Days 128 & 129

7 x7 Seven Subjects & 7 things I learned             Day  128 & 129

1.       Math

a. In math today I learned how to simplify expressions using variables.

b. ½ x – 5/2 x – (-x) = -x

c. 9j + 3j – 5j = 7j

d. 11c – 4c – (-7) = 14c

e. 0.8y – (-0.3y) – 0.9y = 0.2y

f. 1/2z – 1/4z = ¼ z

g. 7t – 2t – (-t) + 10 = 6t + 10

 

Plus ½ hour of Kahn Academy

 

2. Science

a. More than two thirds of all coal is five countries, USA, China, India, Russia, and Australia.

b. Coal is formed from ancient swamp plants that decayed in mud and were compressed by layers of rock, and Earth.

c. Miners go down a downcast shaft to reach the coal deposit. There is a large metal container called a skip carries the coal to the surface.

d. There is a machine called a cutting head, it digs out the coal using a wheel equipped with sharp teeth.

e. It takes thousands for coal to form, the buried plant material is compressed, it loses most of its water, oxygen, and gases.

f. The carbon that is left is eventually squeezed into different kinds of coal.

g. USA has 25.4% of Coal reserves.

3. History

a. I learned that the idea of Social order or Class order was invented in Ancient Egyptian times.

b. On top of the social pyramid were the pharaoh, and the royal family, next were the educated elites then the middle classes, the skilled laborers and then the peasants and manual workers.

c. The Egyptians measured their wealth in cattle instead of money. Cows were counted every year and they were used to pay taxes.

d. The pyramids were built over 2,500 years before Cleopatra.

e. Cleopatra’s relatives were not Egyptians they were known as Ptolemies, a Greek-speaking from Macedonia.

f. The Glittering city was founded by Alexander the Great, the city had over 300,000 inhabitants it was also the largest port on the Mediterranean sea.

g. I saw Cleopatra’s needle in London, there are four of them one in Paris, one in New York, one in London, and one in Egypt itself, they were from the time of Cleopatra and it was really cool to see.

  

4. Language

a. I learned some ways of transportation in Spanish today:

en avion by plane

en autobus by bus

en tren by train

en coche by car

en barco by boat

a pie by foot

 

b. Some other expressions of traveling:

Voy a comprar un recuerdo I’m going to buy a souvenier

Voy a prepar la melata I’m going to pack my suitcase

Voy a llevar el pasporte I’m going to bring my passport

iVoy a divertime! I’m going to have a good time!

c. Voy a pasar las vacaciones Sur Carolina Voy a viajar an coche.

I’m going to spend my South Carolina I’m going to travel by train.

d. Voy a llevar mis gafas de sol y mi banador las Sur Carolinas.

I’m going to take my sunglasses and bathingsuit for South Carolina.

 

e. Voy a prepar la melata y lunes for Sur Carolina

I’m going to pack my suitcase on Monday.

f. Vay a llevar bici las Sur Carolia

I’m going to take my bicycle to South Carolina.

g. Voy a pasar las vacaciones el la playa.

I’m spending my vacation on the beach.

5. Reading

a. Today in reading I read a story set in 2020 about a girl who spends WAY too much time on the computer.

b. What is the conflict in this story?

Jan spends an unhealthy amount of time on her computer.

c. What are the first signs that Janice spends too much time on her computer? She e-mails more people and forgets to eat meals

d. When does Jan’s situation get worse?

When she buys software for a virtual-reality game

e. How is the conflict in the story revolved?

When Jan’s parents bring an officer and unplug her computer

f. What is one detail that the story is set in the future?

There is an internet officer

g. What kind of help is Jan given?

Hospitalization and the removal of her computer

6. Writing

Did I ever tell you that Reagan and Melissa are completely different? I don’t think I did. Well they are, because when they were transported to Florida, they wound up next to a very big Florida neighborhood with a very rich and clean way of living, they followed the lifestyle of their neighbors, The Clemens, where the mayor of Jacksonville lives. They had one daughter, Maria and she was Reagan’s best friend, Reagan and Maria are exactly alike, very girly, popular, and practically perfect in every way. Melissa, however, grew up in San Francisco and she was really close to her dad, Melissa could definitely be described as a Tom boy, she where’s clothes that aren’t the latest fashion trend for sure, she likes to play sports and she likes to get dirty. Very different!

