Alan

Welcome to my webpage. I learned a lot this year, and, over the course of the year, I have changed and developed. Here are some snapshots of what I have learned and what activities I have done.
 * __Hello!__**

I loved this school year. It was a change from the elementary school. This year, the classes were organized into periods, we had different classes, and we didn't have recess. My favorite change, however, was the activities. From the Chinese New Year to the Egyptian Funeral, the classes I had with my two teachers were both inspiring and new to me. The activities were fun. The word fun just can't cover it. The word fun can't describe the time it takes for a student to construct a model of an ancient Chinese ship. The word fun can't describe the dedication it takes to construct a four-foot-long nurse shark. The word fun can't describe the creativity it takes to construct an ancient Egyptian sarcophagus out of a shoebox, paper towels, and cartonnage, and fun doesn't describe reading thirty-three books in three days. :) Some of the activities I participated in related to many aspects of the different classes. For example, when we were learning about the Ancient Egyptians, we were exploring the facts from Social Studies, the math they used for Math class, and we even delved a bit into Art when we constructed sarcophagi for our mummies. When we were learning about the Ancient Chinese, I researched the dynasties of Ancient China. I got the class engaged in learning about the social classes and achievements in the dynasties by dividing them into social classes, giving the builders LEGOs, the artisans Play-Doh, and the royal family crowns and fortune cookies. The activities we performed in sixth grade were both an exciting and educational experience. I'm going to miss it next year.
 * __Activities__**

Some friends of mine created a band with me. The name of the band is Solitary Confinement. I am the lead guitarist and vocalist, Casey is the lyricist (songwriter), Jason is the bass guitarist, Tommy is the synthist, Garrett is the back-up guitarist, Eric works with sound equipment and computers, and Zach is the drummer.We already played at our school, and our classmates thought we were pretty good. The achievement of creating a band is my favorite part of this year. Casey also created a [|web page] for our band. We write our own lyrics and melodies, and I look forward to progressing in the world of music at school. We performed for the Open Mic Night. Here is a clip from our performance.
 * __Solitary Confinement__**

In our science class, we learned about oceanography and its aspects. I researched [|Ocean Currents]. I was surprised by the tremendous amount of water that is carried by an ocean current. I reported my research in an oceanography web page, along with my other classmates and their research subjects. Creating a web page was a marvelous way to integrate technology with our report, instead of taking the tedious amount of time to write all the information down on a piece of paper. I really learned a lot more about computers. Sixth grade has made me more technologically inhanced, most probably giving me more opportunities later on in life concerning computers. During our study of oceanography, we also learned about the coral reef. I studied the blue-headed wrasse. For my model of the wrasse, I drew two sides of a small colored wrasse. I then used the pattern to create several more. After coloring these little fish, I stuffed them with cotton balls and glued the two patterns together to make them three dimensional. Finally, I strung them up with string to a coathanger. Using this form of arts and crafts to share our knowledge of what we learned has improved my creative thinking and imagination. I am grateful for that.
 * __Oceanography__**

Towards the beginning of the school year, we learned about birds of prey in our science class. While we were researching the birds of prey, we went on a field trip to a birdwatching site called Bake Oven Knob. After climbing to the top of the mountain, we situated ourselves on our blankets, got cozy, pulled out our binoculars, and looked to the sky. The weather was frigid and windy, but we did get beautiful views of the hawks and were able to identify each species by their field marks, as we were taught by our teachers. Observing the birds' flight and distinctive marks in the bitter cold out in the field left a longer lasting impression than just viewing pictures of hawks in the comfort of a classroom. Seeing the difficulty of identifying a hawk high above you made me realize how hard it must be for professional birdwatchers to try to identify birds in the air, not to mention the additional challenge of coping with the merciless elements. Because of this activity, I have gained a better understaning of how to identify birds of prey. With this knowledge, I can look at the world of science differently from the way l did before I came to the middle school.
 * __Bake Oven Knob__**

In science class, we studied different types of biomes, or habitats, for creatures to live in. In the group I was in, we researched the desert biome. Once again, we displayed our information on a computer, this time as a PowerPoint presentation. Using slide transition, background personalization, and timing helped us better understand use of the computer, and thereby helping us know how to properly utilize the computer's tools in the future.
 * __Biomes__**

In English class, we learned how to write persuasive essays. There are several forms used to help persuade: ethos, logos, nomos, and pathos. Ethos involves persuasion by using credibility and believablity. Logos involves logic and reason. Nomos reminds the readers that we are all in it together, and how we would all benefit, and pathos just involves persuasion by emotion.
 * __English__**

__**Reading**__ In reading class, we had literacy circles. During these literacy groups, we practiced many reading strategies. Some of these strategies were summarizing, asking questions, locating facts, and clarifying.

