The Charming Cleopatra VII

Why do you think Ancient Pharaohs created monuments?

I think Ancient Pharaohs created monuments because they wanted to mark their land with something of theirs, some kind of accomplishment. They were very powerful and needed to show that somehow, and place something on their land as a sign of just how much control they have over the area. In years to come, people would look at those monuments and know how powerful the pharaoh was, and it also helps us find out what kind of person they were. Cleopatra made a temple for the Egyptian goddess Isis, which tells us that she was important to her in some way, and that she believed in the gods.

What monuments in our society are similar?

Some monuments are just copies of the Great Pyramid, the original in Egypt. There's the Transamerica Pyramid in San Fransisco, the Summum Pyramid in Salt Lake City (Utah), and the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas. These are all in shapes of pyramids, like the Great Pyramid in Giza made by one of the pharaohs Khufu (he lived before Cleopatra). None nearly as great, though! Also, the uses are much different... the ancient Egyptians used pyramids as tombs and burial chambers for pharaohs who have passed away. A pyramid today, like the Luxor Hotel, is very simply, a hotel!

The Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada

How did the using google docs as the main portal for collaboration help you with this assignment?

Using google docs to work with a partner helped by being able to work on one document together, and seeing how what we both submitted worked out together. If we both worked on separate documents and then put it together later, it wouldn't work out so well. To make it the best we can, my partner and I both worked on on script together, so we could see each other's ideas and mistakes, and either add on to it or fix it.

What did you learn from this assignment?

I had always been fascinated by Cleopatra, but I didn't really know her until I did this project. I had a book about her, which was interesting but didn't have a lot of information about her. I also had a video about her, but it was extremely repetitive and boring. I didn't learn too much about her from either of those sources, so this assignment seemed like the perfect chance to see just who Cleopatra really was. I knew Cleopatra was very seductive, but I didn't know this helped her make Egypt some powerful allies! Who knew charm could be a weapon and a tool to help you gain power?

5. What was challenging?

The challenging parts of this assignment was probably the recording of my partner and I stating the information. We couldn't make the individual recordings too long or one mistake will affect the entire thing, but making them short made it harder to put it together in a way that seemed natural. In the end, it turned out okay, but after we uploaded it to YouTube, there seemed to be a problem. Near the end of the video there was the music we chose for the ending, then a long period of empty silence. Then music again! I'm not so sure what happened but that's not what was intended.

Which school-wide learning results were evident in this assignment?

I think the school-wide learning results I had to use in this assignment were Collaborate Constructively, Communicate Effectively, Learn Enthusiastically, and Think Creatively. We have to collaborate constructively to work with a partner, and make sure you get some work done together. I had to communicate effectively to do this, so I know how my partner wanted things done. I also had to show what I wanted. I learned enthusiastically by researching the Egyptian pharaoh we were assigned, in my case, Cleopatra. I know much more about her than I did before the project (That's what was supposed to happen, I think....). Thinking creatively was important to make the project interesting and, well, more creative!

My Home City-San Diego

1) What you believe you did on the project.....

Well, I think overall my presentation was okay, but I added too much additional information and not enough needed information. It took me a while to convince myself that San Diego "home heating" was not necessary in this project. So I took it out, and replaced it with San Diego sports teams! Better than home heating, but still not important. I had four slides of assigned information and three slides of information I decided to add.

2) What would you improve for future presentations/projects?

In future presentations I would try to concentrate on the needed facts and not get carried away with the additional material. I have to be careful with the opposite, too. I only need basic facts and for some areas, I had a little too much detail, but in others I didn't add enough. An even amount of information would be easier to memorize and present in front of the class.

3) What did you learn in the preparation of this presentation in addition to the presentations of others?

I learned so much about my home city that I never knew before, just by doing this presentation. That's probably one of the reasons we had to do it, other than analyzing progress in development. Sometimes we may think because we are from a certain place, we already know all we need to about it, but that's not always the case. I've lived in San Diego for about 9 years, but was still ignorant about many things that have been going around me all my life. I knew San Diego was a pretty popular tourist destination, but did I ever know how it came to be that way? No, but digging in deeper in the resources and history of San Diego made me realize just how clueless I had been about the place I call home!



4) What is your analysis of your performance?

I think the information I had was okay, but lacked a little more history on why people chose San Diego as a settlement. Before the presentation, I was pretty sure I didn't need to worry about the presenting too much, but when I got up to present in front of 20 people waiting for me to do something interesting, I wasn't as positive. My brain froze and relied on my eyes to provide them the information by just keeping them fixed on the board the whole time. I knew I couldn't do that, but I still glanced at it more often than I should have. Maybe if I had practiced my presentation in front of a family member, I could've been more prepared and the presentation could have been better.

