The Giver, Lois Lowry!

In class we started Lit Cirlces again! Everyone complained but we had to do it because school isn't exactly democratic. I have to read a book called 'The Giver' by Lois Lowry. It is a very interesting book about a boy called Jonas. He lives in a community that is very much like an Utopian community. In an Utopian community it is safe, orderly and predictable. Just like Jonas' community. Everything is decided for you. Like which family unit you are going to be in. You are never gemetically related to your family. Your parents don't get to chose your name the committee does it for them. You get your job when you are only twelve years old, and you don't even get to chose your own job. There are stict rules that you have to follow or else you will be realesed form the community. That will bring disgrace to your family. But when you think about it a question comes to your head, 'Would you want your future to be decided by other? Why or why not?'
I woldn't want others to chose my future! That would be horrible! I want to do whatever I want to do with MY life. Because it is my life. Like when you nine years old your toy gets taken away from you. But sometimes you play with your toys when you are ten years old or maybe eleven years old. I would always want a choice. Because when something happens I want to tell myself that I made that choice. I would want to tell myself I can chose no one else can chose for me. Because when I do that I feel that I can do things, others don't have to do them for me! It makes me feel more mature!
And then there is the sense of freedom. Everyone wants to be free. It is a happy feeling to be free. You can do whatever you want to do whenever you want to do it. I hate it when people chose for me. Of course there are times when they have to chose for me, and there are times when I wish someone will make the choice for me. But you can't build charactor when people always chose for you. Sometimes you like math but you want to be nurturer. But the comittee tells you to a be mathmatician. Then you have to be a mathmatician for the rest of life. How horrible would that be! You want to be a nurturer but you have to do something comepletely different! You will spend the rest of your life in misery. That is why I want to make my own choices! It is not easy but sometimes the hard things are the best!








Images taken from:


http://www.wheelers.co.nz/resource/product/small/978000/9780007263516.jpg

Imovie Grading

Hi people who read my blog! On one of my previous post I put up a youtube video made by me and my partner on Queen Hatshepsut of Egypt who is really awesome (in a way!). Well like everything else on this blog it was for school and everyone else in my class did it too but on different Egyptian pharaohs! So everyone was asked to grade some of the imovies! So I did! Based on how everyone else grades me and how I grade everyone else's takes part in determining their and my grade on our imovies! So I tried to be as nice as I could be! We had to grade them in numbers if it was a 5 then that part of their imovie was awesome! If it was an 1 then that part their imovie wasn't too good! Anything in between was like thats a okay job or not too bad! So heres a link to my grading sheet for my classmates!

https://docs.google.com/a/iskl.edu.my/Doc?docid=0AU7in1_toY_oZGdoMjNnY2dfNjcyaDVjc2pnNw&hl=en&authkey=CNCb09kH

City Connection Kolkata

I did my city connection presention on Kolkata, India. I think I got all my information right. I got some statistical information and I have found enough information for the history of Kolkata. I also found alot of information on the enviromental factors. Like the Hoogly river provides all of the fresh water supply in Kolkata. And Kolkata is huge! And the national animal of India the Royal Bengal Tiger is found in the Sunderbans Forest! Part of the Sunderbans Forest is in Kolkata. I also think that I spoke loudly and clearly for my presentation! And that it wasn't too long.

In my future presentations I would like to improve my script and layout of the presentation. In my script I just had a bunch of information. I could have been more creative and played around with words! But I didn't I just put down a bunch of information that I was going to say. But it probably wan't really as interesting as it could have been. If I had made more interesting words and sentences. And I could have found other interesting facts that is not how long the Hoogly river is or how much land the Sunderbans take!

I learned that it is easier to find out what kind of information you are going to find. Because then you won't be looking for random facts. You would be looking for something specific. So you won't have spend hours thinking about what you should be looking for. Like pretend you were looking up the history of Kolkata you could just type in Kolkata History and there you can look at a bunch of sites that will tell you about the history of Kolkata and you have your information on the history. Also you should find your information before you start making your presentation. Because then you could just but then information into sentences or paragraphs and put it on your presentation. You should do that because if you do your presentation and information at the same time then you will want to finish one whole part of your presentation then move on to the next. But then by the time its due you would have finish half of your presentation and the other half undone! Then you would be rushing to finish it and you won't get a good grade.

