8 June, 2007
Englsih Final Exam
This year in English we have learned quite a great deal of information, from poetry to the World War 2. It has been a long, strenuous year in English, with more projects than there was homework. We did a tremendous amount of group work and studies on global issues. From what we have learned this year I have grown much more inside than in physical height. We learned of general skills and strategies of the writing process, most of which I did not like at all. A lot of this year covered reading skills and strategies to understand and interpret, and appreciate a variety of literary texts and this was very hard and demanding. In this paper, I will show you in what ways I have grown and what I have learned most this year.
To start it off, on top of the six traits and our ESLR reflections, a new general skill of the writing process was introduced to us, Bloom’s Taxonomy. In blooms taxonomy we were to go more in depth in our writing. We were to explain and evaluate rather than tell. This was fairly easy for me although, I did not like having to do this. It was troublesome thinking of what to write for each section of Bloom’s Taxonomy and thinking of how to organize your paper with so much to include. This showed in the group project we did of Anne Frank. On our paper we did splendidly on the synthesis part, the actual project, but not so well on the rest. This was not because I didn’t know how to do it well, it was that it was hard and strenuous and required a lot of time, which I was not willing to give. Unfortunately the bulk of that project was graded on Bloom’s Taxonomy and I do not think the grade accurately showed how much time and effort we put into the project. Six traits went as always this year. It was more of a thing we did when Mr. Raisdana was absent, rather than something important to our curriculum, just so we had something to do while we was away and unable to teach us what he really wanted us to know. ESLR reflections were done every quarter. They are very structured and repetitive and I really don’t see the point in doing them. Nevertheless, they had to be done. We learned but one new general writing skill this year, and built upon the two we already know quite well.
Next, and probably the biggest part, of at least my year in English class, learning to understand a variety of literary texts. The first book we read this year, “Lord of the Flies” was jam-packed with symbolism, certainly not one of my few strengths. In this book every character, object, and setting symbolized one thing or another. I tell you, if I had read that book on my own, I would not have had the slightest clue about any of the imagery and representation of any of the objects. Though as they were told to me in class I could clearly see how this story actually had a bigger meaning than just to entertain people when they were bored. Our poetry unit was yet another topic I knew not much about. Seeing something as something entirely new to me. Our photography unit helped a lot and was a good way to introduce poetry to us. Writing poems I have never done, so you can see that writing one each class was very difficult for me. I have written stories but never poems. At the end, most of my best poems were stories, fictional events that occurred in my head and from nothing I saw, smelt, heard, or touched. The Tempest was still in this area but quite a relief from this previous work. This book had not much symbolism, nor did it have many similes or metaphors. This book was written in old English and still hard to understand. Though there were definitions on the left hand pages, even the definitions seemed to be written in olden day language, at least using words scarcely spoken or written today.
Lastly, a topic of much difference from last year, my personal growth. As a result of all the work I did this year it would be hard not to have improved in at least one area. I’m proud to say I grew in many areas, more than I could include in this paragraph. Probably the area of most improvement, my confidence. Through all the group work and acting in drama we did I was forced to improve in this particular area. In the poetry unit the most terrifying ordeal for me was reading one of my poems at the poetry night. Standing in front of an audience is terrifying enough, but reading my personal thoughts and feelings scared me a great deal. I would probably not have come, had Mr. Raisdana told us that it was compulsory for everyone to read. With the work we did in the scavenger hunt, Anne Frank, and Teen life project I improved tremendously. I realized that the key to group work was communication. No doubt during this time my phone bill was through the roof. The teen life project was a result of lack of communication and that could be clearly seen in the product. Lastly, thanks to the poetry and photography unit I have been able to see things beyond what they really are. This helped a lot in the poetry unit as it did require a lot of similes and metaphors.
To sum it up we learned a lot this year and built upon what we had previously learned. I have grown in many areas thanks to this class and have come out to be a much more thorough and confident person.
6 May, 2007
Lens Assignment (Date Movie)
In this assignment I will show you that there are many different messages you can get out of a movie depending on who you are.
