My 30day Challenge Review!

     To start off with, my 30day challenge was to not procrastinate which also meant to reduce the time on Facebook, avoid taking naps, and do my homework before dinner time! To be honest, it wasn't a big success but I don't think I failed completely. I actually reached my goal at least a little bit. I tried to reduce the time I spend on Facebook as best as I could and guess what? I got an iPhone which meant more Facebook! This is what I thought when I first got it a couple weeks ago but it actually reduces the time I spend on Facebook surprisingly. I think it's because I always go on the computer to check if I have any notifications and I often end up just doing random things on it. Since I have an iPhone now, I don't need to go into my Facebook page because it sends me notifications on my phone and I never really get distracted with other things on Facebook. I would usually just check my notifications quickly and just close the page. I don't think I did too bad with the Facebook part! Also, I take little naps now! I used to take an hour nap afterschool almost everyday but I only take 30 minute naps! I know, you might think that's still a lot, but I think it's a big success for me because reuducing half of the time I usually slept for is a lot of change. I usually set my alarm clock with my phone and I would set it up so it rings every 3 minutes incase I didn't wake up. I set it up really loud because sometimes, I tend to not hear anything when I'm sleeping. I'm a very deep sleeper! My new iPhone helped a lot with these two little goals, Facebook and my naps! :) The last little goal that was part of my main goal was to try finishing my homework before dinner. Honestly, I think this one failed. I was never able to finish my homework before dinner time. I think I only succeeded once and that was it. I usually take a long time to finish my homework so that's probably why I wasn't able to reach this particular goal. All together, I did indeed finish my homework a little earlier than I would usually through out the 30day challenge. People asked me if I had done my homework whenever I went on Facebook and that  actually helped quite a bit. I would feel guilty if I didn't! I think spending less time on Facebook helped me A LOT for this goal because it gave me at least an extra hour to complete my homework! :) I had lots of times where I finished my homework before 10 o'clock which is a "hooray!" for me because I would usually finish my homework at around 11 and eventually go to sleep at 12 almost every single day. 

     I know spring break is approaching and it'll be a great opportunity to actually succeed my goal completely. I could improve with reducing the time on Facebook and time of my naps, but mainly, I would have to work with trying to finish my homework before dinner time. I know it's going to make it even more diffulcult during spring break since I'm going to be thinking that I will have enough time to do it the next day or the following week. I will try to finish all of my homework in the first week. That 'd be a miracle and I'd love myself if I actually succeeded. I could assign certain homework for each day and I could try to finish my tasks before 6 which is usually my dinner time. I really hope I do well with this goal and IF I don't succeed, I will try again. I'm going to try again and again and never give up until I reach my 30day challenge goal completely! :)     

My 30 Day Challenge Review

I am saddened to admit it, but my 30 day challenge was pretty much a FAIL. My challenge kept on changing, but the basic idea was for me to finally get to it and start typing out a novel and at least complet 1 chapter of it. I only managed to do most of the story outline planup and the first few sentences of chapter 1--- not exactly where I wanted to be! :( I sometimes struggle to find time to work on my novel, but that's exactly the best excuse. When I wake up in the morning on the weekends would be a great time to write because my mind is ready for a new days. Or I could even try to squish in a few sentences at random times, such as when I am babysitting and the kid is eating a snack, or when I am watching a t.v. show and it's a commercial break. But then this comes to the motivation factor, my creative juices just don't seem to be flowing. It's hard to write a novel under pressure, and that's what I am feeling. Writing is not some simple thing where you just put your pencil on paper and WRITE! No, no, no. You need to let the words come to you. I also wished that I had planned it out better. In my last review, I listed this big plan of how I was going to get organized with ym challenge, but I never actually acted on it.
I really wished that I had completed my challenge, but I also believe in the saying "If you do not succeed the first time; try, try again." Spring break is approaching, and it will be a great oppertunity for me to really get organized with my novel. I am not making any promises, but I really feel that I am ready to take action. I am going up to my cabin for a few days, and it is right on the water. Normally we go swimming, boating, hiking, paintballing, etc. But if the weather is bad and I have to stay inside, then there will be plenty of time for me to write. I can just sit on my sun porch, look at the ocean and the mountains and get to work; what could be better than that?
I am an absolute reading fanatic, and I would like to create a new challenge for myself that I KNOW I can meet. I would like for myself to read at least 4 hours a week, but that is at the very minimum. some days I have NO time to read, (often on school days when my homework is crammed up) while on other days I read for over 4 hours. I love escaping to my room on the weekends when I am all finished my homework and reading. Reading is not only for pleasure, but it also improves your writing and spelling.
I really wish that I had been successful with my challenge, but like I keep saying, I don't have any real excuses. I am just trying to be completely honest. :)

