Q3 W3 Comments

Greg's Research Update
Zoe's ATDPTI Reaction

Research Post

My spring research project is an essay on an ancient empire that is not very well known by the majority of people. I recently learned of this empire after researching the Mongols for my initial topic. The main topic of my essay is the Ilkhanid Dynasty. This empire is one of the four fragments of the great Mongolian empire. The main question that I am trying to answer is "How were the lives of the citizens of the Ilkhanid Dynasty?".

This empire is important to history because it is the ending of the well-known Mongols. They were involved in many major wars like their war with the Mamluks for the land of Syria. This war caused both sides to expend many resources, and after the Ilkhanate won the war, the Syrian land was not what they wanted. Another major issue with this empire is that the founder was a successor of the great Genghis Khan. This topic has been interesting to me, and I am excited to teach my classmates about this empire.

ATDPTI Reading Response

"The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian" by Sherman Alexie is a fiction book written for young adults. This novel follows the life of a mentally disabled Native American teenager, Junior. This novel has been banned in many schools, but it does teach many lessons to young readers.

After a hundred pages of this novel, my opinion on this book has become quite clear. I have always enjoyed a good novel with morals and references to reality. This novel does both, but it does it in an unusual way. The author reaches out to the minds of readers through sexual and other inappropriate kinds of jokes, sometimes causing a light laugh. I have enjoyed this book, and I look forward to reading more in the future.

Q3 W2 Comments

JC's Research Update
Thomas's Free Post: Snowdays

Q3 W1 Comments

Nick's "New Semester"
Greg's "New Semester"

My winter break

This winter break, my family decided to not go out of Louisiana because my father has recently had surgery. After exams ended, my sister and mother went to Florida to pick up some clothes and personal items from the condo my parents sold. They came back on Christmas eve, and we went to  my uncle's house to have dinner and open presents. Everyone received an abundance of good gifts and was happy.

After Christmas, we stayed at home and basically did nothing until New Years. On New Years Eve, we made our way over to my mom's friends' home. They did fireworks and allowed us to play with some smaller things as we awaited 2018. The break was not the most fun, but it was definitely the most relaxing one we have had in a long time.

Research Reflection

My research topic is the Ilkhanid dynasty. It is not very well-known, so it was difficult to find the ten sources that were required. I struggled the most with finding primary sources because most of the library databases did not have information on this empire. I finally found two primary sources on art and decoration of the empire, so I had to find a way to incorporate these into my research question. I ended up with quality of life in the empire.

The best parts of this assignment are that these steps are making the rough draft process much easier by using annotated bibliographies to determine the quality of a source and notecards to help us form our paragraphs. The annotated bibliographies were the easiest part of this assignment, but they also took the longest. I hope the rest of this assignment is as helpful as the beginning parts.

New Semester Reflection

The previous semester of school was our first semester of high school. It was more difficult than I'd imagined, but it was more fun than any other year of school, at times. I learned many things this semester, all of which were tips to do better in this new environment. The first of these tricks is that you need more sleep than ever once you get to high school because of the constant effort and energy you must put into your work. The second most important tip is that you should manage your time wisely because assignments are often spread to allow us to finish in time. The most important thing to remember in high school is that you should study every night because cramming will almost never work.

My goals for the spring semester are attainable but difficult. I am going to try to use my tips from the fall semester and become a better student for the second half of the year. I hope that these tips improve my grades and my overall image of school. I will also try to have more fun with my friends and sports to decrease some stress about school