If I was I women I would think that the movie conducts a poor self image because it says women have to be thin, with hairless backs and look beautiful to find a husband. It would also make you feel that you need a man to be happy because Julia’s father said she would not be happy until she got married and urged her to marry one of his employees.
If I was poorer and of a lower class then I would think that I would be jealous of all their make up and the fact that they have enough money to get pimped out. I would also think that it is mean that people beat up poor drunks for fun. This happened when Grant and Julia realized they were in love they started beating up the drunken man and stole his wallet.
If I was Greek I would think that it is rude that they called Julia’s father, who was an African American, a Greek. I think this because Greeks are white and it would be very unlikely that he was Greek. Also they made fun of the Greek tradition of breaking plates for celebration when they broke the plate on Julia’s head.
When I view this movie I see it as a comedy because of the unrealistic and comical events. Seeing this movie makes me think that cats are disgusting because of how they go to the toilet in the movie and what the cat did to Julia’s dead grandmother. The movie also makes me think women are very jealous, because when Julia and Grant were going to get married, Grant’s ex-fianc wanted him back. When Julia was still fat and was dancing in front of the workmen, one of the workmen shot a nail into his head. This shows me people can be so ugly and disgusting that you would want to kill yourself. When Britney Spears walked in with her husband and Julia could read peoples minds she heard Britney’s husband say he married her because he would be rich. This shows that people marry others just for their money. I also saw that people do crazy things when their in love. When Grant and Julia realized they were in love they started beating up the drunken man and stole his wallet.
In conclusion people of different sex, class, race and living environments have very different views on life and movies.
29 April, 2007
The Tempest (Act 1, Scene 2)
Two sentences I found hard to understand
Act 1, Scene 2 (Lines 144-156)
Prospero talking to Miranda:
Now the condition.
The King of Naples, being an enemy
To me inveterate, hearkens my brother’s suit,
Which was that he, in lieu o’ th’ premises
Of homage and I know not how much tribute,
Should presently extirpate me and mine
Out of the dukedom, and confer fair Milan
With all the honors on my brother. Whereon,
A treacherous army levied, one midnight
Fated to th’ purpose did Antonio open
The gates of Milan, and, i’ th’ dead of darkness,
The ministers for th’ purpose hurried thence
Me and thy crying self.
Act 1, Scene 2 (Lines 243-245)
Prospero talking to Ariel:
My brave spirit!
Who was so firm, so constant, that this coil
Would not infect his reason?
Two sentences I understood with my modern English translation
Act 1, Scene 2 (Lines 141-143)
Miranda talking to Prospero:
I should sin
To think but nobly of my grandmother.
Good wombs have borne bad sons.
It would be wrong for me to think poorly of my grandmother. Good women sometimes give birth to bad sons.
Act 1, Scene 2 (Lines 250-253)
Ariel talking to Prospero:
The King’s son, Ferdinand,
With hair up-standing - then like reeds, not hair -
Was the first man that leaped; cried “Hell is empty,
And all the devils are here.”
The king’s son, Ferdinand, with his hair standing straight up-it looked like reeds, not hair-was the first person to jump, shouting, “Hell is empty, and all the devils are here!”
Two discussion questions
If Prospero can preform magic how come he uses Ariel to do all the work that requires magic, why not use his own?
How come Prospero did not use either his own magic or Ariels to transport himself and Miranda back to civilization. Even before that, when the people put Prospero and Miranda on the wine cask why did he not use his magic here to stop them?
26 April, 2007
Quarter 3 Reflective Journal
This journal shows my understanding of the Expected School-wide Learning Results, or ESLRs, using Blooms Taxonomy. This quarter in English we worked on the Teen Life Project with three others schools from around the world, in Canada, Columbia, and USA. In the Teen Life Project, we addressed global issues that are important to people our age. In addition to the Teen Life Project we had our Poetry Unit. Our Poetry Unit included the poetry night and our poetry book.
