New year blogpost

2010 was a year of achievement, hardship and much more but towards the end we  have to welcome a new year, 2011! A year filled with even more. Everyone has resolution (goal) to start a new year. Stop smoking or give up drinking or something. Here are two of my resolutions to  start of 2011.

I would like be a better friend. I have not been that nice to people in 2010 and this year I would like to keep my figure as well as be a better friend. I need to be able to accept people for who they are and try to be a caring and respecting friend. I can achieve this as long as I treat them like I would any of my other friends. I have to stand up for them in certain situations. If they're were being bullied or mistreated would be a great opportunity. Another way to be a good friend is by respecting them or helping them when there in need. I will work towards this goal and if accomplished it will make me a happier person and a better friend. Improving my figure would be good for me and others.


Another resolution for me would be to improve my grades. My grades for school aren't the best. Therefore I would like to improve for me. This would also help improve my figure. I guess I would also do this because it might lead some chill time from my parents. I can do this by trying to enjoy somethings I am not particularly fond of. I can do this by looking for things I find interesting in classes. This will at least make me try harder and studying would also help me out. Good grades mean allot to me and the come with many positive aspects and advantages such as self pleasure and improving your figure.


These are my two of my 2011 resolutions.







The Christmas holidays have come to an end but it doesn't mean we can reflect on them. My holiday snap shot was and amazing experience I had in Ulpotha. Ulpotha is a jungle resort in Sri Lanka where I used to. Sometimes it can be quiet, sometimes it can be loud but something will always be going on in Ulpotha.I was walking around when I came across a small black thing on the floor. It first came across to me as a milipede because it seemed to be moving but when I looked closer I found out it was a snake. I was puzzled. It was so tiny, so small. But it was definetly a snake. I managed to get it on a stick then I walked over to a villager. "Is this posonous?" I asked. The man shook his head and walked off. The snake didn't come across as scary so I slowly picked it up and put it on my wrist. I was worried at that moment it may have bitten me but it didn't. It came across as a very friendly snake and for the rest of the day I observed it held it and played with it. This was my first contact with a snake and it will be a moment to remember in my life.

6th grade zeitgeist

This is my 6th grade zeitgeist

My blogpost , How I work

1. I learn best when The information or directions are given to me in a diagram, word document or other things I can read of. I am a better learner when the directions are given to me manually. I tend to have trouble listening in class therefore taking directions that are readable are much easier for me to process. Reading is one of my strengths therefore reading directions is a key was for me to work. Reading information or directions from the board come with a few advantages. You don't have to ask the teacher to repeat if there is something you don't understand. Since it is already there you can just read over. Another big advantage that comes with reading of the board is that it normally explains directions very well. That statement isn't always true though. Sometimes hearing the information aloud explains allot. It just tends to be more descriptive.

2. I need to listen better in class. As I said in the paragraph above listening is one of my weaknesses. I can listen for no more then a couple of minutes. After that my mind focuses on something else and when I am asked to explain what has just been said I am left clueless. I believe I have  adhd a listening disorder. I tend to veer of in class when there is something I am not particularly  good at or just aren't very interesting. The slightest thing can take me of subject. My eyes cannot stay focused in class which is something else that gives me a hard time concentrating. For example my normal day after school consists of mainly me vegging on the computer doing home work as well as a variety of other things like checking my email.  When I open up a new tab I go right of subject and the next thing I know I am watching YouTube. As I wright this essay I am being taken of subject. For me reading of the board is my ideal way of learning. 

3. The strategies that would help me in my learning should be things to do with my listening. I think if I was more exposed to simply listening then I would be more use to it and hopefully improve. I think a personal goal for me would definitely be to listen better. This has been my goal for several years. I think if I was not in reach of anything that could distract me then I would be able to listen much better. One strategy that comes to be very helpful is sitting closer to the teacher. I would surely be able to listen better and stay focused. Connecting with that I think sitting without any of my close friends would also be very helpful. When I say close friends I am referring to anyone who likes to chit chat. This would also help me listen better. Another distraction out of the way. I think tests that have you read a story then be asked questions about it are very helpful. Hearing the story orally would be better though.

