9th Grade Humanities |
with Ms. Carol Cabrera |
To Kill A mockingbird ROLLER COASTER
For this project we read created a roller coaster that could be traveled by a marble. This project incorporated Humanities and Physics. In Ms. Carol's class we read the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. We also studied themes and topics. Once we finished the novel we chose a character to base our coaster off of. Then we sketched out blueprints of each element which was a specific, impactful, moment in the character's life and we created a blueprint of the entire coaster to scale. We also made brochures explained each element, literary devices used in that element, and a theme we found in the novel. Then we constructed the coaster. Once it was completely built we made a second draft of the blueprint because things changed throughout the building process. Then we filled out an energy audit. We calculated the energy at each point in the roller coaster using the formulas PE = mgh and KE = 1/2mv^2. I especially liked the physics aspect of this project because it was new. I learned an abundance about the conservation of energy. Loren Li and I worked together on this project. I feel we did a good job of giving each other feedback so we were able to improve our roller coaster. It was only us two in the group and other groups had three people. We managed our time very well and divided up the work evenly. One struggle we faced with our coaster was the wide turn. It was very inconsistent and we had a hard time getting the marble to go from the second mini loop around the big turn and into the funnel. It was very stressful having it so inconsistent so we decided to start over from there. We tore up half of our coaster and changed our design so it went from a funnel, wide turn, to funnel. We definitely felt this necessary and it worked a lot better afterwards. I think one thing we could improve on involving work ethic would be our pace. We spent a lot of time of everything and I think we could have worked a little quicker and produced the same quality work. If I could change this project, I think I would have us spend less time on the element sketches. We did three drafts and I feel they didn't help that much. It was good to plan out what we were going to build but three drafts seemed a little excessive but other than that I really liked everything else. Overall this project was very interesting and I feel I grew a lot as a student and partner. I am very proud of the work we produced in the end.
Final product
MAycomb mini challenge
For the Maycomb Mini Challenge, we had an original model of anything, that someone had made and we had to recreate it. We took the original, looked at what was good about it then we focused on how we could improve it. Our original was a little paper frog head. It was made out of flimsy lined paper and had a lot of pen marks on it. We decided to make our new version with colored construction paper. We also chose to give it a body, a base so it was able to stand, and a little scenery. Nadia, Erik, and I worked together on this project. It was kind of challenging to work with this group because Nadia and I started with just us two, then Erik didn't have a group and was assigned to ours. It was kinda hard to shift from two people to three but we managed our time well so it was alright. That was one thing that taught me to be flexible and go with the flow. I also learned to be very careful with exact-o knifes. One thing I would have improved on would be more positive feedback to my peers. If I could change this project I would have maybe shortened the time on it. We spent a long time on this and I think it could have been shortened. However, this project was pretty good and I think it was good practice making models and critiquing work.
Belmont Park mini project
This project lead up to another one much larger. Our big project was to design and build a roller coaster but before we could do that we had to learn a little bit about it. We took a field trip to Belmont Park. We rode the roller coaster, sketched it, composed a writing piece, and created an art piece. My partner, who was also my partner for the TKAM Roller coaster, was Loren Li. Her and I actually work pretty well together. Other groups have 3 members but we only had 2. Since there were only 2 of us we had to do more work but it wasn't that bad. We managed our time very well and it was fairly easy to divide the work load. Loren is really good about giving feedback. That was something that we valued with one other. We constantly gave each other advice on how to improve and I think it showed in our final piece. I created the sketch of the Belmont roller coaster, she wrote a poem, and we both worked on the art piece. One thing I learned was proportions while drawing. It was a challenge at first to capture all the elements because my drops, turns, and loops were completely off. One thing I did to help that was I looked at images online. I was able to replicate the elements easier. One thing I could've improve on concerning my work ethic would be taking time to notice the detail. On the art piece I didn't spend that much time on all the little things so far away it looks good but up close, not so much. I don't think I would change anything about this project except maybe guiding the art piece more. I think everyone was just a little confused on that part. In the end, I am happy with the work I produced and learned a lot from it.
CONSTITUTION Project
For the Class Constitution we wrote a list of class norms modeled after the preamble. We did this so everyone was able to share their opinion on how the class should be run and how everyone should be expected to act. First, we individually came up with a list of 10 normals for the teachers and us students. We then got with a partner and combined our lists into 1 list of 10 norms. Then we combined with our table group, table row, then class, then team. It was easier to combine lists in the beginning because there was less people so less ideas were being expressed. It grew harder and harder each time we joined because people felt stronger about their ideas. It was pretty difficult at times, especially when people didn't want to compromise. But in the end, we made a list that everyone was happy with. Something I learned from doing this project was how to listen and hear other people out. It was pretty easy to just shut other ideas down but we had to compromise and work together. Once we came up with the written portion of the Constitution, the artist in the class wrote it out on a poster and decorated it. I feel that went very well because it highlighted everyones unique capabilities. I think one thing I could improve on with my work ethic would be patience. I hurried myself a little and rushed my list. I think I could've taken a little bit more time so it would have a bigger impact. If I could change this project maybe it would have been shortened a little. I think we spent a lot of time on it, a little bit too much. I think we could have used our class time more efficiently and then move on quicker. Overall, I thought this project was a good way to introduce the year and give us a good foundation to grow off of.