I was a Critical Thinker by building meaning and understanding using prior knowledge and new information. To me this means creating something new with the knowledge you had before, along with what you learn from school or research about the topic. I demonstrated this by writing poems using the knowledge I already had on global warming along with research I conducted. I demonstrated this same ESLR by creating poems with the knowledge and thoughts I had along with my new wisdom of poetry. To improve myself next time for the Teen Life Project, I would go above and beyond not just do what is assigned to me. If I had been more involved working on the subject in my free time like others I would have had a better knowledge on the subject and been able to write a better poem on the topic. Overall for this skill if I were to grade myself I would give myself a B. I did do the bullet, make a new product from my previous information on the topic and new information but I don’t think I did it to the best of my ability. I don’t think I built much meaning and understanding on the topic either.
I was an Academic Achiever by demonstrating the ability to work both independently and collaboratively. My personal definition of this is the ability to work well by yourself and in a group. I demonstrated this by writing poems and doing some of my book by myself. In making the book, a few of my friends and I planned a day to put our books together. Working in a group for this part of the project was a good idea because with many of us we could each bring supplies that we had and share them. To make it better next time, I think I would work in an environment where there was no distractions, such as toys or computers or games. I would also invite people who work well together and would take the work time seriously. Overall if I had to grade myself, I would give myself a C. When I was in the mood I could sit for hours and write great poems, sometimes, well most of the time I was distracted, called someone for help, and then ended up talking to them for up to an hour. When I was in a group I tried to work well but a few of the people I invited were not taking it seriously and were easily distracted playing games. In the end, I just ended up making most of the book myself.
I was an Academic Achiever by demonstrating technological literacy and the use of technology as a tool for the efficient and creative completion of a project. In my own words it is using technology, such as a computer, to complete a project creatively and doing it well so it is pleasing to the eye. For almost all the pictures I used in my poetry book, whether from the internet or taken by myself I edited it on the computer. Also for the photography part of the unit, I edited the pictures so they still looked realistic but looked more poetic. If I were to do it again, I think I would have drawn a few pictures, scanned it and coloured it in and edited it on the computer. For many of the pictures I edited I just deleted the background or changed it to something else, resized it, and/or cropped it. Next time I think I would mess around with the colours. For this ESLR I would grade myself with a B. I edited the pictures and did it quite professionally although I did not utilize all the tools that were available to me.
I was an Involved Citizen by demonstrating care and concern for the environment. In a more straightforward description, it is to show you are concerned about the environment by undertaking a task to better the world. For me, I showed this ESLR by writing at least two of my poems about global issues that are concerning me, such as global warming and poverty. I showed this same ESLR in the Teen Life project. In this project, I thought about what global issues concern me and which one I thought was most important. Our whole project was about that issue, global warming. If I were to do this again, I would have tried to take a more active role in the Teen Life project. Seeing that our part of the project was poetry there was very little connection with our part of the project and all the other schools. There was very little assigned to us for this project and I did the bare minimum. If I were to grade myself for this ESLR I would give myself a C. The poems I wrote were true and I truly believe what I wrote and I am deeply concerned about the matter. However, my part in the Teen Life project was minimal and I did not try my hardest to be involved.
I was a Self-Directed Learner by demonstrating competency in goal setting, time management, and organizational skills. This in my own words is to be organized, have a plan, set your priorities, and to manage your time wisely. I feel I demonstrated this by making my poetry book. I kept up with all the poems we had to write so I wasn’t doing them at the last minute. I cut up a newspaper and wrote which pages would be on the same piece of paper. Doing this I had to see which colours I wanted the pages to have and paired them up. I had a goal when to finish the book and finished it completely and on time. I think I could have improved in this ESLR by finishing my cover earlier. Since I didn’t have paint at my house I planned to go to the art room at lunch to paint it. One day the art teacher had a class so I had to do it the next day, the day the book was due. Despite this I finished the cover and the whole book well. For this ESLR if I were to grade myself I would give myself an A. This is because I finished the book completely and on time I set goals for myself and was very organized.
