At Mad Science today we dissolved packing peanuts with acetone.  We also went outside and did a cool experiment.  We added water, Hydrogen peroxide, detergent and yeast!  It filled up the bottle and burst out.  

*L.Z.

Today we did a lot of experiments.  We learned what atoms are.  We mixed dish soap and acid.  It was very hot and dangerous then after a few minutes it wasn't as dangerous.  We had to wear gloves.  I had fun doing experiments! 

*S.P.

Two Articles

Two Articles

By: R G

Two articles called “A Dog Year” by Jon Katz and “Climbing the Ladder” by Joseph Bruchac are very interesting articles to me. “A Dog Year” is about a strong bond developed between the speaker and his two yellow Labrador retrievers. “Climbing the Ladder” is an article that talks about an important Abenaki family memory. I like “A Dog Year” the most because it has vivid imagery, has a strong bond between characters, and includes un-human characters.

            The two articles have a lot in common. They are both written in the first person. That means that they are written from the point of view of the speaker. Also, they both have memories. The article “Cleaning the Well” is a memory from when a child was three and he and his grandpa checked the peak. The article “A Dog Year” has a memory when the speaker remembers when he got his two dogs. Finally, they both have strong bonds/relationships in them. There is a great relationship between the grandfather and the son in “Cleaning the Well”. They go on the roof when the son is three and enjoy the view. In “A Dog Year,” the speaker has a strong bond with his dogs as he has raised them since they were young. Apparently, both articles have a lot in common.

            Though they have a lot in common, they have a lot of differences. “A Dog Year” is to entertain the reader with a story of loving man’s best friend and creating strong bonds with others. “Climbing the Ladder” informs the reader about the Abenaki people and the grandfather’s tradition of checking the peak. “A Dog Year” also uses a lot more vivid imagery to express what the dogs do and how the bonds between man’s best friend and man stay strong. Next, “A Dog Year” has dogs, an inhumane character not used in “Climbing the Ladder.” A dog makes the story seem different and better. Finally, a lot more dialogue is used in “Climbing the Ladder” as the grandfather and the son speak keeping their bonds strong by being with each other. As you can see, there are also a lot of differences.

            I like “A Dog Year” more out of the two because of the vivid imagery, strong bonds and use of man’s best friend, the dog. The author uses vivid imagery to express what the dogs do all day long and their love for the speaker. I understood what a dogs day is like by painting pictures in my head as I read this article. Also, “A Dog Year” is my favorite because of the strong bonds created between the speaker and the dogs. He cared for them and loved them as he raised them his whole life. These dogs were different and better as they could stop forever sometimes. Also, they didn’t play catch like most dogs. Man’s best friend was nice and caring for their owner also. Most of all these dogs were special. The speaker was lucky to have them and raise them from puppies to dogs. Now you understand why I like “A Dog Year” more.

            I like “A Dog Year” the most because it has vivid imagery, strong bonds between characters, and man’s best friend and the freedom. The poet is free to use varieties of characters, create strong bonds, and paint a vivid picture. I think that Jon Katz is a great descriptive writer who took something from everyday life and added detail to make it more interesting. I learned how to use detail properly from reading “A Dog Year.”

The Two Poems

The Two Poems

By: R G

There are two poems that we read in class. “I Love the Look of Words” is a poem by Maya Angelou and “Cleaning the Well” by Paul Ruffin. In “I Love the Look of Words,” the speaker compares eating popcorn to reading a book. In “Cleaning the Well,” the speaker recalls a childhood memory of the day his grandfather asked him to clean the well. “Cleaning the Well” is my favorite for many reasons. In this essay, I will provide the similarities and differences of the two poems and state which one I like the best and why.

The two poems have many things in common. Both of these poems are written in the first person. That means that both poems are written from the point of view of the speaker. Also, vivid imagery was used in both. “Cleaning the Well,” Lines 11-13: “The sky hovered like some pale moon above, eclipsed by this heavy red face bellowing down to me not to dally.” “I Love the Look of Words,” Lines 11-14: “like the sweet smell of butter perfuming my fingers long after the popcorn is finished.” Finally, they both have a strong idea for the poem. A comparison is a great thing to write about and a memory is a great moment to experience on paper.

The two poems have many differences too. “Cleaning the Well” takes you back in time to a moment in someone’s history that was worth writing about. “I Love the Look of Words” stays in the present and takes two different things and shows the similarities. The poem by Maya Angelou has similes comparing eating popcorn and reading a book. But the poem by Paul Ruffin doesn’t contain any similes as it focuses on creating a picture. “Cleaning the Well” provides a clear and important message. Finally, the layout/format of the poems are different as one has more stanzas. As you can see, the is a huge difference between the two poems.

I like the poem “Cleaning the Well” the most out of the two mostly for a few main reasons. First, this poem takes you to a different time period where things are different from the present. You can learn about how the people in the past had to get their water from a well and clean their own well. I also like that this poem has a certain theme/ important message that proves that everything cannot be done perfectly. This is proven in lines 34-37. I like this poem the most because of the great format. It’s still a poem, though it is not separated into many stanzas and doesn’t have a rhyme scheme. Finally, the poem uses vivid imagery to paint a picture that I can clearly see in my mind.