Music—Guitar lesson with Gpa Mike

7. Art

“Free” with Egypt theme while  watching doc about Egypt 45 mins

Days 126, 127

7 x7 Seven Subjects & 7 things I learned Day 126, 127.

1.       Math

a. In math today I learned how to name how many terms, variables, constants, and coefficients there are.

b. To make this easier, I wrote all of the subtraction problems, as adding negatives.

c. 7 – 4z. There are two terms total, the constant is 7, the coefficient is – 4, and the variable is z.

d. n – m. There are two terms total, the variables are n and m, the coefficients are 1 and -1, and there are no constants.

e. 0.2 + a – 5b + 2/3 c

Four terms total, the variables are a, b, and c. the constant is 0.2, and the coefficients are 1, -5, and 2/3

f. 3x/5 – 9 – y. there are three terms total, the variables are x and y, the constant is -9, and the coefficient are 3/5 and -1.

g.(0.6)g – 8 – h + 11/12

There are four terms total, the variables are g and h, the constants are -8 and 11/12, the coefficients are 0.6 and -1.

 

2. Science

a. I learned that Russia has 30.7% of the whole world’s natural gas reserves. Making it the country with the largest oil reserves.

b. Saudi Arabia has 24.9% of the world’s oil reserves, making it the country with the most oil reserves, followed closely by Iraq and Iran.

c. An offshore Oil rig is a platform in the ocean made from steel and concrete, hundreds of people work there to get oil and gas from below the seafloor.

d. Oil and gas are called fossil fuels because they are formed fossils of ancient plants, animals, and dinosaurs crushed for millions of years by rock.

e. Oil and gas collect in reservoirs where the rock layers are just right; they are extracted by drilling into the reservoirs.

f. Drilling for fossil fuels is a risky, expensive, and dirty job but for the companies that do it, the rewards can be huge because they can sell the valuable substances.

g. The worlds demand for energy from oil and gas is endless.

3. History

a. In history today I learned about the ancient Egypt Pharaohs and who they were.

 b. I learned that the Nile River runs Northwood to the Mediterranean Sea, cutting through the Egyptian desert and providing water for its people.

c. I learned that the Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt were the rulers, the word pharaoh means, “great house.”

d. At the time when Cleopatra ruled Egypt, she was the riches person in the world.

e. Cleopatra VII was the last descendent of Alexander the Great to rule ancient Egypt.

f. Cleopatra was eighteen years old when she became queen.

g. I learned that the actress Theda Bara played the first Cleopatra in 1920.

 

4. Language

a. In Spanish today I learned how to give directions; I will give directions to places in Brunswick from my house.

b. Disculpe ?hay una officinal de correos? Excuse me, where’s the post office?

Siga todo, Vaya a la derecha, Esta a la izquierda al la la biblioteca.

Go straight on, and then turn right. It’s on the left next to the library.

c. Disculpe ? Donde esta el centro comercial? Excuse me wheres the shopping center.

Siga todo y vaya derecho es colegio, Vaya izquierda, siga todo recto, el Tontine compra.

Go straight and then turn right at the school, then turn left and go straight on, there is the Tontine Mall.

d. Disculpe ?Donde esta el granjero Mercado? Excuse me where’s the farmers market?

Siga todo recto. Vaya derecha es colegio. Vaya izquierda en siga todo recto, Vaya izquierda antes Puente.

Go straight and turn right at the school, then turn left and go straight, turn left before the bridge.

e. Disculpe ? donde esta el piscina? Excuse me where’s the swimming pool?

Siga todo recta. Vaya izquierda y tren estacion, Vaya derecho dos, siga todo y vaya izquierda, Vaya derecha dos, Esta justo el patinajea pista.

