Research Reflection and the Magic School Bus

Research Reflections:

For the past month we have been researching body systems on our own.

One good thing about doing it this way is that you find more information. A teacher would give the information necessary. That way you get all the information you find, and this is much more than what the teacher would have said. And it sometimes makes the class more interesting.

One thing I didn't like about doing it this way is that you find a lot of useless information. You waste time. And it is easier to understand or remember something when the whole class is on it and a teacher is explaining, because the teacher would use simple words and try to make the thing interesting.

I think Mrs. Smith planned it this way because that is how most classes work at HIS. And I think she thinks that students like learning individually more than having a teacher talking for the whole class.

One suggestion I have for Mrs. Smith is doing half the class explaining things and the other half working on our own.

Another suggestion I have for Mrs. Smith is doing exercises with lots of questions that wouldn't be so long to answer. Doing about twenty questions easy to answer exercises instead of doing 5 really hard ones.

The Magic School Bus:

Today we watched a video of the Magic School Bus about the digestive system. The bus became really small and went into Arnold's mouth and went through the digestive system, at the large intestine, they went backwards.

One thing that was right in the Magic School Bus was that they put all the main organs of the digestive system.

Another thing that was right is that they didn't forget any part of the mechanical digestion.

One thing that was wrong is that they only talked about the chemical digestion of the stomach. They didn't talk about enzymes. They didn't say the mouth and the small intestine produced chemicals.

Another thing that was wrong is that I don't think gum wouldn't be digested. Because in the movie the gum still wasn't digested in the large intestine.

Early Death in Zoos for Elephants

According to a new study, zoo elephants live a shorter life than wild elephants. The researchers found that African elephants in zoos die when they are about 19 years old. But those in the wild live until 56 years old. Elephants in zoos die from bad health and often die from being in overweight or stressed. Scientists are telling zoos not to take any more new elephants.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_7770000/newsid_7778800/7778874.stm

Win, Draw, Lose

There were three British soccer teams in the U.E.F.A. Champions League. The teams were: Manchester United, Arsenal, and Celtic. Manchester will stay in the competition after having a draw 2-2 with Aalborg, they are still first of the group. Arsenal are still in, too, even though they lost 2-0 against the F.C. Porto, they stayed second of the group. But Celtic are out even after they won their first game of the competition 2-0 against Villarreal.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_7770000/newsid_7776700/7776777.stm

Riots in Greece

There were riots all over Greece because a teenager got shot and killed by a police officer. It happened Saturday in Athens after a group of people started shooting rocks at a police car. Two members of the police got suspended and an investigation started about what really happened.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_7770000/newsid_7770000/7770067.stm

Chaos at Airport

Twenty-one flights have been delayed at Stansted Airport, in the United Kingdom, because environmental campaigners protested. About fifty people though to be from a group called the Plane Stupid, got past security in this airport at about three o'clock in the morning on Monday. The protesters chained themselves in an area near the runway where the public isn't allowed to go. The runway has been closed off and four people got arrested.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_7770000/newsid_7770600/7770603.stm

Four-Match-Ban

Patrice Evra, Manchester United's soccer player, got suspended for four games and had to pay £15000 pounds for something that happened last season. He got involved in a big row with some people that work in Chelsea F.C. during the game Manchester United Chelsea F.C., at Chelsea's ground, in April. But he wasn't the only one that got punished. Chelsea had to pay £25000 because they didn't control a member of their staff.

http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=2626838601703186041&postID=2376083496613118649

Fake Games Consoles

Officials are worried that people from Britain are buying dangerous consoles from foreign websites. The console might come with a dangerous power adapter. They say that the fake version of Nintendo DS and DS Lite look like the real one, but they could cause injuries. Nintendo says that the safety of kids is the most important and they encourage people to buy the real thing.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_7760000/newsid_7766400/7766498.stm

Arsenal 2, Chelsea 1

Arsenal got back on track in the Premier League, by beating Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, 2-1. Arsenal started losing after an own goal of Johan Djorou, but then two goals of Robin Van Persie in three minutes, turned the game on its head. Now Arsenal is 4th in the Premier League after Chelsea, Liverpool, and Manchester United. Just before, Wayne Rooney scored his 100th goal for Manchester United which made them win Manchester City 1-0. Even after the handball of Christiano Ronaldo that made him directly out.

Gorillas Protection

In the African country of Cameroon, a new park has been created to protect the gorillas which are close to extinction. There are only 300 Cross River gorillas left and 115 of them are in the Takamanda National Park. The problem comes from hunters and people that cut down forests. Animal Experts say this park will help stop this threat.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_7750000/newsid_7757200/7757240.stm

Snake Massages!

Some people have snakes as pets. And imagine having a massage made by snakes. Well, that is what a salon in Israel does. They offer snake massages! It should help relax and ease their aches and pain. Ara Barak came up with the idea after seeing how relaxed people were after touching her pet snakes. Hopefully, the snakes are not poisonous!

