Oct. 6 Kavya Rubric

Art Reverse Value Drawing

In art, I just finished a reverse-value drawing assignment. We had to draw items found in our locker, with a reverse value. Here is a picture to show what I mean:

As you can see, there are black and white borders. When an object is drawn on a black background, the details are black. When it's on a white background, the details are white. You also notice that I have one colored object, that draws attention. This was part of our emphasis grade. In this assignment, I was really proud of my water bottle drawing because it looked really realistic. It took a lot of effort to draw it, but it looks really detailed.




Here are some questions I had to answer:

1. What was the most challenging part(s) of this assignment?
Drawing detailed objects and making them realistic seemed difficult, but I think I have experience with that, so I did well. But it is always hard to draw things exactly the way they are. Reversing the value was also really confusing, and I actually messed up at first. Initially, I though a white background means black details, but I had to change that. So it was challenging to wrap your head around the reverse value idea, and coloring that way.

2. Find an Op art of Dualism art piece online that you like. Post it on your blog (cite the source) and comment what you like about it. 

click here for source

I chose this picture because it really shows how op art can show depth. The small square in the center shows that well. I find that really interesting, and it really plays with my eyes.

3. Take a photo of the object you emphasized in your art work and explain why you chose this item to be the focal point of your artwork.

I chose to emphasize a slice of pie, because it is the only object that doesn't fit with the theme. This is why it makes sense for it to be emphasized even more.

PE Tennis Reflection

In PE, we just finished our tennis unit. The movement pattern we were focusing on was the rotation of our bodies when we swing. Here are a few sentence prompts/questions I had to answer. My swing is shown at 2:34 in the video above.

A. Two things I think I am doing well with my forehand swing are... WHY?
I am doing well with my follow through because I bring my racket over my shoulder, and make that and the swing one motion. This is effective because it makes the ball travel faster and smoother. I am also positioning my body well for the ball, because I have a low, athletic stance, and I drop my back foot for the ball.

B. Two things I’d like to work on with my forehand swing are… HOW?

One thing I want to do is consistently keep the ball low, and close to the net. I can do this by keeping my racket face parallel to the net, and pushing the ball straight through instead of bringing it upwards. Another thing I want to do is rotate my entire body, instead of just my arm. I should do this by making sure my hips turn. 

1. Are you in a forward facing ready position? 

Before I hit the ball, I am facing forward, in an athletic stance. 

2. When ball comes, do you move by dropping your racquet foot back?

I do drop my racquet foot back when the ball is coming. 

3. Does your wrist stay firm? 

I think I kept my wrist firm because my racquet didn't wobble. 

4. Do you start stroke low, then swing up and over the ball to impart topspin to the ball? 

For my backhand, I did swing over the ball. But in my forehand I went straight through more than over the ball. 

How do Demographics Affect My Life?

We may not realize it, but the growth and structure of the population of our country makes a big difference in our own lives. After our unit in Social Studies about demographics of a country, I have become aware that the population statistics of the country I live in affect me.

One way population growth has affected me recently is the haze from Indonesia. Because there is a worldwide growing population, more people want produce. Indonesia is burning palm trees so they have land to produce more. This is affecting me directly because it is the air I am breathing, and it is cancelling some after school activities.
The image to the left shows how population affects my lifestyle. Since I live in a zero/slow growth country, I live a life that is more convenient than someone who lives in a rapid growth country. For example, I can take a half hour long shower, while someone in India would use four cups of water in a shower.

Finally, this connects directly to my future as an adult. When I grow up, the country I live in will affect my job, my lifestyle, the number of kids I have, etc. For example, if I lived in a country with a demographic like Singapore's, I would most likely be living a fast-paced city life; and by living in a city, I would probably have one or two kids. Learning about demographics will help me now and in the future, because it affects my life.

Kavya Plate Boundary Excersise

The animation above shows how Iceland was created through two divergent oceanic plates. The plate on the left represents the oceanic North American Plate, while the one on the left represents the oceanic Eurasian Plate. Since the two plates are diverging, they are separating, and the space in the middle leaves magma that is not dense underneath. This is why the magma surfaces, and hardens immediately, which creates rock. This is how the country of Iceland was created in between these plates. The two plates are still moving apart, so Iceland grows approximately 1 centimeter from each side or plate that moves. Iceland will continue to grow this way.

