What are the Values of the Major World Religions?

One of the values of the major religions is that most of them teach people a good and healthy way of living; they also give people a reason to live, they make them want to get to paradise or in christianity, heaven. I believe that without any religions at all people wouldn't know what path to take in life and there would be many misunderstandings and fighting in the world.

This I believe

When I first started to listen to some I Believes, I didn't really feel a connection to any. Yes, they were inspiring and some touching, but they didn't make me think, "Wow! I truly do believe in this". I finally decided to look for a totally different topic from the ones on my list. I searched for Happiness and Laughter. It sure wasn't something I deeply believed in, but I just clicked and waited for whatever was to come up. The first thing that popped out was some guy named Wayne Coyne, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. I thought, "Oh well, I guess I must listen to it". The first thing he said was, "I believe that we are able to create our own happiness." Of course I was shocked to hear something that was a true belief I never thought I had deep, deep inside. So, I kept on listening; every word that man said brought back memories. It was so emotional...even though his experience wasn't similar to mine, I felt what he felt and I understood his belief. His story takes place in his car. While he was thinking of how good his life is, he spotted two people on the street, shivering. The first thing that came to his mind was, "Oh, poor people, cold on the street," but he realized they were sharing a joke and laughing. He then envied them. Yes, they were on the streets and cold, but they were joyful even though they didn't have shelter or food. He was amazed. They created their own happiness without any money or fancy possessions. I never thought the human person was able to create so much joy without even trying.

Learning Profile "C"

1. I learn best when I focus on the auditory details. I need to listen and be explained either verbally or in writing in order to learn easily. I have the ability to follow step by step visual instructions and I also feel more comfortable with visual directions.

2. I need to gestalt side. I never really look at the big picture, I'm always focusing on the details and perfection. Sometimes I just have to let go. I also have to work a lot on seeing specific details in visual information.

3. The strategies that would help me in my learning are sitting on the left side a couple roads to easily access my right ear. Art, music and freeform movement would help me find my gestalt side.

4. I would like my teachers to know I am an auditory and visual learner so I really like to see instructions and listen to what we have to do with specific information. I can't do things right if I am not explained exactly what is my task. My left eye scans from left to right so I have a difficulty reading and writing sometimes so I always have to close my eyes for a minute and give my eyes a rest.

The Land of the Lotus-Eaters

Odysseus has been away in war since ten years ago and he now he’s going back to his wife and son in Ithaca. He and his crew get lost in the way and arrive to an unknown land, they stop there to rest and eat. Polites’s crew went to inspect the area and don’t come back so they decide to go look after. They find them eating fruit, laughing and smiling, Odysseus quickly notices that they are eating lotus fruit and warns them that they will forget about their family and home by the next day. So they all decide to leave and go back to the ship and sail back home.

My Ten Memories

1) I remember when I was four years old and I made Jenny, my babysitter, wash my purple pajamas with stars everyday because I had to wear it every night to watch a dancing competition.

2) I remember when I went to a zoo in Colombia and went near a lion cage, I started messing around with the lion until it got annoyed and roared so loud in my face that nearly gave me a heart attack!

3) I remember when I was six years old and was in the hospital because I had appendicitis, the doctor showed the thing that they had just taken out of me to my mom but he never, ever showed it to me.

4) I remember when I was seven and my mom was pregnant with my sister and I wasn't happy about it, in fact I hated it I always said that having a sister was the worst idea ever.

5) I remember when I was five and I saw that my dad always hugged my cousin and was with her all the time, so I thought that he didn't love me so I decided to run away from home.

6) I remember when I was five and it was night time and I was night walking, I went downstairs to the guard house and then he called my mom and she and my dad went downstairs and took me home.

7) I remember when I was two and I stayed with my grandparents for a year and my parents only went once every month, but I had the best time of my life :)

8) I remember when I was nine and I lived in Mexico and we traveled all over it in our car and we had a lot of fun.