4. I would like my teachers to know this about me. I am  very easily distracted and have trouble listening in class. If I tend to zone out in class you will know why. When working on homeworks I do a majority of things at the same time.  It may not always be spell checked. I do not always try as hard as I can on tests. I must be pushed to the limits if I am to try my absolute best. In group discussions I contribute many useful ideas. I work well when I am in a group.  

Blog post 2 on Literature circles

1.The benefits of working with a classmate.
There are many benefits that come with working with a partner. You can always count on them to give you feedback and improve on your literature circle. Any capitalization mistakes or spelling mistakes get corrected by your partner. One big positive aspect of working with a partner is that you don't have as much work to do which gives you more time to work on your part of the literature circle as well as less work to stress on. Working with a partner in literature circles means sharing a document. In that case you can both be working on it at the same time so you can send them feedback which improves your grade and your partners. Having a partner takes away allot of stress. It leaves you with less work and any concerns you have with the literature circle you can share with them. Having A partner is very helpful in many situations and takes off allot of stress. Having a classmate work with you easier for me and many advantages come with just having a partner.




2. Challenges / obstacles which you overcame (tried to overcome)
Many obstacles some how find there way into literature circles. Me and my partner came across many problems throughout out literature circle. Capitalization and spelling came up very often due to the fact we had not used spell check. A much bigger problem we encountered was creating good discussion question. Personally Finding a good discussion question is the hardest thing for me to do in a literature circle. Another challenge I faced was finding a good connection that really related to Jacob's adventure in the bush and give it the best description I could. Literature circles have many obstacles/challenges along the way which can be overcome with help or possibly the right brain.


3. New understandings that you gained about the novel.
I understood this book much clearer after having a literature circle discussion. Many things that were not clear to me were explained clearly by my group members. In one of my literature circle passages I explained how I didn't understand one section in the book. It involved Jacob floating down the river experiencing something I wasn't quite sure of. My group members clearly explained the whole situation to me. I re read some parts of the book because either it didn't make sense to me or I read it improperly. I have understood more and more about this story every day and as I read on more is revealed.


 Having a group has many advantages and having a partner working with you is 

Lit circle Blog post

1. How has your groups discussion helped your understanding of the novel.
My group discussion gave me a much better idea of the book and pointed many things out to me. This happened because the things I didn't understand they pointed out to me with evidence from the book. When one of our group members was presenting he said something that did not occur in the book, we checked for it and realized he was right. Checking before criticizing is always the first thing to do. The members of discussion regularly have different opinions on events in the book so we check in the book. Mu groups discussion has helped me understand the novel better because  in our discussions we all discuss what has been happening in the book and background information on the book. We basically summarize the book. 


2. Connections that you made during your discussion
The connections I make in literature circles reflect on everything that has been going on in the book. They connect to some of the major events or just parts of the story. Normally connections made in literature discussions are very interesting, for example one of our literature circle members had a connection similar to the main character of the story when he thought of running away from home. Last literature circle discussion we made connections as we were going through parts of the book. 


 3. Predictions
Predictions are very usefull for anything you are doing. In literature circles predictions are very interesting. We can compare predictions to each other and see what different people think is going to happen. Predictions also come to be very fun and surprising. Let's say you said the main character was going to survive the story and he doesn't ,you would be very surprised. It is also very fun to compare your predictions to you results and see what really happened. Predictions in literature circles are very useful for many different reasons, they make you want to find out what happens, they pull the reader in to the story, they are fun to compare and they can also be very surprising.

Guns, Germs and Steel

1. What role did geographic location and natural resources play in the the development of Malaysia? 


Malaysia is an island in Southeast Asia.  It population last recorded in 2009 was over 28 million.  It is located 2 degrees 30 North and 112degrees 30 East. Malaysia is surrounded by South China Sea and  Sulu Sea. It's neighboring countries are countries are Brunei, Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore. Malaysia is split up in to 2 parts, East Malaysia in the East and Peninsular Malaysia in the West. The Strait of Malacca found in Malacca is one of the biggest shipping lanes on the planet. Malacca was very famous for trade.  Malaysia was formed in 1963 through a federation of the former British colonies of Malaysia and Singapore. Malaysia has been independent since 1957. Malaysia is still a developing nation. 


