Recently in class we learned about the golden ratio. If you don’t know what that is then it is if theratio is the same as the ratio of their sum to the larger of the two quantities in rectangles. This is commonly shown as the ratio of 1:1.61803398875. We were to show this as an art project that showed an example of the golden ratio. Why is it important though? Well you can find it all around you, here are a few examples.
This is the golden ratio:
To start off what type of math project I wanted I looked for inspiration. I looked at all different types of art that featured the golden ratio.
I found a painting that I specifically liked:
This is what I made:
With the measurements:
Overall this is very interesting and I didn’t realize that the golden ratio is in so many places.
Recently in humanities we have been looking at Vancouver’s history. And not only the dates type history but how it got to where it is today and the differing experiences that people had along the way. And what a better way to start of this unit then going to the Museum of Vancouver where an exhibition on the emergence of Vancouver was going on. Going to the museum I found it very interesting and got lots of inspiration from it since their was a project that was soon to be revealed.
The Seycove Bus
The exhibition we went to
Having fun!
The following day we found out that we were creating Podcasts. This would be over a seven week time period and we would be in groups assigned to a certain topic. I was in a group with Robbie, Ruby and Hannah. We were given Human rights as our topic. As soon as I found this out I was super excited to do Human Rights because I have always been interested in people, having strong opinions about this topic.
We were then assigned books to help us understand our topics more. My group read Persepolis, a graphic novel about a girl in Iran and her life. This was a very interesting story and it made me see just how diverse people are. To show that we understood all of this we had to write Reading Responses, here are mine:
At this point we then finished Persepolis before the assigned time, so we started a new book. It is called the Bite of the Mango and is absolutely amazing. It is about a girl living in Sierra Leone and her experience. I found this book very moving and it made me great full for what I have.
All whilst we were reading these great books we were also looking at the roaring twenties. In our previous unit we had been looking at World War One, so it was interesting to see the similarities and differences between the two. Especially since so much happened in the 20’s whether it was good or bad.
The Great Depression, some women being able to vote and much more. But since we live in Vancouver and this whole unit was about Vancouver we were assigned to find a popular area or place in Vancouver and make a video about it. You can read all about this in my previous blog post.
This was all leading up to and helping us learn about Vancouver and creating our podcasts. That’s when we (my group) decided that we wanted our human rights/ Vancouver podcast to be about homelessness. The reason for that is I heard on the radio that their was an issue going on in Marlowe Vancouver where there was a homeless shelter being built across the street from an elementary school. I thought that this wasn’t right and that it shouldn’t be an issue, so my group got talking and that’s how we ended up with homelessness.
As as a class we had previously been listening to podcast because throughout the hole school year we will be doing podcasts, so we all felt that we could succeed doing this assignment. We started off with a script that was then critiqued by our teacher.
Once that was revised it was then time to start recording! Hannah got an interview with a nurse who volunteers at a shelter. We decided to kind of revolve our podcast around that in a round table discussion. Here is our first draft:
We then knew that we had somethings that needed fixing and so it was time for our second draft.
Revision comments:
‘Hannah, Isobel, Robbie, Ruby
-such a cool intro – after the different voices, I suggest more of an introduction of what you will be talking about, who you are, instead of just going into the numbers, you lose the listener slightly at that point etc.
-Good music in the background in the beginning
-good introduction of an issue that you will be talking about – need to mention quickly though the connection between homelessness and the shelter that is being built “one way the city of Vancouver is trying to solve our Homelessness issue ….etc.
-Hannah’s voice at 1:34 needs to be turned up
-Introduce debate, rather than just going into Robbie’s voice, introduce as well why this is controversial and then go into it
-I want to know who’s voices these are – “even we have varying opinions on this issue – just like the people in the neighborhood”
-Ruby – great voice in this, conversational, natural
-good round table discussion skills
– “ is this risk as great as the need” line
-good introduction to interviewee
-Hannah – re record questions, you sound very awkward – you’re talking too slowly
-great interview – talks about housing, issues, etc. I like this
-you could potentially break up this interview a bit – interact with it, engage with what she’s saying. Talk about each issue that she talks about
-weird silence at 7 min 50 sec.