Go straight on and turn left at the train station, Turn right twice and go straight, turn left, and then right twice again, its right there next to the skating rink.

f. Disculpe ?donde est el biblioteca? Excuse me where’s the library.

 Siga todo, Vaya a la derecha, Esta a la derecha, esta justo officinal de correos.

Go straight on and turn right, it’s on the right next to the post office.

g. Disculpe ?donde est el parquet? Excuse me wheres the park

Siga todo recto. Vaya derecha dos.

Go straight on and turn right twice.

5. Reading

a. In reading I read a story about a really bad storm and I had to pretend to be the main character being interviewed about the story: What was your first indication that the storm was going to be a bad one?

When they had to close the pool due to severe weather warnings.

b. Why did you decide to go to your own home instead of Zack’s?

Because my house was closer and I didn’t want to leave him there alone in the bad storm.

c. What happened when you tried to get indoors?

The door was glued to the house and the wind was pulling Zack and I back so it was hard to get to the door. When the door finally opened it swung against the side of the house and flapped in the wind and wouldn’t close again.

d. What did you do once you got inside the house?

Well we immediately went into the closet under the stairs because I felt that that would be the best place in the no basement house for us to be sheltered.

e. At what point were you most frightened?

When the couch banged against the wall next to the stairs, I was most frightened because the couch weighed so much that I began to think the=at the wind could pick us up too. I was also frightened when I saw the lighting through the crack on the ceiling.

f. How could you tell that Zack and you were safe?

When the storm grew distant I knew that we had experienced the worst of it and that we have survived it.

g. What kind of storm do you think you survived?

I think it was a tornado because of the circulating winds and eerie green sky.

6. Writing

a. Continuing on with my story:

                After that spell Reagan knew something was going wrong, and then when she was over at the cake cutting slices and handing them to people that weren’t there Claire began to worry, she was doing every action and spell that Melissa was doing Claire started to worry. Melissa however had no idea this was going on so she went completely crazy and started dancing, Reagan doing the same thing. “It’s not me mom! Something’s going on!” Reagan said to her mom as she was dancing with no music. Finally when Melissa sat down Reagan did too, super dizzy and super confused. “Mom, how did I make my cake disappear and make a completely new one?” “I don’t know” Claire said remembering a little bit more about that night with Melissa when they were told to be dolls. With all the chaos of that night Claire forgot to tell Reagan about their exciting news, so she did that morning. Reagan came down stairs at six o’clock in the morning unintentionally, because Melissa did, her parents weren’t even awake yet, usually they all went downstairs together, Claire and Steven were very surprised to see her downstairs drinking milk out of the jug, following every move Melissa was doing.

7. Voice

a. In voice today we practiced, “Perfect nanny” from Mary Poppins

b. We did the Cee-ah-ya-ah warm-up in Ooos.

c. We did the “Perfect nanny” song twenty times.

d. Stephanie wrote in the chords on the song sheet so I could practice them at home.

e. I practiced singing the song in a British accent because that’s how I am supposed to do it in the audition.

f. I practiced doing the Michael lines as-well because I’m not sure what they want me to do in the audition.

g. I really like this song and am excited to sing it for in the audition.

Days 124 & 125

7 x7 Seven Subjects & 7 things I learned Days 124 & 125

1.       Math

a. In math today I learned how to evaluate things like: 4 + 3g. G is the variable in the problem. G = flower, g = 1, g = -1, g = 1/3, g = 0.2

b. If g = flower, the problem would look like this= 4 + 3 (flowers)

c. If g = 1, the problem would be like this: 4 + 3 (1) = 4 + 3 x 1 = 7, the answer is 7

d. If g = -1, the problem would look like this: 4 + 3(-1) 4 + 3x -1 = 1, the answer is 1

e. If g = 1/3, the problem would be this: 4 + 3(1/3 = 4 + 3x1/3 = 5, the answer is 5

f. If g = 0.2 the problem would look like this: 4 + 3(0.2) = 4 + 3x 0.2 = 4.6, the answer is 4.6

g. If g = 3 the problem would look like this: 4 + 3(3) = 4 + (3x3) = 13, the answer is 13