On the whole I think I had a great 3rd Quarter. I feel I showed most if not all the ESLRs but those I wrote about above are the ones I feel I demonstrated the most and best. I will try to improve on what I lacked this quarter, such as being an Effective Communicator, and grow in what I am doing well in. I feel I worked efficiently in the completion of this unit.
4 March, 2007
Robert Frost
Robert Frost was born in San Francisco in 1874. In 1885 Robert moved to
New England. Here he showed an interest in reading and writing poetry. In 1892 he attended
Dartmouth
College and later Harvard; he never earned a degree though. After leaving school Frost worked as a teacher, cobbler and editor. His first professional poem, My Butterfly, was posted in 1894 in The Independent
New York newspaper. Frost married Elinor Miriam White in 1895, who greatly inspired Robert in his poetry. The two of them moved to
England in 1912. While he was there he met Ezra Pound who helped promote and publish his work. Elinor died in 1938. In 1915 he returned to the
US, by this time he had published two full length collections. Frost was the most celebrated poet in
America in the 1920’s. Most of his work is focused on the life and landscape of
New England. Frost taught for many years until his death on January 29th, 1963. The Road not Taken
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I–
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
I like this poem because it tells a story and delivers a message, as opposed to others that describe something. I guess I didn’t like that Frost did not say why the road he took made all the difference, he did not back up what he said. This would be a question I had. Frost did not use any figurative language in this poem. Without it, it is still powerful and meaningful.
27 February, 2007
Amphibian Ark Current Event
Scientists from around the globe met on the 15th and 16th of February 2007 in Atlanta to prevent 6,000 species of amphibians from becoming extinct. This group is called the “Amphibian Ark”. A fungus called chytrid fungus makes it difficult for frogs to use there pores. Frogs absorb water through these pores on there skin so without using these it causes the frogs to dehydrate. In the past decade scientists have estimated that up to 170 species of frogs have become extinct and 1,900 threatened. They are asking every zoo, aquarium, and botanical garden to take in at least 500 of the endangered species of frogs. Frogs, which make up the majority of amphibians, eat insects that would otherwise threaten public health. Also, frogs produce a chemical that is used as a pain reliever for humans. One species is linked to a chemical that disables the virus that causes AIDS. It estimated the project will cost $400-$500 million dollars to complete. Amphibian Ark are launching a fundraiser next year to raise money. When the fungus is eliminated scientists will still have to monitor the frogs because the chyrid fungus alone is not threatening the amphibians, global warming and air pollution are also responsible.
To read the original article click here
21 January, 2007
Teen Life Introduction
Hi, my name is Joshua but you can call me Josh. I’m in 8th grade and I’ll be 14 at the end of this month (January). I was born and raised in Melbourne Australia where I lived until I was 10. I then moved to an International Community (Kuala Lumpur) where I have lived since then. My life in Australia was great. Most of my family lived there and I went to a great school with my best friend. My family and I would travel around very often in Australia, to country towns for weekends and driving up to Sydney, the Gold Coast, or Rockhampton on holidays. In that sense my life here is pretty similar since many weekends I do take 2-4 hour drives to close by towns where much of my extended family live. At school my electives are Library Aide and Mandrin which I have been learning since my first year at my school in Melbourne. I played basketball in Melbourne and now where I live I play tennis which I thoroughly enjoy. I travel to Australia and back to KL twice a year to see my family and friends there.
I live in a huge house right now which is very different to my house in Melbourne in terms of size. My life here is very luxurious but because of school it can be very stressful. My weekday schedule pretty much goes like this; I wake up and get picked up by then school bus. I arrive at school soon after and spend around 7 hours there. The school bus takes me home and I start my homework straightaway. I usually watch “Friends” on my computer and do my homework until I go to bed. I have tennis once a week and often have my friends over or go to their houses. When I am not at school or sleeping you would most likely find me on my computer. I really enjoy my life here, with the delicious food, tropical climate, and cheap technology.