9) I remember when my grandma used to ask me why she loved me so much and I always answered this... "Because you are my grandma and its obvious!" The funny thing is that I always said it, I never changed it.

10) I remember when I was 10 and my sister was mad at me so she took my Nintendo DS and threw it to the wall.

Classic Greek Myths

I would say that both of the myths were really interesting and very emotional in my opinion. My favorite was the story of Daedalus and Icarus. This is because it is really interesting and at some point it gets really emotional and sad. The common themes in these stories would be that they have deaths, pain, suffering, and they have fake things.

Bio Poem

Maria

Creative, funny, smart, kind, trustworthy.

Sister of Isabella Rojas.

Loves to draw, listen to music and have fun with friends. Also loves her family.

Who needs music, volleyball, family and friends.

Who gives her family love and help to her friends.

Who would like to see her grandparents and her old house.

Who shares worries, problems and love with her parents.

Who is a good student, a loving daughter and a caring friend.

Who is a resident of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Rojas

The End Is Near!

1. What piece of work and learning are you most proud? Explain.

In six grade we did so many different projects and we learned so much from them. There are some projects that I really enjoyed doing and they were really fun. One of those assignments is my last Lit Circle. I chose this project because I am really proud of it and I worked really hard. I was also really satisfied with my grade and I enjoyed reading the book.

2. What were your greatest challenges? Explain.

I would have to say that Lit Circles were one of my greatest challenges in trimester one, because I didn't really like to read and I totally hated to make up questions and then answer them. But then after a while, I started enjoying what I was reading and questions came up to my mind while I read. I also started liking the Lit Circle discussion because I could understand more about the book and all my partners helped me with questions that I had about the book. Another challenge would be SSR. I know, that SSR is the easiest thing in Humanities and it is not even graded but I found it really challenging at the beginning because I didn't really like to read so the 20 minutes were like hours for me. Now, I know why I didn't enjoy SSR. I didn't like it because I always had to read boring books, and I never really liked them so i got really bored while I tried to read them. But now, I started bringing books from home and they are books that I like and I enjoy reading them.

3. Reflecting on your growth this year, what did you learn about yourself as a learner?

This year I learned that I am a really social person and that I have to know when to stop and say 'I have to start working'. I also learned that I concentrate more with music, I get more ideas, specially when I am writing an essay. And last but not least, that I work better in the computer, I think it is much easier than writing it by hand.

4. To evaluate your work habits, choose 1 of the following from each category (and provide explanations):

a) Behavior
I choose behavior because I think it is the one that I have to improve the most. I think I should be better with my behavior because sometimes i get distracted with my friends and I don't get the work done. But, that does not mean that I can't work with them, the problem with that is that I don't know when to stop messing around or maybe laughing. I think I have to improve on that.

"Satisfactory"

5. Based upon your reflections, write two personal learning goals for Grade 7 next year.

Goal 1 - In Grade 7, I plan to organize more what I write because sometimes I just want to finish fast and I rush through it, what I end up with is an disorganized peace of writing. Goal 2 - In Grade 7, I plan to concentrate more in class, because sometimes I just lose control and I don't understand what the teacher wants me to do.


6. Is there any more information about yourself that you would like the teachers to know?

Another thing that I would like my new teachers to know is that I like to stay after school to talk to them, so that I can know them better. Haha. I like to meet my teachers because I am a really SOCIAL person! (but not in class *wink* *wink*)


7. What was your favorite activity lesson in Humanities this year? What did you enjoy about it?

I would have to say that my favorite activity is the last Tic-Tac-Toe project because I got Rome, and I've always wanted to know about Rome, because I think it is a really interesting city. I also liked acting and writing a script with my team mates.

8. What activity do you wish we could have spent more time on?

I wish I could have spent more time on my Egyptian test, because I rushed through it, and I didn't organize my ideas well and everything was 'messed up'.