Catalyst 10 9/16/15

Order of the earth's sublayers from the center of the earth outward:
Inner Core, Outer Core, Mesosphere (Mantle), Asthenosphere, Lithosphere

Photo Credits

How Old is the Ocean Floor?

In science, we have learned about the continental drift, and are learning about the age of rocks in the ocean and on land. This post is about the age of the ocean floor.

This map I have labeled shows the Mid-Pacific, Mid-Atlantic, and Mid-Indian ridges. At these ridges, new rocks come up from the earth's mantel, and push aside the old rocks. This is why most new rocks are at the ridges, or in the middle of the ocean, and older rocks are closer to land and near continents.

This map shows the Mid-Atlanic ridge, and its youngest and oldest rocks. The youngest rocks in the Atlantic are about 0.5 million years old, and the oldest are about 172 million years old.

Where are the oldest parts of the oceans?

The oldest the parts of the oceans are closer to the continents and land. There are some exceptions, but in general, the closer you get to continents, the older the ocean gets. This happens because the newer rocks come up to the surface in the middle of the ocean, and push the older rocks aside, and put them near the continents.

Do the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, and Arctic ocean basins have the same age and patterns?

In general, all ocean basins follow the same age pattern (that the younger rocks are in the middle) but an example of an exception would be in the Pacific. There are no old rocks at the western outline of North or South America, while there is a huge outward bulge of really old rocks coming from eastern Asia. In this case, it would just mean that the tectonic plate is at the border of a continent. But in the Atlantic ocean, the tectonic plate is exactly between Africa and North and South America.

How does the age of the ocean floor compare with the age of rocks on the continents?

Rocks on land are 2.5 billion years old on average, while rocks in the ocean are 80 million years old on average. Erosion is one factor that tells us why the ocean rocks are so much younger than rocks on land. Since more erosion happens in the ocean with the water, it eats the rocks away, leaving newer or younger rocks. Another factor could be plate tectonics and ridges. When the new rocks come to the surface of the ocean, and push the older rocks aside, the older ones could either go under the surface, where they are not visible to us, or they could form new land (or connect to land), which would become the old rocks on continents.

These questions were the same as the questions in your pre-test. Reflect on what answers, if any, you changed after completing these activities. What did you learn from these activities with GeoMapApp? Did you need a lot of help from friends or your parents or teacher? What do you think helps you learn new material in science class? 

I think the GeoMapApp helped me understand the age of the ocean really well, because it was a great visual representation. Before I used GeoMap, I think I had a slight idea about what the answers were, but I wasn't sure, and didn't understand them in detail. I know this because the length of my answers has increased, and I was able to explain my answers in better detail. The one question I was way off on was the third one, because I said that rocks in the ocean were older, but my explanation didn't make sense. So the explaining was really where I grew here. Sometimes, the questions confused me, so I learned some things from my parents and teachers. In science class, I like when we get to have an activity like GeoMapApp on our laptops and be able to go at our own pace. But the big downside of using our computers like this is that if we are doing it at home, we can't ask our teacher about any questions. It's better to do it in science class, so we can ask our teacher to explain something to us, or show us something.

Portfolio Design

In art, we have just finished making our portfolio name designs. The idea was to draw your name creatively on your portfolio, which we will be using for the rest of the art semester. For my design, I wanted to incorporate one of my interests, so I used a basketball design and theme. Below is a picture of my final product.

To the left is a picture of my first ideas sketched out. I really liked the way my first one looked, because it involved my interest, and I liked the detail it involved.











Below is a picture of my full-sized rough draft. It is slightly blurry, but I did make some changes here, because I used the 7B to my advantage. I did this by putting it directly underneath my last name, and I curved the letters in my last name. I liked this idea because it really fit my theme. I also reorganized the layout and composition of the design.

 I made some minor changes in my final, like outlining 7B, and moving the basketball and the basket to the lower area.


Reflection Questions:

1. What was the best part of this assignment?
I liked how we got a lot of freedom with how we put everything together. The color, the media, and the techniques were all our choice, and we got the perfect amount of help and assistance. In terms of my own work, I'm really happy with my idea and the detail. I think the detail really paid off, and normally ideation is a difficult stage, but I'm proud of this idea.