For this Teen Life project I have been asked to think of global issues that are concerning me. An issue that has been troubling me is global warming. Global warming is worrying to me because above my home country, Australia, is the biggest hole in our ozone layer. Australia is the world leader in skin cancer and this is very troubling.
Another global issue that concerns me is poverty. Malaysia is an undeveloped nation so you defiantly see a difference in the living situations between here and Australia. Where I live now there are pretty wealthy people and some not so wealthy people so you can defiantly see a contrast in the living environments of the people of this country. Malaysia is not that bad off actually, if you think of remote places is Africa mainly there are millions of people who even lack access to clean water. Most of these people die of malnutrition and disease and this could easily be prevented. With a little bit of money wells could be made for them so they may have clean water and although they do receive some treatment for disease this could be prevented if they had better living situations.
Well this is me and my major concerns about the world. I hope you learned something about me and are concerned about the same or similar issues.
17 January, 2007
Anne Frank Final Assessment
Design and create a memorial to Anne Frank and the victims of the Holocaust
A memorial is something designed to preserve the memory of a person, or event. You will design and create either a model or blueprint/layout of a monument. This memorial can use multi-media. If you want to have flat screens projecting a movie, or speakers playing a song, you can. You simply must explain these features in your design plan, and insert them into your model or blueprint.
Design and create a commercial or short film spreading Anne’s hopeful message of peace
Questions
How are symbols, images, and sounds and other conventions used in visual media?
iMovie
In the iMovie, we searched for pictures on the net and we took those images and inserted them into the iMovie so that we could recapture the reminiscence of World War 2, the holocaust, and Anne Frank. We used sounds, such as recordings, music, and downloaded sounds from the internet. We used recordings to enhance the pictures and make them seem more like a reality. The music was used to set the mood and many of the lyrics are related to Anne Frank and World War 2 victims. For example after Anne’s family and her pictures had been shown the song changed into a sadder and more depressed song when Margot’s letter to the concentration camp appeared. For symbols for the movie we had gas chambers and chimneys to symbolize death and being trapped with no escape. Also the trains symbolize life being caught and put to death. The Judd badges and the Nazi symbols show how diverse and separated they are from one another. Symbols were in almost every single picture and will be found if you really look in depth.
Memorial
For the memorial, we showed images of everyone’s personalities, for example, we showed Margot, with an A+ beside her showing how perfect she was. We showed a big rock with each war victims name engraved on it showing that everyone’s lives has been acknowledged. The holocaust room has a door that shows people dying and trapped. This symbolizes how the Jewish were treated and felt when they were abducted by the Nazis. Also there is a cut up carpet on the floor after the room of friends that shows how rugged and unruly their lifestyle were after the Nazis actions of discrimination were put into force. In the peace room there are yellow flowers that shows how the world has come to harmony and all is in serenity and well-being. Also this memorial goes in a type of order for first Anne was a happy girl who had her friends and family however after the Nazi’s attacked they had a secret Annexe and were discovered so they were sent to concentration camps. Sadly when peace had come Anne and most of her family and friends had already died and said their goodbyes to the world they once knew.
What are the ways in which image-makers carefully construct meaning?
iMovie
Some ways they do this is by capturing a specific cause of what is happening now. For example to show death and execution the iMovie has shown a chimney to show how every puff of smoke shows the remains of a dead Jew leaving the Earth. Also it shows a gas chamber to show how they did mass killing all at once in vulgar ways. Another thing that image-makers construct meaning is the colours. Like if you show black and white you will see how ancient or long ago it was or maybe it would make the picture seem more serious where as a colourful picture will not be as serious and mature.
Memorial
In the images of the memorial I have pasted them in various ways. This shows some meaning because for example if I put it crooked you can see how messed up and crowded the place was really like and you would get some feeling of imperfection or wrong doings, though if straight and neat you will have a feeling vice versa of a crooked image/picture.
How are techniques used in visual media to influence or appeal to a particular audience?
iMovie
Some techniques we used in visual media are how we changed the colours and made the background suit what the topic was. Also the pictures showed things that are related to Anne Frank, World War Two, and the holocaust. Also the fonts and the settings of the text have been arranged in a way to get people to pay attention and feel the way we want them to. Visual media pays a very important role in the iMovie and send out a message without really being said.
