Grading cleared up

Going off track was a common happening in class today, and mr. Boyle cleared up a lot of the questions I had about grading. I like the way he calculates our grades, because in reality , getting an a really is just being good at following directions... And learning is more important then worrying about how well we follow directions and grading us on our obedience... Usually for any othe class I've taken, I wouldn't think twice about getting progress reports and also, I'm really thankful that he's teaching us about technology because whether we like it or not, everyone has to be able to use the Internet as their resource, it's not a matter of being social, it's the matter of succeeding in college and life.

We hold these truths...

I loved the quiz he gave us today because memorization is kind of easy. On Sunday I found a song by the 5th Dimension called the declaration, and it's essentially the declaration of independence made into a song. Also I tried to comprehend the text more because if you comprehend the sentence, because once Mrs. Norton told me that it's proven that you can memorize easier then if it was a bunch of random words. So basically this weekend I listened to that son g over and over. Hopefully I got an a?

Battles

It won't embed for some reason, so this is the best I can do!
http://www.timetoast.com/timelines/76118

I forgot to post this for yesterday.

Today we were supposed to do our speech things and I honestly don’t know what to do for the adjective, I’m like, having a brain block or something. Good thing Boyle had a meeting during C because I would’ve had to say something stupid like “the beautiful colony or Georgia” and honestly do you know how many people have probably already used that adjective? Yeah, like 99% of the class. So now I’m at work and I’m thinking of adjectives to use.
Ps. Having a study in not-Scott but the other Dube was not fun at all. I didn’t have any homework with me and all the desks were taken up so I had to sit on the floor in the back with Hunter and we played Indian Chief with Justin and Leah and Katie, but then we got in trouble so we just sat there. For 58 minutes. Just kidding probably more like 48. Gotta go restock ice cream now.

Speeches

Wellllllllll, today we did our speeches for signing the Declaration. It was kind of confusing how to know when to say something, because the text isn't in order, or it wasn't in order on mine. It was interesting to see how Sammi voted nea, and I never knew that there was an opposing colony, I don't remember who it was, but I know it was Sammi, and she had to walk out of the room, haha. It was hard to keep track of what everyone said but it's okay. And now we have to memorize part of the declaration and I forgot my textbook at school so now I have to go look it up. COOL. KAYTHANKSSEEYOUMONDAYBYE.

Note Takers

Today we took notes and once again, I'm finding myself not writing down whats on the slideshow, but just listening to Mr. Boyle talk. I'm not sure if there's anything really different on the slideshow then what he's talking about, but I hope listening to him is a better resource... Also we got into groups and of course I went to the wrong group, kind of embarassing. But hey, it's okay. I'm not sure what I really got out of the packet he gave us. I know that one of the leaders in the First and Second Continental Congress wanted peace, but not independence, but I'm not completely sure why. I read the document one and a half, but I'm still not completely sure why so I'm going to go read it again. And again.

Google Maps Lesson

I thought that using Google Maps in our lesson today was good, but I found that I didn't really use the small typed summary that was on the webpage, as I just listened by ear to what Mr. Boyle was telling us and taking notes, because I couldn't read what it said. I liked seeing where these events that we're talking about are today and what it currently looks like. In no other classes, have I had the oppurtunity to see the places we've talked about in class, in the present. Obviously we don't usually get the chance to see the places in real life, so Google Maps is the next best thing. I thought it was interesting to see the exact route the soldiers marched, and it's really weird to think that we live so close to it, we're actually really lucky to be surrounded by so much history.

Better Late Then Never?

It was a dark, quiet night,
April 18th, 1775,
Paul and I jumped on our horses,
And we started to ride.

Other men accompanied us,
We made a bee line through Mass,
All afternoon to warn people,
We were assigned this task.

On the lookout for our two men,
Hancock and Adams, we had a message to send.
Warning everyone of the the regs,
Tired were the horses legs.
Dawes was somewhere, letting people know,
This midnight ride was quite the show.

Tired and sore, we kept our word,
So I flew past houses, fast as a bird.
A tough journey, spent together,
Thank god for the beautiful weather.

When we got to Lexington, I jumped off my horse,
Ready for the fight, we've finished our course.
Dawes showed up and told us of his journey,
Almost had a heart attack, I needed a gurney.
But he reassured us that no one believed.
They thought he was drunk, so they made him leave.

After the stories, I hopped on my pony,
With Prescott, I was not lonely.
Off to Concord we were headed,
Stopped by the British, that's what I dreaded.
They took me, but left Prescott,
He made it to Concord, he was well-taught.
Corcord's men all ready for war,
So my story in comparison is quite the bore.

50 words. Exactly.

When Britain ordered a crazy amount of taxes from American Colonists through the Stamp Act, that event spiraled into the Boston Tea Party, as America was not represented in the British Parliament. Obviously this made the American Revolution inevitable because American colonists would rebel even more, fighting for more representation.

Events

I thought the iPod idea Mr. Boyle had was a pretty good one, I'm sure that this project will get easier after the next couple years because more and more people are getting iPods, it was probably a bummer for the kids that didn't own iPods because they have to depend on someone else, but obviously Apple is becoming exponentially more popular everyday, so it can only get easier from here. Here are some notes I took while listening to the sound clips:

Royal Proclamation- Indians felt threatened when colonists started taking over the west. There was even more tension when the Indians fought back for the land and we retaliated with disease-spreading. To calm everyone down and still gain land in the Appalachians, the British made the Royal Proclamation.