2. If you could do this assignment again what would you do differently?
I think I got behind on time because I spent too much time drawing my name on my final. I think it was because I was unconfident and unfocused about the way I drew it. Next time, I want to focus a lot more on my final, and draw lightly, so that I can erase if I need to.

Age of Ocean Floor Pre-Test

1. Where are the oldest parts of the oceans?
I think the oldest parts of oceans are the areas closest to the continents, because that's where the oldest rocks from the mid atlantic ridge are. There might be some sort of connection between the oceans and the rocks.

2. Do the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, and Arctic ocean basins have the same age and patterns?
I think they would have to have different age and patterns, because they split into continents/countries at different points in time.

3. How does the age of the ocean floor compare with the age of rocks on the continents?

I think the age of the ocean floor would have to be certain age older than the rocks on the continents above it, because the ocean is always there before the rocks are. 

Mathematical Reflections on Polygons

In Math, we have been learning about polygons and angles. This post has my answers to some questions about angles and polygons.

1. The common properties of polygons are...
Polygons should have no curves (only lines and vertices), are closed, are 2d figures, and should have no intersecting lines.

My drawing to the left shows these four rules of what a polygon has to be. The first shape has a curve, which means it is not a polygon. Another way to tell this rule is that the number of lines should equal the number of vertices. The shape in the first box has only one line, but but has two vertices.
The second figure is open, which polygons can not be.
The third figure is 3d, and all polygons must be 2 dimensional (length and width).

The fourth figure has intersecting lines, or lines that overlap, and polygons can not have intersecting lines.

2. The measure in degrees in an angle tells me that the angle...
    The measure of degrees in an angle can tell us what type of angle it is. For example, if the angle's measure is 180°, I know it's a straight angle.
        Some of the common angles are...
    Obtuse, acute, right, and straight angles are the most common.

My picture shown above shows the different angles. The first one is an acute angle. All acute angles must be less than 90°. They are the smallest type of angle. Right angles (the 2nd type) must be 90°. Obtuse angles must be between 90° and 180°. Straight angles must be exactly 180°.

3. Some strategies to estimate angle measures are...
    You can use benchmark angles like 45°, 90°, 180°, or 270°. For example, if you are trying to find the measure of an angle that is 85°, you will notice that it is slightly smaller than a right angle. So you might assume that it is somewhere between 80 and 90 degrees.

        To find accurate measurements with tools, I should...
    When you are measuring lines, angles, or any other geometrical shape, it is very important to line things up. For example, while measuring an angle, the 0 line on your protractor should line up with the initial side of the angle. If you are measuring a line, you should make sure that the 0 mark on the ruler matches up with the beginning of the line. This also means that the end of the geometrical figure should match up. So in an angle, the terminal side is on a line, and in a line the ruler is matched up with the end of the line. This is important because you can get really different answers if you don't do this. For instance, if you don't line it up, a 10° angle can become a 100° angle.
    While measuring angles, you also want to know which number to look at. This is because the measure for an angle greater than 180° is written above the measure for an angle less than 180°.

Week 2

1. What is the difference between an Observation and an Inference? An observation is something you notice with your senses, and an inference is the conclusion or prediction you make based on what you notice. An inference is a judgement or educated guess, while an observation is a fact.

 2. How can inferences and observations be related? Scientists must use the information they observe (observations) to make a judgement (inference). If you don't have any observations, it's hard to make an inference.

 3. Why are both observations and inferences important in science? When scientists see some sort of reaction, or anything happen while doing an experiment, they want to figure out what happened. This is why it is important for them to note what they saw, smelled, tasted, felt, or heard, so they can then infer what that means, and what happened.

Tips for Math in 6th Grade

Below is a video I made with some friends in math class that explains some tips for Math class in 6th grade. Enjoy!

Modeling Subtraction and Multiplication

Here is a presentation Kayla and I made in Math class to explain how to model multiplication and subtraction equations that involve negative and/or positive integers, and how to solve them.

Health & Wellness Reflection

What does wellness mean to you? Wellness is overall health, and doing what's right for your body. For example, when you are consistently eating foods from different food groups, you are practicing proper wellness. Wellness can be the right eating, the right physical fitness, or the right amount of sleep. It's really how well you treat your body.