 

2. Science

a. In science today I learned about many different energy sources.

b. Some energy sources are: Oil and gas,

Coal,

Nuclear energy,

Geothermal energy,

Hydroelectric energy,

Wind energy,

Solar energy,

And Tidal energy.

c. Energy powers our homes and vehicles, heats our waters, and helps us do our work. There are two kinds of energy sources, renewable and non-renewable.

d. Renewable sources are sources like energy from the wind, sun, and sea; they are replenished by nature when they are used.

e. Non-renewable sources like, oil, gas, and coal are not naturally replenished as fast as we use them.

f. I learned that the US uses 25% of the world’s energy.

g. I learned that het most used source of energy is oil.

3. History

a. Mr. Ponder sent me a package with pictures and articles about him in WWII.

b. I learned that he was on two submarines, the U.S.S Cero and the U.S.S Sea robin.

c. I really liked the picture of his military identification card from when he was 14, it was really cool.

d. I liked the picture of Mr. Ponder and President Truman on his submarine, the first lady was also there and all of the soldiers saluting for the camera.

e. I liked the diorama of his submarine that he sent me, I learned a lot from that.

f. I liked the logos of the submarines he was on, the Sea Robin logo is a robin with a sailor hat on, and the Cero’s logo is of a fish jumping n the water.

g. I really liked the package and everything Mr. ponder sent me.

 

4. Language

a. In Spanish today I learned about foods and how to ask for something at a restaurant.

b. If a waiter/waitress asks you, “Qui desea?” (what would you like) you could reply, “Quiero pollo con papas fritas y agua por favor.” (I would like chicken and French fries with water please.)

c. I played a game where I had to make meals: “Quiero jugo de manzana, con bistec y papas, y chicharos, y pastel de chocolate. I would like apple juice, with steak and potatoes with some green beans and a piece of chocolate cake.

d. Mom said: “Quiero agua, con pollo y papas, y macedonia de frutas.” I would like water, with chicken and potatoes, and also fruit salad.

e. I learned that when speaking to customers the waiter would use the polite form of the verb “?Que desea.?”

f. I learned that in Spanish you don’t use the word, “some” when telling someone what you want, you would say, “Quiero pollo” “I’d like chicken.” Instead of I’d like some chicken.

g. If you are asking for a specific item on a menu you would use the word un (m) or una (f):

Quiero un sandwich,

Quiero una ensalada.

5. Reading

a. In reading today I read a story about a family visiting their aunt in New Mexico:

What happens first in the story?

Lorenzo’s family drives across the high desert.

What happens in the middle of the story?

The family eats lunch with Aunt Rita.

b. What makes this trip to Aunt Rita’s the same as always? The family will be helping to repair Aunt Rita’s house.

c. What makes this trip to Aunt Rita’s different than usual?

Maggie will be painting a room.

d. Why does this story seem like part of a larger story?

Because we only read about the first day of the visit.

e. What clues in the story indicate the Aunt Rita’s house does not have heat or plumbing?

The mention of the kiva, and how Maggie usually takes the wood to the kiva.

f. Describe Aunt Rita: She is Mexican, she is a hard worker.

g. Write a short summary of what might happen later In the week, They might go to the Garcia’s barbecue like they talked about.

6. Writing

a. I continued on with my story:

