Egyptian i movie reflection

1. Why do you think Ancient Egyptian Pharaohs created monuments?

I believe ancient Egyptian Pharaohs constructed monuments for a variety of different reasons. Firstly they would have built  a couple of monuments (statues) to praise the gods or represent them. They made statues of a few different animals to represent some of the animal gods such as Anubis (face of a jackal) and Ra (face of a bird). They also constructed monuments to maybe praise themselves. Some Pharaohs constructed giant statues of themselves for pride  and power. Khufu a great Pharaoh constructed the pyramids of Giza which took about 30 years in the process. They were made from millions of sand blocks that weighed up to 2 tons! He constructed them to make a landmark in history as well as providing a good resting place for his death. He believed that being preserved well would do him well in the next life.

2. What monuments in our society are similar? (be sure to provide explanations and graphics).

Monuments nowadays are alike monuments years ago in the Egyptian days are alike in many ways. Most of the monuments nowadays represent the same things as monuments years ago. The main point of great structures is to leave a great land mark in history or to make a fine work of art that you can look back on. All the famous architects who had built great structures are respected and remembered as time moves on.

                                                       
  The pyramids of Giza were alike to  ...                                                           The Eiffel tower
   Because they are both come through as famous monuments in time. The architects may have been trying to  express other things through the construction of these great monuments but they come through as great   landmarks in history.

3. How did the using Google docs as the main portal for collaboration help you with this assignment?

Having Google docs as the main page for our work was very helpful because it was easy to access and was a great to store information like note taking and our script. it was also very easy to display when we were filming our I movie. We could open it on a new tab and read it while recording.

4. What did you learn from this assignment?

From doing this assignment I have learned a lot. Firstly when taking notes you have to stay on task and stay on topic. Staying on task applies for everything in humanities but I am just including it here because I thought it was very important on this specific topic. Staying on topic is very important when it comes to writing notes. You could be getting facts for Egyptian farming and end up talking about going green. When writing the script you have to write it like you would write a script for anything else. It has to be formal and it has to make sense. And finally for the I movie you had to stay serious and try to pronounce all your words correctly.

5. What was challenging?

For me the most challenging part of making our I movie was one certain part of the filming. It was around the end when I was asked "how do monuments constructed by your pharaoh    . I had a long response to that question and had a variety of confusing statements inside it. Such as when I was talking about the pictures inside Tutankhamen's tomb.

6. Which schoolwide learning results were evident in this assignment?

I believe I collaborated constructively and communicated effectively. I collaborated constructively when I was writing the script and taking notes because I made good use of time. I communicated effectively when I wanted to get my thoughts, knowledge and ideas across to my partner.

City Connections Reflection

1) What you believe you did well on the project?


I believed that I had a good amount of information in my powerpoint. I followed the rubric precisely and had a good amount information for each topic clearly following the criteria. I also thought that I had a great range of photos of my home town although some of them weren't very clear to what they were showing. I am very proud of my efforts on this power point and because of them I have retrieved a good grade. I thought that was a good all rounder for this powerpoint.


2) What you would improve for future presentations/projects?


I thought I could have improved the layout of my power point. I thought that some of my information was not relevant to the topic such as when I was talking about environmental factors. I went a bit of topic around the end when I started talking about the climate. I also could supported some of my facts with more evidence such as when I was talking about my historical factors. Another improvement I could have made providing enough information for my historical factors and being able to explain the facts I had clearly.

3) What did you learn from your preparation (for your presentation) in addition to the presentations of others?


I learnt that in order to make your presentation as good as it could be you need to follow the rubric and stay on task (Stay focused). Listening to other peoples presentations I have learnt allot about other cities around the world. Landsberg, Germany held Hitler in prison before world war 2 and every year in Germany they hold a festival where everyone drinks loads of beer.


4) What is your analysis of your performance?


I thought that I did well at presenting my information and clearly explaining some things in my powerpoint. I have lived in Colombo (My city) for over 7 years therefore I know lots about it and can add personal experiences in my presentation such as the tsunami. I thought I could have I have improved by speech by not reading off the board. In all I thought I did a good job.

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.