            I like “Cleaning the Well” more because of it’s time period, vivid imagery, important message, and poetic freedom. The poet is free to choose a certain format, provide a certain message, paint a vivid picture, and take you back in time. I think that Paul Ruffin is a great poet who can take different ideas and make them into a piece of writing. Though I do not know who he is, I appreciate the knowledge he has given me through this poem.

Second Ivy Essay

D G

7/17/12

2^nd Essay

            This essay is based on two articles. The first one is named “A Dog Year” by Jon Katz. The Second one is named “Climbing the Ladder” by Joseph Bruchac. My favorite article of the two is “A Dog Year” by Jon Katz. The reasons why I like that article is because it talks about man’s best friend and because it is a story about bonding.

            There are many similarities between these two articles. First, they are both about a true experience and are both first person narratives. The articles are both memories or have memories in them. Second, they have a lot of positive thoughts in them. In the article “A Dog Year” there is a positive memory about handing the dog to his daughter. “I personally don’t believe there’s a more rewarding moment for a parent than handing a happy, squirming, doe-eyed Lab puppy over to a small kid.” Third, both the articles talk about relationships. In the article “Climbing the Ladder” it talks about the relationship between the narrator and his grandfather. In the article “A Dog Year” it talks about the relationship between the narrator and his two dogs.

            There are many differences between these two articles. First, the article “A Dog Year” is longer than “Climbing the Ladder”. “A Dog Year” is 29 paragraphs while “Climbing the Ladder” is 17 paragraphs. Second, the article “A Dog Year” is wrote to entertain the reader with this exciting story. The article “Climbing the Ladder” is wrote to inform the reader about the Abenaki people’s strange characteristics. The final difference is that the article “Climbing the Ladder” has dialogue but the article “A Dog Year” doesn’t.

            My favorite article of the two articles is the article “A Dog Year”. First, it is about man’s best friend, the dog. Any article or story that involves a dog always interests me. A dog is a fun, playful animal. Second, this story involves a lot of bonding between the narrator and Julius and Stanley. The reason I know they bonded is because the narrator knows their every move. “After some years—Stanley was seven and Julius eight—we moved almost like a school of fish, the three of us veering in one direction, then another.”

            All in one, these two articles were very interesting. They had many similarities and differences. To me, I think that Joseph Bruchac and Jon Katz can illustrate their memories of these situations very well with the amount of detail they used.

First Ivy Essay

D G

7/16/12

Writing Workshop

1^st Essay

            This essay is based on the poem “Cleaning the Well” by Paul Ruffin and “I love the look of Words” by Maya Angelou. Both of these are very similar and different in many ways. My favorite of the two is cleaning the Well. There are many why I like that poem the most.

            There are many similarities between the two poems. First, they are both first person narratives. They are spoke by a person who says “I”. Second, both poems use vivid imagery in multiple instances. In cleaning the well, “My feet rasped against cold stone, toes selecting unnatural shapes, curling and gripping, raising them to my fingers.” The Final similarity between these 2 poems is that they both have similies. In I Love the look of Words, here is a simile. “When I have stopped reading, ideas from the words stay stuck in my mind, like the sweet smell of butter.”

            There are a lot of differences between these two poems. First, I love the Look of Words is in stanza form while cleaning the well is not. Second, Cleaning the Well is a bit longer than I love the Look of Words. Cleaning the Well is 43 lines and I love the look of Words is 18 lines. Finally, Cleaning the Well is in a story form while I love the look of words is not. Cleaning the well tells a tale of … cleaning a well!

            My favorite poem of the two is cleaning the well. First, Cleaning the well tells a story. I like poems with stories because I can be immersed in that story while it still is a poem. Second, while Maya Angelou is still an amazing poet, I feel that Paul Ruffin did a wonderful job explaining, writing, and creating a picture of this poem.

            Overall, these two poems had many similarities and differences. I liked them very much. From these two poems, I can conclude that Maya Angelou likes to compare two objects or thoughts in her poetry and Paul Ruffin likes to tell stories in his poetry. I have learned a lot from this essay.

I had a great day at camp today at science I made a catapult.  

-P.E. 

Today we learned about structures.  We tried to make an arch out of blocks  It was fun.  We also made our own miniature catapults.  Today at snack we played dodgeball.  I had a lot of fun. 

**M.S.

Youtube Channel Link

Here is the link to our International Ivy Youtube Channel.  We have all of our videos up from the past two weeks, and currently we are working on adding the videos that we are taking as week 3 progresses.  Here is the link to our videos!  Please be sure to watch all of them, especially so you can see what the other students have done in classes you may be interested in!  Please keep checking back for new videos!

Today we tried to build an arch but it kept on falling down.  But at least we tried and didn't give up.  We also made 3D figures.  Today we did a lot of building with blocks, sticks and balls!  I had fun today!  

*S.P.