On the eve of December 12, the night before Melissa and Reagan turned sixteen, there was a change in the wind, instead of blowing from the west, it blew from the east, even in California which was, how many miles away from Florida, it made the top headline on the news, Melissa’s mom suspected something suspicious. Claire didn’t really care about it as much; she was just making sure everything went as planned for Reagan’s 16^th birthday party. On the next morning, both girls had many presents to open and hugs to receive, Melissa had a whole bunch of her family members there, and since Reagan and her family had no family members, they had many of their friends there. Reagan and all of her friends and her friends family went out to lunch before the big party later that day, Melissa and her mom worked on preparing food for their whole family, while her dad, and uncles, and grandfathers, worked on party decorations. Reagan’s party was at a ballroom and she was wearing a rose pink, knee-lengthed dress with a rhinestone embellishment on the front, and her blonde hair was curled and pulled back into a bun. Melissa’s party had a few of her friends there and it was in her living room, she was wearing black skinny jeans and a floral tank top, her hair blonde hair was as normal, straight down with a headband. Both girls had fun at their parties and that was good, until, all of Melissa’s friends left just a little bit before 8:00, and it was just all of her wizard family there. When the clock struck 8:00, both girls experienced a slight change and at 8:01, Melissa took at her wand and turned her chocolate cupcakes into a 6 foot tall, red-velvet cake with floral printed fondant and edible rhinestones. The strange thing was, Reagan did the same exact thing as Melissa, unintentionally, and all of Reagan’s 300 guests guessed saw her wave her finger around and watched the three foot cake turn in the 6 foot one, with completely different design than the first one, Claire found a way to make them all believe it was special effects, but Reagan was completely shocked and new something had gone wrong.

7. Music Practice

Day 122

7 x7 Seven Subjects & 7 things I learned Day 122                              

1.       Math

a. Today in Math I learned about the mean, median, and mode.

b. Mean is the average of a list of numbers you find the mean by adding the total of numbers on the list and then dividing by the number of numbers on the list.

c. The median is the middle number, or the average of two numbers. You can find the median by counting to the middle number on a small, medium, and large list.

d. The mode is the number that appears the most on a list.

e. 1, 2, 3, 4, mean = 2.5,

Median = 2.5

There is no mode

f. 15, 2, 7, 2, 7, 3

Mean = 6

Median = 5

Mode = 7 and 2

g. 3, -6, 3, 3, 0, 15, 3

mean = 3

median = 3

mode = 3

 

2. Science

a. PASS

3. History

a. In history today I learned that in 1942 many black Americans were planning a march against Washington to let black Americans join the military. Before the march held place, FDR signed the Executive Order No, 8802.

b. I learned that because of war bonds, from 1941 to 1942 government bond sales amounted to more than $61 billion.

c. In the battle of Midway, the Japanese lost four carriers, a heavy cruiser, and many planes. The Americans lost one carrier, a destroyer, and 100 planes.

d. I learned that in the battle of Stalingrad, the Russians wore nice warm white winter wear, and the Germans were in their summer uniforms which were dark green, because of the white snow, their dark uniforms made them an easy target and this was part of the reason that the Russians won Stalingrad.

e. I learned that in November 1942, American troops were sent to Africa for the first time to help their allied troops under the command of Eisenhower.

f. I learned that in 1945, before Truman dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, he dropped many fliers that read, “Surrender o r face prompt and utter destruction”

g. The allies waited ten days before they dropped the bomb on Hiroshima, and then waited more before they dropped the bomb on Nagasaki and Japan finally surrendered.

 

4. Language

a. Today in Spanish I learned how to say, “What do you like doing?” ?Que te gusta hacer?

b. I played a game with Gamma, I asked her what she liked doing, “?Que te gusta hacer?”

She replied, “La pintara cabbler” I like painting horses.

c. Then gamma asked me what I liked doing, I replied, “Me ecunta la pahtenje.” I like skating.

e. I learned some new activities in Spanish: Compras shopping,

cine cinema

Guitarra guitar

Ajedraz chess

Escuchar musica listening to music.

f. When talking about what you like and dislike you use the verbs gustar and enchanter.

g. Odiar is the Spanish word for hate. Odio futbol, I hate soccor.