Friday February 24 Blog :)

Hi guys! This is exciting because this is my 10th blog.... which means I am FINISHED. Yay! :)

What We Did
We went over a lot today. Once everyone was sitting down and
the attendance had been taken, Ms.Lees explained that the upcoming weeks before
spring break will be very busy because we have a lot of work to cram in. Chapter
9 questions were due Wednesday and Chapter 10 questions of There Will Be Wolves
were due today (Friday). Wednesday was a busy day so Ms.Lees didn’t get a
chance to confirm that we had done our homework. She went around the classroom
asking to see them. Obviously there wasn’t time for her to read all of the
questions thoroughly, so Ms.Lees quickly skimmed through them for errors.
Mostly to see if we were still using “I think” and if we used proper grammar
and capilization. Some people’s responses are great and really extend on the
question, while others are still poor and not up to grade 8 standards. Ms.Lees
also asked us to look at our Chapter 1 and 2 responses, and when we did, we
realized how much we had improved in such a short period of time. Some
responses had gone from ill grammar, 1 sentenced (sometimes not even a proper
sentence) answers to paragraphed, interesting and extended ones.
Once Ms.Lees had finished checking everyone’s homework and
had given the ones that hadn’t finished a quick scolding, we moved on to
bibliographies. Ms.Lees asked us to look at the sheet she had handed out in the
beginning of class. It is doubled sided and gives all of the formulas for
different types of resources. It has over a dozen different types. There is an
online source section and a print source section. Within each section, there are
6-7 different types of print/online sources.
Here is one of the examples:
#4 of Online Sources: TOPIC WEBSITES
“Section or page title.” Website name. Date of Access

Real Example: “Tibetans are not anti-Chinese. His Holiness tells
Chinese reporters.” Tibet.com. 8th May 2008 http://www.tibet.com/NewsRoom/hhchinesemedia1.htm
When doing a bibliography, make sure that the URL is all on
the same line, no matter how small you have to make the font. The whole
bibliography should be in alphabetical order of the last name of the
author. The sheet also included this:
General Order of Information for all Bibliographic Entries:
Alphabetical! (Not Numbered!)
1.
Author of the article (if known) - last name.
First name.
2.
Title of the article, in quotation marks
3.
Title of the source
4.
Edition number (if there is one)
5.
Date or publication of the edition
We didn’t discuss the bibliographies for a long period of
time, because we still had a lot to cover in today’s class. Ms.Lees wanted to
review There Will Be Wolves chapters 6-10 so that we would be prepared for the
test. People interpreted some of the major events in these chapters different
than others. Ms.Lees went over the questions that she knew many people had
struggled to understand, and refreshed our memory of each chapter. We took
quite a long time to review the chapters because a lot of people needed help
and had questions. Once we were finally finished reviewing everything, we moved
on to the quiz. It wasn’t a very long quiz and only had 10 questions. 5 of them
were multiple choice and the other 5 you had to put the events in order. Some
people breezed through it, but the people who hadn’t done their work and didn’t
read the chapters struggled. It only took approximately 7 minutes for the class
to complete the quiz/test, and then we exchanged them with the person beside us
and quickly marked them. Once everyone’s was marked and handed in, class was
over.