If you're curious about what my presentation looks like, take a look at it here:

https://docs.google.com/a/iskl.edu.my/present/edit?id=0AZ0UqHZQtP7PZGNmZjJkYzNfMjNkNzludjNnaw&hl=en&pli=1

My Resolution(s) For 2011

One of my resolutions for the new year of 2011 is to spend more time with my family. The winter break has allowed me to think about this, since I had no school or homework to worry about. I noticed I haven't talked with my sisters so much before the break, and it made me realize I spent more time with them during one week of vacation compared to one entire school trimester. Family is really important as you're growing up, and years without spending time without family are years you aren't ever getting back. If I'm ever going to grow up, I'm going to do it having fun with my family!

Another resolution I have for 2011 is to learn to clean up my room. I'm sure every child knows what a messy room looks like: un-made bed, papers all over the floor, books left.... everywhere! I make a mess and leave it behind, too lazy to clean it up and think, "I'll clean it up later," but I never get around to it until my mom's fifth reminder. Lately, I've been picking up things that I drop, emptying the contents of my pencil sharpener in the trashcan, and not the floor. (I don't usually empty it out on the floor.... not on purpose!)


I spent the majority of my winter break at home, but I didn't spend all of it here. My family and I drove to Singapore, and stayed there for four days. The hotel was too small for a family of five, but that was okay as long as we didn't attempt to live in it. We had to eat out and do the fun things we intended to do somewhere else. Visiting the zoo, for example. We also went on the Singapore Flyer, which was really interesting as you can see the city of Singapore from sky-high.

Here's the view from the Singapore Flyer:

My family and I loved the zoo! It was fun to just walk around and look at all the different animals. Here are some pictures of the animals I took pictures of:

Singapore was a really good experience for me and my family, since we don't travel often. Seeing a new place was definitely exciting, and spending time with my family was also fun!

Zeitgeist-2010

2010 has been such a brilliant year, we will really miss you. It's really sad you have to leave, but I think your time here has been well spent. Now, let's have fun in 2011!

Learning Profiles-What Am I?

1. I learn best when.....
My profile suggested that I learned best when everything is in order, lined up and neat. Sometimes I may be that way, like have my papers in a certain order so it's easier to find them or have my books categorized. They never stay that way for long, though. I mess the order up and don't really care, so I have to disagree with my profile because when I try to be neat I end up disorganized again. I like it that way, though. It makes it more natural. So I suppose that I learn best with some order, but I don't mind surprises!

2. I need to.....
Try to concentrate on the big picture more. When I am stressed, I have trouble using the gestalt side of my brain, which is the "go-with-the-flow" side. I guess when I'm stressed out I need all the details in front of me so I don't have to stretch my mind more than it already it is. I can't think clearly when there are too many things on my mind, and if there's a visible order to things then I can access it without thinking too much about it.

3. The strategies that would help me with my learning.....
Strategies that would help me with my learning would be a basic sequence as a structure. I don't need every single detail drawn out for me, but to have some sort of visible order would be easier for me. Some classes I have allow me to walk into the class and know what to do with just a glance at the board, and I'm okay with that. I only want that kind of order in a few classes though, if my life gets too organized then I might start to feel a little bored.

4. I would like my teachers to know this about me.....
I like things with a sequence but if things get too orderly, I might not learn as well as I could be. Sometimes I enjoy having no idea what direction the class is going to take, but if I'm completely clueless, then it will take some of the fun out of it.

Collaborative Lit. Circles

1. The benefits of working with a classmate:
     The benefits of working with a classmate is that you could go to them for help when you're stuck, or confused.  Also, you could see their opinions and questions, and gain ideas from them.  For example, I didn't know what to choose as my question, but looking at my partner's passages and questions, I formed one in my mind quite easily.


2. Challenges and obstacles which you overcame (tried to overcome):
     One challenge I faced was when one of my partners couldn't get onto their account, therefore not being able to get onto our literature circle.  I didn't know this until the day before it was due, and was stressing about how I thought he wasn't doing any work.  I overcame this by working on the literature circle at school, and finding out my partner had done the work but not on the actual literature circle.  So they just moved their work onto it and everything was fine.


3. New understandings you gained about the novel:
     Using my partners' questions, I could understand the novel better by seeing it through their perspective.  Their connections and questions injected new thoughts about Charlotte into my brain, about how she was similar to them, and us.  I also learned that Charlotte was going through more changes than I thought she was through the book; not just by becoming braver and having an experience on a ship.  She's changing from a girl to a woman.

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, Lit. Circle #1

1. How my group discussion helped out understanding of the novel:

My group discussion helped me understand this novel better by voicing their opinions about the passages they chose, and explaining why they chose it. Seeing the book from their perspective really helped me understand it better, because sometimes they noticed certain things I didn't.

2. Connections we made during our discussion:

During our discussion, some of our predictions were based on connections to other books. We predicted Captain Jaggery wasn't such a good person, because of our experience with other books. Usually when a mysterious character is kind to the main character, they have a dark secret and is trying to get closer to them without revealing that secret.

3. Predictions:

Our group made some predictions about many characters in the book, especially Captain Jaggery. He is a very mysterious person, and although he seems nice, it may be an act to get Charlotte to trust him. Zachariah, her first friend, has some strange things to say about him, too. We also predict Charlotte will get executed at the end of the book for murdering someone.