Memorial
The techniques used in visual media to appeal to the audience are the colour and settings. I have set them up in various different ways so not everything seems the same and dull. This adds a bit of spice to the project and it becomes more lively and more of a reality. Also I frequently rotate colours for the project to be more attractive.
Blooms Taxonomy
Knowledge - Describe the symbols, images, and sounds you used to complete your project
For the Imovie we used pictures of a train with the sound of the train moving, we used pictures of The Franks peaceful life before they were caught with the song how to save a life (in craniological order), we used pictures of the actual fighting we had the sound of people crying, we had a very important picture of the final solution we had people screaming and crying, and lastly we change the song to Emenium and had two pictures of Margot and Anne Frank’s grave with a quote.
For the memorial the doors, which symbolize beings trapped with no escape.
Comprehension - Discuss how these symbols, images, and sounds carefully construct meaning
For the Imovie some symbols that we used to elements that caused such things in the world. Such as the chimney, which does not show the whole picture however if you look in depth to it you will see that it symbolizes people dying/dead. As for the images we first did all of them in chronological order according to Anne’s age and after Margot’s letter to the concentration camp we showed pictures of the Secret Annexe and after they got caught pictures of the concentration camps were shown and the slaughtering or the things used to slaughter the Jews in mass numbers. In the end we showed Anne’s grave and a few quotes to the world. As for the sounds for the concentration camp we had people and babies screaming in pain and also for the end when you see the grave we have Eminem’s song “When I’m Gone” to symbolize Anne’s death.
For the memorial we show symbols by in the room if the jew’s discrimination we showed a red silk carpet that as torn for it symbolized the jews of how they used to have a great rich life but then it all was tattered away. Also there is a door on the room of concentration camps which showed how the jews were trapped and dying, but were fighting to escape. Another symbol were the yellow flowers thrown on the floor to symbolize peace and harmony. For the images we have Anne’s interests in the first room and in the Family room aka 2nd room it shows Margot with an A+ on the side to show how she was viewed as perfect, same goes for the rest of the pictures.
Application - Explain how these symbols, images, and sounds will influence or appeal to your audience. Illustrate the symbols, images, and sounds (This will be done when you actually do the project)
For the imovie we used modern sounds to capture peoples attention and the images show world war 2 and almost everyone can relate to that because it affected everyones families in some way. As got the symbols there were things such as the jewish badges and nazi badges to show how diverse and separate the were from one another.
Analysis - Compare the symbols, images, and sounds you chose. Which are the most powerful? Why?
The symbols for the movie was concentration camps which symbolized death and trains which symbolized lives being caught and about to reach their death. Some images we used were things such as Anne and her family along with all the other sad things, we first started before the war and after to create a more dramatic effect. As for the sounds we used different music according to lyrics and tunes to suit the images/symbols. The most powerful was probably sounds for it made people feel a certain way about each image.
The symbols for the memorial was that people were dying on the door and were trying to escape, also we have people starving in concentration camps. Also at the end in the peace room we have yellow flowers to symbolize peace and hope. For the images we showed how people lived through each situation, the people itself, or maybe some side things that happened during that event. (No sounds) I think the most powerful were the pictures for it gave people straight forward information where as the symbols you had to really look in it in depth.
Synthesis - Create or design a memorial to Anne Frank and the victims of the Holocaust, or Design and create a commercial or short film spreading Anne’s hopeful message of peace. (Doing the project will accomplish this aspect of Bloom’s Taxonomy)
Evaluation - Summarize and grade the final product and the process to accomplish this task
The final product of our iMovie was well constructed. It was a good introduction to Anne Frank and the war. A few drafts of the movie were made before the final copy. Firstly we got all the pictures, music, sounds, and symbols. We then organized them by the order of which they would be shown. We put this into a movie and kept editing it until we were happy.