Why We Did It
Ms.Lees did a homework check because MOST of the kids in the
class are pretty reliable, but there are a few people who don’t always do their
work. If she didn’t do a regular homework check, then some of the students
wouldn’t feel the need to do their homework at all. The students wouldn’t think
it was a big deal. This would be very ignorant because obviously there are
going to be tests (which we’ve had) and/or a project for There Will Be Wolves.
It would be pretty pointless for all of us to read the novel, but not do any
work related to it. Ms.Lees also wanted to make sure that our work was up to
her standards. If she didn’t check any of our responses until we had finished
all of them (chapter 1-12), then they would most likely all be of equal
quality. But if Ms.Lees checks every time we do a chapter, then she can give us
suggestions on how to improve, and support us along the way.
We spent some time going over bibliographies because for
many of us, it is a whole new concept. Either that, or we’ve done it before in
Elementary school but it wasn’t as hardcore as high school. Many of us are
struggling with it, so Ms.Lees wanted to try as best as she could to ensure
that we get the basic idea of how to create a bibliography. Bibliographies are
important so that Ms.Lees can make sure we don’t plagiarize. If we didn’t make
a bibliography, then we would be able to find one good website and copy word by
word. Then there wouldn’t be any proof that we actually learned anything. Hopefully
when we are writing the bibliographies we can use the formula sheet to our
advantage.
We reviewed Chapter 6-10 for There Will Be Wolves because some
parts of the novel have been a little complicated and people could misinterpret
what the novel is implying. For example, not everyone understood that Master
William’s health connects with the events of the Crusade. We had a test on the Chapters 6-10 because
Ms.Lees needs to verify that we had been reading the novel and taken the time
to understand what is going on.

Connections/Reflections
I am glad that Ms.Lees checked to make sure that we did our
homework because I did do my homework so I had nothing to worry about. It would
be unfair for half of the class to do all of their work and be treated the same
as the people who never do their homework. If I didn’t get rewarded for doing
my assigned work, then I wouldn’t feel the need to ever do my work. We need
praise and support to fuel us to keep trying. Ms.Lees was able to give many of
us the good news that we have improved. When I compared my Chapter 1 responses
to my Chapter 10 responses, I could really see improvement. It encouraged me to
keep trying to get better and better. My responses went from filling up 2-3
lines to filling up at least 10 lines. This made me feel proud. I actually don’t mind doing the responses
because it really gets the wheels in my head spinning. In grade 7, I read a novel called The Cay,
and each week I got in to a group with several other students. We would discuss
our novel(s) and answer questions related them. This was good practice for the
questions we have been assigned for There Will Be Wolves.
I have to admit that I am still a bit confused on how to do
a bibliography. I understand 90% of it, but it may take me a while to perfect
it. I am sure that the formula sheet will be a HUGE help; I just need to take a
better look at it. This will definitively help me in the future. I plan on
going to college or university when I am older, and several people have told me
that for almost every project you need to do a bibliography. I want to practice
doing bibliographies now, so that when I reach the older grades, I can breeze
through them.
When Ms.Lees went over the Chapter 6-10 responses, I was
relieved. I realized that I had actually answered some of the questions
incorrectly. For one of the questions, they asked how Ursula’s innocence was
shown when the man with coals approached her. I had assumed that the correct
answer was that when she tried to defend herself from him, she didn’t use her
so called ‘powers’. Turns out that I didn’t understand what the question was
asking. The correct answer was that she was young and thought of the world so
innocently, so she assumed that he was just offering them for free and being a
nice neighbour. When in reality, many of the people on the Crusade were
murderers and criminals, and not many of them could be trusted. I found that
the test wasn’t too tricky because I had read all of the assigned chapters, and
worked hard on my responses. As long as someone asked questions when they were
confused and did their homework, then they probably managed to do well on the
test. We did a test a few days ago for chapters 1-5, so I knew what the format
for this test was going to be like.