 Malaysia's location took a big part in it's development. It's started of to be a very lush tropical environment a great place to start a community. Malaysia is a very hot country so you would find lots of wild around the country. Some of the biggest city's are surrounded by thick jungle. The Strait of Malacca found in Malacca is one of the biggest shipping lanes on the planet. Malacca was very famous for trade. There are basically 2 seasons in Malaysia which are the dry seasons and monsoon. Malaysia barely has any natural disasters so the community is developing well. 


Malaysia has a variety of resources that prove to be very useful in it's development. Malaysia is very endowed in areas such as agriculture. Malaysia is very famous for rubber and palm oil. They have hundreds of palm oil plantations around Malaysia. Malaysia specialize in fishing and farming. Some Malaysians are specialized in making micro chips. They have a gas industry. They have successful oil companies. 


In conclusion the geographical location of Malaysia helped the country develop successfully along with the natural resources it has. I think that Malaysia will be fully developed in the future.


Sources: www.wikipedia.com 

Mud skipper narrative, Jake

There I was just wallowing peacefully in the mud enjoying my free time tanning in the sun then all of a sudden a tremor shoots through the mud. My eyes open and I shoot into consciousness. I look up and walking towards me are huge giants. I look to my left and other mud skippers just like me are fleeing in all directions. I tried to blend in and it seemed to work. I lay extremely still then out of nowhere a catastrophic explosion sent me face first into the mud. Time to move I said to myself. I leaped into the tree line but a behemoth giant crashed down where I was lying. I was squished deep into the mud barely able to breath. The giant pulled himself up out of the mud as I ceased my chance and gasped for air. I sprinted deeper into the mangroves and rested then thought something was different. There were huge plants sticking high in the air then all of sudden from round the corner I saw a large bulky figure moving towards me. He reached down to where I was. I closed my eyes held my breath and prepared to be crushed. Slucckkkkkk! I opened one eye and looked around. I lay untouched and there was a huge mark where the plant had once been. Something was strange.

Were they friend or foe? The mysterious figure pulled the plant out of some form of material then dug a hole then placed the plant inside and buried. One after another they continued this pattern with a few odd slips and falls. I changed my mind about them but still kept a close glance. I decided to go back to check on my parents but out of nowhere a noise that almost blew up my ear drums rang out echoing through the mangroves. I looked up then suddenly a giant drenched in mud ran as fast as she could back the way she came. What was wrong? Was it me? Impossible, I was tiny. anyway apart from my dazzling looks what was wrong with me. The giants were staring at me with there faces filled with fear. I was controlling the situation. I advanced then more screams rose up. A grin lit up my face and I charged. Half giants backed up but the other  half jumped at me. OMG! Time to move. I darted back threw the mud and burrowed just so my head appeared out of the top of the surface. I wondered what was happening then an idea hit me like thunder. They were assassins sent to murder me! Wait, that doesn't explain the plants. Maybe they were assassins sent to poison the mangrove. Wait, that doesn't explain the screaming. Then for real it hit me. They were planting trees in the mangrove.
                                                                                                                            
 Ohhhhhh I said to myself. I shouldn't have worried. They must have been helping the mangrove by planting trees. They weren't enemy's at all, they were saving out home.But that doesn't explain the screaming either. What's wrong with me? I waited through the long hours until they had all disappeared then emerged from under the mud. Whoa, what a day a crab said. Later that day night fell and we all sat round a plant discussing  the day  then something hit me.. Why would they help us? An old crab came out of the darkness and told us that they to depended on the mangroves for survival. The mangroves protected them from flash floods tsunamis                and tropical storms and also gave them a food supply. Everybody crept back and trembled then the old crab told us didn't eat mud skippers or crabs. They ate fish. We all burst out laughing. "Who would eat a fish?" Said one of the younger crabs. "They are all smelly and big." "I heard that" said a fish nearby. They sat round the plant all night then fell asleep. We woke up normally the next day then.... More giants!