The final product of the model of the memorial was very well thought-out. Each room has a specific idea to show. Most of it was very well constructed and looks well made. In both projects a lot of time and effort was put into it and we had very good time management.
ESLR’s
Completing this task will involve the use of many ESLR’s. Your write up should also include a paragraph or two about how your group used the ESLR’s. If you want to be successful in this project please pay close attention to the Effective Communicator ESLR. The key to this project is collaboration. So please also include a paragraph or two about who did what, and how effectively they were at completing their assigned tasks.
iMovie:
Some ESLR’s that were used was effective communicator for we have to be able to communicate with people through a different way and we are being a critical thinker so we can think of many ways to present it to the audience. Another ESLR that this covers is an academic achiever for we have gone to find over 65 pictures and have put in a lot of effort to record sounds and find them on the internet. During the process of making the movie, it is important to be a self directed learner for there are no set guidelines on what the iMovie should be there fore you have to think about it for yourself and manage to put it out on paper and share it with others and that will make you be and involved citizen for you are letting others in on your idea and giving them a better understanding of the topic.
The memorial showed effective communicating skills for it manages to show and tell everyone about Anne frank, World War 2, and the holocaust. Also information is shown in various different ways. The memorial also shows a self directed learner because you have to stay up and finish gluing and cutting, along with drawing and a lot of other art related things. Also this shows an academic achiever for you have to really be neat and concentrate on what message you want to give out in order to have a successful project and to capture and audience’s attention. Another thing that the memorial shows is critical thinker because you have to really think on how you want to place something and where or maybe you have to question yourself on if there would be enough space for “that”.
Josh had made the whole iMovie with some assistance from Novia, while Farouk commented on it, while Novia on the other hand did the whole memorial with the help of Josh and feed back from Farouk. Also Farouk brought some supplies needed for the project such as the Styrofoam. Every member of the group put in effort to make this project a successful one and tried their best to make sure we all manage to complete the work on time.
Using resources to the best of your efforts.
Exp: We used all the tools in iMovie and tried to use it to enhance what we were talking about.
Grade: Excellent
13 December, 2006
Aztec WebQuest Notes
Define
Anthropologist– A social scientist; someone who studies the cultural development of humans.
Archeologist- Someone who studies prehistoric people and their culture.
Economist- An expert in economics; someone how studies money.
Historian- An expert in history; someone who studies history.
Linguist- Someone who studies language.
Theologian- Someone who studies or is an expert in theology.
Answer
Step 1:
Where did the Aztecs originally live? What prompted them to relocate? Where did they end up and why? Choose an artifact, which you feel best, represents this event. Support your choice
The Aztecs originally lived in a place called Atzlan, located in North West Mexico. They were kicked out of many a village but one night Tenoch has a vision from the god Huizilopochtli who told him to lead his people to a island in the middle of Take Texcoco. There were told to build their city were there was an eagle with a serpent in its beak atop of a cactus named tenochtli, growing from a rock or cave, surrounded by water.
Step 2:
The Aztecs ended up in the middle of a lake and built their new capital
Tenochtitlan. What were the pros and cons of settling in the middle of a lake? Describe the lay of the land and choose an image for your exhibit.
The lay of the land was usually a lake with a small island in the middle. On this lake would be chinampas. On the island would be their temples and palaces.
Pros: the Aztecs could grow crops all year round, easy to get around (canoes), canals provided good defense.
Cons: snake infested maintenance of crops on chinampas.
Step 3:
Which gods were worshiped? The pyramids were built for what purpose?
The Aztecs had many gods who they worshiped. The three main gods were Huitzilopochtli, Tezcatlipoca, and Quetzalcoatl.
To keep the good god’s happy human hearts were sacrificed. The Great Temple Tenochtitlan was one temple built for the purpose of sacrifice. These temples were built of this purpose and had a flat top on which the sacrifices were preformed. When they wanted to improve upon their temples, instead of demolishing it they built over it so each temple had numerous layers.
Step 4:
Who are the different members of Aztec society? What are their roles? Choose an artifact that represents the social order of Aztec society.