Homework:
Your “Day in the life of _________” diary is due
on either Monday or Tuesday. If you finish it for Monday, then you will be
assigned your skit group on Monday which will give you an extra day to plan it
out. Friday was your last opportunity for you to make sure you have at least
10-12 learning blog posts. If you still do not have 10 posts minimum, then you
need to tell Ms.Lees and have a GOOD reason!
Tips:
-I suggest that you try to finish your diary for Monday so
that you can get ahead for your skit
-You had over a week to catch up on your learning logs.
There aren’t any excuses that I can think of if you don’t have at least 10
blogs.
-You can find several ideas for your skit on YouTube. We watched
some in class and there were some great examples
- If you ever need help, you can ask one of your class
buddies, email Ms.Lees, go in for FLEX or check the class blogs.
- If for some reason you cannot finish your homework or project,
then make sure to email Ms.Lees with a good reason in advance
-Try to check Ms.Lees and your peer’s blogs daily. Sometimes
there is important information on them
- When you have a lot of homework, and you just can’t seem
to concentrate, try setting a goal for yourself. Tell yourself how far you want
to be on your homework in half an hour. This makes you pay more attention and
speeds up your work.
- If you still don’t understand how to do a proper
bibliography, then you try looking it up online. There are many useful
websites.
-If you find that you have spare time, then go ahead and do
more of the chapter responses. This way when Ms.Lees assigns that chapter for
homework, you’ll already be done it! J
- If you want to know what Ms.Lees has planned next for us,
you can check the calendar that you copied down.

Wednesday February 23rd Learning Log

What We Did

On Wednesday, we started off class by talking about our future schedule. Because of a problem at her house, Ms. Lees warned us about delays that could occur, so she wrote down a plan for which showed when all our homework was due and when we would work on other projects. After she showed us the plan, we were all told to take out our chapter question and as a class, we reviewed them together. We were told that we should have added extra things to our answers if we hadn't written them down already.

After the block ended and we came for second block, we were given the 'There Will Be Wolves' Ch.1-5 Test, which in my opinion was very easy. The test had ten questions and asked about the characters, along with the storyline/plot.

Finally, when the test was over and handed in, we were all told to finish our notes for our Medieval Diaries or, if we were finished, to work on our chapter 10 questions.

Why We Did It


I think we reviewed the chapter questions because we needed to improve our answers as a class and also make sure that we didn't miss anything. We could look back at it and see how the questions should've been answered. As for the test, I think tests are important, not only because they review previous work, but to also confirm that we're learning or, in this case, that we're actually reading the book.

The Middle Ages project is also very important because it is a huge learning experience for the students and also provides us with a lot of knowledge on what it was like to live back in the past, without any technology.

Connections/Reflections


Personally, this was not very fun for me to do. I do not like taking notes. But realizing that I was learning a lot from this project, I learned that this was very beneficial for my education. In the future, this knowledge in taking notes is essential for organization and also, taking tests, reviewing older work is something that is also very essential in the future... Not just for jobs, but also for when we participate in future educational activities.

Homework and Tips


-Finish Chapter Questions by next week
-Come to flex if you're not done or if you are stuck
-Get your diary ready by Monday

30 Day Challenge Progress Report

After proposing my 30 day challenge, I have been doing fairly bad with trying to reach my goal. Although my goal was to try not to sleep everyday after school until I had finished my homework, almost everyday after school, I fell asleep due to being tired. We were told that we would try to accomplish our goal for thirty days, but I have failed to accomplish my goal, so I technically do not qualify for the 30 Day challenge anymore.

Friday February 17th Learning Log Post! :)

     Sorry for the late post everyone! I haven't missed a single day of posting on my blog so far but somehow, I needed one more post. We need 10 posts all together and if I include this one, it adds up to 10! I'm very happy that I don't have to do anymore of these because these usually take me a long time to write! My plan was to post on the weekend for Friday's post but I started it and didn't get the chance to finish it sadly. Yesterday, I worked on it for a little bit and I had to work on other homework. So I finally got the chance to finish it today! :)

What We Did :

     On Friday, we started class with talking about the blogs. A lot of people didn't have 10-12 blog posts so Ms.Lees reminded everyone that we should have enough by the end of this week. She's giving us one more week to wrap them all up and to finish them! I know some groups have 5 people in their group and they'd probably have to make up for a lot of them! You can post on any day to make up and it doesn't matter if your blog member posts on the same day as you. If you're really behind, I recommand you posting everyday this week!