Best Way to Teach!

Friday November 28th, in London, a lucky class got the chance to be taught French by Arsenal's soccer player, Bacary Sagna. He was one of the many players in Arsenal that speak French, so he helped teach the language. But he didn't only teach French, he also taught the kids how to play soccer. Imagine how happy the kids must have been!

The Paper Tower

For advisory, we did a paper tower that should hold fifty grams. During the activity, The Paper Tower, I was a critical thinker because when the tower was falling, I found a way to make it stand. And we all got a good idea at the beginning.
I was an effective communicator because when I got ideas I told them and everyone in my group listened, I got my message through.
Those are the two student outcomes I showed the most during this activity.

Throwing a Coin

Didier Drogba, a soccer player that comes from the Ivory coast and plays in Chelsea F.C., an English soccer team, got suspended for three games for throwing a coin into the opposite side's supporters. It happened in a game against Burnley, he was celebrating his goal near the Burnley supporters, a coin was thrown from the crown and he through it back. He won't be able to play against Newcastle, Arsenal, and Bolton.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_7730000/newsid_7736000/7736023.stm

Murray Finally Loses

Last week, the English tennis player, #4, Andy Murray, after his wonderful season, finally lost in semi-finals against the Russian, #5, Nikolay Davydenko, 7-5, 6-2, at Masters Cup Shanghai. In the end the tournament was won by the Serbian, #3, Novak Djokovic, 6-1, 7-5, with his victory against Davydenko.

3 Student Learning Outcomes

Active Learner: I am an active learner because I speak up and ask questions, clarifications about what we have to do, I do the work well and on time, and I learn and I usually listen to what the teacher says.

Community Contributor: I think I am a community contributor because I help my friends when they need my help, or I bring the stuff if we need any material, and I don't just sit there and do nothing, I help my group.

Problem Solver / Critical Thinker: I am a problem solver because I always find a way to do my work and do it on time, even if I don't find the answer by myself, I ask other people to know, or I ask teachers.

3 Habits

One of the habits I have and I would like to improve is doing more sport. I still do not do enough compared to when I was in France. Maybe I should join an after school activity in which some of my friends are, that it would be fun and good for me. Or instead of playing computer games, sometimes go out and play some basketball. Or maybe in my Google Calendar, everywhere I put free time go out and play.

Another habit that I kind of already have and would like to improve is to try to get less fat. Well I could improve that by doing more sport, eating less pasta when my mother makes them, do not ask for things that contain a lot of fat at the restaurant, or just by stopping to drink sugary drinks. But I don't really know why I am getting fatter, so I cannot make sure I am improving it.

I think I am the last one, always be honest with people I love, but if I am not I would try to tell my parents everything, or never lie to them, well I do not think I ever lied to them. Or I could just tell them when something troubles me, I know that for almost everything that is going wrong with me they can help me, so I should really try to always be honest to them even if I already am always honest with them.

Effects of Obama in Asia

I think Barack Obama will affect Asia more than any President of the United States because now is when Asia is the strongest, and it is the right time to affect it.
"Obama said that he wouldn't sell any weapons to Taiwan." My Father.


"From an Asian point of view, we all know how much respect matters and how much we want to respect our leaders, so I think Obama will be someone whom our leadership will want to deal more freely and comfortably with because he brings charisma, intelligence and warmth to the table." Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, Neha Sood.


"He gives a sense of hope that he can integrate not only a nation that is fractured, but a world that has become increasingly disintegrated. And I think he will be able to integrate forces in a way that McCain might not have been able to do." Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, Jonathan Marshall.


"One, he would disengage in Asia and stop any positive process of negotiations... and my second concern is that it would hurt the economy if he decides to keep jobs at home. Many jobs in my country are outsourced from America, so that would be bad for my country." Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, Sanjana Govindan.


http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/387890/1/.html

Being More Organized

1) Serena: The benefits of being more organized are that you can work faster and more efficiently.
Andrew: It keeps us tidy and you can find the thing that you organized easily.
Mom: The benefits are that you can do everything faster. When better organized you are, more time you gain.
Dad: You gain a lot of time, you don't waste time and energy and you make less errors.

2) Serena: What prevents people from being more organized is playing games, not sleeping enough, dreaming, etc…
Andrew: what prevents people from being more organized is being lazy.
Mom: What prevents people from being organized is to many things to do, too much work. And things you discover very late.
Dad: Noise and distractions prevent people from being organized.

3)-Remove distractions
-Only focus on your work
-Go somewhere quiet work
-Try hard, don't be lazy
-Do only one work at once

3 Student Learning Outcomes

The first was that I've been a community contributor because every time Mr. Carpenter didn't put the homework on Moodle I told him so that everyone could see the homework.

