What's going on in Mr. Solarz' Class? - 21 - Lucas

Oregon Trail Reflection

5/28/2015

Me in front of Courthouse Rock.

Traveling on our Oregon Trail, we are about 1/3 through. Lots of interesting things have happened during this trip. We started going landing on earth, and smashing a man with a sack of gold. Newspapers wrote about us and it was a bit embarrassing. We got the sack and met James McVee and he asked us why we were traveling west. We told him that we were going to go to Oregon! Oregon has gold, rich soil, free land, and more! We bought four Conestoga Wagon and some oxen. We decided that we wanted Prairie Schooners instead, and had to trade the Conestoga Wagons for six of them. Then we packed up all the food and supplies that we would need on the trail.
After that, we started our journey! But, when we were on the trail, some of us got blisters. We decided to wash our feet with warm water and clean a needle with just water. Then, we used the needle to drain the blisters, get all the pus and other things out, and bandage it up. Next we crossed a river and walked across. The only bad news was that Antonia Salcedo and Ellian Duaz are infected and had to stay on the wagon for two weeks. Matilda Faulk had to loose her foot because of it!
We found a huge herd of buffalo and decided not to shoot them. Unfortunately, someone did and some ran in panic. One hit our wagon but it was okay. Then, Matilda's foot was about to be infected, but our doctors knew what to do and cured her. We met a man saying that we would make lots of money by killing wolves and coyotes and selling their fur, but we refused.
Later on the trail, the Hatfield family was sick and people were arguing about who should be in charge and if they should stay behind or not. We decided to vote, and decided that the Hatfield family would stay with us. The Hatfield family liked how we settled in agreement, and stayed behind. Unfortunately, Iskandar Alatas got sick from the Hatfield family!
Now we have seen Chimney Rock and Courthouse Rock, and have also been settled in Fort Laramie for a while.We have learned many other things along the way like what pioneers did for fun and that they left messages on skulls of animals for others to find. Recently, Kai Bon was sharpening knives and accidentally cut his left pinkie finger off! Iskanadar is okay, but the doctors said that he had to stay behind at the fort. While we were there, Alexandrine Haberle fell in love and also stayed behind at the fort. Our trail has been very interesting and exciting! It will be all worth it though!

The Museum of Science and Industry Field Trip

5/27/2015

Watery Earth Lesson 9 - Finding Bodies of Water on Maps

5/20/2015

What bodies of surface water did you find while examining the three maps?
Were there any types of surface water on the Arlington Heights map that you weren’t able to find on the Illinois map? If so, why?
Were there any types of surface water on the Illinois map that you couldn’t find on the United States map? If so, why?
What are some names of the bodies of water in Illinois and Arlington Heights? What bodies of water did you identify?

1. I found some oceans, such as the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Arctic Ocean. I also found many lakes such as, the Hawley Lake, the Donut Lake, and Lake Michigan. I also found bays, seas, gulfs, a sound, an inlet, and a strait.
2. I found a lot of different lakes on the Arlington Heights map then on the Illinois map. I think that it was because the lakes were really small and you couldn't see them from really far out.
3. Similar to the Arlington Heights map, a found lots of lakes. I think it is because you couldn't see it from such a distance.
4. I found the Mississippi River, the Heather Lake, the Fox Lake, Spring Creek, Williams Bay, Lake Michigan, and so on. Like I said before, I mostly found lakes but also some others.

Don’t Let Little Things Bother You

5/14/2015

Don’t Let Little Things Bother You
By: Lucas V.

    It was a normal school day, and Desmond was sitting at his desk doing reading a book. He was tired, but still really excited for… recess. He looked across the room. His friend, Paul was sitting over there, looking just like Desmond. He looked back down at his book. He really liked school, and was enjoying the book he was reading, but of course was always excited for recess. Finally, his teacher told the class it was time for recess, and everyone rushed out the door.
    Desmond ran into the field. Paul, was waiting there holding the soccer ball in his hand.
    “Hi Paul!” Desmond shouted.
    “Hey Desmond!” Paul exclaimed, “You ready to play?”
    A lot of other kids had come, and they were ready to start the game. Paul punted the ball in the air as high as he could, and Desmond got it and took off with it. He was doing great! Soccer was his favorite sport, and he was really good at it!
    “Desmond, I’m open!” Paul shouted, right in front of the other team’s goal.
    Desmond knew what he had to do.   There was a person on the other team was running toward him, and he passed the ball to Paul. Paul received the ball perfectly, turned and scored a goal!
    “GOOOAAALLL!!!” Everyone on his team, including Desmond, cried.
    Desmond could tell that the other team wanted to win this game. Recess was almost over, and they were losing 1-0. They passed the ball to another player. Then he passed to another and they scored.
    “GOOOAAALLL!!!” They all shouted.
    Desmond was upset. One minute they were up by one, and now both teams are tied. He kicked the ball, right to Paul. Paul took the ball while Desmond ran to the goal. He was wide open.
    “Paul I’m open!” He shouted.
    Paul turned and looked at him. Desmond knew that when he passed the ball to him that he would score. But Paul didn’t pass it to him. He wanted another goal. He tried to take a shot from further than Desmond was, but the goalie caught it. The goalie through it and a player received it. He turned and took a shot. The goalie on their team dived, but missed the ball. The other team had scored.
    “GOOOAAALLL!!!” They all shouted right when the whistle blew.
    Recess was over, and Desmond’s team had lost 2-1.
    “That was a fun game, don’t you think?” Paul called after him.
    Desmond was upset. “It was horrible,” he said, and ran away.
    When he got back into the classroom, he yanked his desk up as hard as he could, and grabbed his book out of his desk. He opened it and started reading as he had done before recess had started.
    “If Paul had passed to me, I would have scored and we would have won!” He thought.
    His teacher looked at him in a funny way. She had saw how upset he was, and walked over to him.
    “Desmond, what happened?” She asked.
    “Paul didn’t pass to me while we played soccer and we lost,” he said quickly.
    “Desmond, that was a while ago. It’s not a big deal. You have to get over these little things,” she told him.
    Desmond looked across the room at Paul. He was cheerfully reading his book and looking like nothing had happened. His teacher looked at Paul too.
    “See?” she said, “Paul got over it. Little things can’t bother you so much.”
    Desmond didn’t answer, but got the message. His teacher patted him on the head and walked away.