-doesn’t work to go right back into debate …
-I like your concluding statements, but we need more of a conclusion – wrap up – restatement of thesis etc.’
We then took all of those comments into account and made our second draft:
Finally it was time for our third and final draft!
Overall we were all proud of the podcast that we managed to create in the end. And though their are a few things we could have done better (time management) as group we did work fairly well together by the end.
That’s not the end of this unit though because we then individually had to write a 500 word essay to Terry Beech, the MP of North Vancouver. We each had two classes to finish and hand in this later which had to do with our main idea from the podcast group.
Than the final step to this entire unit was within our groups to create one individual letter that we will then send to Terry Beech.
During this whole project we were also taking pictures and recording so that we could show what we put into the project. So here is my video:
Overall this has been a really interesting topic to learn about. A lot of the things that I was taught I didn’t know before this point. This unit also taught me how important it is to simply not judge people. And as for the work that we completed I am proud of both the letter and the podcast.
Vancouver was founded in 1886 but what about the individual parts of Vancouver. As you know recently in class we have been looking at the history of Canada and specifically Vancouver. So a good way to show this was to be assigned to look into the history of specific parts of the city. For example one group looked into Robson Street. And we didn’t have to just find out the history but make a Namesake video out of information that we found. It was supposed to be based off of this video:
I was in a group with Hannah and Ruby We looked into the history of Stanley Park and I realized just how interesting it is. We created a Google Docs to compile all of our information as well as create our script.
After getting our first information we had a first draft:
The first draft needed to be revised because the audio was bad quality and overpowering. We fixed that all in the second and final draft:
Overall during this topic I learned some very interesting facts and had a good time creating it with my group. Until next post, thanks for reading.
So do you think that identical twins are truly identical? Well recently in class we have been researching that question. Starting off by looking at DNA which stands for Deoxyribonucleic acid. DNA is what carries your genes and your characteristics that make up you.
We learned lots of this in a crash course video on DNA:
We also learned and based a lot of our unit on the Teachers Website. It was a very helpful website that taught me a lot about not only DNA but also twins and how you get those traits.
A few of those traits were your hair type, eye color and even whether you have wet or dry ear wax, these traits are also known as mitosis. We also learned about Karyotypes, Pedigrees, Forsenic DNA and Meiosis. This was really interesting and taught me a lot of new things that I never New but had a great time learning it.
And what better way to show all of this then a podcast. In groups of two we were told to create a podcast explaining if two identical twins got married if there children would be identical, so would the cousins be identical. My partner was Sydney and we decided that we wanted to do a round table type interview between a scientist and a host. Myself being the host and Sydney being the scientist called Jane Goodall.
We layer out the podcast that listeners would send in questions and Jane would answer them. We both had a great time fighting the script as well as recording. All of the music is also made by me and the last voice in the podcast is Robbie. And so without further ado here is our podcast that we made on genes and DNA (listen until the end, there’s a surprise!):
Overall this was a fun project and a really interesting unit. I learnt a lot about just how we are made and how complex we truly are. Plus it will help to know this in the years to come.
Have you or do you have a job? Well if you do it’s important to know your rights as well as what to do and not do for your safety. And though I have not had a job yet (unless you count babysitting) I am planning to apply to one soon as a party overseer at community centers, and so it’s important for me to know these things. Luckily enough in planning ten currently we are looking at Workplace Safety in British Colombia.
To start off learning about this topic we looked at a video on experiences that people have had in the past. In this video it just showed how important the little things are and that one mistake could change your entire life. If you watch the video you will see multiple graphic incidents in which there were just simple mistakes gone terribly wrong.
