Posted on October 7, 2016
Math Profile
Colette 9/9/16
Group A Math Profile
Math has always been a more difficult class for me, even starting from kindergarten. I am a very visual learner. It always takes me a while to read the word problem and figure it out, sometimes I have to re-read the question a couple times. When I’m doing math homework and there is a really hard question, I tend to get really stressed out and frustrated.
One success I had last year was that I got a page and a third of a page of fours on a take home test! (That day Margaret gave us two sheets that both had our grades for the take home test.) Although, I did this take home test with my tutor. I think I got a four because my tutor explained the problem out very precisely to me. I broke down the math problem in steps so I did it step by step. I feel like breaking it down helped me understand the problem better and it was much easier for me to do.
A disaster that happened to me is when I am on a really hard problem and I have been working on it for a while I get really out of focus and frustrated. When I am in that moment I feel like I can’t really think right. I have hard times doing word problems because I can’t quite get the message it is trying to tell me. I also don’t know all of the times table. I am going to be studying three new times table problems every three to four days and adding two or three more so I don’t forget the ones I studied the last three to four days. In fourth grade we learned the times tables. I studied them but they couldn’t quite get in my head. I think I have a very bad memory, I cannot remember things like the times table but I will try my hardest this year.
I like learning math because I think it’s fun sometimes even though I’m not very good at it. I like learning it and I like the challenge. I think it’s also very useful for me when I am in high school and college, also, when I grow up. I also like that it is something that I am constantly trying to good at and that keeps me determined.
I don’t like learning math because it is sometimes too challenging for me and it gets me really frustrated and stressed. Math is really hard for me because I am a visual learner and I am still trying to figure out how to learn math quicker. I am a pretty slow learner and it takes me a while for me to learn a new strategy or a new kind of math. I probably should look over the new concept of math with someone after I learn it. I think the beginning of the year might be starting off with a hard start but I might be a bit better towards the end of the year because I know the concept better.
I consider myself a not so good math student because I don’t really excel in math and don’t get the best grades but I think a good trait that I have is that I work really hard on my math. I feel like I spend too much time on my homework. As I said before, I am a slow learner so I usually spend more than double the time on my homework than we are supposed to. I don’t always understand what the teacher is saying in class because she might be saying things that are really complicated and too much for my brain to process in little time. I am not a very good math student but I am going to try hard really hard this year and find what kind of learning fits me. I am excited for this year and what we are going to learn and I am going to try really hard to meet or go past expectations.
Posted on August 24, 2016
Summer Reading
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
Characters in Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time:
Christopher: The main character of the book. Christopher is autistic, in this book it really shows how autistic kids think and act around people. Christopher thinks very straight forward. He is superior in math. 15 years old. When scared or overwhelmed, Christopher practices math until he feels safe. Takes things really seriously. Really dislikes the colors yellow or brown.
Wellington- Mrs Shears’s black poodle. Was found stabbed by a garden fork in Mrs Shears’s backyard.
Christopher’s Father: Divorced. An only father of an autistic child. Has a bad temper and tends to get mad at Christopher a lot.
Christopher’s Mother: Christopher’s mother also has a very bad temper. Did not handle Christopher’s autism very well. Her son had thought she was not alive.
Siobhan: Christopher’s special needs teacher. Siobhan help Christopher and is someone Christopher can talk to.
Mrs Shears: Christopher’s neighbor. She owns a black poodle. Was once one of Christopher’s families friends. Used to come over and cook at Christopher’s house.
Mr Shears: Mr Shears does not seem very fond of Christopher and his father. Used to be friends with Mrs Shears but ran away with Christopher’s mother.
Mrs Alexander: One of Christopher’s neighbors. An older woman, she doesn’t seem to scare Christopher as much as other strangers do.
Settings:
Setting 1- Christopher’s Father’s House: In Swindon, England. A small house on Randolph Street. This is the floor plan of Randolph Street.
Setting 2- The Train Station: The Train Station is in the middle of the city of Swindon, England. There are a lot of flashing lights, loud noises and lots of people. The Train Station was a lot to take in for Christopher.
