Weekly blog 2/7/16

This week I learned that the Rio Grande river starts in Colorado, goes through New Mexico, and then becomes the border between Texas and Mexico. Another thing is that the source is in Colorado and the mouth is the Gulf of Mexico. Also there are more than one Rio Grande one in Brazil and one in Mexico. The Rio Grande has some river qualities such as a meander (bend in a river). One more thing is that the Rio grande has about two or three meanders.


SP8: Obtain, evaluate and communicate information

Science cannot advance if scientists are unable to communicate their findings clearly and persuasively or learn about the findings of others. A major practice of science is thus to communicate ideas and the results of inquiry—orally; in writing; with the use of tables, diagrams, graphs and equations; and by engaging in extended discussions with peers. Science requires the ability to derive meaning from scientific texts such as papers, the internet, symposia, or lectures to evaluate the scientific validity of the information thus acquired and to integrate that information into proposed explanations.

Did you research something, used the CITE-IT strategy and then “told” the class about it?

OR

Did you present something to the class?

In class me and my group researched information about the Rio Grande river for a project.

WAC

 China shouldn't build anymore dams because they have consequences and the more dams there are the more consequences there are. If China builds more dams then it will also cost more money to build it and to fix some of the consequences it has. Having electricity is good but having consequences is bad. There are lot's of reasons why China shouldn't build a dam and there are also a lot of reasons why China should build a dam but maybe the consequences are worse than how good the benefits are.

 One reason why China shouldn't build a dam is because Historical and archeological sites can be lost to the world. A historical site that was lost to the world when the first dam was built was the "Dragon bone cave" that contained fossilized human remains about 2 million years old and they were found inside the dragon bone cave. But since the dam was built it is no longer accessable and the artifacts are lost forever.

 Another reason why China shouldn't build more dams is because if there is more dams the more area it will take up and if area is taken up where people live then people with have to move to a different place. If more people move then the amount of people in China will eventually shrink and there will be more people in other places. If these places overflow then there will be some people who won't even be able to buy homes. If we build more dams more people will have to move to a different place with little money and then they won't be able to move anywhere because of little money.

 One more reason why China shouldn't build any more dams because since the first one was built landslides have increased by 70% and if we build more then it will get more likely for a landslide to occur. Then soon landslides will end being common in China and a lot people's lives will be at risk. Then soon there might be damage to houses or other buildings and it will cost a lot of money to repair everything, If there are more dams then there are also more landslides that can occur.

In conclusion China shouldn't build any more dams for 3 reasons and they are the one's above. If we build more dams then we might lose historical sites, people might have to leave with little money, and landslides will be more likely to occur in China.

Weekly blog 1/17/16

Summary: Something that I learned this week was that a meander is a bend in a river and there can be more than one meander in a river. I also learned that the source is where the river begins and a tributary is where a small stream or river joins the main river. Another thing is that a v shaped valley is made by erosion and it's different from a u shaped valley. One other thing I learned is that deposition is when sediment adds on to something such as an alluvial fan. One last thing that I learned was that an Ox bow lake is a part of the river that's separate from the main one.


SP7: Engaging in argument from evidence
In science, reasoning and argument are essential for clarifying strengths and weaknesses of a line of evidence and for identifying the best explanation for a natural phenomenon. Scientists must defend their explanations, formulate evidence based on a solid foundation of data, examine their understanding in light of the evidence and comments by others, and collaborate with peers in searching for the best explanation for the phenomena being investigated.

Did you participate in a class discussion providing evidence for your answers, and/or used the ACE strategy in your work?

Yes we discussed things about rivers and things that can be found in or around a river.

Dirt and Soil Project Blog

Erosion is the breaking down of something such as when you see small pebbles they used to be part of a big rock but it takes lots of time for things to erode. Things can erode by water going against something for a long time. But erosion can't do it all by itself because who's moving all the pieces of rocks, dirt, etc. It's called weathering and weathering is when the pieces of rocks and dirt are moved away. Weathering can happen by Wind and water. The difference between these two is that erosion breaks things apart and weathering moves things away. They are different but they work together because when something is being eroded away small pieces will likely fall off so weathering comes in and moves them away.


Backward-looking
A way I think I need to improve is to memorize what to say during IGNITE slides and to make sure that I have everything on the slide that i need. Another way I need to improve on is to work on projects more at home and not just school so that I can finish early and have time to memorize my script. One last I need to improve on is to talk to my team mates more so we can plan ahead and have a plan of who does what.

