My Learning Profile

Have you ever strive in your classes? Did you have any problems? Well, I did struggle in many classes by trying to have a better angle to view the whiteboard, wanting to change seats,etc. So below this text, here's some information about my learning profile.

I learn best when I have a better view of the whiteboard,  trying to avoid people who bother me in class and doing activities in class. The reason why I chose having a better view of the whiteboard is because it's really annoying to turn around my back to actually see the whiteboard like currently in science class. In my science class, I have to stay in that same spot for around three weeks until we change seats. I chose trying to avoid people who bother me in class because they sometimes get me into trouble. For example, in fourth grade, I was sitting next to a boy called Richard from Sweden and he really bothered me a lot. "The fellow who thinks he knows it all is especially annoying to those of us who do." a quote by Harold Coffin,  a former humor columnist who died. I chose doing activities because I'm much of a kinesthetic   learner which means I like moving around. In health class, we did filled out a survey that tells us what kind of learner we are. I am a kinesthetic learner, visual learner, and an auditory learner. It would be nice when the class can play some games at the end of the class. Since my profile is A, I think that I learn best by focusing on the details. When I asked my parents about this, my parents don't really think that my profile is A. I strongly disagree that my profile is A. 


I need to concentrate in classes and try not to be silly. I chose concentrating in classes because it can let me focus. People bother me sometimes so I try to avoid sitting next to them or I just don't answer them. Focusing can help my learning in school. "If something is bothering you, keep it to yourself. " a quote by David Strickland, an actor. "When something is bothering me, I write a song that tells my feelings." a quote by Loretta Lynn, an American actress. Trying not to be silly can be really useful for me because sometimes I fool around in classes. For example, once I fooled around in my mandarin class with Cameron and Viet until we got into trouble. For me, I try to avoid getting into trouble so that I don't get scolded. So here is what I need to do in classes. I also need to be positive, and have the balance between arts, music, freeform movement, and interpersonal skills. I'm mostly positive all the time at school and other places. I don't really think my profile is A because I do have an integrative balance of art, music, freeform movement,etc. The instruments I play are bass clarinet, alto saxophone, piano, and drums. I practice around five times a week with my instruments. I do freeform movement at my house. I sometimes play soccer, basketball, and badminton with my father and my little brother. Everyday, I have to exercise because I have a foot problem called plantar faciitis which is a heel pain. That's why there are pads inside my shoe which makes my heel more comfortable. I need to improve my balance of art because I don't really paint,draw,etc in my apartment.


The strategies that would help me in my learning would be always follow instructions,  listen carefully what the teachers say and be positive all the time. I chose following instructions because I don't follow the instructions rarely since the people bother me. Once, when my mandarin class was making moon cakes, I didn't really listen to the instructions so I messed up my moon cake. It looked like a huge blob full of paste. The purpose why I chose listening carefully what the teachers say is because this is one of the troubles that I get in classes. In fourth grade, I was doing science with Mr. Ward and he told the class about some information and suddenly, he asked me a question. I wasn't really paying attention to Mr. Ward so I stumbled. Finally, I chose being positive because sometimes I am negative. I often in a bad negative mood when I get bad grades in Powerschool, etc. But as time past by, I am starting to get better each day because I'm using the strategies. 




I would like my teachers to know this about me so that they can help my learning. They can also make me have a good view of the whiteboard,  change seats, etc. By doing this, they can help me get better in school. I hope that the teachers can know my strengths and what I need to improve on. I hope you enjoyed my blog post!

Collaborative Literature Circle

In humanities, the class worked with a partner to do their 3rd literature circle. My partner was ZIFAN, and the book we were discussing about is Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. In my previous blog post, I have talked about the novel, Hatchet. In the third literature circle, me and Zifan had some challenges, etc.

1.The benefits of working with a classmate.