Which habit of 54321+8 is your strength? Why? (Review your earlier blog post) Looking back at my presentation and my blog post, I think my best habit is the +8 sleep. I know I get at least 8 hours of sleep per night, because I go to sleep at 8:30 or 9pm on school nights, and wake up at 6am. This gives me a minimum of 9 hours of sleep per night. One thing I didn't get a lot of at the start of the year that I do now is 5 fruits and veggies per day. After learning about the positive effects of fruit and vegetables, I was more mindful about adding those to my meals. For example, my breakfast is normally just a grain, protein, and milk, but now I try to throw grapes, blueberries, or strawberries in.

Which habit do you need to continue to improve on? I have been trying to drink more water, but I think I need to keep that a consistent. On some days, I'm really thoughtful about how much water I drink, but on others, I don't have as much water as I should. One thing I got from making my 54321+8 presentation is drinking healthy flavored water, to be able to drink more. I tried this, and really liked it, so that is something I can continue doing to build this into a real habit. Flavored water I made at home! Another thing I have been doing to work to this goal is taking my water bottle to my classes, so I can keep taking sips of water. Bringing my water bottle to class! So, for me, this goal is about keeping it consistent and making it a habit.

How physically active have you been this year on a weekly basis? Share as many things that you can remember. As the year has gone on, I have gotten more and more physically active. In the first trimester, I didn't have a whole lot physical activity. I was doing the basketball intramural once a week, and had tennis lessons once a week, but most other days only had miscellaneous activities. In the second season, I got into the basketball team, which took up 4/5 school days, and I also continued with my tennis lessons on the weekends. Finally, I really got into the track season, by training 3/5 or 4/5 school days a week for that. In addition to that season, I also started running at home much more often. For example, on Saturdays I would run 5 kilometers with my dad. At this point, I normally exercise on both days of the weekend by running, biking, playing tennis, or going to the gym with a parent. On weekdays, I play basketball with friends or run with them. Where I am right now with my physical fitness is really a result of what I've done all year, because I have made so many friends while playing sports, whom I can still play with in an unstructured way. I can also take the workouts I have learned while playing on a team, and apply those to my own time. I went back to my Daily Physical Activity Doc, and saw that in November, I was only getting 60 minutes of physical activity 3/7 days a week. Now, I get that on almost all days of the week.

What is your strongest area of physical fitness? (strength, flexibility, cardio respiratory endurance) Which are do you need to work on? For the whole year, cardio respiratory endurance has been my strength. I have always had strong KM times. I think the track season really helped me as a runner, especially with my running form and mental strength. I have been trying to improve my core strength all year for the push-ups test. With the track season, I learned about how core is important for running. This is why I have got into the habit of practicing with the plank exercise at least once a week. So my physical activities have really helped me with my fitness tests.

Why do you think being physically active is important? After getting and increasing amount of physical activity this year, I have seen that it has helped my body's strength and wellness. Being physically active gives you fresh air, which is really good for your wellness. It helps your body stay strong, which helps with daily life.

How well do you eat ‘MyPlate’ 3 meals a day? My dinner definitely meets the 'MyPlate' meal, because it always has foods from all food groups. My breakfast normally has every food group, except for vegetables, which can be hard to incorporate into breakfast. My lunch normally has 3/5 food groups, or 4/5. So I have at least one meal that meets 'MyPlate,' but my other meals are almost there.

What is your food goal? (Review your earlier blog post) Did you achieve your “food goal” or do you need to continue to work on it? My food goal was to incorporate more fruits into my meals, which I think I have achieved. Now, I have fruit with my breakfast, and after my dinner. It is quick and easy for me to throw these into my breakfast and dinner.

How stressed have you been this semester? On a scale from 1 to 10, I have been at a maximum of 6.5. Sometimes, I get really stressed about homework and school projects. But unlike the last semester, I have learned how to deal with stress better.

What two strategies work best for you to reduce stress? I am a thinker, so I like to think through things to reduce stress. So, sometimes, I think through or plan through something that I'm stressed about. For example, if I'm stressed about homework, I use the 'Reminders' app to help stay organized. Using 'Reminders' to stay organized. Another thing I do is talk to one of my parents. My mom is always great help with staying organized with homework. For example, if I am worried about a project, I may ask my mom what she thinks, so I get solutions, and stay calm.