After watching this video we were told to read and look at some informational documents about workplace safety. Anywhere from biological hazards to environmental hazards I learnt some handy and informative information. So what better way to show this then a short quiz like work sheet.
After learning all of this it made me realize that I have to go over things with my employer before I start the job to see specifically what i’m covered under and what safety equipment and knowledge is needed.
And to show all that I learned I made a mind map type image as to what I need to think of when I get a job. I used Sketches Pro to create this image.
Overall this was very interesting and I feel that I learnt lots about Workplace Safety in B.C.!
Angles are everywhere in our day today life. Looking at a building a table really anything but how do you find out what those angles? Well recently in math class we have been looking at trigonometry. Trigonometry is when you need to find the angle or a side of a triangle and you use a process to get the answer.
A description of trigonometry
In order to get to the answer there are multiple steps from the trigonometric ratio or a process called soh,cah,toa it all makes up trigonometry as a whole. So over the past few months we have been learning this. Starting off with a video explaining SOH CAH TOA. This was a good introduction to the unit since it gave us all a good over view of what the next few months would be about.
During this whole unit we were filling out a package about trigonometry and how to do it.
And so it was time to start the actual project. We were supposed to look into Solar Panels and what angle they should be at for it to be ideal. And not only make the solar panel but also a house for it to rest on. This was really interesting because we also learned the science and if at a certain time what angle the solar panel should be at.
Overall this was a really interesting project to learn about the math and the science. And I’m sure that this will help me in the time to come.
Did you have a relative that participated in World War I? Well many people did whether they were Canadian, British, German or any other nationality and many of those people lost there lives to the war.
This topic on World War I is something that we have been looking at very intensely these past few weeks in class. First we started of by looking at Canada before the war. How at first it was run by Wilfred Laurier and was known as the Laurier era but then Canada went on to elect Robert Borden when the War started. I talk about that more in this blog post:
From there we then went on to cover working conditions and human rights during the war and how they were effected in the war. It was interesting to learn about this aspect and how it went on to change since some of the laws were very controversial.
After that we went on to look at not only Canada during the war but also Europe. We learned how when Franse Ferdinand got shot it changed the world because he was so important to all the countries. We watched a video on this that specifically talks about it. This is only part 1 of 3 but in order to understand it all we watched all three. While we were watching these videos we were also told to make a mind map showing how all of this connected together to become such an important part in World history.
After learning about this we then looked at three other different aspects on how the war started. G Hirschfeld, J Remak and A.J.P Taylor were three people who have different perspectives on who started the war, we learned what they each thought and then were put in groups to create some sort of media that explains what happened so my group including Sofia and Hannah decided to create a video of a game show debate on the subject. Here is that video:
After learning about why the war started it was time to look at why Canada joined the war. And surprisingly this was actually a very simple answer. It was because Britain went to the war and therefore Canada went to war. That’s not to see that all Canadians wanted to go to war. The British immigrants wanted to go to war since britain was going to war and they felt they were still British while the First Nations and the people form Quebec did not want to because they felt that it wasn’t fair and that they had to go to war. And this was important it was really what happened once you got to the battle front and the consequences of the war. Once you were at the battlefront soldiers would see that the conditions were very bad and very dangerous. Wether you were fighting from the sea, land or air they all had there dangers. Here are some facts and new technologies for each field that we learned about.
Sea: The convoy system helped the English because it allowed them to see where the German u-boats were
Land: Tanks had been invented and were helpful because it allowed the soldiers to not only be protected but also break through walls and shoot from across the field. The downfall though was that the tanks often got stuck in mud but by the end of the war that had been improved upon and fixed.
Air: Dirigibles were invented for scouting and bombing missions. The aircraft was filled with lighter then air gas and was made of a wood or metal frame and then the outside was made of water proof material or aluminum. This was made by Germany and is now named and known as a Led Zepplin
And all while we were looking and learning about this we were also reading Shattered Ground a story about a Canadian soldier at the battlefront. It was really interesting to read this story because you could picture the family and the soldiers a lot more and it made it real instead of just history.