Setting 3- Christopher’s Mother House: In London, England. A tiny apartment building on a noisy street in the city.
Themes:
Independence: Christopher is striving to be independent but, he can’t because his disability is holding him back. Christopher can’t process information like most people but, thinks very logically. He can’t be independent because he always needs adult supervision. For example, when Christopher was in the Train Station, he was scared and couldn’t find the way around the Train Station. Another example was when Christopher jumped into the train tracks to find his pet rat, Toby. If there were no adults there he would’ve been ran over by the train.
Order: Christopher is really organized and has to have things in order. He has a order of cars if he sees a certain numbers of cars or color of cars it means good or back luck.
Difference: Christopher’s brain does not process the way our brains process. He has autism which makes him see the world differently than “Normal People.” It is not a bad thing the way he thinks, it’s just different. America defines a “Normal Person” as a white, male, like diverse people are different too.
Conflicts:
Conflict 1: Christopher found out that his father killed Wellington. Christopher’s father killed Wellington because he got in a big fight with Mrs Shears and got very mad her. He did this out of his anger.
Conflict 2: Christopher found out that his mother was not dead. He found a huge pile of letters in a shoe box hidden in Christopher’s father’s room. All the letters were addressed from, 451 Chapter Road, London NW2 5NG, 0208 887 8907 – Page 104 Christopher’s father was really mad at Christopher’s mother so he told Christopher that she was dead. He didn’t want Christopher to know she was alive.
Symbols:
The dog symbolizes loss because Christopher has lost his mother which was a really big part of Christopher’s life. He also kind of lost his family because his mother and father were separated.
Math and maps symbolize order, it keeps him motivated and optimistic
The math test symbolizes success and Christopher’s talent.
Extra Notes:
- I really liked how the main character was autistic and how the book was written in his perspective.
- The setting was in Swindon, England.
- Some of the themes in this book are, independence, order, loss.
- Order: Christopher is really organized and has to have things in order. He has a order of cars if he sees a certain numbers of cars or color of cars it means good or back luck.
- Independence: Christopher is striving to be independent but, he can’t because his disability is holding him back.
- Symbols:
- Dog symbolizes loss.
- Math and maps symbolize order, what keeps him motivated and optimistic.
- Math test symbolizes success and his talent.
- Conflicts were: Christopher’s mom was missing, he didn’t know where she was.
- Christopher’s neighbor’s dog was dead, who killed it?
- Christopher’s mom is missing, he finds out that she had been writing him letters, his mom had ran away to London with his neighbor’s husband, Christopher goes to London on the train by himself.
Roll of Thunder Hear my Cry
The Little Prince
Boxers and Saints
Posted on June 8, 2016
My Favorite Piece This Year
This year my favorite piece was my Illuminated Letter. I really liked the contrast of the moon and the sun and the animals popping up inside of the tree. I also really liked the colors I used. The assignment for this project was to draw a illuminated letter and decorate it how you want. I added things that I liked in this project, I think this is why in the ending this was my favorite project.
Posted on June 8, 2016
My Map Art
This year in the third quarter, we made map projects. We were supposed to convey our feelings about New York, certain parts of New York or even different places of the world into our map project. We were each given a New York subway map to make our project out of. We were also allowed to print or bring other maps of different places or a different map of New York. Our class had a couple of weeks to work on this project. There are no limits or rules to how it would look, we just needed to include a map. This was our first free project where we were just given one material and could make anything of it.
In my project I used three different maps. I printed out a zoomed in map of my home in New York, a zoomed in map of my grandmother’s home in California and a zoomed in map of my cousin’s home in Shanghai. This project was not very successful to me, but I feel like it included a lot of my feelings.
Posted on June 1, 2016
Poems
Light and Dark
We are next door neighbors
I’ve only seen you once
Your blinds are always closed,
but mine are wide open,
I see your wilting plant cry,
Hoping to see her owner’s face again
When will you come back?
Stereotypes
Yes, I am Asian,
Yes, I am quiet,
Yes, I am shy.
But no, I don’t eat rice everyday,
No, I can’t use chopsticks,
No, I’m not identical to other Asians.