What do you do on a daily basis to promote wellness? If I am ever talking with a friend about wellness, I will bring up my ways to do it. For example, in Math class the other day, I was sharing 'Reminders' with some of my classmates, so they can reduce stress as well. Sharing 'Reminders' with friends

May 2015 Band Concert Reflection

Concert Reflection for May 12, 2015

1. Did you feel well prepared for this performance, why or why not? (ie: Did you do what was expected of you leading up to the concert?)

I felt really well prepared for this concert, because I put in more effort at home than I had for the previous concert. For this concert, I really tried to focus on things that I knew I needed work on in general. For example, I knew I would occasionally have rhythm issues, so I made sure to count through my part at home. I also worked more on 'chunking' or playing only the parts I need to work on. I think I did do what was expected of me on stage and in the audience.

2. What was the strongest part of our performance, and why?

I think our band as a whole performed African Folk Trilogy the strongest. We already had quite a bit of experience with this song because we played the first section for our previous concert. Also, this was probably the least challenging piece out of all of our pieces for this concert. The notes, but mostly rhythms were much more simple than the rhythms and notes in our pieces for this concert. For this reason, everyone was able to play this piece the best.
In general though, I think everyone blended their sound really well. For most of the time, we played together at the same time.

3.  What was the weakest part of our performance, and why? What can we (and you) do to improve for next time?

One thing we should've worked more on is our dynamics. I did try to make an effort to accurately follow the dynamics. But, the entire band and I could have put more work into doing this. I think this part was weakest because we started off with the right dynamics, but they faded out. Also, it can be difficult when someone next to you is playing loud when you aren't supposed to, and you want to be heard as well. When this happens, it seems to be about self control with the volume. But overall, we should've been more consistent with the dynamics.

4. On a scale from 1 to 5, (5 being the best) how would you rate the overall band students’ behavior as audience members for this concert?  Why? (no names please)

I would give the band students' audience behavior a 4/5. We were respectful to the musicians on stage, but there was some talking here and there. Our behavior was better than last concert, but it wasn't perfect.

5. What was your favorite piece and why?
My favorite piece was The Lost Tomb, because I thought it sounded the best. I really liked how the music was low, which gave a mysterious effect. Also, I liked how the melody and the harmony sounded together. This piece was also a challenge, which made it fun. I had more things to work on this concert than the last concert, and I felt that this piece was more at my level. The work behind it and the sound of the piece are what made The Lost Tomb my favorite piece.

Electromagnet Fishing Pole

In Science, as a part of our electricity unit, we have been making electromagnets. Our mission is to make an electromagnet fishing pole (paperclips and brass fasteners being the fish). The fishing pole also had to have a switch, that turned off the electromagnetism. Here are all the plans I've had, leading up to final design.

We were given a 50cm wooden pole, two AA batteries, and there were other miscellaneous items available to us

First Design:

For this design, things were quite simple. We simply had the battery pack on the wooden pole, and the battery's wires were connected to a steel nail, which had a wire coil coiled around it. We already knew that coiling wire around the nail was required to have an electromagnet. There were two problems with this design: 1. The electromagnetic force wasn't powerful enough. 2. It didn't have a switch. Although these were the obvious issues with this design, we did run into other issues.

Second Design:

We had the same set up as the previous design, but a problem we didn't think we would encounter is having the battery pack mess us up. We tested our fishing rod with and without the battery pack, and the strength of the electromagnet was much higher without the battery pack. The video below explains this. The picture to the left shows two nails together. The thing is, we didn't have enough strength to pick up a large paperclip, so we tried having two nails to get more strength. That didn't make a difference, but the type of nail did. In the previous design, we used a steel nail. Here, we used an iron nail because we learned that iron conducts electricity better than steel. So our second design had two iron nails, no battery pack, and still no switch.