After reading that story we looked at the actual battles that went on from vimy’s ridge to the battle of the Somme and how they all made such a huge impact on Canada and gave Canada the reputation that it has today, really putting it on the map.
Then when we learned all the foundations of the war and how it affected Canada it was time to compile it all into one Podcast. This year in PLP ten we look at podcasts and this was a great way to see what a podcast is and how to make a good one. So before every class we listened to just a couple minutes of a podcast. We also made lists showing what a great podcast includes. And as we were learning this we were starting our own podcast.
We each had to pick a Canadian soldier and find information on him and how he affected Canada. I chose Charles Arnold Grant as my Canadian soldier. And as we got more information on our soldiers, podcasts and World War I soon enough we had a first draft script. This is my first draft script with critiques from my teacher.
And once I got that done it was time to record the first draft!
Now this had a few mistakes, one of them being that some of the transitosions were abrupt and another that the audio wasn’t very even. I knew that there were revisions to be done and that’s why this was just our first draft! So right away we got back to second draft. I wanted to make my my music differ and focus more on Canada and how Charles Arnold Grant changed it. So that meant changing my script, here is my revised script:
So with that done here is my final draft!:
Overall this was was a really interesting unit and I loved learning about Charles Arnold Grant specifically. It just made it a lot more personal and relatable. At first when we started I thought it would be boring because Canada is such a young country but in reality it just made me thankful to the soldiers that lost there lives. Plus it taught me a lot about podcasts and I’m definitely going to listen to lots more going forward. So until our next project bye for now!
What do you do or rather not do in a scientific laboratory environment. Well in science class this last week we have been looking at lab safety. We talked about where everything was placed around the room meaning that we then made a sketch of the classroom and what you would do if something would go wrong.
We then had to create a video on lab safety in groups. My group included Sofia, Mimi and Izzy In my group we decided to film at Izzy’s house so that we could add humour while it also being informative. Overall we were proud of what we had come up with. So after all that here is the video:
Overall we did learn what to do and what not to do in the lab even if some of them were obvious.
World War I was horrific, over 18 million lives lost and 23 million people were wounded. So who is that we should blame for starting all of this? Well that’s what we have been looking at in class this past week.
We learned about what people thought caused the war, and what Canada was doing right before the war. Starting of with a time period commonly known as the Laurier Era. We read a few articles on who Wilfred Laurier was and what impact he had on Canada. As well as briefly looking at who Robert Borden was and what he had to contribute in World War I. We showed this all in a Keynote presentation which we were in groups for an dwe were each assigned a topic. My group included Willa,Will and Sam. Here is my groups work:
So after learning about that we then went onto look into different aspects that started the war. And think what is my point of view on this subject and who do I think started the war? Well to help us figure that out we read a book called World War: A battle of perspectives that discussed 4 different people and who they thought started the war. There was one person that I specifcly agreed with and his name is J Remak. He believed that it wasn’t one person or country that started the war but rather everyone. That everyone is to blame and yet no one is to blame.
I agree with him because he points out that no one could predict that the war was going to happen. That each country just wanted to be better then the other and yet in the long run didn’t know it would cause a massive, terrible war. For example England wanted peace and were talking about peace possibilities before Germany then went and asked them to mobilize with them. Eventually though they decided that it would be smart to join Germany and help Austria even though not long after that they fought Russia. Some people will disagree with him saying that Germany took the most risk meaning that they wanted to start the war but in reality Germany helped Austria so if they really wanted to start a war they would not have done that.
