How did you select images and words to create meaning? Was this easy for you? Why or why not?
I selected images that went with the quotes I choose. Since I chose quotes that explained the physical appearance of the Indigenous land before it was taken as well as the appearance of where they were living after their land was stolen I drew what was described. These two were quite simple and easy to think of because the quotes from the song were able to provide an image of the land. The figurative drawings were a bit more difficult to think of because they needed to symbolize something. I decided to draw a child in a spoon because the term “scooped away” was used a few time during our discussions in class. The saying referring to the Indigenous children taken away from their families and communities at birth without the consent of family. I decided to draw an image of someone being shushed to symbolize the silencing of the Indigenous people by having their children, culture, and land taken away from them.
I had the idea to make a small cottage a while ago and finally had the opportunity to for my final piece. I sketched different ideas of cottage designs in my spare time, and chose the one I liked most. I initially wanted to have a tree growing on the side of the house from the bottom that wrapped around the roof, although while I was in the process of constructing the base, I decided to instead have branches growing around the roof to be able to take off the top for more use by storing jewelry on the inside, instead of having the base of the house and the top be connected. I added fine lines and texture throughout my piece such as on the door, the grass around the home, the tree branches up top, and on both the bird and mushroom. I had the idea of having tiny animals living among normal sized plants which is why the mushroom appears to be so big in comparison to the crow. I did this in order to make people think a bit more when they looked at my piece but also to just make it more interesting. Next time, when I have more days to complete a piece like this, I want to add more details, animals, and plants throughout.
While Mr. Asano was doing the lab demo for the class to watch an example of a dissection, I payed close attention so that I could do my own dissection with my partner properly. My partner and I worked well together since we were both determined to do a good job. We did not waste any time but instead were very good with knowing how to help each other. If my partner had the blade I would hold the pig in a way that she could correctly cut the part of the pig and vice versa. When her hands were full I would write info down or if I needed to tie the hooves down she would hold the pig up, this way we were very efficient time wise. Communication was key between partners for this lab so that we were both on the same page. It was mostly just paying attention that allowed us to complete this lab so well, we were attentive with each other and communicated well with one another about what was happening next.
Critical Thinking
The oral test was based off of our knowledge of where all the internal parts of the pig were located. We used our text book and other sheets to try to find where most of the parts were. Some were very hard to locate since we needed to move things around quite a bit in order to find the smaller parts. When we weren’t certain on a few of the organs we went online to try to locate them, when that didn’t work we looked further through the text book and images we were given and used process of elimination until we eventually had them all. We then asked Mr. Asano to verify a few of the parts just to ensure we were on the right track.
Social Awareness/Responsibility
Throughout the piggy dissection I participated and asked questions when needed. I also helped my peers around me and encouraged them as we went through the process together. I came into the lab during flex in order to measure the intestines of my pig, and during this time multiple people had asked me for help and I helped them throughout the whole block. One student asked me for help with uncoiling the intestines which I helped with showing them how to cut through the membranes and slowly unravel the intestines. Helping others comes naturally to me and it never feels like a waste of time. I had a positive attitude throughout the entire process.
During my stool project a lot of thinking and planning was involved in order to complete the project accurately and successfully. The first step was finding out all the measurements by measuring an example of a stool done previously. I needed to find a piece of wood that fit the pieces with the least amount of waste.
I had to think of what was the next few steps which is breakout. I used the appropriate machines which was needed, then came the harder part which was making all the pieces fit together. I used my knowledge of the project to make the legs successfully fit together. In order for there to be no gaps in between the pieces during the glueing process, I needed to shift things around then tighten the clamps some more. This part was the more frustrating part because things tended to fall since I only have two hands sadly and I could not hold everything all at once. This is where a partner really helped out with holding my pieces so the would not fall and lean over or shift. After the frame was all together, I needed to sand everything to perfection trusting my eyes to sand in the right areas, feel around for roughness then sand some more. I needed to think about whether or not my project needed the roughest grain of sandpaper which it did not since there were no big scratches, so I went ahead and got the less rough sand paper grain.
When the base of my stool was all done I needed to find a fabric that would best suit the colour of the would and the size of my stool. I then needed to wrap my cushion and insure there were no bumps in the fabric especially in the corners which made me pull pinch and pull some more.
My finished stool!
Things that I encountered along the way…
I can experiment with different ways of doing things: while I was covering the cushion with fabric I found out that for the corners just focusing on one side instead of both was much easier and more effect for me. It allowed for the least amount of bumps.
I can explore materials and actions: When learning and trying new things during the steps of making my stool I was not discouraged but instead I actually tried my best which paid off in the long run.
I make my ideas work or change what I am doing: When I cut a rail two short (12 inches instead of 13), I didn’t panic but I instead made two rails 12 inches, while the other two were 13 inches. The only difference this made was that my stool shape was less of a square and more of a rectangle.
An example of something I have spent a lot of time learning about is…
Something I have learned a lot about is wood work. I took wood 10 last year because I wanted to learn how to make things using my hands and materials. I learned quite a bit in one semester and I also decided to take it this year. This semester woodwork class started off more smoothly and I could really see the progress I had made from last year. I could tell I was far more ahead and could understand instructions much more easily then before. Help was also needed less and I could be more independent using all the machines and tools.
