Zoobreak Book Trailer

click here to watch!!!

Zoobreak response podcast

Zoobreak response podcast by Akababa

Voki Reflection

1. Could you use Voki before starting this assignment?

Yes
2. Would you be able to use Voki independently in another assignment?

Yes
3. Do you understand how Voki can be used to show your learning in any subject?

Yes

4. Did you use the social networking feature of Voki ethically and responsibly?

Yes
5. When you didn't know how to work something on Voki (e.g. getting an account, logging in, adding text, adding special effects ect.) were you able to work through your problem(s) on your own?

Yes
6. After completing the "I Love to Read" assignment, did you find any books featured on your classmates' vokis that you might be interested in reading?

Not really

PQP Memo to the Author

To: Gordon Korman
From: Michael P
Date: Feb 21, 2011
Re: Zoobreak

Dear Gordon,

I recently read your book “Zoobreak” and I enjoyed it very much. It was exciting and had many unexpected twists and turns. It always kept me waiting for what would happen next to throw Griffin off track. Early on, I was wondering why Griffin’s first plan (to steal back Cleopatra from All Aboard Animals) seemed to be a success so soon since there was still so much of the book left to read. A few pages later, Griffin’s group made a snap decision to steal all forty animals and the anticipation began to build again. Events like that made your book really fun to read because the action never really ended and I wasn’t sure what was going to happen when I turned the page.

One question I had while reading this book was how did Cleopatra come to live with Savannah? Luthor and her other housemates were more traditional pets that lived with people, but Cleopatra was a capuchin monkey. She was introduced right at the beginning of the book, but there was no explanation of how she became Cleopatra Drysdale. I kept expecting to find the answer to that question throughout the book, but it wasn’t mentioned again. Another similar question that I had was how Cleopatra became friends with Luthor. He was supposed to be vicious and aggressive, but for some reason he let her ride on his back. They even were best friends with each other, and I think it would be very interesting to know how that happened.

Finally, I would like to make a suggestion for improvement. I think this book would be even better if it was more believable. Of course, an exciting, fast-paced plot always comes with a price, but I think smoother transitions and more space in between events would make this book more suspenseful and realistic. Also, adding in some more “everyday” side events would make it seem a lot more lifelike by letting readers make connections to it. For example, it might not be very likely that a regular person had the experience of breaking into a zoo, but it could be possible that the reader was once in a similar situation as Darren was when trying to sell Mr. Nasty the owl.

Thanks for reading,
Michael

Proud Piece #1

I picked my Early Societies project for my proud piece because it was fun (at least for an assignment), creative, and we got to learn to use and play with Publisher instead of writing essays. I also liked how I put pictures everywhere :D I'm proud of this because I put a lot of work into it. This was also the best mark I got from Mrs. Gray on a project and both of the comments I got were good ones (apparently, I had “excellent layout and use of text structure”).

click to make bigger

wishing stars :P

STARS!!!------------------------------------------------------
1: learning about the flamethrower!!! from my blog
2. writing a long short story (no oxymoron intended) - 2,700 words!!
3. I write faster now (yay!)
4. I got first chair in band this year :)

WISHES: to practice basketball more because its fun and I can get better :P (notice that phys ed is a subject) and I also wish I had a net and it was summer PLUS I want to get better at ELA and Social Studies

Technological Discoveries From Other Blogs

Frank's Blog--Magnetic Compass--invented 1302 CE
Alex's Blog--Bows--invented 25000 BCE
Young's Blog--Sandals--invented 8000 BCE
Joe's Blog--Axe--invented 9500 BCE
Mengjie's Blog--Medieval Catapults--invented 399 BCE

Early Flamethrowers (called 'Greek Fire')

Who- Greek fire was invented by the ancient Greeks and used by the Byzantine Empire.

What- Greek fire 'siphon projectors' were the earliest flamethrowers, which sent bursts of flaming liquid through a pressurized tube. It was usually mounted on ships and used in war at sea. The ingredients for its fuel were carefully kept secret, so no one ever found out exactly what was in it. The flamethrower was also shrunken so that it could be hand-held. However, the earliest version of Greek fire was in grenades hurled with catapults (the boat and portable versions were developed later).

When- Flaming arrows and pots were used as early as the 9th century BCE, but Greek fire was officially invented around 672 CE.

Why- It was invented to use in war. It could set wooden ships on fire and keep burning even on water.

Where- Greek fire was used in wars around the Byzantine Empire, which was located at the Mediterranean Sea.

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_fire

All About Me

Hi, my name is Michael. I am a humble, happy and honest only child. The school I go to is Acadia Junior High, where I am taught by wonderful grade 8 enrichment teachers such as Mrs. Gr**, Mr. Kell****, Mr. Sark***, and Mr. Ferg****.

One of my favourite things to do is ride my bike with my friends, who are easily found because most of them except Mengjie live close to me. We go to each other’s houses, Kirkbridge Park, and sometimes Popocha to buy bubble tea. The reason I’d rather bike than walk is that biking is less tiring but more exciting. Also you can get to places quicker on a bike and mosquitoes can’t fly fast enough to bite you.

Another thing I enjoy to do is play chess, partly because every game is different since there are so many choices for each move. The other reason I like chess is that I’m good at it. When I was in grades 3 to 7, I won the provincial chess championship for people in the same grade as me. That meant I could represent Manitoba in the national competition. I decided to participate in grades 3, 5, and 6. I also got the national third place trophy in grade 5. The other two years, I finished in fifth place without a trophy. Sometimes, I practice chess at home on the Internet Chess Club (ICC), so I can get better without having to go to a tournament.

In addition to riding my bike and playing chess, I enjoy drinking slurpees and eating food such as pizza, pie, hamburgers, and many others. But there is one food that I DO NOT LIKE --- green peppers. They taste bitter and horrible, so when my parents make me eat them, I just 'drink' them with water. Other than green peppers, I love cooking food and I think the Foods class at Acadia is fun. The best food we made in grade 7 was pizza. I also liked the apple pie, which I made at home once, the wacky cake, and the taco salad.

Finally, I love listening to music, and my favourite kinds are pop and rock. My mom bought me an mp3 player (with a touch screen!) in grade 7 as a reward for winning a math contest. I listen to music mostly when I’m bored, usually during long car rides, or walking home from school.

Speaking of music, I play the alto sax for my school band and I am very good at it! I was the only grade 7 student in Acadia that got selected to be in the Manitoba Junior Honour Band last year. We had a concert with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra (WSO) at the Centennial Concert Hall. I felt very “famous” being on the stage and meeting the WSO people. Late this summer, I started taking alto sax lessons from a teacher named David ***********. He’s very nice, makes the lessons fun and I learn a lot from him.

In school, the subject that I’m the best at is math. This is good because I get high marks in math without much effort and I do well in lots of math contests which give you awards, plaques, and, in high school, money. Last year, I got a shiny plaque with my name on it for getting a perfect score on the Canadian National Math League (CNML) contest, and I also got full marks on the Gauss contest (I didn’t get a plaque but I got a free book of math questions). Mr. Ban****** got me and four other people in grade 7 who did good on the CNML to do the Pascal contest (for grade 9 and below), which I got a high score on along with the Fryer contest (also grade 9 or less). Hopefully, I’ll win all the contests I won last year plus a little more. :)

One couse that I’m not good at is ELA, which is the only subject that’s hard for me, and I mean REALLY hard. It’s pretty obvious because I think I spend more time and effort on ELA than all the other subjects combined, but I still don’t get better marks. So by the end of this year, I hope that ELA will somehow magically be easier.

Now you know all about me. Have a nice day.