Stamp Act- Americans thought it was unfair when they weren't represented in the Parliament and they were expected to pay crazy taxes to pay off the countries debt, rebellion was becoming a popular issue among colonists.

The Boston Massacre- Colonists wanted to resist the Acts that British Parliament were passing. They attacked a guard, who shot into the crowd and killed 11.

The Boston Tea Party- British Parliament made Americans pay more taxes on tea to pay off debt. A group of colonists dressed as Indians dumped 150 lbs of tea into Boston Harbor, wasting a lot of England's money. They began farming tea.

Intolerable Acts- The British kept an eye on Massachusetts and was very firm with their governing of the state because it was the location of teh Boston Tea Party. The Sons of Liberty told people to stand up for freedom, this started many revolts.

The First Continental Congress- a group of colonists started meetings to reflect of their views of the Intolerable Acts and how to stop the british stranglehold and to obtain their freedom once again.

There you have it, no plagarism please.

iJohnAdams

Today we did the presentations for the historical figures we've researched. I actually had some fun making the life size figure, it reminded me a project we did in 7th grade, only this year, we incorporated technology and more research into the project. Last night, I spent about 3 hours trying to turn off the voice changer on my laptop integrated camera. Everytime I went to the webcam console and clicked disable voice effects, I recorded my voice, and then when I was listening to it online, it came out really squeaky and obnoxious, but don't worry everyone, I fixed it and finally am all set for tomorrow. Hopefully when I get home I won't have trouble getting the sound clips from the google group to my iTunes library. I thought it was interesting learning about other people, because I already know about most historical figures, I didn't know that there were so many. I knew a lot about Sam Adams, not so much about John Adams, so I thought it was cool to research him and learn his life story. I wish I took notes because there was so much information to remember, hopefully there won't be a test on it... (hint for Mr. Boyle), that's basically all I have to say for now, but no promises, I might be back on tonight... KAYTHANKSBYE

John Adams

Today

Obviously the new bus company doesn't understand the importance of me getting me to school before 7:42 because my bus driver forgot that she's a bus driver and didn't pick us up until 7:40, and Triton is 10 minutes away from school, so I was late for history today. But it's okay because Mr. Boyle didn't care. Anywho, we recorded our group presentations today. Good thing Mr. Boyle is tech savvy because I messed up a lot. I think it's not only beneficial for him that we do the voicethreads, but also for us, because we're learning about technology more and what we're capable of, if we own a computer. I'm glad we're learning a lot about computers this year as well as the obvious gaining of knowledge of US history. Now making posters and games in other classes seems really bland and old-fashioned, I wish more of my teachers incorporated the internet into their everyday teaching, because it's a change of pace and I think it could possibly aid us in learning more, as my math teacher was saying, if you switch around the way and resources you use to learn, your brain is more likely to pay more attention because it keeps your mind alert and "flowing". Well that's all for today, and I'm out.

That paper about the colonies

Well since history isn't my strongest point, and I haven't learned US history since fifth grade, that multiple choice packet Boyle gave us was mostly just the case of guesstimating on my part. I really had no clue as to what states were in each colony, but it obviously wasn't very bad because the maps were there. I think I need to brush up on my fifth grade history just a bit because I might need some of that knowledge to succeed this year. I guess in a minor way it was a little bit of a reality check, seeing as a lot of people knew the answers already.

Google Docs

This was the first time I've ever used Google Docs and although I've found many faults in it, the idea of it is actually really cool. When the various people in my group were editing the document, upon opening the document, not all the editing was saved, which is kind of a hassle and frustrating, but if you get past that, Google Docs is really useful. I think that it's a good way to see how other groups are doing their projects, which can also be a bad thing because it can promote plagarism. I'm glad that we're getting the chance to explore new technology and discover new online tools.

Goals For The Year

As I’ve come upon my sophomore year of high school, I have realized that making goals are surprisingly helpful and can motivate you to reach destinations you’ve only dreamed of meeting. Analyzing your past, present and future can truly aid you in creating or modifying your goals for the year. Encountering these realizations facilitated the making my three goals for my sophomore year.



1. Planning the future. As a teen, I try as much as possible to deny the fact that college is just around the corner. Currently with not much of an idea for a career path in mind, parents and teachers vex my mind with college information. Since I only have three more years until I move out for college, I really need to start finalizing what I’d like to be when I grow up. There are so many questions to ask, such as; although I love photography, will be get me anywhere in life? And what classes should I take if I want to major is Architecture? Collecting information about plans for the future is a big priority for this year, and I intend on paying attention in guidance seminars because I know how helpful they are to students.


2. Balance my life. As many times as I’ve been told how important it is to find a balance in your life, I have never understood that more than I do right now. With a part time job scooping ice cream, tennis lessons three days a week and no studies due to photography class, I need to find time to do homework, study, and also I believe it’s important to have a social life on top of that as well. To do so, I'm going to attempt to plan out my time better, determining how much time should be spent working, studying and socializing. Also, priotizing will help me specify what the most important element in my life is.

3. Avoid stress. As you know, I have a job, tennis lessons, no studies in school, and homework. My situation can actually be very stressful. To keep from being stressed out, I'm going to prioritize and put everything in order, from most to least important, and when there is too much on my plate, I'll cut back on the less important things in my life so that I can relax, but still focus on the important things.

If I start trying to slowly map out my future, balance my life, and avoid stress, I should be on track to have a successful sophomore year.