Third (Final) Design:

Our third and final design was our best design. We decided to include the battery pack, because it helps keep the batteries together. What we decided to do was make sure we have a battery pack that doesn't mess things up, by testing multiple battery packs. Since two nails didn't make a difference, we just used one iron nail. For our switch, we used a brass fastener. We had one battery pack wire connected to one side of the wire coil- this was a permanent connection. For the other, we put the battery wire under the brass fastener (that was taped to the wooden pole) and put the wire coil wire under the other flap of the brass fastener. We thought of using a thumb tack or paper clip for this same switch idea, but brass fasteners seemed to conduct electricity the best. So technically, the electromagnetism was going through the brad. That was our final design!

Here is a video of us explaining how our last and final design worked (taken right before the derby):

Informed Argument Essay

For the past four weeks in RLA, we have been writing our informed argument essays (as you can tell by the title). For this essay, we worked on making it based on fact, not personal experience. We spent some time doing research and finding dependable sources. Another thing we spent a lot of time on was the organization and flow of the essay. To do this, we focused on adding in transitions and subordinating conjunctions (AAAWWUBBIS). In addition, we worked on having strong language and voice, to suit the tone we want to have. This also connects to emotional appeal to the essay.
I spent time on my voice, and adding humor to my essay; since I normally try to write a sophisticated essay. I also spent time keeping my essay focused, because my writing normally has things it doesn't need in it.
Here's the essay:

Competitive Sports in Schools

by Kavya N.

We have always thought of sports for children as play time, fresh air, or time for them to have fun. Recently though, youth sports have developed into something much larger. Competitive sports. Now, children have the opportunity to turn play time into so much more. Unquestionably, students obtain more than just athletic skills from playing on a team sport. Determination, collaboration skills, leadership, social skills, exposure. And there isn’t any better place they can get these skills from. They turn what was once their free time into learning so many important lessons. But lately, schools have been questioning the benefits of competitive sports, and have been going against them. As a result, there is a shortfall of these essential capabilities in kids. You see, competitive sports have effects on children that we never knew of. Competitive sports keep them healthy, but more importantly teach them life lessons and teach important skills; that they can apply to many other places. 