But what were the other perspectives? Well in a video that I made with Sofia and Hannah we explain two other people talking about who they thought started the war, here it is:
This was our first draft and we all admitted that it wasn’t out best work. We were told that we needed to improve the audio as well as the transitions and background because it all wasn’t equal. So with what we then had to do in my mind we set forward to create another draft and so here it is, the second and final draft:
After filming and editing this video we felt that we had improved our work and we are all proud of it. It showed because we put more time into where we filmed and the lighting. As the teacher it wasn’t the info but rather the actual production of the video.
Overall it was interesting to learn all of the different perspectives that people think of when the war began. It is a terrible thing that happened but it helped Canada as a whole to become itself and really change the world for as we see it today. So until we learn some more war facts.
To start off the year we began it with a bang by going to Camp Capilano. A retreat that was just for one night but felt like longer(in a good way). We did this as a team work exercise and to really get the whole class working as a whole. Plus it also allowed us to get a taste of what the rest of the year would be like since a couple of the mini projects we did were about podcasts and what we will be looking a lot at this year is podcasts.
Before leaving school we looked at a few different clips of TV show intros. Not knowing what it was for though we were just told to watch it and then pick a person (or couple) and describe them. For example we watched an intro clip to The Amazing Race and I chose to right about Megan and Courtney and how from just the five second clip I thought they were Adventurous, serious, up for anything and more. So still not sure what we were doing we hoped on the bus to go to Camp Capilano!
At the beginning once we got to the park we started off with having to create an intro to a reality tv show like we had seen before with ten characters in it and no audio except music. We did this in groups of five and had one hour to complete it. My group included Sofia, Will, Ruby and Adam. At first it was hard to decide exactly on what type of intro we wanted to make but eventually chose to do a Kardashian type show. So with one hour on the clock we were off!
Our ten characters were:
Barbra
Bert
Bailey
Bif and Baf
Brittney
Bobby
Blair
Brad
Bear
We worked hard to get it done in the amount of time but looking back I realize that we could have prioritized better and have specific people doing a certain job rather then just sitting around. So without further a do here is our tv intro:
Next we then walked up to the actual camp and had lunch to then realize there was another project. With the same 5 people from our group before we were supposed to create a podcast that again had ten characters but this time it didn’t have to be a tv intro. We could change the characters and anything else if we wanted to. It had to be a minute long exactly and we only had one hour to complete this. So as we began talking about ideas we thought that we would still stay with the kardashian type story but this time it would be about a family and they would be talking within a household. We wanted to make this funny and improve on our task management from the previous project that we had recently completed. In order to do that we assigned each person to do a specific job. For example I was the Leader, Ruby did the music, Sofia, Will and Adam were in charge of the script while we were all giving ideas to each other. Overall for this project we really tried to improve on it from the last, since we all weren’t happy with how it turned out.
And finally the project that it had all been leading up to. We were given an assignment after dinner to create a podcast about something that makes up our identity. This time though instead of being with the same group as the previous projects we got to choose what three (or two) people who worked together. And different from the previous two we had to make it four minutes exactly also we had not an hour to complete it, but rather we had until 10:30 the next morning. We were assigned this at 5:30-6ish and the teachers said that we could stay up all night if we had to if it was needed to complete this project. So once they said go with my group of Kate and Mimi we set off to create a podcast. We first decided on what story we should tell and what makes our identity. This took a while since there are so many ways we could have taken this but eventually we decided on two stories about our families and how certain events can change your life. By the morning we had finished but we admit that it wasn’t our best work. Everyone admired us put such personal stories out there but the actual recording of the podcast didn’t work out well. We recorded it in a bathroom because that was where it was quietest but in reality it wasn’t because it echoed, you could hear the fan in the background and the audio wasn’t even. So here is the good but could be improved podcast:
The whole point of this trip was to learn to work as a team and start the unit of podcasts. Overall I feel that we did both of those things. By the end of the trip I think that we all knew each other a little bit better and from last year there was a lot more communication going on which is a key part of PLP. Overall all three of these projects were really interesting and even though the following day I was exhausted I really did enjoy my time at camp capilano.
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