5. Reading

a. The main character in Bridge to Terabithia is Jess Oliver Aarons, Jr. he is in fifth grade and has the intention of being the fastest kid in fifth grade.

b. Leslie Burke is the new girl. Her parents are rich, but they don’t have television, she is very girly, but she dresses like a boy, all the kids in her class are mean to her except for Jess Aarons who Leslie immediately befriends.

c. Leslie and Jess then decide to go and play in the woods behind Leslie’s new house, which is right next to Jess’s. Leslie, with her active imagination decides that they should pretend the woods is a magical kingdom and the only way to get there is by swinging on a rope over the river.

d. Jess plays along with Leslie because he thinks it is fun. They build there, “Castle Stronghold” by a big tree in the woods and it is made out of three pieces of rotten wood from the cow pasture by the river. They call the land Terabithia, and decide to go there together after school every day.

e. Jess’ dream of becoming the fastest boy in fifth grade vanished now that there were no races, nobody ever wanted to race because Leslie won all the time, and I mean ALL the time.

f. Leslie liked to make up stories about Giants attacking Terabithia and Leslie and Jess would pretend to kill them and then they would go back to their Castle Stronghold and read.

g. I like this book a lot so far and can’t wait to see what happens next.

6. Writing

a. Today for writing I added a new paragraph to my Profile:

 I really liked learning about World War II. My favorite battle of World War II is the Battle of the Bulge. I liked it because it was such a long battle and it was really neat that the allies were able to claim a victory even if they went two feet onto enemy lines and capturing territory while pushing Germany back, It was a great World War II moment when General Patten came in to help the allies in the Battle of the Bulge. I also really liked learning about double agent spies. I read in a World war II story book about a Russian spy who got captured by the Germans and pretended to spy on the Russians giving the Germans false statements about the Russians location and such, he was never caught. The most devastating stories about World War II, are those from the European Jews, and young Jews like Anne Frank. When I watched the Diary of Anne Frank, I could really see the fear in their eyes the whole time they were hiding, and especially when they got captured. Another devastating thing about World war II, are all the cities that got destroyed from bombs, major cities like Berlin, London, Pearl Harbor, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and many other cities from around the world that were completely destroyed. My favorite allied victory I think was the success of the Normandy Invasion, or Operation overlord. I think my favorite picture is the picture of the soldiers raising the American flag in Iwo Jima telling the sleeping soldiers that they had won. I think my favorite world War II quote is Winston Churchill’s, “We have never owed so much to so few.”

 
7. Art

Days 120 & 121

7 x7 Seven Subjects & 7 things I learned March 27, 2013   Days 120-121

1.       Math

Kahn Academy ½ hour

2. Science

Finish Science Project

Newton’s Three Laws of Motion

Newton’s three laws of motion were a turning point in the study of science. Newton wrote down these three laws in a complicated form, in a book called, “Principia.”

“Principia” also explained the idea of gravity. Isaac Newton and many other scientists around 1640 like, Edmond Halley worked together and came up with the idea of gravity.

Newton first thought about gravity when an apple fell on his head from an apple tree, he wondered if the same force that pulled the apple down from the tree, is the force that keeps the moon connected to the Earth. He thought about this subject for many years, and did many experiments.

When he finally came up with a logical and reasonable solution and did the math down on paper, he discovered the force of gravity. Gravity is the force that keeps everything connected to the Earth’s surface, Gravity is the reason why we can walk on the ground and don’t just float up in the air, and Gravity is the reason, when you do a jump on figure skates, you come down back to the ice, and don’t just stay up in the air.

After Newton discovered a way to explain gravity, he found a way to explain his law of physics.

3. History

a. I think my favorite battle of World War II, was the Battle of the Bulge, because it took so long and it was so neat the that the allies were able to claim a victory if they went even 2 feet onto enemy lines and capturing territory while pushing Germany back, I thought it was also really cool when the great WWII moment when General Patten came in to help the Allies in the Battle of the Bulge.

b. I think the most devastating story of World War II, are the stories of all the Jews that were captured by Nazi Germans and sent to concentration camps. I really liked watching the Diary of Anne Frank because I could see all of the fear in her family’s eyes, and when they were captured.

c. I think the coolest stories about WWII are the stories of the double agent spies. I really liked the stories from the book in Daily Spark about the Russian spy who got captured by the Germans and pretended to spy on the Russians giving the Germans false statements about the Russians location and such, he was never caught which was really cool.

d. I think the most devastating thing about WWII are all the cities that were destroyed by bombs, Berlin, London, Pearl Harbor, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and all the other cities and civilians who were killed by great bombs.

e. I think my favorite picture from World War II is the picture in Iwo Jima with the soldiers raising the American Flag in the morning to tell the sleeping soldiers we won.

f. I think my favorite Allied victory from World War II, is when they were successful with the invasion of Normandy. 

g. I think that my favorite quote from World War II is Winston Churchill’s, “We have never owed so much too so few.”