Because each of us are different,
And no,
I’m not ashamed of being Asian,
I’m proud
HVC
Miss you, HVC
Summer time is very near
But spring just began
Rumi Style Poem
Look at yourself,
Your cry starts to fill the room with happiness
Your mother laughing with joy to see your newborn face
Your life has just began
But someday, you will leave this world
And that someday is not coming in awhile
Posted on May 26, 2016
Pen Pal Letter
For our main project in the fourth quarter we wrote a pen pal letter entirely in Chinese characters responding to the letters that the eighth graders wrote. We all got sent a doc holding all the pen pal letters the eighth graders wrote, we got to choose which one we were to write back to. I choose 陈菲’s to write back to. In the letter 陈菲 wrote she asked me questions that I could answer in my letter. This was a really fun project for me and I enjoyed writing back to my pen pal. I also had no difficulties with this project and was easy for me to complete.
The requirements of this project is.
This is my pen pal’s letter, 陈菲.
你好笔友，
我叫陈菲。我十四岁。我的生日是一月三十日。你呢？我是美国人和中国人。你是哪国人？我的家有五个人。我的家有我的妈妈，爸爸，姐姐，妹妹和我。我的妹妹叫 Sonia。她八岁。她上二年级。她很喜欢体操。你的家有多少家人？我会说英文。我也会说一点儿中文。你呢？
我上八年级 Momii 班。你上几年级几班？我的班有二十个学生。我最喜欢的课是人文。你的最喜欢的课是什么？我不喜欢做作业。你呢？我最喜欢的运动是游泳和芭蕾。我讨厌踢足球。你的最喜欢的运动是什么？
我有一只仓鼠。他叫 Butternut。他很可爱。你有宠物吗？我最喜欢的宠物是狗。我想要一只狗，但是我的爸爸不喜欢狗。你最喜欢的宠物是什么？我很喜欢中国菜系。我也喜欢美国菜系。我喜欢吃饺子，宫保鸡丁，薯条和汉堡包。你的最喜欢的菜是什么？
我最喜欢的颜色是蓝色和黑色因为很好看。你的最喜欢的颜色是什么？我喜欢听音乐，跳舞，看电视，阅读。你呢？
你的笔友，
陈菲
This is my letter.
你好笔友！
我叫明智。我是女生。我今年十二岁。我的生日是十月二日。我是美国人和中国人。我的家有四个人。我的家有我的妈妈，爸爸，妹妹和我。我的妈妈叫Danielle。她四十四岁。她有黑色的长头发。我的爸爸叫Todd。他四十六岁。他很高，他有灰色的短头发。我的妹妹叫Clarissa。她十一岁。她很矮，她有黑色的长头发。我会说英文和中文。
我上六年级Dave的班。我上小红学校我的班也有二十一个人。我最喜欢的课是美术。我最不喜欢的课是我也不喜欢做作业。我最喜欢的运动是跑步。我也喜欢游泳。我最不喜欢橄榄球。
我也有宠物。我有两只沙鼠。他们叫饼干（Cookies）和奶油（Cream）。Cookies是黑色的。Cream是白色的。我最喜欢的宠物也是狗。我也很，很想要一只狗，可是我的妈妈和爸爸怕我不会照顾它。我喜欢吃意大利菜和日本菜。我最喜欢吃拉面和三明治。我最喜欢的甜点是可丽饼蛋糕和水果糕点。你哪？
我最喜欢的颜色是白色和浅蓝色。我的朋友叫 Kate, Dora和Emily。Kate有短咖啡色的头发。她是美国人和中国人。Dora有长咖啡色的头发。她是法国人和冰岛人。Emily有长金色的头发。她是美国人。我喜欢做陶瓷，画圖，跑步和烹饪。
你的笔友，
明智
Posted on May 25, 2016
My Shabanu Essay
Your final essay of the year will be on a theme from Shabanu. You will choose the theme yourself and come up with your own thesis (argument).
Work out your ideas below:
- What is the theme that most interests you? Think about something that arose in your reading, your post it notes, or our discussions that you want to explore in your essay.
Women’s Rights
- What will you prove in your paragraph? That is, what argument are you going to make?
