11th Grade

This year, I have grown significantly in all of my classes to prepare myself for my future career. In my Algebra class, we had a group project where we had to create a polynomial rollercoaster with a group. During this time, I was sick and so i had to communicate with my group to get my project done. I really grew in my skills of being able to communicate well with others and get things done which will definitely benefit me when I am in college. In my Technical Reading and Writing class, we had to complete a huge project that involved a lot of important skills such a sinstruction writing, theis project helped me understand important skills for college. In Chemistry, we learned about dimnesional analysis which is very important to know when studying college chemistry. In my Economics class, we learned about budgeting and had to plan a vacation on a budget. This project really prepared me for college because I had to work with my group members and it was difficult but I grew a lot in my collaboration skills which are important for college and career. In Intro to Architecture, I learned how to look at the deatils more than the big picture which will be very beneficial to future projects and in college. Overall, this year has better prepared me for College and Career and I am very grateful for that!

Algebra 2

In Algebra 2 this year, we created polynomial rollercoasters. Polynomial rollercoasters are graphs that use a polynomial equation. A polynomial equation is an equation that cannot be divided by a variable, the degree (exponents) can only be a whole number and it cannot have an infinite number of terms. The rollercoaster polynomial had to start at 250 feet and be 4 minutes in length and it must go below the ground at least once. We also had to record the end behavior which is the behavior of the graph as x nears positive infinity or negative infinity. We also had to record the minimum and maximum which was the highest and lowest points of the rollercoaster and we had to record the x and y intercepts. The standard equation and factored equation also had to be included. We had to place all the information onto a poster along with our rollercoaster polynomial and we had to be creative.

In addition we had to answer 6 questions regarding the rollercoaster. These questions were:

Draw a rough sketch of the coaster
Create an equation similar to the coaster
List degrees, factors and end behavior
List intervals of decreasing and increasing
Draw where the graph is increasing decreasing and constant
Draw and color the graph blue where it is increasing and red where it is decreasing

Our answers to these questions were:

Shown in artifact 2
The equation we had in factored form is 15x^2(x-1)(x-2)^2(x-3)(x-4) and the standard form of that equation is -15x^7 -825x^5-1860x^3+180x^6+1800x^4+720x^2.
The degree of our equation is 7 and the factors are (1,0), (2,0), (3,0), and (4,0). The end behavior is x --> ∞, y --> -∞ and x --> -∞ and y --> ∞.
The intervals were 0-1 Positive, 1-2 Negative, 2-3 Negative, and 3-4 Positive.

5&6. PICTURE

One struggle that I had during this project was making sure that I put in my share of the project. During this time period I got sick and missed a day of school as well as having a doctor’s appointment and missing the class another day. To make sure that I put in my share, I talked to my group members and asked them what I could do and they still needed the project to be put together. I took the project home and put it together, making sure that it looked creative and went above the standards for the overall appearance of the poster. I also answered the questions that we were given to make sure that I put in my share of the project.

One artifact I can use for this project is the graph. This shows what the standards we had to meet and the length and height. It also shows the understanding of what a polynomials is and what requirements needed to be met. Another artifact I can use is the questions we were required to answer. This shows that I understand what a standard and factored equation as well as end behavior, intervals, degrees and a polynomial equation overall.

Overall, this project was advanced my learning in polynomials and I believe that it has given me a better knowledge of what a polynomial is. I have grown in my understanding of what a polynomial is as well because at the beginning of the quarter I thought polynomial was just an equation but now I know it is much more than that.

Technical Reading and Writing

In Technical reading/writing and chemistry we created a set of instructions on an experiment for sixth graders. The instructions we created were over an experiment involving baking soda and vinegar and they had to be very clear, simple and short so that the sixth graders would be able to understand them. We also had to find out what they already knew about what was in the experiments such as what was included and the order of events so that we didn’t add any words they might not understand. This project better prepares me for my career because I have about being straight to the point. When I am in college, I will not be able to ramble on in my papers so this by learning to be more concise, I am better prepared for college.

To complete this project, we had to learn what proper instructions were and what made them easy to understand. Some of the things we learned was that our instructions had to be clear and concise. When writing instructions, one specific term I learned that was very beneficial to me was imperative writing which is using the imperative mood (also known as a grammatical mood) which forms commands or requests. We also learned that every instruction had to start out with a verb and that the instructions should be presented in chronological order and moving forward in time, not backwards. We did this project by first learning about proper instructions. Once we learned how to write instructions, we did a lab in chemistry then we had to write our own instructions for the lab and test them on seventh graders. After we tested our instructions, we saw what went well and what didn’t and revised them.

My first artifact that demonstrates my ability to be clear and concise when writing would be the instructions because it demonstrates learning the different terms and using the imperative mood as well as moving forward in time. Specifically, each instruction is one singular command, not more than one. This shows growth since I have been able to be clear in the instructions with the terms I’ve learned. Each instruction is short and to the point demonstrating how I’ve benefitted from learning how to write instructions.

My second artifact is the survey we gave the students before they tested our instructions. This shows the different information we needed to learn about the students so we could see if our instructions were understandable and clear. It shows how specific we had to be to make sure our questions were understandable and simple. This is important for me in college when I am researching something for a class because I may need to inquire from other students what they know and I cannot be vague.