9. Finally, cast your minds back to the first few months of middle school (when you arrived in Grade 6 ) what "Words of Wisdom" or "Advice" could you pass on to the Class of 2018?

I would tell them that six grade humanities is really fun and you get to learn about so many interesting things that I'm sure you will never forget. And enjoy MS Parties of course! haha!

Books, Books!

Title: The Series of Dear Dumb Diary
Author: Jim Benton

1. This book made me think about ...
This book made me think about the real school days and how there are nerds, the popular ones, the sporty ones and others. I was so impressed when I read all the things this character has done and all the problems she has. While I was reading I laughed, sometimes got sad but when I finished reading the first book I loved it and I wanted to keep reading more, because I wanted to see what other crazy things this character was going to do and how she was going to fix everything.

2. This book challenged me as a reader by ...
It was a bit challenging to read this book because it has so many new vocabulary and it uses so many expressions that sometimes I couldn't quite understand. It also was written in a different kind of writing that I didn't know about. It was challenging but it taught me so many things and now I can use those things in my own writing.

3. Don't read this book if ...
You shouldn't read this book if you don't like to read diaries because this book is like the character's diary. But I think you should read it if you like drawings because every page has a drawing. You should also read this book if you like funny books because the author adds a lot of humor to this book and sometimes he writes about impossible but funny things and it is fun to read. I enjoyed reading this book a lot!

The Giver: Blog Entry #4

Here is a question for today's blog post!

Q: " Gabriel's breathing was even and deep. Jonas liked having him there, though he felt guilty about the secret. Each night he gave memories to Gabriel: memories of boat rides and picnics in the sun; memories of soft rainfall against windowpanes; memories of dancing bare-footed on a damp lawn.

"Gabe?"

The new child stirred slightly in his sleep, Jonas looked over at him.

"There could be love" Jonas whispered.

The next morning, for the first time, Jonas did not take his pill. Something within him, something that had grown there through the memories, told him to throw the pill away"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------I think that Jonas cares a lot about Gabriel and he wants him not to be like the others. I think that that is why Jonas is giving him so many happy, colorful memories, so that when he grows up he sees colors and he feels feelings. So that when he grows up he is free to feel what he wants and know whatever he wants about 'life'. I think that is a really good action form Jonas because what he is learned he wants to pass it on to Gabriel so that he knows and feels things that no one except for Jonas and The Giver know. :D

The Giver: Comments On Others Blog Post

Andrea:

Fist Paragraph:

In your first paragraph you are missing some commas and apostrophes. You have a lot of run-on sentences. You start an Idea and you don't develop on it, you just say it and you don't give examples or something. I think it's too simple.

Second Paragraph:

You could have given more examples, like something in the book or something about you. Other than that, I think it was really good.
:D

Third Paragraph:

In the third paragraph when you said that they may change the rules because people are getting tired, you could have added some examples of why they were getting tired or what was being the same over and over again.

^_^


Tem:

First Paragraph:

Well, you were suppose to write 3 paragraphs. Anyway, I think that you repeat the same words a lot like when you said "Even though the community the Jonas lives in a "perfect" community" you repeated community twice. I think that you organized your ideas really well and it was really good. But you could have wrote some more. :D

Good Job :[)

*The Giver*

Today, I'm going to be writing a 'journal response' about "The Giver", the book we are reading in humanities class. Now, I'm going to answer a question about the book.

Would you want your future to be decided by others ? Why or Why not?