First off, competitive sports keep kids healthy- both in the mind, and body. Team sports give kids an overall healthy state of mind and body. Being a part of a school sports team is a great way for this to happen, because they regularly get to play something. Doing this teaches them about lifelong fitness, which sticks with them forever. Exercise and fitness gets more important as you get older, so kids starting young is a great idea. As a matter of fact, the Foundation for Global Sports Development say that “young people generally get less physical activity the older they get, but if they stay involved in sports programs, they’re more likely to reap the physical benefits they otherwise would not receive.” In other words, it’s really important that kids are exposed to sports at a young age. The thing is, when they participate in a sports team, they are easily able to get into the practice of a healthy lifestyle. Although it’s quite obvious that sports keep kids healthy, the difference between regular sports and competitive sports keeping you healthy is that competitive sports require more from the kid, and more than that give them a healthier state of mind. Charles Bush-Joseph, the team physician for the Chicago White Sox and Chicago bulls says, “sports help build a healthy mind, body, and spirit.” As kids learn about teamwork, determination, and other crucial lessons, they build a healthy mind, and spirit. Playing regularly on a team and required solid training easily builds a healthy body. Not only do sports keep children physically healthy, but they impact kids’ lifelong health and wellness, and teach them good health habits. The Datalys Center- Sports Injury Research and Prevention says that kids involved in youth sports are seen to “consume more fruits and vegetables; watch less television; and be more satisfied with their weight” than kids who do not participate in competitive or team sports. Thus, students obtain mental and physical health benefits from playing competitive sports.
These are competitive sports we’re talking about. They obviously teach kids lessons, and give them some hardcore soft skills. It teaches them to be determined, because they push to win. It teaches them about teamwork, which happens simply through playing on a team. As a matter of fact, the National Federation of State High School Activity Associations say that competitive sport promotes “participation and sportsmanship...” Also, it teaches kids to be independent. While many people say that kids get injured easily while playing sports, learning to deal with these injuries enforces independence in the kid. It also teaches them to learn from mistakes, so they don’t get that injury again. In addition to enforcing important skills in the kid, competitive sports teach kids life long lessons, that will stick with them. They teach kids about winning, and more importantly loosing. This is an important lesson to learn, because everyone faces failures throughout their lifetime. All of these happen through experience. Experience that children can’t get in classrooms.  "It offers a beginning to see the world outside his or her community and socio-economic class. With travel, children can see the world, and, in turn, grow and develop," says Bruce Kidd, Dean, Faculty of Physical Education and Health at the University of Toronto.  While students who just play sports for fun will only think about sports as fun, students who play competitive sports get this real experience. Playing with other schools, having your ex-bestie on your team, scoring a goal for your team, working on that one move your coach wants you to get down. These are the experiences that enforce persistence, sportsmanship, and collaboration, only in kids who play competitive sports. It also gives kids great goal-setting skills, when there is a sport-related skill they want to achieve. This also leads to determination– pushing to win, or to achieve a personal goal. On top of these breathtaking skills an athletic child has, team sports can help students with time management. While sports keep young athletes so busy and tired, they must work hard to stay organized with school work and sports. Kirk Mango, author of Becoming a True Champion: Achieving Athletic Excellence from the Inside Out, says, “thrust into circumstances where balancing one’s time becomes a necessity, competitive sports forces athletes into situations where they must acquire solid time-management skills or suffer the consequences.” Once again, playing sports for fun doesn’t have this effect on kids. But when they are part of a competitive sport team, the fixed practices, and the effort students must put in brings in the time management factor. Wow. Stupendous skills and thrilling teachings. All it takes are competitive sports to make you fabulous– and we still have another reason to go.
As a result of learning these lessons, kids can apply what they learn in school sports to so many other places. They learn all-round skills, that they can’t get anywhere else. Of course, they can apply the skills they learn to school. In fact, Lauren Bradley, 16, junior at Assumption High School, in a discussion with school sport officials about having competitive school sports said, “During lacrosse, I never watch TV. My grades are my best when I am playing a sport.” When students are put into environments where will power, collaboration, success, and strategy are in the air, there’s no doubt that they will academic successes as a result. Daniel Gould, from ISYS (Institute for Study of Youth Sports) wrote, “a multi-year study conducted in Michigan has shown that children who participate in sport have increased educational aspirations, closer ties to school and increased occupational aspirations in youth.” As well as helping students academically, competitive sports help students in their social lives. Team sports show kids how to work with others, and participate with them. TrueSport, a “community based movement that champions the positive values and life lessons learned through sport,” says that, “There is a growing body of research focused on the association between school-based physical activity, including physical education, and academic performance among school-aged youth” suggesting that such activity “may have an impact on academic performance through a variety of direct and indirect physiological, cognitive, emotional, and learning mechanisms” According to TrueSport, multiple studies of kids who participate in competitive sports, in comparison to kids who don’t, exhibit “higher grades, expectations, and attainment; stronger peer relationships; and greater family attachment and more frequent interactions with parents.” They can also use these skills in future jobs, as well as adulthood in general. As adults, having a degree isn’t the only thing that will land kids a job. It’s the soft skills they obtain as child athletes. Professors from the Ivy League institution Cornell University did a study about how youth sports affects students through adulthood. The study used students’ biodata to show how men who participated in varsity sports affected them an average of 60 years later. The results? Former student athletes exhibited “higher levels of leadership and enjoyed higher-status careers,” as well as showing more soft skills than non-athletes. It was found that the high school athletes volunteered more frequently, and donated to charity. This not only proves that students can use their skills in adulthood, but also shows that youth sports have a lasting effect. The teamwork and sportsmanship required in competitive sports help them work with other people. Independence and determination are both skills that help children in the real world itself. So really, competitive sports give kids they can use anywhere. What a package!
Now, although we’ve cleared that children benefit hugely through competitive sports, some argue that getting involved in competitive sports at a young age can give them fatal injuries. And for this reason, they oppose having these sports. But, if students are afraid and constrained from playing sports at a young age because of injuries, they may have that fear for the rest of their life. Consequently, they won’t be able to try something new; and more importantly, will live with a fear for their whole life. Imagine that. Never getting to try what you saw other kids do, and being afraid of it. On top of that, missing out on all of the great benefits.
In the past, we didn’t think about competitive sports this way. We didn’t see them as an opportunity for kids to gain lifelong skills. Today, we understand these great outcomes in kids, but schools have began to oppose them. In the near future, it is possible that team sports could get completely wiped out. In simpler terms, so do these skills in children. And just imagine the world of tomorrow– with none of these mind-boggling skills. Where would the children of tomorrow end up then?