How Shabanu, Sharma and Fatima are strong women and how Muslim women should get to make their own choices. How Sharma influences Shabanu and Shabanu is going to be like Sharma when she grows up because Shabanu wants to have her own choices and choose who she wants to marry.
Argument: Shabanu is supposed to be equal to the men in her family.
3 reasons
-help the whole family
-make choices to marry
-to have choices to work
Evidence: Sharma, Shabanu is beaten, She says “no” to Dadi
- You must have 3 reasons why your thesis is true. Each reason will become a topic sentence for a body paragraph. Jot down your 3 reasons below:
- Shabanu wants to have her own choice for her life, instead of having someone deciding her future.
- Muslim women should have the same rights as a man, they should be able to do what they want to do. Men need women to help them, men are too busy to run a family, they need a wife but, some women have different perspectives. For example, Shabanu has an unusual mind for a Muslim woman, she doesn’t want to marry and bear children, she wants to have her own choice, like Sharma.
- Muslim women should be equal to men because they don’t have the same rights as men do, Muslim women want to have the choice of what they want to do for their life.
- Remember that the formula for a thesis statement is:
Statement (clear argument)
+
“because”
+
3 reasons (these will also become your topic sentences in your body paragraphs)
=
Thesis Statement
Remember to not use the “I voice” since it weakens your argument (this includes “you”, “we”, “us”, etc.) Just state your argument as fact. Write your thesis statement below.
My thesis statement:
Dadi’s rules for Shabanu are awful because they take away her independence, strength, and her choice for her own future.
Muslim women want to chose what they will do for the rest of their life. Muslim women run the family, but, they want to have a different job.
Explanation/analysis: Men have the choice to have lots of options for what they want their job to be. Unlike women, they only have one option, housework. Muslim women want to be able to have the same rights as men, they want to be able to have equal respect as men do.
- Begin to gather your evidence. Remember that your evidence needs to support your argument. You should have at least 2 pieces of evidence for each reason.
| Reason #1 | Evidence/Supporting quotation | pg # |
| Many Muslim women want to be independent. | “I say little and try hard not to stare at Fatima. How I long to be like her-never to marry, to stay in the warm, safe circle of women” | 104 |
| X | “… I shall be like Sharma-strong and independent.” | 104 |
| X | “Shabanu, really. What we decide for both of you is what you will do.” | 188 |
| Reason #2 | Evidence/Supporting quotation | pg # |
| Muslim women want to be strong and have the same rights as a man does. | “I am angry to think of Dadi or anyone else telling me what to do.” | 104 |
| X | “Sharma is bold and outspoken. Most men don’t like her and are afraid of her.” | 98 |
| X | “Shabanu, you are wild as the wind. You must learn to obey.” | 28 |
| Reason #3 | Evidence/Supporting quotation | pg # |
| Muslim women want to make decisions about their future. | “There is no question of my going to sleep, and I make up my mind. I will not be beaten. I will not marry a man whose wives will make me their slave. I’ll die first.” | 234 |
| X | “No matter what happens, you have you. That is the important thing.
And as long as you have you, there is always a choice.” |
225 |
| X | “Rahim-sahib will reach out to me for the rest of his life and never unlock the secrets of my heart.” | 240 |
- Now, begin writing your body paragraphs. Keep in mind the following information:
Remember the format of a well-constructed body paragraph.
TEEAC
- Topic sentence (reasons from your thesis statement; tells us the main idea of the paragraph)
- Explanation/Elaboration
- Evidence (supports your argument)
- Analysis of evidence
- Concluding/Transition sentence (leads us into the next paragraph; use transitions for body paragraphs 1 and 2 wrapping up the paragraph and leaving the reader thinking; Concluding sentences are for body paragraph 3 and concluding paragraph only).
Body Paragraph #1:
T Dadi’s rules for Shabanu are atrocious because they don’t let her make her own choices for her life, instead of someone deciding her future for her.
E Most of the women around her have men decide their fate, and Shabanu wants to have a different image for a Muslim woman.
E On page 188, Shabanu’s mother said, “Shabanu, really. What we decide for both of you is what you will do.”
