Weekly Blog 5/22/16 - Nutrition

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Summary

In order to stay healthy, people have created food guides like food pyramids (shown above), percentage food plates, graphs, and more. A healthy balance of different food categories is essential for leading a strong life. You can learn about the foods you are eating by reading the nutrition label. The nutrition label includes some information such as a number of servings and calories. Speaking of calories, what are they? Calories are a unit of measurement. They measure the amount of energy the food may give you. One calorie is equivalent the amount of energy required to heat up 1 kilogram of water 1 degrees celsius. Also, there are two kinds of calories. Big and small. A big Calorie (with a capital C) is 1000 small calories.

SP4: Analyzing and interpreting data

I analyzed data when I watched videos and read articles about food nutrition, labels, serving sizes, and more. Once I did this, I created graphs and wrote about the data I had just learned with my group. Our class created a document together showing data we all knew. We each had to work together to list healthy and unhealthy foods.

XCC: Energy and Matter

We discussed energy when we talked about calories. Calories measure the potential amount of energy some food will provide when consumed. Food is one of the things that give humans energy. Unlike plants, we can't photosynthesize and create our own food. A small chain of a events or system happens when we consume food. After we eat food, our body takes the available nutrition from the food to create energy. After that, we can use the energy to do whatever.

Multiplier: Learner

This week I was a learned. I asked questions about food serving sizes to learn more as well as get answers. I was able to get answers by reading articles, watching films, and listening to my classmates.

Weekly Blog 5/15 - The Food System

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Summary

Within the world, there is a food system. A system is something made up of several components that work together to complete one or multiple tasks. In the food system, there are the people that make the food, prepare the food, sell the food, eat the food, throw away the food, etc. It's like a chain of events that lead up to two possibilities. In order for the store to be able to sell the food, the food has to have been grown and transported previously. If any steps were taken out of the system (or chain of events) everything would be different. Once the food gets to the eating stage, then it can either be thrown into landfills and the garbage, or used into a different way (composting, feeding others, etc.). 

SP6: Constructing explanations and designing solutions

This week I constructed explanations when I organized a list including the steps food goes through. I had to think about the order and why that order would make sense. I also had to explain how food might get wasted during that step. I designed solutions when I created a poster about the strawberries. Once, we ran out of room for writing, as a solution, our group adjusted the papers and made more room for our words. 

XCC: Systems

Like I mentioned earlier, we have a food system which includes several steps leading up to the disposal of food. Though the order of steps can vary depending on the type of food, a general outline my be ordered as production (growing), harvesting, sorting (throwing away bad and keeping the good ones), washing, packaging, transportation, retailing, home storage, cooking, eating, and disposal. All steps and components are dependent on each other. If one step was taken out, the whole food system would change. For example, if we didn't throw away "ugly" foods while sorting, a lot less food would be wasted. America would have much less food waste. This completely changes the outcome of the system.

Multiplier: Initiator

This week I was an initiator. While we were working on our food systems poster wth our group, I was asking questions about the strawberries and the process. I asked questions like, "Would this happen because of this? What do you think?".

Project Blog 5/8/16 - Temperate Grasslands (The Great Plains)

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Summary

In this project, we had to research a biome and create a trifold as well as a model. The trifold and model both included information n your specific biome. My group was assigned the temperate grasslands. We decided to specifically research the Great Plains. The Great Plains are mainly located in Central America. However, a few other main temperate grasslands are located in Africa, South America, and Eurasia. The dominant plant is grasses. There are few to no trees in this biome. As for animals, there is very low diversity. Some common animals are bison and pronghorn. In the summer, temperate grasslands are very hot, in the winter, they are dry. The climate and weather there are very harsh and rough. Another interesting fact about temperate grasslands is that they have extremely fertile soil. In fact, it actually has some of the most fertile soil in the world. Unfortunately, due to the soil, a lot of the land is being taken over for farming leaving less room for actual wildlife. 

Backwards Looking - What process did you go through to produce this piece?

During this project, we had complete several steps. The first one being research. Our group spent about 1.5 weeks of research. Each group member was assigned a different area of research. The next step was organizing our research so we could print it and attach it to a board. When that was done, we printed it out and worked on our board. While a few people were working on the board, then the other members would work on our model. From there, we just finished each component for the project. 

Inward Looking - What did/do you find frustrating about this?

One thing I found frustrating was how my group never completely finished our model. We weren't able to create all plants to attach to our model. Another thing I found frustrating was how my group didn't always work as productively as we could have. For example, one person might not bring some certain material when they were supposed to. The final thing that made this project a bit harder to complete was the fact that one of my group members were often absent during that time. 

Outward Looking - In what ways did your work meet the standards for this assignment? In what ways did it not meet those standards?

In our trifold, our group met the standards for all the information required. We neatly typed it out, cut it and pasted it onto the board. The trifold was nicely completed. As for what didn't meet the standards, our model was missing a few key components. Though our model did resemble a temperate grassland biome, it did not include all the plants and animals mentioned on our board. It was missing many different plants. Both hazardous and edible.

Forward Looking - What would you change if you had the chance to do this piece over again?

If I had the chance to do this piece over again, I would set harder deadlines. That way, my group would be able to finish all parts of the project and meet all the standards. I would spend less time making the model or trifold look nice and more time working on the animals clay figures as well as plant figures. I would also use a more sturdy box for my diorama. Halfway through the project, our diorama snapped in half. We had to problem solve and fix the edges as well as redo our river.

Weekly Blog 5/1/2016 - The Great Plains

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Summary

Temperate grasslands are located in many different places. A few of the main grasslands, however, are located in the United States, Africa, Australia, and Eurasia. The Great Plains is temperate grassland located in central North America. Within the Great Plains live many different animals such as bison, pronghorn, white tailed deer, and foxes. All of the animals in the plains have had to adapt to the weather, climate, and geography of the plains. For example, drought is a normal yearly occurrence even though it does not affect the wildlife too much. Many of the plants are able to live on. A majority of them are also available year round. There are also many rivers that pass through there like the Mississippi, Missouri, Republican, and Saskatchewan. Rain season is primarily during spring. The climate in the Great Plains is extremely diverse. Summer brings droughts or heavy rain, spring brings rain and thunderstorms, and winter brings thick blankets of snow.

SP2: Developing and using models

I developed models when I worked on creating a tri fold board to show the information my group and I had found. After researching, we worked on organizing our data. Our group also started planning out our diorama. We gave each other tasks to complete and materials to bring so we can all create a model. I used models when I looked at other models (whether in picture form or from other classmates) to help me figure out what my model might or should look like. It helped to have something you can reference to or get ideas from.

XCC: Stability and Change

The Great Plains changes as well as stays the same in many different ways year round. For example, one thing that stays the same is the population of bison year round in the Great Plains. Bison are one of the few animals that do not migrate during the winter. Other animals, however, do. One thing that is constantly changed is the weather and climate. As i mentioned earlier, the type of weather is constantly changing by season. Like the Bison, many plants stay year round in the plains. They have adapted to the harsh climates. 

Multiplier - Wanderer

This week I was a wanderer. I know his because I spent lots of y time finding resources for information and sharing them with my group. I also made a page full of correct citations to give credit too the websites we used.