Brain by Sylvia

Sylvia20brain 

6th grade was a lot of work but now that it has come to the end I wonder how much work 7th will be…… 6th grade, aside from being a lot of work, was pretty interesting. Every teacher had a different style, every class was a lot different than 5th grade, and sometimes I wish the classes would be more spread out so that I would be in classes with different people.

This week in Language Arts, we worked on our brain project. Everyone drew a brain and used words and drawings to describe what was going on in our lives. I think this was a cool project and it was fun drawing almost anything I could think of. Speaking of the end of the year, this is my last blog post unless we do blogging next year. If I look back at my old blog posts I can see how much better my writing is now than it was then. It has been a good year, and I hope next year will be just as good.

iPad by Sylvia

This year we have used iPads more than any other school. I think it was very nice to have an iPad. In Spanish, we use them for homework and projects. In science we use them for Nearpod quizzes. In health we use them for notes and iMuscle. In Pre-Algebra we use them for accessing homework and practice quizzes. In history we use them for looking up information. In Language Arts, we use them for just about everything. I fact, I’m using my iPad right now, making this post.

There’s barely any apps that I don’t use. I use Notes for notes and homework, Sketchbook for drawings, Skitch for Spanish homework, Blogsy for blog posts, and a whole lot more. iPads have been a big use this year and next year it will also be very helpful so I don’t have to carry so many books!

 

Membean by Sylvia

Membean is a site where you learn words and answer questions about them. You also learn root words for the words you are studying. I think it is better for students to use Membean rather than a vocabulary list because everyone just forgets the words after the quiz of the list. However, with Membean you can go back to any word you have studied, and when you miss a question, you restudy the word that you missed. There are so many words I have only made it to level 2, and I’ve used it for about 100 days (but some people are way ahead of me). Anyway, it helps build your knowledge of vocabulary and a lot of words I find in books or other sites. I would definitely prefer Membean as my vocabulary learning site and I hope that more schools will start using it.

 

Giver Memory by Sylvia

Photo by FlickrStorm

In the book, “The Giver,” Jonas becomes the new Reciever of Memory. The Giver (the previous Reciever of Memory) gives Jonas memories that only he himself can hold. In the book, the first memory given to Jonas is snow and sledding. I think it would be fun for that to be the first memory but what I’m about to say is a good way to start.

The first memory I might give away is the feeling of excitement on my first slide in preschool. I might give this away because it would give a good start to the person I was giving the memory to. Or the accomplishment of my first step I ever took because it gives the person a beginning. I might give the anxiety of the beginning of a race, or the memory of a beautiful sunrise across the ocean, which gives you the feeling that it’s the beginning of the day. All these memories symbolize a feeling, and the start to something. I wouldn’t give away war first because that would scare the person and get them off to a really bad start.

 

Ideal Teacher by Sylvia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo of a magnet by Sylvia

I think that an ideal teacher would give little to no homework and especially no homework on the weekends because that is when you get a break from school. It would also be ideal if there were quizzes and tests but no grades so the pressure is off a bit. The whole purpose of quizzes and tests is to see which students understand the material, so we don’t really need grades. Besides, most of us get good grades anyway. It is also better for the teacher to actually teach his/her students, not just give them worksheets. That’s how I think an ideal teacher would be but I think that the teachers at Durham Academy are very good teachers and we are very lucky to go to school there.

 

Community Service by Sylvia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo by Sylvia

Last Wednesday, the middle school had a community service day and every advisory did something different to help the community. The Donnelly advisory went to TABLE. TABLE is an organization that collects food for kids who wouldn’t normally have a dinner over the weekend. At TABLE, we brought food in, weighed it, put the expiration dates on it, and sorted it in its category of food’s shelf. Then we filled bags with food that was already there. There was all sorts of food: canned foods, vegetables, beans, milk boxes, juice boxes, fruit cups, pasta, foods in packets that I had no idea what they were, etc. I think that we all did something to help our community and the people that we helped are probably very grateful.

Posted with BlogsyPosted with Blogsy

The Giver Assignment by Sylvia

 

 

 

 

 

If everyone had to get an assignment, I might get a judge because you have to be smart, clever, and fair to be one. I think that I am pretty smart, clever, and fair. I also think it would be a pretty interesting job to get, especially if you like mysteries. Although I have no idea what my job will end up being. I knew I would have a hard time choosing what I should write for this, so I just went with the first thing that popped into my head that worked. If you really think about it, there are about 100 jobs that would fit you……Unless you aren’t good at anything, but everybody is good at something.

 

The Westing Game by Sylvia

 

 

 

 

 

Photo by Sylvia

I think The Westing Game  was a really interesting book. Ellen Raskin is a very good author and I’m glad this was one of the books we read. It was a really good idea to use  the Trading Card app on the iPad so it would be easy to find important information when needed.

Like all books, The Westing Game has a good ending. But usually, endings are predictable and The Westing Game’s ending wasn’t. I never would have guessed the ending with all the information and red herrings. It was very clever.

 

My Hero Project by Sylvia

 

 

 

 

 

At first  I was not very sure what to do. I then later decided to write about my grandfather because I could write the most about him. I think Mrs. Donnelly made it very clear what to do for the writing so I finished that with ease. The hero books were much harder to do than the writing, but they were more interesting. I liked that we actually made something 3D instead of something another school would probably do. It was also nice to have an artist come and help us make them. It was also pretty nice to have them in a gallery in Chapel Hill. Overall, I think the hero project was a success, and I bet all of the heroes are very pleased.

Posted with BlogsyPosted with Blogsy

The Lady or The Tiger Ending by Sylvia

He took one last glance at the princess, her eyes telling him she was up to something. He gracefully, but nervously, turned towards the doors. The doors, so alike and untouched, for he could hear nothing, but the small breaths the kingdom took, and the sounds of his own feet stepping onto the ground. Would it be the tiger, or the lady? The question stuck to his head, never to forget.

His almost silent footsteps headed towards the dreaded doors, ones he never wanted to open. The anxiousness was contagious. Everyone, including the king himself, had caught it. He reached out for the brass handle on the right door, opened it, for it was empty, nothing to be seen, all mouths dropped, the anxiousness had vanished. The looks were now shock, except the king. His barbaric, devil face was red as a rose, filled with drops of anger. The guards carefully and cautiously, approached the door with spears, swords, and many other weapons. The door still remained motionless. The king now ordered him to open the left door. There, he saw a ferocious tiger, licking his lips. He had just finished a pleasing meal. The king glanced at his daughter, but instead saw an empty chair, his eyes wandered back to the arena, and saw a familiar figure coming out of the right door, the princess.

 Posted with BlogsyPosted with Blogsy