Showing posts with label 7th. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 7th. Show all posts

Sunday, February 25, 2018

What if it was "draw" instead of "write?"

Rather on a glowing computer or an old fashioned sheet of paper, you write a lot in school. And I mean a lot. Essays, poetry, lab reports, paragraphs, random blog posts, slideshows. At the end of a typical school day you will probably have started at least two rough drafts, finished your essay about that one book you can’t even remember the name of, and have a really bad hand cramp. But what if school wasn’t like that? What if it was different? What if instead of this:
The girl sat in the emerald green grass
The wind rustling her hair
As a shooting star flew past
It was this:
Graphite
What if instead of a teacher telling you to “write an essay”, a teacher would tell you to “draw an illustration?”
For starters, the school supplies list would look a little different:
Digital
And it would probably cost more than the usual school list, because art supplies can be fairly expensive. Yet you don’t have to buy a pack of pencils that costs one hundred dollars, you could get the cheaper brands, like Crayola.
Instead of kids holding their pencils like this to write their ABCs:
They would hold them like this, to draw the ABCs:

But most importantly, drawing in school inspires and nurtures creativity. I believe that we don’t incorporate enough art into day’s curriculum. That doesn’t mean that we necessarily need to replace writing with drawing, but I think that we definitely should integrate more art into our everyday school lives. Art can inspire and motivate people, and we need something that will do that in our world right now.

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

"A pair of skis are the ultimate transformation to freedom." (~Warren Miller) The evolution of skis


2014_skis_3_116560.jpg
"Skiing is a dance and the mountain always leads"~unknown. Skiing is a sport that I am very passionate about. The wind blowing in your face, racing down the hill is an action that I crave. Skiing has evolved so much over hundreds of years, from the from early skies made of wood, to the carbon fiber skies today, there are many differences.
Paris_Manufacturing_Tuckerman_Ridgetop_Skis_with_Groswold_Brand_Bindings_1.jpgThe physics of skiing are not to complicated. Skiing relies mostly on gravity as gravity pulls everything around us to the center of the Earth. The gravity that pulls everything to the center of the Earth pulls skiers down the hill as well. It causes skiers to increase their speed.  A skier's increase of speed is also affected by friction. Manipulating that friction gives a skier control. The types and styles as well as the materials used to make skies can help to have all these factors to make skier’s faster.
At the very beginning when skies were used, they were all custom made  from single planks of wood. There were special ski makers who knew how to make the ski nicely and well. Other skies could be made by family members or neighbors.
finland-skiers.jpgIn 1850 the cambered ski was invented. The cambered ski was invented by woodcarvers in the province of Telemark, Norway. After the bow shaped cambered ski the first Telemark ski was demonstrated. After a few more skies being invented and tweaked, in 1932 the first successful laminated skies with three layers were invented. They were invented by Bjorn Ullevoldsaeter in Norway.
388553_388553_1Many, many skies have been developed over many years. All these skies made and designed all led to the skies today, the skies I ski on. At races, on the mountain I see hundreds of types of skies by themselves. I don’t know if I will ever see every type, but skiing is my passion and the physics and the materials used for skies all affect me. I hope to be skiing my whole life, the wind in my face, the feeling of the cold white snow. I don’t want to ever give that feeling up.
 Watch these cool videos!!
Works Cited
“Elan RCG Waveflex Plate Junior Race Skis.” skis.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2016.
“let’s laugh at old gear.” New schoolers. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2016.
“A Short History of Skis.” International Skiing History. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2016. <https://www.skiinghistory.org/history/short-history-skis-0>.
“Skis.” On the snow. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2016.
“Vintage Ski Decor.” Vintage Winter. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2016. <http://www.vintagewinter.com/collections/vintage-winter-antiques-and-home-decor?page=11>.

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Johannes Kepler

Johannes Kepler
Johannes Kepler was born on December 27, 1571. He was born in Weil Der Stadt, Wurtemberg in Germany. Johannes Kepler went to the University of Tubingen. There he learned the ideas of Copernicus. In 1596 when he was a mathematician at Graz, he wrote the first defence of the copernican system. Johannes Kepler was outcast from the Lutheran church

John Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie: Industrialists Who Paved the Way

Andrew Carnegie
When you hear Carnegie and Rockefeller, you think of New York. Carnegie Hall and the Rockefeller Center. But who are they named after?

They are named after John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie, titans of industry in the late 19 century. John D. Rockefeller owned Standard Oil, Carnegie owned Carnegie Steel.

Friday, January 30, 2015

Pavo--Not just a dog

Pavo

        When I was in first grade, my family and I used to dog-sit Pavo. At that time, he was just a dog of a friend of my moms, but now he is so much more. The man who owned Pavo, who told us he got Pavo to attract people, was moving to China. He told us that we could keep him or give him to another home, but he didn't think it was fair to take Pavo somewhere that he couldn't get the attention he needed. Since we got him, he has proven to be a loud, mischievous, grumpy, and crazy dog. Even though he has many little quirks, I love him to the moon and back again.

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Mocha

When I was two years old, our neighbor, Susan, who is a complete Cat Saint, and our family noticed a skinny homeless cat on our block. Susan, the Cat Saint she is, fed him and observed him, concluding he would be perfect for our family. We told Susan we would think about it, and fall became winter.
One particularly chilly night, with the weather looking even bleaker for the days ahead, we decided we would take the stray cat in, so we went over to Susan’s, let her know, found our new companion, and brought him home, with supplies Susan had given us. We played with our cat, whom we named Medium Decaf Milkshake With Whipped Cream On Top, Can You Split That Into Two Cups Please? after our favorite milkshake which he looked exactly like, being a siamese cat. We used to get that milkshake a lot. We called him Mocha as a nickname. The night got later, and Zach and I went to bed with Mocha curled by us, oblivious to what the morning had in store for us.