Inward-looking
Parts that I like about this project were that we didn't have to keep clicking the computer to make that slide transition. One thing I disliked about this project was that we couldn't quite find how long the erosion took so I got stressed. But over all everything else was good because I didn't see anything as that frustrating.

Outward-looking
If I were a teacher a comment I would give it is that it is close to great but not quite/because my group was looking at scripts and were a bit off with the slides. Another comment is that the slides and pictures were good. One more comment I would give the project is that I could see that my group worked hard on it and tried our best.

Forward-looking
A goal I would like to set for myself next time is that I should be more collaborative with my team so we can do better. This is because I think that if you don't have teamwork everyone with just do their own thing and it will be confusing. I think that if I collaborate with my team then we can all say who does what.

Project blog 12/20/15

Summary: This week I learned about a charity called the AWI and I also learned more how to do the charity fair project. What I learned about the AWI is that they want to stop the hurting of animals by using the money given to them. They are trying to stop people from using steel jaw traps and barb wires because they can cause painful damage to animals with fur. What I learned about the charity fair is that we need a trifold, a cost and profit, a company name, and a product to sell. I also learned that food items were most famous in the charity fair because someone selling cake pops got about $72 dollars and my company wasn't selling a food item and we only got about !6 to 18 dollars.

Backward-Looking

How much of the subject I knew before was that you needed a product cost, profit, and poster. That's what we needed last year and I guess that they changed it a little to make it harder so we can learn more. This year they wanted us to do cost, profit, carbon footprint, trifold poster, company name, and product. This year was pretty different from last year but they were also kind of the same.

Inward-Looking

What I thought was satisfying about this project was the product because out of everything the frogs were the most popular because that's where most of our profit came from. One other thing that was satisfying was that when we were making the trifold because it looked awesome when we were done.

Outward-Looking

If I could give my product a grade it would be an A because it was colorful and it had the cost and profit on it. I would also give it an A because it had the carbon footprint as well and it also had pictures of the products so people can see what they look like on the trifold and on the table. One more reason I would give it an A because it had everything that was required but that's just my opinion.

Forward-Looking

One other thing I would like to improve on is to be better at listening because sometimes when I don't listen I'm confused on future work. I want to listen more to get good grades in school so I can then move on to the next grade. I want to do this so I'm not left behind and heldback even more.

Weekly blog 12/13/15

Summary: This week we were working on our carbon footprint for the charity fair and we worked on our cost a bit too. 2 of our resources are the same but I'm pretty sure the rest has a  different total of CO2 but the 2 resources total of  CO2 is 7,418,510. We are doing two things for the charity fair and those two things are origami and rice crispies. The two resources that are the same is the paper that we're using to make the origami and the ones that are different are the rice crispies. The two resources that are the same are made in Vietnam and Vietnam from San Jose is 12,262 km.

SP5: Using mathematics and computational thinking

In science, mathematics and computation are fundamental tools for representing physical variables and their relationships. They are used for a range of tasks such as constructing simulations; statistically analyzing data; and recognizing, expressing, and applying quantitative relationships. Mathematical and computational approaches enable prediction of the behavior of physical systems along with the testing of such predictions. Moreover, statistical techniques are also invaluable for identifying significant patterns and establishing correlational relationships. 

Did you perform any math calculations?

We made math calculations in the carbon footprint because we had to add distance from origin, Quantity needed for 1000 kilograms of product (kg), and g of CO2 generated by likely mode of transport. When you add these 3 things you get the total number of CO2.

Weekly blog 12/6/2015

Summary: This week we were learning about soil and we are in groups working on a google doc that we have to finish. We need to answer questions such as what is soil, what is the composition of soil, what are the different types of soil, etc. For the first question "What is soil" soil is our most important resource because it can help us support buildings, it helps us make food, and since it is under us everyday we can't notice how important it is. The last question is "What are the different types of soil?". The different types of soil is Tundra soils, Northern forest soils, Prairie soils, Mountain soils, Southern forest soils, Desert soils, and Tropical soils.

SP7: Engaging in argument from evidence

In science, reasoning and argument are essential for clarifying strengths and weaknesses of a line of evidence and for identifying the best explanation for a natural phenomenon. Scientists must defend their explanations, formulate evidence based on a solid foundation of data, examine their understanding in light of the evidence and comments by others, and collaborate with peers in searching for the best explanation for the phenomena being investigated.

Did you participate in a class discussion providing evidence for your answers, and/or used the ACE strategy in your work?

We watched a video about soil and about how important it is. Then we discussed a little bit what we were going to do. Our teacher also said that we could watch the video again and I gained some good information. Another way I gained information is by reading one of the text books.