The second was that I've been a person of high character because I always completed my homework well and on time. I wasn't doing my work late.

The third was that I've been a effective communicator because I usually answered questions that the teacher asked or I asked questions.

What I Learned From My Table Mates' Blogs

I learned many things on learning and blogging from my table mates, Patrick, Sandra, Grace, Cherine, Stephanie. I learned that everyone could see your blog even people that shouldn't be seeing it, i learned that when you publish you should take steps before writing it. I learned that working in groups was very important. And I learned what blogging was for, type faster, share, have fun, etc...

Andy Murray wins his fifth competition of the year

Who:
Andy Murray, an English tennis player.

Where:
St. Petersburg Open.

When:
This Sunday.

What:
Andy Murray won his fifth pretty big competition this year, now he is 4th in the ATP classification.

Why:
Because he is a good player and this year is his lucky year.


Why is he doing so well this year?

Which event does he wants to win the most?

How does he play, what is his playing technique?

Best Footballer?

Who:
Christiano Ronaldo, Portuguese soccer player playing in the English team, Manchester United.

Where:
All over the world.

When:
This week.

What:
He was elected best soccer player of the year, and might win more rewards.

Why:
He was elected because he scored 42 goals in the Premier League, and his team were first in the Premier League and they also won the U.E.F.A. Champions League, the best tournament in Europe.


How can they tell if he really is the best?

Which is the criterion for this classification?

Why is he the best?

Grading

Why do you think Mr. Truchon and Mrs. Smith do this?
I think they do this to let students improve, not just give a mark.

Why do you think this might be important in your learning?
It might be important because we learn from our mistakes, so that way we will learn more.

What do you like about this approach?
I like this idea of redoing because if we just forgot something we can put it again without just getting a bad mark.

What do you dislike about this approach?
I dislike the idea of red, yellow, green because when we get a green we don't know if it's a 100% or a 90%. Or when we get a red, we don't know if it's a 0% or a 60%.

Why is it better to get information from a book or an online Encyclopedia than finding a site through a search engine?

It is better to get information from a book or an encyclopedia because they are usually made by professors or people that know the subject really well. And more people go on encyclopedias, so the information might be better. On a Google search the information might be written by someone that wants to make a joke, or just wanted to write. So the information might be wrong. But there are more search engines so there might be more information, and on some of them the information might be really good. And there less information on one site than on a whole encyclopedia or book, so it might be more organized.

Tottenham Losing and Losing

Who:
Tottenham soccer team

When:
-

Where:
Italy

What:
Tottenham is last in the Premier League and lost against Udinese, an Italian club, 2-0 in the U.E.F.A. Cup.

Why:
They were not playing in England but in Italy. And they are not playing well this year.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_7680000/newsid_7688000/7688071.stm?ls

Why are they not playing as well as usual?

How did Udinese play, very well or not really?

Which team will win this cup?

Star's Singing

Who:
Stars

When:
-

Where:
In space

What:
French astronomers discovered that stars gave off a rhythm, stars are pulsating and throbbing. Each sound is different dependent on their size, age, and what they are made of.

Why:
Because the inside of the star pulsates, it makes like a rhythm.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_7680000/newsid_7688100/7688137.stm

Why do stars make sounds?

How do stars make those sounds?

Which components can make the star make sounds

Why finding the answer is not the most important

Finding the answer is not always the most important, understanding is the most important. If you find the answer, it is just the answer for one problem. If you understand the problem and the calculations, and what to do, you might use it every time this calculation will be needed in a problem you will know what to do for the problem. If you know the answer to one problem and you don't understand it then you will never use what you did again even if exactly the same problem comes up, you won't be able to find it. So it is more important to understand your answer even if it is wrong than to have the right answer. So you have to try to make clear and easy explanations and you will have the best answer.

Reflections on Learning

I learned that parts of learning are skills, knowledge, ideas, and understanding.
I learned that you could put learning into steps.
I learned about Bloom's Taxonomy, all the steps (remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating).
I learned that that there are some study skills to make you more effective in your learning.
I learned that there are very good questions to ask to improve your learning, who, when, where, what, and why.
And I finally learned that blogging is a very, very good way to improve your learning.

Reflections About Blogging

I learned that I shouldn't say bad things about friends, and that you shouldn't copy and paste.
I also learned that you should be the same online as in the real life, that you should remember that you are in cyberspace, and that you should share things that you are expert in. You should give new information, and you shouldn't comment just to comment, and sometimes you should e-mail instead of writing comments, and that you should respect other people. You should only post when you are not happy, sad, etc...
I also learned that parents should be informed, in view, and interested about you on the internet.
And I learned that there are some good ways to start your comment.