     Due to the teacher job action, it is predicted that there will be NO student led conferences this term. Parents usually come to school and look at their children's work to see how they're doing at school but this time, the students might have to bring their work home and show it to their parents by themselves. Nobody currently knows when the teacher job action is going to end!

     We talked about the notes we had to take from pathways with the substitute on Wednesday for double block. Ms.Lees was quite proud of us that we finished all of them without complaining for the two double blocks! Apparently, we didn't have to take notes that day. Our substitute forgot about handing out some worksheets that she photocopied. It's okay because it was good practice for us anyways!   Ms.Lees made a T-chart with Do's on the left and Don't 's on the right. She metioned some of the things with note-taking. In the Do's column, it said to use abbreviations/symbols, organized format, use keywords, and be accurate with the source. She doesn't want us to use Wikipedia as a source because anyone can change and edit the information on the website, and some facts could be wrong. For the Don't's column, it said not to use full sentences, copy from text, avoid unnecessary words and repetition.

     We went over some notes together as a class as examples. Ms.Lees took a couple examples from people in our class and she looked at each one. She told us some of the things that we shouldn't do again when taking notes such as, copying the text right off from the book, writing full sentences, not having a certain format (ex. outline, web, e.t.c ) as she mentioned already in the T-chart. She wanted us to focus on the key words, and writing brief point forms instead of full sentences. Some of the examples we looked at had full sentences. A lot of those could get shortened. Most people had their strengths in some part of note-taking. Some were very organized (Outline) with certian labels and spacing. When she was showing everyone the examples, she highlighted the things that the person who took notes of it, should leave because it was good. Everyone in the class had to highlight their own work too. We highlighted some of the things that were good and that we should keep. 

     After looking at the examples, Ms.Lees let us watch some videos on youtube of the middle ages as sort of a reward for taking all the notes without complaining on Wednesday. We watched a couple videos called "Horrible History" and they had some interesting songs and skits. They were quite funny and weird! 

Why We Did It : 

   Ms.Lees reminded everyone about the blogs because some groups haven't been posting for a couple months. Since we need at least 10 posts all together, they should better get their work done soon! Some people in the class even forgot about them and they were saying "OHHHH RIGHT!" as soon as Ms.Lees mentioned about it. A lot of people have been giving excuses that they didn't have time or their computer broke. They will have to have at least 10 posts at the end of this week eventually or else, they wouldn't earn the mark they want. We have one more week that we can make up for so everyone should better work hard! It's very important for everyone to keep organized and plan ahead of time than rushing at the end (procrastinating) like I sometimes do! Ms.Lees will be marking one of our recent posts soon! 

     It was important for Ms.Lees to point out the do's and the don't's of note-taking. Everyone should know what they are supposed to do. They could improve next time by recognizing the things that they haven't done. Everyone always has some space to improve. Since Ms.Lees metioned the criteria, people won't be able to yell out that they didn't know they weren't allowed to do whatever they didn't do correctly next time. It's their responsibily to listen to the teacher and do what it's expected. She had to go over the expectations because some of the notes weren't so good. They had some of the "Don't"s. A lot of people had full sentences in their notes! 

     It's good to look at other people's examples because most of the time, people make the same mistakes as you do and you could learn how to improve next time. Also, it's a good experience to know the different ways people organize their notes. Different people have different styles of note taking. I'm personally more of a outlining person than a webbing person. Sometimes, it could be very uncomfortable sharing your work and letting everyone else see your work, but it builds up your confidence! You should never be ashamed of your work because it's the reason why we are sharing and trying to improve. 

     Taking notes is an important skill that you would be most likely be using in the future a lot! Sometimes, while taking the notes, you get a better understanding of the content. By putting them into your own words, it helps you to understand better. Notes are a great source for studying because they're in key words and they're very organized and they're very easy to read. 

