They payed a high amount of money for it and in result, rubber, along with petroleum gas made Malaysia wealthy. Tin was also something that Malaysia produced. Tin is used for making the containers for canned food and the cans of soft drink.

           Malaysia has many advantages like the weather and many natural resources that are helping it to develop.

Graphic Citation:

http://blog.seawrights.com/about-our-ministry/cambodia-map/

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:KLCC_twin_towers3.JPG

Field Trip to Kuala Selangor

I think that I collaborated constructively well on my teams field trip to Kuala Selangor. Collaborating constructively means to work together without complaining, fighting, or arguing. One of the times when I showed that I collaborated constructively was when we did the supply search. My room mates and I had to write down 26 things, one for each letter of the alphabet, in three minutes but that thing that started we had with us or something that we could carry. To get this done, my team and I had to work together. In the end, we only got nine points but we tried our best. Another way that I showed that I could collaborate constructively was when my roommates and I made our beds. We helped one another to fold our blankets neatly. By helping each other, the job was easier and faster to do.

The next way that I showed collaborating constructively was when we played the noun game. My team for this game was Lily, Tiffany, Esme, Carl, Deeban, and me. In this game, the teachers would say a noun and in thirty seconds, my group and I had to create a statue showing the noun. The hard thing was that we couldn't talk to each other or we would be disqualified. In the end, my team managed to win two points.

The last way that I showed that I could collaborate constructively was when we planted mangroves. We had to walk through mud that acted like quicksand. If we stood in one place for too long, we would sink and get stuck! The guide told us to stay on the logs and try not to step in the mud as much as possible. At the beginning, I stayed with Esme and we held on to each other to stay balanced on the logs. After about half way, Esme went faster and I stayed with Tiffany instead. I did the same thing to Tiffany that I did to Esme. I held on to her. Soon, Tiffany went faster than me and I was with Sheta. Same as before, we held on to each other. By working together with others, I managed to plant a mangrove and not fall or get stuck in the mud. Collaborating constructively is very important. It makes the job easier, faster, and funner to do.

I also think that I communicated effectively well on the trip to Kuala Selangor. Communicating Effectively means to use different ways to communicate with people. One of the ways that I showed this was when we did the noun games. We couldn't talk so we had to use our body language. This was hard at first because I couldn't understand what my teammates were trying to tell me. On the fist few rounds, my teammates and I had to just guess what each of us were trying to tell each other. We were really bad at it. Towards the end of the game, we finally started to understand each others body language and we won two points. Another way that I showed that I could communicate effectively was when we planted the mangroves. We had to help each other out of the mud when we got stuck. We had to communicate to do this. We would try to figure a way to get them out by talking. Talking is also a way of communicating effectively. In the end, we all managed to get out of the mud. Communicating Effectively helps people to understand you. Communicating effectively can be talking, body language, writing and many other things.

Our team trip to Kuala Selangor taught me a lot. The most important thing that it taught me was that it is important to use all the SLRs, Learn Enthusiastically, Think Creatively, Live Ethically, Reason Critically, Collaborating Constructively, and Communicating Effectively.

Graphic Citation:

http://www.thisistraining.de/management%20skills.html
http://www.clipartof.com/gallery/clipart/teamwork_23.html

http://www.myharcum.com/s/1044/index.aspx?sid=1044&gid=1&pgid=290