A Shabanu’s family is deciding her fate and not telling her that she will marry Rahim-sahib. Also, her family never asked her opinion on who she was going to marry..
C If Shabanu had the same rights as a man, she would have say in who she wants to marry.
Body Paragraph #2:
T Shabanu wants to have the same rights as a man.
E Men need women to help them, they are too busy to run a family by themselves, they need a wife. Shabanu wants to have a different role rather than being a housewife her whole life. Shabanu doesn’t want a man to tell her what her future is going to be, she wants to chose it herself.
E On page 104, Shabanu says, “I am angry to think of Dadi or anyone else telling me what to do.”
A Shabanu wants to have the same rights as men do, she wants to be able to tell herself what to do rather than having a man tell her what to do.
C Shabanu is a strong Muslim woman and has the right to do what she wants to do and make her own choices for her future. Shabanu believes that she should have say in her future. It’s not fair to have someone telling you how you will live, Shabanu wants to decide her own future.
Body Paragraph #3:
T Shabanu wants to make own decisions about her future.
E Shabanu objects the fact of her not getting to choose her future. In the Islamic culture the daughter doesn’t get to choose her future, it is the father or a group of women who decide this. Shabanu did not get to choose who she was going to marry, it was a group of women who did.
E On page 234, Shabanu said, “There is no question of my going to sleep, and I make up my mind. I will not be beaten. I will not marry a man whose wives will make me their slave. I’ll die first.”
A Shabanu does not believe that she has to marry Rahim-sahib. She is against Islamic culture’s rules, they disagree with her beliefs, for example, one of the rules that she is against is how women don’t get to choose their future.
C The Islamic rules are unfair to women, they never think about the needs for women, instead they are only focusing on the needs for men. Muslim women need to have the same rights as men, this is an enormous dilemma in Islam, Shabanu is one of the examples of how Muslim women feel.
Example Intro Paragraph:
How would you feel if you feared your father? A heartless parent can flip a life upside down. In the book “Shabanu” by Suzanne Fisher Staples, the character of Dadi was a cruel tyrant. Dadi was a bad father because he broke promises, he denied Shabanu’s choice to marry, and he beat her.
Notes:
People who push others gain strength and pride do not have genuine power because they are getting their strength from hurting someone else. You have to think in the lens of the person that you are pushing down, how do they feel? It’s important to have empathy for others because what if you were that person? Even though you are not gaining strength, that person is relieving their stress.
If you are a bully and not accepting the person you are pushing down’s ideas, you might be missing out on a lot of good ideas.
It’s not fair that Muslim women don’t get to express their independence, strength and what they want to do in their lives. If you are a father in Pakistan and not allowing your daughter to contribute her ideas about how she wants to live her life, you will miss out on having a good relationship with a happy daughter. Instead, she might feel unsatisfied and you will feel distant from her. Women are half of the population, and should have independence. Men should allow women to express what they want to do because that makes a more peaceful society.
Posted on May 13, 2016
Shabanews
For the project Shabanews, Kate, Emily and I chose our theme to be real estate. We based our video and writing piece on the the TV show, House Hunters. We each chose a picture of a Pakistani house and wrote a brief description of each home, I wrote about house number two Emily wrote House number one, and Kate wrote house number three. Once we finished writing our descriptions, we decorated the learning lab to fit our descriptions for the video. In the video we listed the price and video taped each home. When we finished showing the homes, Phulan and Murad choose their home, it was house number three! This project was really fun for me because we got to make really fun videos and I enjoyed talking about the house that we designed. This project was more on the easy side for me because I had a lot of fun doing this project and I didn’t have any difficulties with it.
This is the writing piece we wrote:
We are Adham, Shamam, and Siad, the Manzil brothers! We are looking for a beautiful new home for a beautiful young couple, handsome Murad and stunning Phulan in Pakistan. Here are Phulan’s requirements:
- Close to the toba
- Has a spot to pray
- A big kitchen, where I can cook my paan
- At least an hour away from my family so I can visit them
These are Murad’s requirements:
- Extra land to tend the camels
- The home should be close to a trading spot
- Far away from civilization so I can relax in peace with my wife!