The benefits with working with a classmate is the amount of work you have to do, and the feedback the partner gives to you. The reason why I chose the amount of work is because the amount of work is decreased since you are working with a partner. For example, I had to do one each for the passage, question, response, connection, and the vocabulary. Since there is a collaborative literature circle, the amount of time you spend on the computer can be decreased. I work on my literature circle around 2 hours on my computer. After all, the collaborative literature has decreased my time to 1 hour and 15 minutes! The final benefit is the feedback. It's good to give feedback to each other because we all don't want to have bad grades, and you can use the feedback from your partner for your literature circle. For example, Zifan has given me feedback for my connection. So here benefits that you can have if you are doing a collaborative literature circle.


2. Challenges / obstacles which you overcame (tried to overcome).


Although there are benefits for the collaborative literature circle, there are also challenges that you have to overcome. The challenges in a collaborative literature circle is that the person might not do their work such as "dying ducks in a thunderstorm", and the support the partner gives you.  I chose "dying ducks in a thunderstorm" because if person is left out or hasn't done their work, he/she will ruin the other person's grades. Recently, I have heard that Mrs. N has received e-mails from people saying that their partner isn't doing anything. I've experienced that before in my practice literature circle that was collaborative. My group members were Radhika, Jake, and Harry. My group members all worked hard and made their best effort except for Harry. Harry had only done a paragraph for the entire practice literature circle! The next challenge is the support your partner gives you. The reason why I chose this challenge is because if the person doesn't give you feedback or the help you need, you will eventually get bad grades. I think that the expectation for the literature circles should be from B+ to A+. For example, I was stuck on my connection and my questions so I asked my partner, Zifan for help on chat. Unfortunately, he didn't help me but only gave me the feedback for my question! Later, it took around 30 minutes to make my connection even better. So here are my reason why I have chosen these challenges.


3. New understandings that you gained about the novel.


The new understandings that I gained in the novel is that the secret Brian had. The reason why I chose the secret that Brian had was that this relates to how Brian's mother divorced with his father. I also think that this topic is suitable for a passage, question, and maybe a connection. For example, for my question, I put that relates to the "Secret" in my third literature circle. There are other new understandings that I had such as the fire, the food supply, and the porcupine. So here are the understandings that I gained in the novel.

Below, here's Hatchet, the book!
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hatchet_1937.jpg

Literature Circle Blog Post

In humanities class, we do literature circles which is like a discussion group. I'm currently reading a novel called Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. My group members are Michelle, Mike, and Olivia. In literature circles, we discuss about the connections we had, shared some of the questions we had, and we wrote two important passages from the chapter.

How your groups discussion helped your understanding of the novel?

My groups discussion has helped me understand the novel better because I get to know what my group members opinions are and their point of view. We all have crazy ideas to share about the book, questions, etc. Some of the vocabulary in Hatchet are a bit difficult so my group members help me to understand better what the word means such as spasm.

Connections

The connections that I had in the discussion was that I've once sat on the copilot's seat before at an airforce in boyscouts. I rode at the copilots seat in an aeroplane when I was in fourth grade. There were so many controls that I felt dizzy. So that was my first time on a copilots seat. This is a connection because Brian has also sat on a copilot's seat. My other connection is I've had a dream once when I was on a plane on the copilot's seat while I found the pilot fainted. I quickly took over his spot and controlled the plane. I turned on the transmission and asked for help but there was no answer. Suddenly, the gas in the plane started to decrease until the plane was about to crash. "AAAHHH!" I shouted. I was awaken by my mother who turned on the lights. This relates to the actions of what Brian did on the plane.

Predictions

One of the predictions that I will have is that Brian will survive in the Canadian wilderness. Here are some reasons why. Brian can survive in the Canadian wilderness because he has a hatchet and a windbreaker. He could use the hatchet to hunt animals,etc. A windbreaker helps because it makes you feel cozy and warm. I think there are some advantages that Brian can survive in the Canadian wilderness.