Homework and Classes Overview from the First Week of School

   My dad requested that I do a blog post with some information on my homework from the first week of school. I got homework in math, english, science, and social studies. Every day, I have two math classes, a science class, a social studies class, an english class, and a spanish class. I like all of my teachers,some more than others. Some of the classes have been interesting, although most of them were meh. I think the homework we have done has been okay. Overall, I still am rating my school as 6.5 out of 10.

     In math class, we have been working with pieces of the 6th grade textbook, supposedly to help remind us about last year. Because I am ahead of my grade, I don't feel like doing sixth-grade work is really helpful for me. Maybe it's helpful for some of the other kids, though. We have been watching some vi hart videos, which I've really enjoyed. I also learned how to use a protractor,  which is a skill I think is very useful.

     In science, we've had some pretty cool homework. In class, we've done two experiments. In one, we put a plank of wood half on a table, half off, half on. We then laid down ten (all the way unfolded) pieces of newspaper on top of the table. When my teacher donned a thick glove and whacked the wood very hard, the wood broke instead of launching the paper.  The other experiment we did involved my teacher filling a cup with water, putting a piece of paper on top of it, and then flipping the cup upside-down. The paper does no fall. For both experiments, we were instructed to write why it happened, as well as later (after variations of the experiment were done) to write, based on more facts, why we think it happened. I think this homework was very good.

     In English, we've have written a persuasive letter over a few days. We read an anti-television persuasive essay in a textbook, and have either written a letter to the author of the article (saying that he's wrong) or a letter to the CEO of NBC (saying that he's wrong). I think that this assignment was interesting, and I definitely liked it more than the standard reflecting on some aspect of some character in some boring book we were forced to read essay. Although I don't love writing in general, I am hoping that the writing we do in this class will be more compelling than that of previous years.

     In social studies, we have been doing some homework which I assume has been to warm us up for the work we'll be doing all year. I've done some text-marking, I've done some connections homework, I've done some writing what pieces of text mean. So far, we've pretty much covered the basics. No prediction on how social studies will be. It being one of the few subjects we didn't have at CSCL, I'm hoping it will be good.

     Spanish is one of the few classes where I'm with a different group of people. There  are 30 kids, which is a bit chaotic. I really like my spanish teacher, and I like a larger percent of the kids in the class. I also like learning spanish. Also, we don't get much homework, which is definitely a plus. Spanish is a class I look forward to.

My class still has a few friends, a few really irritating kids, and mostly people I don't connect with. Still okay in general. I mostly like my teachers. My classes are okay.

Hopeful for the best,
Max

A Bone From a Dry Sea

   


As part of my at-home evolution unit, I read the book A Bone From a Dry Sea. This book has two sort-of related stories in it, switching off between two protagonists.

     One of the stories focuses on Li, who is of a species of ape-humans that are our ancestors. Li is more thoughtful and creative than the rest off her species, and helps lead them away from danger. Her species spends a lot of time swimming and in the water. Scientifically, her species existing is only one the theories about our ancestors from that period of time.

     The other story revolves around Vinny, a girl in modern times. She is visiting her dad, an archeologist. She goes to a desert area, in Africa, where he works. They find remains of a hominoid creature, as well as what appear to be shells cracked with tools. They have to overcome the teams leader, who is provocative and bossy.

    I thought this story was sort of interesting, so I am giving it an 7.5 out of 10. I ended up being more interested in the story of the prehistoric girl than the story of the modern girl. Thanks for reading!

Walking with Cavemen Movie

     As part of the evolution unit I am doing at home, I watched a video called Walking With Cavemen. This video tracks human evolution from  Australopithecus afarensis, an early upright primate, all the way through four of five species of hominids, to the current model (us) Homo sapiens sapiens. This movie said that Australopithecus afarensis, evolved into (as well as a few other not-so-successful hominids) Homo habilis, who was an omnivore with the ability to use basic tools. In turn, Homo habilis evolved into Homo ergaster, who mastered basic hunting and begun to have longer relationships. Some of the H. ergaster  moved into Asia and became Homo erectus, who were hunter-gatherers. Next, the movie showed Homo heidelbergensis, who were smarter, but according to the movie did not have much of an imagination for abstract ideas. H. heidelbergensis then became Homo sapiens neanderthalensis, or Neanderthals, as well as early Homo sapiens sapiens. Finally, the movie showed that the Neanderthals went extinct, leaving us on the planet as the solitary species of humans. Sorry I haven't posted in a while, thanks for reading! 

Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith

   
      Because my current schooling program doesn't do much history work, my mother and I are doing some work on history at home. My mom is a history teacher, so she has experience teaching kids this subject. We are starting with a history/science unit on evolution. A few days back, I finished a book called Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith by Deborah Heiligman. This book is about Charles Darwin's personal life and his theories' relations to his family and life. I thought this book was okay, because I thought it would be more about the science behind his theories and other scientist related arguments. It did contain some of this information, but the book was mainly about Darwin's wife, kids, and other family/friends. This book did talk about the religious community's problems with it, because his wife was a strong Christan. Overall, I were to rate this book from 1 to 10, I would give it a solid 7, but I may have just expected more science from it then what the author was trying to deliver. Thanks for reading!

Spanish Research Project

Extra Credits Videos

     I have been watching a series of videos lately. This short videos are titled Extra Credits, and concern video games. These videos are not just about how to beat a certain game, or how to get whatever achievement, though. They discuss, according to their website, "How they are made, what they mean, and how we can make them better." I recommend watching them for anyone who has an interest in the fine details of video games. Here's the link. This blog entry is about a few episodes, containing information on video games and education. The videos talk about how games and game theory could make learning more fun for students. One phrase that they talk about a lot, (they even titled the episode with it), is "tangential learning". By this, It means that video games could insert references to historical, mythical, or social references in the game. The player's might be curious enough search on the internet for the reference. Now this would work for a game with an enormous audience, because not everyone will google things in their game. But if many games had references, then people could learn a lot more. I think that idea isn't amazing, but if a video game was about the reference, and was still interesting, then this might work. This won't work with games that already exist, though. Some games that are trying to teach to player something are just boring. They try to be fun, but are just facts flashing across the screen and wanting you to memorize them. A more engaging game could involve a player moving around, as a historical figure, trying to accomplish a goal that is a historical event.

     Another episode suggests ways that classroom learning could be improved, with video game-like changes. The video suggests that the grading system used in schools is deeply flawed. They say that students, expect to get an A on an assignment, so anything less is negative. They say that a point-based system would be more motivating, possibly with rewards for certain numbers of points. This would make the students fell like they were increasing in points, not doing worse than they thought. I think these videos are very thought-provoking, and am continuing to watch them. Read my next entry, please!