Gr. 6 Height Data Response

Today in Math, we looked at the heights of Math 6+ students to find measures of center for the data, and compare our height to it. Below is my response to the data.

Compared to the average, median, and mode of 6th graders’ heights, I am just below middle height. The average is 60.9577465 inches, which can be rounded to 61, being less than a tenth away. The median is exactly 61 inches; and the mode is also 61 inches. Calculating multiple measures of center is helpful in this case because we have so much data, and each measure of center shows a different part of the middle height. All measures of center are just around 61, which proves that this is the ultimate ‘middle’ height. The mean shows us what exactly each student’s height should even out to. The median shows us what height is right in the middle. The mode shows us what is the most popular height. Another reason why it is important to find multiple measures of center is to check the others. For example, if the median was 52 inches, but the average was 65 inches, you would consider a calculation error, or some major outliers.
Another thing I want to bring up is the range. The range is 20 inches; the greatest height being 72 inches (6 feet exactly) and the minimum height being 52. This is quite a surprising range, because it tells us that there is a sixth grader who is 20 inches (1”8) taller than another sixth grader. To put this in perspective, that is almost 2 heads taller. When you have such a large range, having multiple measures of center can be helpful.
When I first looked at this data, I saw a lot of clusters, which made me think there was low variability. But, when you have 142 students, having clusters of at least 8 students does not necessarily show much variability. The range of 20 has made me decide that the sixth grade Math 6+ students’ heights have a higher variability than lower. There is some low variability to consider, because the data starts like this: 52, 52, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 56, 56, 56… In this case, there aren’t many outliers. You can think of 52 as an outlier, but if you were to visualize this on a line plot, you would see that they are still all in one line. However, there are not clusters here either. Here is how the data ends: … 67, 67, 67, 68, 68, 69, 70, 72, 72. I wouldn’t call 72 an outlier, but again, if this were on a line plot there would be more of a line than a tall bunch. This points to high variability. But once again, the way the mean, median, and mode match up point to low variability. Quartile 1 is 58, which isn’t very close to how the data starts off. Quartile 3 is 63, which isn’t that close to the end either. So altogether, I’m going to have to say that there is low variability, even though the range is 20 inches.
To compare my height to all of this: my height is 58 inches, which is about 3 inches shorter than the middle height.

Blobz Electricity Quiz

Tech6- Post 3

As you may or may not know, in Tech I have been working on my Choice or Passion Project. For this, we may build something related to our choice or passion. I am building a foldable chair that saves space. Below are some questions we were asked to answer.


Please share with us your successes, and failures with your project thus far in the lab. 
Making the basic outline and/or plan was definitely a success. At this point, I have a plan that I am happy with, and will help me throughout this project. I haven't had any failures, but I feel that I am not getting enough things done in one class period. I want to spend more time working and getting things done, so I get the project done in time.

What have you learned about yourself so far in the building process in the lab?
I learned that I am a person who really thinks over plans, and takes my time with them. Just two or three classes ago, I finished my plan; which isn't being extremely efficient on the planning. I think I acted this way because I have had previous experiences where I have a bad plan for a project, and that messes up the whole thing. I was really excited to get started with this, and see my end product, which is why I didn't want to mess it up. What I need to do is get the right balance, and be efficient yet thorough with my planning. Like I said, I don't want one small planning mistake to ruin my whole project, but what I am beginning to learn is that there are a lot of solutions to small problems that occur.

Do you feel you have enough resources available to you in the lab to build your project? If not, what recommendations do you have for the teacher in this area?

Frankly, I was quite surprised to see and use all the equipment we have in the lab. I haven't used more than half of them before, and what we have definitely meets the needs for my project. I really liked how we got a chance to try some of them out, whether we needed them for our project or not. On top of all the materials and equipment we have, Mr. Diebley always has ideas and solutions to small problems we have. This way, we can try out new things on our own, without having the teacher do the work for us.

To the left is a picture of my cutting setup. This is how things look when I am ready to cut. I have learned a lot about using a hand-held jigsaw over the past few weeks. For example, if you don't want the cardboard to vibrate a lot, you should keep the plate that is around the blade low. As of April 20, I have finished cutting my base. Now I only need to attach the base, cut the layers, and attach the layers.