I think I did okay on my performance. My script could have been better. But I told them all the information that I wanted to tell them. So I was happy about that. I think my powerpoint looked pretty! I had enough pictures and I had rehearshed my script so I didn't stumble over words. My presentatioin went by smoothly! I didn't forget to add something! And I got a good grade on it too. Over all I am happy with my presentation.

Link to my Kolkata slide show: https://docs.google.com/a/iskl.edu.my/present/edit?id=0AU7in1_toY_oZGdoMjNnY2dfNDN0dDNmcm5mNA&hl=en

Images Courtesy of:

http://www.indialine.com/travel/images/kolkata-city.jpg

http://www.fotosearch.com/bthumb/CSP/CSP337/k3376403.jpg

http://www.psychologytoday.com/files/u15/Happiness_1.jpg

Hatshepsut

This is my imovie about Queen Hatshepsut who was once a pharaoh of Egypt. I worked with my partner Tatyana and she helped me alot! I hope you enjoy our imovie because we worked really hard on it!

Everything Teacher's Want to know about ME!!!!!

Learing about your learning profiles can be very important to a lot of people! Because it helps them do better in school. Because your learning profile gives you tips about things that you are having trouble with. Like organization. Also it is really interesting to look at your learning profiles. Its like when you look up your star sign so you can read what it says about people with your star sign. But just because you are a logical person doesn't mean you are forbidden to be creative. You don't have be what a piece of paper says you are. And you can't even use your learning profile as an excuse because, for example you turned an assignment in late. Just because it says you are forgetfull you still had your planner to remind you!

I learn best when I close my eyes and turn my left ear towards the sound when I am listening to new information. I also learn best through movement and by focusing on the whole picture, writing and emotional relevance to me! I also must hear the intention and feelings of the person or the information that I have to learn. That is what it says on my learning profile! I am profile J. Gestalt Dominant. Meaing I am right brained. But from what I know about myself... I completely agree with my learning profile! I tried a few things they suggested! Like close my eyes and turn my left ear towards the sound. I actually helped me remember what my humanities teacher was saying!

I need to read more non-fiction. Because all I ever read is fiction, fantasy, historical fiction and science fiction (sometimes). Reading non-fiction will help my less dominant side of brain! The logical side. I also need to make sure I don't get stressed out a lot! Because I will get clumsy and just won't be able to concentrate on my work I also won't be able to communicate properly when I am under stress. But most of all I need to be more LINEAR! If you don't know what that means, I am going to tell you. I means being straight forward. So I have trouble with linear aspects of life and learning. That means I am not straight forward with my life and education! And I know that is true! Because whenever I ask my brother to edit one of my drafts for a story. He says I take too long to say one thing! And complains about me being really boring. Because I am not staright forward. So I really need to be more straight forward.

Strategies that will help me in my learning. One thing that will help me with my learning is if I sit on the right side many rows back where I can hear easily, with my dominant ear. Which is the left ear. Also if I stay organized and make myself little notes or lists like my humanities teacher does. Those will help me remember things. Although I am not very forgetfull with my school assignments. I am very forgetfull with my things. I have already lost three water bottles, my jacket and I almost lost a library book. And when I don't practice piano or forget to do my kumon homework and my mom asks me why I forgot to do those things. I forget why I forgot to do those things. So if I make lists or notes, I could always write do kumon and practice piano. Also if I ask my teachers for help instead of my parents I think I will do much better.

I would like my teachers to know that when I am under stress I have problems with sight! That means that I will just focus on one thing and forget about everything else! I also hve problems talking. I will keep forgeting what I am about to say so I will repeat stuff and start to get really worried. Also I will be really clumsy when I am under stress. I will trip when there is nothing to trip over. So teachers if you ever see me doing any of those things that I wrote above! You will know I am under stress. I also like to figet with somethings, anything. I could be my shirt, my pencil etc. And when I am under stress I will see the picture or hear the information. But it will just be a bunch of words or colours. I won't really be able to process all the information into linear pieces. So I will very confused when you guys (the teachers) tell us to start working and I will be like "what just happened?"