4. Language

Spanish song

1.       In the Spanish song that I listened to it talked about the weather. I learned that “Hace buen tiempo” means, “The weather is”

2.        Some ways of describing the weather are: frio (cold)

Calor (sunny)

Freso (chilly)

Nublado (cloudy.)

3.       I learned that Bien tiempo means good weather

4.       Mal tiempo is bad weather. So if it was raining outside instead of saying, Hace bien tiempo llaviendo, you would say Hace mal tiempo llaviendo. It is raining.

5.       Temperature in Spanish is, “Temputura.” F and “Tempeturo” M.

6.       IF it is two different knds of weather you could say, “Hace calor y nublado” It is sunny and cloudy.

7.       The weather outside right now is, “Hace calor.”

5. Reading

a. In reading today I read a story about London in 1601, I had to look online, (except I didn’t because I went to London) and give a description of all the landmarks mentioned in the story:

London Bridge: London Bridge is actually called the tower bridge because of its two large, blue and gold towers with a walkway connecting them, the tower bridge is a beautiful sight, and many people confuse it with London Bridge which is just a straight, gray, cement bridge right before it.

b. The Thames River: The Thames River is pronounced, “Tems” It is the center line between the region of London and the region of Westminster.

c. Westminster: Westminster is the region of London where all of the beautiful royalty –is, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, The house of Parliament, and more.

d. The city of London: A very large city in England, full of many towers and buildings and beautiful sights.

e. Then I had to right a short definition of each word from what I could tell from the text: Extensive: Extended, long

f. Navigable: Able o be navigated, easy to find

g. Country Seats: country scenes, fields

Shad: fish

6. Writing

a. Today in writing I named my story, “Double Trouble”

b. I continued on:

6 years later, Jacksonville, Florida:

Reagan and her family were transported to Jacksonville six years ago with not a clue what was going on. Steven found a job, and a house and the family found a way to make a living. Reagan’s 16^th birthday was next week, her family was planning a huge party and a surprise, they were going to move to California! “Hi Dana, its Claire, just wanted to make sure Hannah could come to the party.” Reagan’s mom was very nervous and wanted to make sure that all of Reagan’s friends would be able to make it to the party. “Call me back, Thank you bye.” Claire was definitely an over worrier just like Melissa’s mom, I guess the duplicate picked up the same personality, except of course, that the duplicates, didn’t know they were duplicates! Melissa’s parents weren’t making a big deal out of Melissa’s birthday as Reagan’s parents were, they were just planning a small family gathering and that was not at all what Melissa wanted .Melissa had almost completely forgotten about the clone spell until her wizard teacher taught it to her, however, her wizard teacher left out a very important part about the spell, when the wizard that casted the spell turns 16, and the clone has not yet been destroyed, the clone starts copying all of the wizards actions!

7. Music

Practice & lesson with Grandpa Mike on FaceTime.

World War II Profile of Navy Veteran Mr. Dan Ponder

Silas Daniel Ponder was born in Phoenix Arizona on March 7, 1930. His father moved to Phoenix during the Depression looking to find a job. Ponder was 12 years old when the war started and Pearl Harbor was attacked. He was “invited to leave home” by his stepmother and found a job working as a Merchant Marine when he was only 13. When his ship was torpedoed in the Gulf of Mexico, he was rescued and brought to Jacksonville, Florida without money, and without a job. That’s when he saw a poster of Uncle Sam, pointing at him saying he wanted you to enlist, so in 1944 when Ponder was only 14, he enlisted, telling the truth about his age, and worked on submarines in the Pacific. When asked about his age when he enlisted, Ponder explained because he was already a merchant marine, they allowed the enlistment.