     We watched the videos of the middle ages because we worked really hard the past few classes and it was a great way/time to relax. Since we're learning about the middle ages right now, it was a fun/exciting way to learn about them by listening to the music lyrics and looking at the skits in the videos. Also, we are planning to do a little skit with our little roles we got for our research project. It could help us think of ideas for the skit lay-outs in the future. 

Reflection/Connections : 

     Even though doing the blogs was stressful the last couple months, I think I learned and improved a lot than the beginning. I'm very proud of myself for my accomplishments.

I know I had trouble with relevancy the past few posts but I think I did okay on this post. I've noticed that a lot of my group members improved a lot too. I saw huge improvement from especially Luke. He used to write just a couple sentences for each category but now, he actually writes paragraphs! He definitely improved greatly! :) I'm very proud of him as his group member. Now, we just need him to post a little more to fill up at least 10 posts...

     I thought it was a great way for Ms.Lees to point out what we should and shouldn't do because that way, we exactly know the criteria and nobody will be able to argue about the expectations. I always like having the criteria in front of me when I'm doing certian work for school. I remember last year for projects, I used to look at the criterias like 100 times just to check if I had everything. Once, me and Monika (in block 4 class) had to do a skit for a HACE project and we were the only ones who got 20/20 because we had all the information that we needed. Other groups thought they just had to make a funny skit with a certian drug in it. I made sure a couple times to check and added more things incase! Checking my work was worth it even though it was very tiring! :)  

     I know that note-taking skills are very important to have. Even in elementry, I took notes when I was doing research, but I didn't do it properly. I used to write full sentences for my notes when I was young but as I got older, I realized we had to write point form for everything. I love taking notes because I don't usually like writing full sentences because they take too long to write and I love how notes are so organized like outlines. As I already mentioned earlier, I'm more of a outlining person than a webbing person. I find that when I create a web, it looks really messy because of the uneven circles and such. Outlines are so well spaced out and neat! I heard that you have to take notes for most of your coarses in university. Last year, we had to watch a video on ancient Greece with a substitute and we couldn't write the notes because it was way too fast. We complained about it to the substitute and she told us that it was nothing compared to the notes we have to take in university in the future and I was pretty shocked. I don't know how I'm going to survive in university! That's probably why people create symbols for note-taking because they take way faster. The teachers (professers) don't write every single word on the board for everyone to copy in university. They just talk and talk and we have to catch every single word they say and write it down if it's something really important. I'm actually a bit scared of university but I'm sure that if I prepare for it well in highschool, I won't have any trouble! :)

     I really liked watching the middle ages videos at the end of class because I was very tired that day and it was a great time to just relax and enjoy the video without taking any notes on anything. At first, I thought the videos were stupid and funny but they actually had story lines in them and they were all true facts so I found them interesting. I found the famine song interesting and I sort of freaked out. I'm really excited to work on the skits after we do the research because even though I'm shy most of the time, I love working on skits with people! They're always fun and exciting! :)    

    

      

Homework : For tomorrow (Wednesday)

- finish "There Will Be Wolves" chapter 9 questions 

- finish role-playing notes for Friday

- Study for the "There Will Be Wolves" quiz tomorrow! 

Tips : 

- If you weren't at school today, check out your peer's blogs and find out about what we did in class today!

- If you aren't able to complete certain homework that is due tomorrow, don't forget to e-mail Ms.Lees for extension with a good enough excuse! 

- If you haven't completed all your work that is supposed to be done already or you need help with something, go in for flex on Thursday at 11:10!

- Be sure that you read all the chapters from 1-8 for "There Will Be Wolves" for the quiz tomorrow! 

- Visit the library at lunch for information about the role-playing notes. They are due on Friday so don't procrastinate and do them on Thursday!  

- If you want to check out a book from the library, make sure you bring your Go-Card with you!

- Check out the "Middle Ages for Kids" website if you're looking for information about your role.

- Make sure you look through your binder and check if ALL of your work is completed. 

- Visit the school's website for information about the upcoming events at our school! (Type in Fraser Heights Seconday School on Google) 

- If you don't have 10-12 blog posts, be sure you complete at least 10 of them this week! It's your last chance to catch up! 