Image Courtesy of:
http://kaizenimprovement.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/leftbrain_rightbrain2.jpg

http://www.clipartguide.com/_small/1386-0904-3008-1232.jpg

http://www.webtreksearch.com/images/nonfict.jpg

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_2VEaTPMR9yw/So9G2B6t2XI/AAAAAAAAAWs/0gsYJa3sbfk/funny_to_do_list_tshirt%5B2%5D.jpg

http://jennadaily.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/clumsy.jpg

Vacation and Resolutions

I have lots of new years resolutions! But there are the two most important ones! The first and most important one is, wait for it... Listening to my parents more. I know that sounds pretty boring. But if I listen to my mom and dad more there will be a lot less shouting for me, this year. This is really important for me because... I have to go to a tuition like class, called Kumon. I always leave my kumon homework for last minute. But then I don't concentrate properly and end up getting a lot of my questions wrong. My mom keeps telling me to do each booklet of homework everyday. But I don't listen. And when I do all of them last minute my mom says "I told you to do a booklet  everyday! Now you will get a lot of questions wrong! Why won't you listen to me?" When she shouted "Why won't you listen to me?" I thought of it later on when I was in bed and soon I realized my mom won't shout at me if I listen to her. And now that is my new years resolution. Another reason why listening to my parents is important is my dad keeps telling me to read non-fiction books. But I like to read fantasy books. One day he started asking me random questions like "Who invented electricity?" And I just sat there staring at him. And then he said that I am not a real reader because I don't read different kinds of books. That totally got me mad. And I decided that I wanted to listen to my parents more for my new years resolution!

My second new years resolution which is very important, drum roll please...  Get more fit! That was a really common one last year in the U.S but I want to be more fit than I am now. So I decided to make 'get more fit' my new years resolution. I will be much better in P.E and in swimming my after school activity and in tennis (tennis has nothing to do with school!) Here some reasons for why I want to be more fit! First of all my brother is super fit with huge muscles anf he has beat people up in his Kung-Fu class in London! So when he does like 100 sit ups and I only do like 30-40! I feel very ashamed and embarassed! SO I have decided to be more fit! The other reason is in piranahs I am the slowwest swimmer except for when I am swimming breastroke. But I don't want to be the slowest swimmer! So if I get more fit I will be faster! And then in New Year's time I was like "My New Year's resolutions are listening to Mom and Dad more and getting more fit!"

Okay I had awesome Christmas holiday! I went to a 'Botanical garden in Putrajaya and then I went to Penang for 3 days'! I did a lot of things in Penang but one of the most memorable was probably going up the Penang hill. There is a huge hill in Penang which is obviously called the Penang Hill. There is normally a train to up  the mountain but that was under construction so we had to go up the hill with a jeep. The window was open and I was sitting at a window seat so the cool air blew into my face and sent my hair flying. I could smell all the trees that grew on the mountain and the dirt and also some water. I moved closer to the seat with my eyes closed and let my face hang out the window like a dog. And I heard all the noises like the wind rustling the leaves the sound of the tires craking twigs. And when I opened my eyes I saw a few hikers and bikers going up the hill. I smiled and waved. But they were too busy cycling and hiking. That was the most peacefull part of my vacation.

My second favorite part of Penang was playing in the sea with my brother. My brother went into the sea pretty deep and he didn't know there was a big wave coming. I shouted "Look out hter is a huge wave coming!" I ran for it. But since my brother was too far in he couldn't get away. But he didn't want to be the only one who gets crushed by the wave! So he tried to grab me! Just barely. But I got away. After that we played agame called 'Stay Where You Are!' Everytime a wave hits us we have to stay where we are. If the wave pushes off our spot then the other person got a point. Since I was used to swimming and the water. I won the game it was 10 to 4. After that we played lots of splashing game. And we even got my mom wet! And the next day we say a starfish on the beach! It was orange. I gently kicked him back into the sea.






Pictures were taken from:
http://msnbcmedia2.msn.com/i/MSNBC/Components/ArtAndPhoto-Fronts/HEALTH/090330/HLG_Argue.jpg

http://www.thebiggestloser.info/img/the-biggest-loser.gif

http://www.daughteroflight.com/Random/FF8/rinoa_hair.jpg

http://comps.fotosearch.com/comp/UNN/UNN322/children-playing-beach_~u18124073.jpg

My 6th Grade Zietgeist

Here is my Zeitgeist. Enjoy!