        He worked as an engineer during the war and when he retired in 2005, he was named Chief Engineer. One of his operations, which he and a few other men assigned with, was on the island of Chi Chi Jima not far off the coast from the island of Iwo Jima. His mission was to try and, “knockout a radio tower,” deep behind enemy territory in Chi Chi Jima. This radio tower could signal and spot any enemy ship that was to pass past the island, so if Ponder could help try and knock this radio tower out, it would be great for the coming battle of Iwo Jima; he was successful in this mission.

Ponder met his first wife in the USO, just like my grandmother, “Gamma” ‘s father met her mother. Ponder now lives with his current wife, Sue, in Norwich Connecticut. It’s kind of neat because my grandfather, Grandpa Mike, also worked in the *Navy and with submarines, and we have visited the Joseph Conrad in Mystic, Connecticut with him. The Joseph Conrad was Ponder’s training ship and is now an exhibit at Mystic Seaport. 

Mr. Ponder said that “After awhile, his ship felt like a home.”  Mr. Ponder has fought in three wars, all in the Pacific front. He fought in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. He retired from the navy right before the ending of the Vietnam War. Ponder says that the most important thing to remember about World War II, is that “Everybody was motivated to join the war, everybody.” He said that after Pearl Harbor, everybody felt like they needed to be honorable to their country and join the war, including Ponder.

Following Ponder’s retirement, he worked as an engineer at General Dynamics; he also worked as an independent contractor before retiring for good in 2005.

Ponder has been bombed, torpedoed, depth charged and more, he once even served on a captured German submarine. He never spoke about his time in the War until the American Warriors project where he got to see the WWIII monument in Washington DC, where I am going in two weeks. He said that he never really liked to talk about his experiences before because it “sounded like bragging” to him, and because the “stories were very personal”. I told Mr. Ponder, that they should make a movie about him because his experiences were so amazing. He replied back that they have made a movie about the Operation that he was part of!

I learned that my great grandfathers also fought in the war, Hilton Timothy Saint Clair and Jim Charles Ball. I listened to some of the stories that Gamma remembers her father and Grandpa Mike’s father telling her about the war. “Grandpa Hilton was a Missouri Sharp Shooter and fought in the Pacific; he was sent to the island of Okinawa and Iwo Jima but was flown back before reaching the island. However, he was part of the invasion of Japan close to the end of the war.” Gamma said that her dad rarely ever spoke of the war, because of the awful things he saw.

“Grandpa Jim Ball fought in the infantry during the invasion of D-Day,” Gamma said. Gamma said that the war ruined Grandpa Jim; he came back with a severe drinking problem and never spoke of anything about the war.

Mr. Ponder’s, and Grandpa Hilton’s, and Grandpa Jim’s are just many stories about World War II, and they are all somewhat alike.

I really liked learning about World War II. My favorite battle of World War II is the Battle of the Bulge. I liked it because it was such a long battle and it was really neat that the allies were able to claim a victory even if they went two feet onto enemy lines and capturing territory while pushing Germany back. It was a great World War II moment when General Patten came in to help the allies in the Battle of the Bulge. I also really liked learning about double agent spies. I read in a World war II story book about a Russian spy who got captured by the Germans and pretended to spy on the Russians giving the Germans false statements about the Russians location and such, he was never caught.

The most devastating stories about World War II, are those from the European Jews, and young Jews like Anne Frank. When I watched the Diary of Anne Frank, I could really see the fear in their eyes the whole time they were hiding, and especially when they got captured. Another devastating thing about World war II, are all the cities that got destroyed from bombs, major cities like Berlin, London, Pearl Harbor, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and many other cities from around the world that were completely destroyed. My favorite allied victory I think was the success of the Normandy Invasion, or Operation Overlord. I think my favorite picture is the picture of the soldiers raising the American flag in Iwo Jima telling the sleeping soldiers that they had won. I think my favorite world War II quote is Winston Churchill’s, “We have never owed so much to so few.”