    At lunch, he walked over to Paul.
    “Paul, I’m really sorry I got so upset about the soccer game. It was very nice,” he confessed.
    “Don’t worry about it,” Paul said, “I don’t care. It was fun and you played great! I probably should have passed to you anyway!”
    Desmond smiled, and sat down. Paul was a great friend, and he was happy that he learned and important lesson.

Watery Earth Lesson 8 - Bodies of Water: Swamps

5/5/2015

The Phantom Tollbooth

5/1/2015

1. What type of person is Milo?
2. Do you think Milo is a good student? Why or why not?
3. Why do you think Milo acts the way he does?
4. Would Milo be someone you would want to be friends with? Why or why not?
5. Describe a time when you felt grumpy and disinterested like Milo.

Watery Earth Lesson 7: My Water Molecules Journey

4/30/2015

I waved through an ocean. It was a typical day for a water molecule. Normally this would be fun, exciting, or scary, to someone, but it was boring for me. I have done this so many times because I have been around since water was first on Earth. Suddenly, I saw a boat fly past me and it flung me into a garden full of plants. I landed perfectly onto a leaf and got a little more excited. I had thought I was going to evaporate in the ocean and go through my water cycle, but on that day, I was going through transpiration.
     Right then, I started floating into the air and saw others doing the same. I have been through this many times, but I still love doing it. I saw others evaporate from the oceans and lakes. I saw some coming off of soccer players because they were sweating. That was perspiration. I also saw some like me, coming of of plants, which is transpiration. As we had gotten higher and higher, I started sticking on to other molecules like me. I knew then that we were going through condensation.
    It was an amazing sight, molecule after molecule sticking to one and other. Pretty soon, we started forming a really big cloud. It was like we were having a big party! All of a sudden, the wind started blowing rapidly and I started to feel myself break away from the molecules I was holding on to! I held on as tight as I could, but the cloud weighed too much and molecule after molecule were now falling apart! I started falling to the ground. I knew that a terrible thunderstorm was going on at that moment.
    I started getting closer to the ground, and knew I must have been in a city, because I fell straight into a street crack. I started to understand what was going on. I was going through accumulation and I was getting smashed by all the other molecules. A little while later, a drill came by and turned us all into drinkable water! I knew then that my journey was about to start all over again.

Watery Earth Lesson 6 - Drops of Water on Different Surfaces

4/30/2015

I was absent on this lesson.

Science Fair

4/23/2015

Science Fair Presentation - First Draft

I'm glad I recorded my presentation on video before the Science Fair because:

It helped me prepare for the Science Fair.
It made me excited to present it in the Science Fair.

Science Fair Presentation - Improved Version

By the end of the Science Fair, my presentation was much better because:

I knew what to say, and made it the right amount of time.
I knew to say the important parts, and that helped make it nice and brief.

Overall, I think that the Science Fair was a valuable experience because...
I definitely made some mistakes along the way, but I learned from them. Here are some examples...
If I were given the chance to do anything differently, I would...

1. It helped me get better at sharing presentations. It also helped me figure out the main ideas of the presentation and share those.
2. I may have talked to fast, or said some words that were too complicated for some of the little kids to understand. I also may not have talked loud enough, some people may not have been able to hear me too well.
3. Have been more specific with complicated things. I also would have given all the effort I had in the end when I started getting tired.

5th Grade Mentors Day 1

4/10/2015

1. Describe your experience.
2. Did your student leave our room feeling good about themself? How do you know?
3. What will you do differently when we meet Mrs. Arce's class?

All questions answered at the right.

I had a really fun time with my new friend Desmond. Desmond and found many connections. For example, we both like LEGOs and super heroes, we both love to play soccer, and we have both been to Disney World and San Diego. I showed Desmond some cool things in our room, and we played with LEGOs together. I could tell that Desmond left the room feeling good about himself because when we found great connections, he felt really comfortable playing and talking to me. For the entire time, he calm and nice, even when he left, but by the way he talked to me after the connections we made, he liked me a lot and thought of me as a friend. With Desmond, We tried to play the game "That's Me, That's Not Me," but we didn't play it exactly right. With Mrs. Arce's class I will try it again, but try to do it the right way. I had a great time with my friend Desmond!