In our Social Studies class, we learned about ancient civilizations. Some of these civilizations were the Maya, the Egyptians, the Ancient Chinese, and Mesopotamia. My personal favorite civilization was the Maya because part of my heritage is Mayan. I have discovered that, even though some of these civilizations have been extinct for thousands of years, the main body of the civilization is similar to ours today. All civilizations have a government, an economy or trade of some sort, agriculture, a leader of some kind, religion, a type of social structure, a use of science, and arts and education.
 * __Social Studies__**

__**Greek Week**__ Starting on May 7, our class had Greek Week. During Greek Week, we shared our topic that we researched relating to Ancient Greece. The other members in my group were Jason and Ryon. Jason researched the auloi, Ryon researched the panpipes, and I researched the string instruments the lyre and the harp.



It interested me to see that, even though it was incredibly popular at that time, it is almost unknown today, compared to the popularity of the harp today. Here is a PowerPoint presentation I used for my topic.

In the last few weeks of school, I read a realistic fiction book called //Cut//.
 * __Cut__**



It is a story about a girl named Callie who is at a treatment facility called Sea Pines (although another girl nicknamed it Sick Minds). Callie has a problem of cutting herself; not in a suicidal way, but to get an adrenaline rush. She doesn't even talk to anyone. Over time, she overcomes her fears and changes into a more secure and confident human being.

Towards the end of the year, we took a major field trip to the Franklin Institute and the Camden Aquarium. The Franklin Institute was hosting a King Tut Exhibit. I was fascinated to see the artifacts found in the Pharaoh's tomb. At the Camden Aquarium, we saw fish and crustaceans of all different kinds. There was even a stingray that looked like it was over five feet long! The bus ride there and back was almost as fun as the actual places we visited.
 * __Field Trips__**

This year we had the Outdoor Program, where we spent a lot of our classes outside. We learned about the history of life in the 17th and 18th century, we learned how to identify certain plants and certain trout, and we even made our own silly putty! My favorite activity was when we went to the Little Lehigh Creek to observe macroinvertebrates. The water was cool and refreshing, albiet dirty.
 * __Outdoor Program__**

This year, I learned a lot of concepts in math class. I learned how to find the area of a triangle and of a trapezoid. I also better comprehend the concept of variables, and I have developed in my understanding of pi. In the last weeks of school, our math project was to connect concepts in math to real life activities. My real life activity was music. I related seven concepts:
 * __Math__**

1.Perpendicular lines--I showed how the legs of a piano and piano bench were perpendicular to the floor.

2.Parallel lines--I described how the lines in a measure of music are parallel to each other.

3.Ratios--I explained how, in music, the top number 4 means that there are four beats in a measure, so the ratio of beats to measures is 4:1.

4.Variables--I showed how musical notes are really variables, and they represent an amount of counted time.

5.Diameter--I elaborated on how, if the radius of the hole in a guitar is 4 centimeters, then the diameter is 8 centimeters.

6. Area--I displayed the proportions of a measure of music, and I explained how to find the area.



7.Patterns--I explained a patten of the keys on a keyboard.

I believe I have changed over the school year. I can't thank the teachers enough for helping to guide me in my work. I remember I used to wait until the last minute to do my work, but, with the help from the teachers, I have improved my efforts. Over this year, I have developed my skills with technology, like when I used more PowerPoint presentations to display my research, and when I helped record the presentation of the videoconference in the Tech Ed room. All the persuasive essays we have written helped me give more character and flavor to my writing. Here is a persuasive essay on year-round school. We were also given opportunities to present our information through speech. These opportunities were chances for me to improve my speaking skills. I remember when I first came to the school, I didn't know what to expect. The kindness and humor of the teachers has made me more comfortable and more confident with my work. I especially remember the beginning of the year when Mrs. Yurconic taught us some math chants that would help us remeber certain concepts. I also remember when, before grading our tests, Mrs. Fuinihetten stood on the desks, proclaiming "All Hail the Queen!" at which we replied, "All Hail Queen Fuinihetten!" These memories will always be with me, and will always have a lasting impression on how I can make my presentations more exciting and engaging. For these reasons, I believe that this school year has helped me prepare for the years to come. I thank all the teachers that made this possible. You have inspired me to want to learn new things in a new way.
 * __Final Words__**