I believe that this project has equipped me with the skills of prepared for colleges because I have learned the necessary skills to be prepared for rigorous college courses.

Chemistry

In chemistry class of first quarter this year, we learned about dimensional analysis which is transferring a numeric value into a different unit of measure, for example moles. When I say mole, I don’t mean the rodent but an extremely large number also known as 6.02*10^23. By learning this, I am better prepared for college because I have been taught the necessary skills for chemistry class and it will be easier for me to do when I am in college.

During this learning endeavor, we had to do multiple things before even learning how to do dimensional analysis. For example we had to learn the metric system and different units before doing dimensional analysis so that we could practice converting different measurements. When converting these measurements, an example of what the equation looked like is:

1.99Pinch (9.50drops/1pinch)(.0043TB/1drop)(3tsp/1TB) which gives me the answer .249.

After this, we learned what a mole was (6.02*10^23). We also learned that the molar mass of an element is one mole. After learning this, we would calculate the molar mass of the number of moles in a compound. After doing this we learned what the empirical formula was (the simplest formula of a compound) and the molecular formula which tells the actual number of atoms for each element.

One artifact I would like to explain is some of my notes because they display the learning process. Another artifact is the some problems where we used dimensional analysis to solve them. This shows how I used dimensional analysis.

One struggle I had during this learning endeavor was remembering all of the steps for dimensional analysis and not getting them confused. I overcame this by studying the different steps and remembering them one by one. Learning dimensional analysis will not only benefit me in chemistry class this school year but it will also benefit me in college when I am taking chemistry and I need to know dimensional analysis. I will already have the knowledge of it and not only that, but I will also have the notes I need for it.

Artifact 1 which displays the question we were given for the project.

Artifact 2 which shows our graph we created.

Artifact 1 which shows our instructions we created.

Artifact 2 which displays our survey for the 6th graders.

Economics

This year in economics class, we did a project to practice budgeting for a vacation. We did this by creating a vacation trip for a teacher based on the assigned budget they asked for their designation. Our group’s teacher stated they would like to go to the UK with a budget of $3000. When researching plane tickets my group found that $3000 would not cover the full trip and we asked the teacher if they could increase the budget and add $5000 to make it $8000. The teacher understood the situation and raised the budget. By the budget being raised, we were able to account for all of the costs of the trip including the food, hotel, tourist attractions, etc. Once we had all of the information we needed we were to put it into a website so the teacher could look at it. The website had to include the destination, the timeline of the trip, the passport information, the costs, where they would be staying and it had to be well organized so that it could be understood.

I think that in this project, I really grew in my ability to work with other people because my group members were not the most cooperative when I asked them to do their work so I ended up having to do a lot more than my share. But by the end of the project, I believe that I was able to work better with my group members than at the beginning because I was able to keep them on task and make sure they got done what was needed before the project was due. This can better prepare me for college because there will be times when I have to work with people who won’t be willing to collaborate and I will have to work with them and keep on them to make sure that they are doing what they are supposed to.

One artifact that I can use for this project is the overall budget of the vacation because it shows how we were able to use what we have learned in economics and apply it to something that we will probably have to do in the future. It also shows how we were able to stay under the budget and not account for more than we had. Another artifact I can use is the overall website because this shows how even though there was issues working together, we were still able to have a final and complete outcome that meets the requirements.

Overall, I feel that I have really grown through this project in my ability to budget out money as well as working well with others. I definitely feel more prepared to work with people for future projects.

Artifact 1 which is our website. The link is http://shakleemat.wix.com/great-britain-drss.

Artifact 2 which is the cost of the trip.

Artifact 2 which shows dimensional analysis problems.

Artifact 1 which shows dimensional analysis problems.

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Intro to Drawing

This year in my Introduction to Architecture class, we are designing a new area in our school. To design this area, we have had to learn a lot about Architecture but also about what the students of our school want and how our school already is. To do this, we were assigned to write about the different classrooms in the school and how teachers and students felt about them for one week in our sketchbooks.

Through this assignment, I learned a lot about how a space affects how you learn and how it makes you feel in general. It provided me a lot of insight on how small things such as lighting and furniture can completely change the environment of a classroom. This provided me a very important skill of looking at the details. I tend to focus on the bigger picture rather than the details so this assignment really benefitted me in taking a deeper look. This will be especially beneficial in College because I will have project that I will have to pay attention to the details.

One artifact I can use for this project is my notes that I took throughout the week which explain the different details I noticed that changed my whole perspective on the look of the classroom. Another artifact that I can use is a couple questions I drafted to ask students so that I can see how the small details affect them when learning so that I can plan for the new space.

Overall, I feel I have really grown through this learning experience in my ability to look at the details and take a deeper and closer look at things. I am very grateful I had this assignment because I know that it will definitely help me in college when working on large projects!

Artifact 1 which is my notes throughout the week

Artifact 2 which is my questions for students

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In conclusion, I feel that this school year has prepared me for College the most. From improving in my collaboration and communication skills to being able to look at the details better, I feel a lot more confident about College because I have gained such important skills in my classes. For example, I will really need communication and collaboration skills in College and Career because I will have to work with people daily to get things done and it is everyda thing I will do. Overall, I am extremely grateful for the skills that I have learned this year because of how much they will benefit me in College.