Here are the three houses we have expertly chosen to fit the couple’s requirements:
House #1
This is a colorful house! It is close to a toba and has perfect spot to go pray. It is also close to Phulan’s family.
Inside is a beautiful bedroom with sheets of silk. The kitchen is also very magnificent. It is big enough to cook 10 paans at a time! Don’t forget about Chapatis! You can cook those, too.
It costs: 8,509.22 Rs
House #2
A spacious mud house, only thirty minutes away from your own land. The home consists of one bathroom, two bedrooms, a kitchen, sitting room, huge toba and land. This home has a large master bedroom fit for three people and a sitting area by the window. There is a second bedroom for your future children which comes with a hammock and quilt. The bathroom is spacious, and allows you to move around in it. The sitting room is fit for the whole family, this opens up to the kitchen. The kitchen not big, but, it includes cooking supplies. This home comes with a guest bed outside, under a tree. This home has doors made out of bamboo and a includes cooking supplies in the kitchen. This house costs 6,500 rupees.
House #3:
A fine straw house a quarter of a mile from a toba. Very far from other residences, out in the open. Attached to the house is a small kitchen, a washroom, and a clay slab for prayer 5 times a day.The price is 4,300.20 rupees (Very reasonable compared to other houses in the area), and a grazing area for the camels completes this very useful house. If this house’s price is too much for your budget, trading 2 daughters for marriage is also an option! They must be beautiful and be able to have healthy sons.
Click the link below to see the video Kate, Emily and I made:
Click this link to see the video we made!
Posted on May 10, 2016
Map Project
We are working on a map project, to show our feelings about New York and the rest of the world. My map consists of three maps, the California, New York and China map. These maps explain my feelings about those parts of the map. California is where I was born and where I grew up in for two years and where my grandmother lives. New York is where I live and the place I have spent in for most of my life. China is where my cousins I grew up with live and where my family’s background if from. I have cut out a heart shape out of foam board and glued the maps together in that shape onto the foam board. I had printed out the certain area where I lived, live and where my cousin’s live. Currently, I had glued the map onto the heart but, you can see lots of bubbles that I can’t get out. I am thinking of re making the map, to conserve materials, I might re cut out the map and glue it to the other side.
Posted on May 2, 2016
How to Prepare for a Wedding – Auntie
Every woman deserves to have a splendid wedding during the monsoon. This is how to prepare a wedding:
The first thing you need to do is find a husband. This person should own land and be quite wealthy. For myself, I was able to find a wealthy husband and lucky to bear two sons.
The second requirement is to find when the next monsoon is. You should probably know when the next monsoon is, it is always a year after the last. It’s very important to have your wedding on the day of a monsoon because it brings good luck for your family.
The third requirement you need is that you must prepare the dowry. This is very important for the wedding because families need to live in comfort. It is not the men who should give everything to the women. The women have to have some share of giving, this is why we have dowry. (When my sons grow up, I will have two beautiful women tending the homes and bringing dowries with them to our family.) But for Phulan, Abassi has prepared a few camels and clothes for Phulan’s dowry.
A very important part of the wedding is preparing the dress. This dress must look like a princess’s gown, embroidered with silver and gold string. (I have worked on this dress, day to night, making sure this met the expectations of Phulan, Hamir and Mama.) This dress is the most important part of the wedding for me, because when I was married, I never fit the dress. Phulan is lucky, with her fine features and slim body.
Something you need is to dress the camels. (If you have any.) The camels make the bride look more noble, riding in her canopy atop of the camel. The camel must have tassels and bells decorating it, making it look fancy. “The animals are dressed in wedding livery, their harnesses festooned with silver medallions and bright silk tassels, with shells, bells, and mirrors sewn along the edges of the saddle blankets. Above their knees the camels wear woven goat hair bracelets with beaded fringes.” Page 92
The last step is to find the wedding spot, which is easy because it is where your husband lives. It may be a long journey, but don’t worry, hopefully you will have plenty water and food to bring along. If your lucky, maybe your husband lives in the same village as you do!
Thank you for hearing my advice on how to prepare for a wedding. – Auntie
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