Others find my feedback useful because I…
I am a very open and understanding person so people see me as someone who is easy to talk to. Judging is something I cannot do because I don’t think that anyone has the right to judge anyone other then themselves. I also consider myself a pretty honest person so I tell it how it is for the good of the other person. Honest feedback is the best feedback because it can actually help someone to improve on something. I am also a calm and patient person, which make up the qualities of being a great listener.
Some of the ways I work to build and maintain relationships are…
Communication is very important in all relationships because we need to let each other know how we are actually feeling so that we can improve and build upon that relationship. If a friend does not feel included they should say how they are feeling to the other so that something can actually be fixed. I have recently worked on telling people what I really want and am feeling and it had definitely made a big difference and helped my relationships to become even closer. Friends should also trust one another so just as I put my trust in my friends, they out put their trust in me.
While I was using the table saw to try to cut out my tenons, some of the pieces came out too thick and wouldn’t properly fit, while my first one was perfect. Turns out my wood was not fully straight and had a very slight slant causing the last few pieces to be thicker. Because of this I had to measure my wood then lower or raise the blade according to each piece. I had to adjust to each piece and use my eyes and would bring the blade up or down little bit little until each piece would fit in. This took me more then half the class to do, but I ended up making everything work out and each tenon fit into the legs perfectly. In the future I figured out that having a completely flat piece of wood really makes everything much easier.
Titration is also known as titrimetry and it is a common method of quantitative chemicals analysis that is used to determine the unknown concentration of an identified analyte. The point of the lab was to titrate a hydrochloric acid solution of unknown concentration with sodium hydroxide and to utilize the titration date to calculate the molarity of the hydrochloric acid. This is what the titration was used for in this lab. The endpoint of a titration is when the indicator changes colour. We knew that we reached the end point because the liquid when from clear to a faint pink that lasted for about thirty seconds. Our results were a very faint pink and the final volume of the NaOH was 14.92, the initial volume was 0.13 and the volume used was 14.79.
Communication:
I listened to instructions in order to know the steps and what to properly do in order to complete the lab successfully. My partner and I communicated well, shared ideas and thoughts about each step before we did anything. We discussed what we would do before we did anything to ensure that there would be no errors made. We made sure to correct each other when it came to measurements or technique within the lab. We could easily ask each other to help with anything such as handing over a tool, wiping something with paper towel, or simply just adjusting the clamp.
In this photo we used a timer to see how many “prey” (candy) I could pick up with my pinky and thumb which represented my beak
I demonstrated that I can collect and analyze evidence by taking photos and describing what is going on in the photos. I also recorded our data on the lab sheet as we were doing the lab, and was able to determine who collected most prey. As well as which coloured candy was collected most often. I recorded how much prey my partner and I got in the white background, black background, and red background. In the Feeding Frenzy lab I recorded the feeding tools and environment for each group member.
I demonstrated that I can collect evidence I collected to big ideas when I answered the discussion questions. They asked me to elaborate of what parts the activity demonstrated Darwin’s main points such as Genetic Variations, Changes in the Environment, Struggle for Survival, Over production of Offspring, Natural Selection. I was also asked to use a real life example of survival of the fittest.
I demonstrated that I can make predictions based on evidence when I predicted how the makeup of the population of insects change over successive generations in the black background environment as well as the white one. I explained that the insects in the black background should mate with the darker coloured ones to pass on that trait and eventually the offsprings will be darker and darker and will be able to blend into their environment to survive.
I demonstrated that I can draw reasoned conclusions because I learned that animals pass on favorable traits that allow them to better survive. I think it is interesting how that is just their instinct. They will choose a mate who is healthy and has the best genes to pass onto their offsprings.
For my virus project in biology, I chose to research rabies. I used my creative thinking when figuring out how to build my virus model. I thought of a way to make my model stand out. So my partner and decided to use model clay that dries. Before it dried we made it into a shape of a virus, hollowed out the front, cut up pipe cleaners for the spikes of the rabies virus. We then made the made the proteins out of pipe cleaners and added them into the hollowed out front, then labeled the parts. We also designed the pamphlet to make it nice to look at. We found all the information needed, and added them neatly into the pamphlet.
For this assignment, I decided to make my main dish a burger, the side dish fries, and the desert was chocolate chip cookies. I planned my meal to be flavourful, moist, sweet, and to smell yummy. My meal turned out the way I wanted to. It wasn’t dry, just sweet enough, and had lots of flavour. The qualities all turned out the same just as I imagined. I believe I showed strength with cutting the veggies for the burger and cooking the meat well. The meat wasn’t dry and it was cooked just right. This meal reflects who I am because I chose the right things. I chose a burger as the main meal because I am complicated and there are lots of parts to my personality. I chose fries as the side dish because they are simple and they remind me of being shy for some reason. I chose the chocolate chip cookies as the desert because they are sweet which reminds me of being kind.