- Check the P.E office for information about the upcoming sport events. (Badminton coming up soon!) 

Schedule : 

Anyone is allowed to post this week for catch-up if they don't have at least 10 blog posts!  

          

          

    

  

    

    

     

I am really sorry.
This post today is for yesterday’s (Monday) class. I had a lot of homework to
do yesterday, and only managed to finish half of my blog.


What We Did

On Friday, Ms.Lees had announced that we would be spending
all of today’s class in the library. So, the whole class met there when the bell
rang. Once we were settled and all sitting, Ms.Lees explained our upcoming
project. We are/were all going to be individually given key roles from the
middle ages and are going to do a project on the roles. Everyone from the class
took turns picking from a bucket a slip of paper with the role on it. Some were
happy with their role; while others weren’t. A few examples of what people got
are monk, lord, bishop, merchant, and so on. Some jobs will be easy to research
because they are very famous roles, therefore they will be difficult to find
information on. A few people had jobs (I think one was a falconer,) that were
very tricky. Those people got to exchange for a new role. Once everyone was
organized and knew what their jobs was, Ms.Lees quickly gave us a basic
explanation on how to do a bibliography for books, articles and websites. We
also took notes while she spoke. Ms.Lees then handed out a sheet with four
sections on the front. They were:
1.
A Day in the Life of _________
2.
Role-Play Meeting
3.
Bibliography
4.
Getting Started on Research
We read over the sections, and then got into groups that had
to do with our roles. For example, there was a “royal family” group and another
group was “religion.” We chatted with our group for a few minutes, but then
Ms.Lees informed us that we needed to fill out #4 of the sheet. For number 4,
we had to choose 4 main topics that we would focus on for our project. These
had to do with information on our role. Some common topics that my fellow
classmates chose were Jobs, Education, Clothing, Food, Shelter, Rights, Home
Life and Family.
After we had decided on our projects, Ms.Lees gave us the
rest of the class period to find notes on our role. She had a big cart full of
at least 30 different books about the Middle Ages and the different roles. Some
were on churches, while others were on clothing. There was a large assortment
and many different ones to choose from. If we weren’t in the mood to look
through books, then we were allowed to use the computers instead. Ms.Lees
strictly explained that we are required to use at least one book and at least
one website in our bibliography. So if you didn’t use a book, then you are
expected to use one tomorrow. The class was pretty well behaved, but the
library is a whole new environment, so some of may have gotten off task. We
were allowed to choose what type of method for note taking we wanted to use;
although most of us chose the “Outline” method.
Right before class ended, Ms.Lees told us that she expects
us to do a 30 Day Challenge progress report, although I am not quite sure when
this is due. She also told us that our notes for our role are due Friday, so if
you don’t finish your notes in class, it will be homework

Why We Did It

We worked in the library today because we needed to use the
internet for researching our roles. Some of us used books on the Middle Ages
from the library, and it would have been a huge hassle for us to check them out
and take them back to the class. We have gone to the library as a class several
times before, because unlike Elementary school; our school doesn’t have laptops
for us to take to the classroom. Some people aren’t always reliable, and Ms.Lees
knew that if she asked us to find ALL of the notes at home; then many people
probably wouldn’t do them. We also need at least one book in our bibliography
and I am guessing not many people have a “The Life of a Lord’s Son in the
Middle Ages” book lying around at home. ALL of our notes are due Friday, so if
she asked use to get a book from the public library, many of us wouldn’t have
time. A lot of us get more work done when we are in the library because we know
that if we are loud, we will disturb the older kids. And let me tell you, some
older kids can be REALLY scary.
The reason we each
have individual roles is because there were so many different jobs, lifestyles
and classes in the middle ages and it would have been a huge struggle for us to
learn all of them. This way, we can become an expert at one of the roles. The
way we are going to present our roles is even a little fun. People tend to
remember and learn new things better when they actually like learning it and
are paying attention. That’s why this project is such a great idea; because in
the end we will have learned about the life and responsibilities of each key
role.
Ms.Lees taught us how to do bibliographies because it is
very important in the future for us to know how to do them. Many projects that
we will be doing in the older grades require a bibliography; might as well
start young! We also need to do a bibliography so that Ms.Lees can make sure we
don’t plagiarize. We need to write down EVERY single source of information that
we use so she has proof. If you do happen to not be a good little child and you
plagiarize, then you could get in big trouble.
I firmly advise you NOT to cheat. There are serious consequences.