Definitely NO!, I like to make my own decisions, but I do have to accept that I like when people help me make a hard decision but not to make it for me :). I believe that everything happens for a reason, and I just want to let my future reflect to the decisions I make. I don' t really like how Jonas's community, they assign you a job and they have so many rules!, in less words, they have your life planned. I mean if you don't follow their rules, they will release you. If you are old they release you, if you do something that is against their rules, they will release YOU! I think that there is not excitement in their life's, they know that they will work until they get old and they go to the house of the old, and then they will be released. That's the life plan for everyone. But who knows, maybe Jonas will change that..

iMovie Reflection

In Humanities class we made a project based on different pharaohs, we got to chose one so Andrea and I choose the pharaoh Ramses II. We had 3 days to make an interesting iMovie with pictures and information about the pharaoh that we choose. On the first day we searched for information and we tried to learn about the pharaoh. Then in the second day we started writing a script which then we were going to record our voices reading it and then put it in the iMovie presentation. In the last day we organized the script and we tried to make it sound good, but we couldn't record our voices so we needed another day to finish. Hopefully it was Thursday and we had Chinese New Year vacations so we had 5 more days to work on it at home.

Andrea came over to my house to look for pictures and record our voices, that took us 2 days which meant we had 3 more days. When we were finished with the iMovie we remembered that Mr. Fischer said that we had to try to be creative and make something cool. So we brainstormed and we had the idea to make a short funny movie. My dad helped us with the filming part, Andrea was the mummy and I was a tourist. We then finished and we made another iMovie. with the videos that we took and we added music and some fun stuff to it. Few hours later we were done and ready to present. Then on Monday we were the only group done so we had to wait and wait. On Tuesday we presented first. I personally think that we did a good job with creativity in the iMovie and in the 'Mummy Video'. I really liked what we did and how we did it because we both helped a lot, we communicated and we worked as a team.

City Connection Reflection

1) What did you do well on the project?

I think I did well on creativity because I tried my best to make my presentation look good by making the letters move and choosing nice pictures. I think I did well too on organization because I choose the right color font and I used bullet points and I explained my ideas pretty well. I had good pictures that helped me explain and make it easier for the public to understand.

2) What would you improve for future presentations/projects?

For a future presentation I would talk to the public and not just to look and read from the presentation, Which I did. I would practice more so that I know what I have to say and I can change some words. This would help me understand more my topic and speak with confidence. I would talk a bit slower so that people could undertand me better.

4) What did you learn from the city presentations of others?

Well when they talked they were looking at the public and not much at the board and what they said they explained it really well. They had specific information which helped understand better and some of them had a very good volume and speed when they talked. When people asked questions they could answer them because they knew the topic and they understood it really well.

5) How did you meet each of the requirements from the rubric?

I followed all of the steps on the rubric which were historical factors, environmental factors, statistical factors and pictures. I think my presentation was complete and I did follow the steps correctly.

Resolutions and goals + Exciting Christmas events

Hi!,
This is the first blog post in 2011. Today's Post is about "Resolutions + goals and Exciting Christmas events. Well I had the best vacations ever. I experienced new things like going to a cruise, enjoying a relaxing thai massage, watching monkeys do extraordinary things and more.. Let me start.


First I'm going to write about my resolutions and goals for this year. The fist one is to be patient, this counts as one of my goals because I think i need to improve on it. Regularly I want everything I want at the time I want and, thats not good for me at all. The second one is to be more organized because I always lost things but I think Im improving on it and last but not least to read more.


Now it is time to talk about my wonderful vacation! Well, I went on a cruise for a week. Arriving there was like going to another planet, I mean there you're surrounded by the vast and beautiful sea .. I loved it. Our first stop was Singapore. I loved that city, is so civilized (I love the civilization by the way). The buildings, Universal Studios,zoos .. In conclusion, I loved everything. The second stop was Phuket which I didn't like that much. As I said before, I love civilization and that city has almost nothing in common with it. I forgot about civilization when I saw those monkeys riding bicycle and hugging you, Oh my gosh! I enjoyed that a lot :) then we went to a spa and we took a thai massage which I loved! ha!. Our last stop was Langkawi. I nearly die when I saw the sea :). It was so light I mean it was PERFECT!. We stayed in the beach all day, then we went back to the cruise which was going to take us back to KL!. I really enjoyed this vacation! 


Thank you!


Maria