There were three main members of Aztec society, slaves, commoners, and nobility.
Slaves could be bought and sold. Slaves could buy their freedom or if they made it to the royal palace undetected, they were granted freedom.
Commoners, or macehualtin, were the largest of the three ranks. These people were usually involved in agriculture and trade. Farmers could keep their crops but the land was owned by everyone in the neighborhood.
Nobles were nobles by birth, priests, and people who earned a high rank.
Step 5:
The Aztecs have a spoken language. What was it called? Did they use any other forms of communication? Include an example of either written or visual language of the Aztecs.
The Aztec language was Nahuatl. Like us, Aztecs did not only use speech to communicate, they also used writing. There were two types of writing they used, pictures and as letters they used glyphs. Pictures were used to tell stories and glyphs were used to indicate sound. Most Aztecs however, did not read or write.
Step 6:
How did the Aztecs grow food and what was their main crop? Did they trade and with whom? Did they have a currency (money)? Find an image for your exhibit about making a living Aztec style.
The Aztecs, like the Maya, also used the slash and burn method. They also made terraces to control the flow of water and grew some of their crops on chinampas. Slash and burn was used to enrich the soil where they would cut down an area of forest and burn it. Terraces were used to avoid flooding. On Chnampas, they would use reed mats and cover it with soil. The main crop of the Aztecs was corn but they also had many chili peppers, squash, tomatoes, and beans. The Aztecs main form of currency was cacao. The Aztecs did trade their goods with fellow Aztec cities.
Step 7:
Discuss the Impact of Spanish Contact 1519 from both the Aztec point of view and the Spanish point of view. Find an image depicting this event.
Firstly, when the Spanish arrived at
Tenochtitlan they were shocked by the beauty of their city. When they met the Aztecs they were given many gifts. This is because, in the Aztec religion, it was prophesized that on the same day the Spanish arrived, their god Quetzalcoatl was supposed to return to them. While Cortez was there, the Aztec emperor noticed his greed for gold and jewelry. He began to question if he was really their returning god. To get rid of Cortez, Moctezuma gave him much gold and jewelry. Now Cortez’s greed grew more and he took Moctezuma hostage and held him for ransom. Meanwhile, some of Cortez’s men killed Aztec’s during a religious ceremony. The Aztecs now decided to fight back. Cortez then showed them their emperor who died three days later after being hit on the head with a stone. Cortez then retreated and decided to find the Aztec enemies hoping they would join him. They blocked off the city to stop their supply of food and water. At this point the Aztecs had fallen sick with the newly introduced disease, small pox. Now the Aztecs were weak so Cortez broke in, destroyed all their buildings, and built churches to spread Christianity.
Step 8:
Discuss La Malinche or Dona Marina. Debate her positive/negative impact on
Mexico past and present. What does the term Mestizo refer to? What influences remain today from Aztec culture of the past?
La Marlinche, A.K.A. Dona Marina, was a translator for Cortez and translated the Aztec language of Nahuatl to Mayan, and then another translator translated this from Mayan to Spanish. Mestizos are people of Latin American and European ancestries.
Pros: She convinced Cortez to negotiate instead of kill straight away; she helped introduce Christianity to
Mexico; she tried to cease human sacrifices.
Cons: She communicated with the Aztec enemies and helped to create an alliance.
30 November, 2006
Current Event Article
Summary
Australia’s Senate voted to end the country’s four-year ban on cloning human embryos for stem cell research. The Senate voted to allow therapeutic cloning, which involves removing the nucleus of an unfertilized human egg and adding DNA to make it grow in a lab dish. Scientists hope stem cell research will eventually lead to treatments or cures for diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, as well as spinal cord injuries, diabetes and arthritis. Opponents warned that the technology could be abused and lead to human cloning and the creation of animal-human hybrids. “On one hand, I want to do everything possible to help relieve suffering and to leave open the hope of cures of terrible, debilitating illnesses,” Howard said. “On the other hand, I do have concerns that this may in some areas be a step too far and I am still weighing the matter.”
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