Connections/Reflections:

I was really excited on Friday when Ms.Lees announced that
on Monday we would all get our roles. In my mind I was going over all of the
possible roles I could get and pros and cons of them. At first I wanted to be a
monk; mostly because I was thinking that I could really rock the bald look. But
then I realized that a monk probably wouldn’t be the best role for me because I
am not religious whatsoever, and religion can be really complicated. If I were
a monk, I would have to have a lot of knowledge on religion, or else I would
have a TON of studying to do for the project. Then I considered being a Merchant,
and it seemed like a pretty good job, but there are so many different types of merchants
and it would get really complicated. In the end, I didn’t have a certain role I
wanted to be. I was the last one to get my role, and the suspense was killing
me. I got Bishop/Archbishop. At first I didn’t even know what it was, but I
guess that is the whole point of the project!
In Elementary school we did bibliographies in the later
grades (mostly grade 6 and 7), but they weren’t as intense as the ones in high
school. We usually just wrote down the name of the book and author or the URL
of the website. I remember that once in grade 6 we learned how to do them, but
no one really remembered. I am glad that Ms.Lees went over the format again. I
am still a little uneasy about the format, but practice makes perfect.
Whenever Ms.Lees announces that we will be spending the
class in the library, I jump for joy! I really enjoy the working environment in
there because we are allowed to talk quietly with our peers; but we also manage
to get a lot of work done. I, personally am very frightened of the older
students, and I wouldn’t want to do anything to disrupt them and make them mad
at me, so I tried my best to be respectful. I also love when we have free time
to take notes and get out work done. So I really enjoyed finding notes today. I
spent a lot of the session planning out the sections and what types of notes I
needed, so I didn’t have a lot of time to actually find a lot of websites or
facts. I did, however get a chance to skim through the books and many of them
had a lot of useful information. I suggest that if you are struggling to find
information online,then be old fashioned and try to find what you need in one
of the books. There were so many available; at least one has to talk about your
role.
Being able to find notes on a specific topic independently
is a very important skill for the future. In higher high school grades and
University/College, you are constantly jotting down notes. We use notes as a
study guide for tests and to help us with projects.


Homework (This is due tomorrow--- Wednesday)
-Finish There Will Be Wolves Chapter 9 Questions
-Finish role-playing notes for FRIDAY
-Study for There Will Be Wolves quiz

Tips:
-If you did not manage to finish your role-playing notes in
the library, then they are due Friday. Try not to do it last minute, because
your notes won’t be as accurate or important
-It is hard to study for the There Will Be Wolves quiz, but
just make sure you have read all of the required chapters
- If you have NOT done at least 10 learning blogs, then you
need to use this week to do some make up ones so you can catch up
- You should have 10-12 learning blogs
- Make sure to comment at least twice a week on your group’s
learning blog
- Try to support your group members by reminding them to do
their blogs if they need to catch up. Sometimes they just need a helpful push
in the right direction
- If you need to use the Middle Ages book(s) from the
library, then go in during lunch and Mme.Monk will probably help you find them
-Look at your notes from Ms.Lees or look up online the
proper citation frormat for bibliographies if you have forgotten
- If you ever need help, you can email Ms.Lees or ask one of
your Humanities buddies
- FLEX is usually on Mondays and Thursdays, make sure to go
if you are struggling or need to catch up
-If you ever miss a day, make sure to call the office or
bring a note in.
-Many sports are starting up, so make sure to check up on
them in the P.E. area
-Find all of the school news and upcoming on the school
website. http://www.firehawks.ca/
-Here is a link for the school library: http://sites.google.com/site/fhlibrarysite/Home
It includes lots of helpful websites and tips.
- If you ever need to check a book out from the library,
remember to bring your Go-card.