Study Skills

I already do it:

- I never have a distraction around
- I usually don't stress
- Most of the time, I prepare for exams
- I am self-motivated


I should do it:

- I distract myself
- I don't have a good balance between homework and other activities
- I don't have any study strategies
- I am not a fast reader
- My writing is very slow
- Everything takes me more time that it should
- I am not usually with serious people

The Lab

Community Contributor:
I've been a community contributor because I helped for the qualitative observations.
I haven't been a community contributor because I didn't help to set the stuff and everything.

Person of High Character:
I've been a person of high character because I wasn't playing or watching videos on my laptop.
I haven't been a person of high character because I didn't take the work very seriously.

Active Learner:
I was an active learner because I listened to everything that Mrs. Smith said.
I wasn't an active learner because I don't remember that well what was our result.

Effective Communicator:
I was an effective communicator because I asked questions.
I wasn't an effective communicator because my group didn't listen to me.

Critical Thinker:
I was a critical thinker because I answered all the questions that were on the sheet.
I wasn't a critical thinker because I didn't find the answer to Mrs. Smith's last question.

Thinking Skills

Create:
I made a mind map on Mindmeister. It is a creating skill because I created a mind map, I made it.

Evaluate:
I corrected some students in Math, we had to correct them. It is an evaluating skill because I evaluated their work and told them if they had made mistakes.

Skill, Knowledge, Idea

Skill:
How to type faster. I use it every day when I do my homework.

Knowledge:
I had a dashboard. I use to translate, look for words, and sometimes play.

Idea:
Being angry does not help. I got angry playing cards with my mother because she was so lucky, but by being angry my way to play got worse.

Space Tourists

Who:
An American computer games millionaire, Richard Garriott

What:
He spent 20,000,000 pounds for a 10 day holiday, on a trip aboard the Russian Soyuz TMA-13 spacecraft. Then he will go to the International Space Station (ISS), and come back to Earth.

When:
It does not say in the article

Where:
First the Russian Soyuz TMA-13 spacecraft, then the ISS

Why:
Because he wanted to, and his father was interested in space because he took pictures of Earth from the ISS in 1973.

Alonso Wins Japanese Grand Prix

Who:
Fernando Alonso

What:
Won the Japanese Grand Prix

When:
does not say

Where:
Japan

Why:
Because his two main rivals, Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa, crashed into each other

Two-arm Transplant

Who:
Karl Merk, a farmer from Germany

What:
He was the first man to have a double arm transplant

Where:
In Germany

When:
He broke his arms six years ago but the transplant was in July

Why:
He broke his arms in a farm accident but now he can open doors, and switch lights on and off.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_7660000/newsid_7660500/7660502.stm

Aliens?

Who:
People and aliens

What:
People are sending messages, photos, and drawings to another planet that is twenty light years away from earth

Where:
The Earth and a planet twenty light years away

When:
About now

Why:
Because people are very interested in knowing if there are any aliens in another galaxy or even in ours

http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_7660000/newsid_7660500/7660542.stm

New Pictures of Mercury

An American agency NASA sent a spacecraft named the Messenger probe over mercury to take pictures of its unknown part. The Messenger probe already discovered new cliffs. It is the second out of three planned for the Messenger probe.

Caning Back?

Some teachers think that canning, hitting the children with a stick, should be aloud again. About one teacher over five thinks that way. They say that children are too naughty now. And they should be aloud too hit them or else they would just lose control of the class. Do you think canning should be aloud?

Jet Man

1. A Swiss pilot, Yves Rossy, zoomed into record books
2.He became the first person to fly solo using a single jet-propelled wing
3.He flew in a plane to 3000 m, then leapt out
4.He went at more than 200 km/h
5.He did 35.4 km in less than 10 min
6.Its jet is 2.5 m wide and has 4 simple engines
7.It weighs 55 kg
8.It has no steering!
9.Some people compare Yves to Superman and some to Buzz Lightyear!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_7630000/newsid_7635600/7635609.stm

What I Learned from Other's Blogs

By reading other people's blogs I learned about economics, writing, sociology, political science, religion, art, geography, and history.
I also learned about some things that happened in the world. For example that a bus fell into a river in Nepal and it had caused a lot of deaths.
It is very interesting to read other people's blogs.

Reading

Reading is the process of getting information from something that is written or printed. It is one of the most important skills in everyday life.

2 Reasons Why Blogging Helps Students Learn

1.It makes them write without being a torture.
2.It can be really FUN.

What Happens in the World

The last typhoon destroyed a lot of buildings, a tunnel with people inside, and a bridge with cars on it. More than eleven people died. It will take very long to replace everything and it won't be possible to replace the deaths. This typhoon was terrible for Taiwan.

The other thing is that Now we know why the plane in Madrid, Spain, crashed. It was because of the plane and because of the pilot. There was a problem of breakdown and no one told the pilot, but the pilot still knew so that's why it's because of the pilot. And all that happened one week before we took the plane on the same airport.