10th Grade: 2019-20

For this assignment I had to form a thesis statement about Syrian refugees and the journey that they go on. Then, I had to write an informative essay in which I supported that thesis statement using the book A Hope More Powerful than the Sea and other sources. To complete this assignment, I had to ask this question: “What is life like before, during, and after the journey of a Syrian refugee and how does this impact their life?”.

This matches the ISSN Domain of “Investigate the World” because I had to look at different sources to support my thesis and answer the global question that I was exploring. I used the book as one source and found multiple articles as other sources. I then had to develop my response to that question using evidence from the sources and information I had learned. I had to investigate what life was like for Syrians and how the journey to a new country impacts their lives. I was able to learn about the Syrian Civil War which is something that I probably wouldn't have known about without this project.

To create this artifact, I first came up with my thesis statement. Then, I began researching and writing my essay. I found quotes from the book to use in my essay, and I searched for articles that would support my thesis and chose quotes to use from them. Throughout the process of making this artifact, I was writing and researching as I went along. In retrospect, it probably would have been smarter for me to find all of my evidence and then start writing, but in the end, it worked out.

This project changed the way I think by giving me a more global perspective on things, allowing me to see into the hardships that refugees go through, and making me realize that the journey is much more horrific than I thought. I now realize that unless I get informed on issues I will never know the full story. Through writing this essay, I gained the skills of researching global issues and using what I learned to inform others. I also learned how to write a long essay and come up with multiple points of evidence to support a view, instead of having a weak argument with only a couple supporting points.

This essay allowed me to research things happening in other countries, learn about the experiences of people in those countries, and then inform others using what I learned through research. This project will help me in the future to be more globally minded and to care about what is going on in the world outside of my own country. It will also help me to ask global questions and be able to research and respond to them.

To view the full artifact, click this link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MuCp4ZoAgKIKqGB6hENQuGiJQpKO_ld-WR2COmBTwr0/edit?usp=sharing

For this artifact, we had to create a digital poster about the various divisions between people groups in the 1920s. We had to look at photos that represented the divisions, and we had to analyze the photos and explain their significance to this topic. I worked with two other people to complete this project. After we were done making the poster, we presented some of it to the class.

This project matches the ISSN Domain of “Recognize Perspectives”, because in order to write about the divisions, we had to understand the perspectives of the different people involved. Within the divisions there were two or more groups that could not agree on a topic or issue. We got to explore the reasons for their perspectives and see how that influenced their responses to and interpretations of various issues. Many of the pictures we analyzed were political cartoons. We had to understand the perspective that the author held based on the content of the cartoon. Some of the perspectives we saw were pro-immigration vs. anti-immigration, people in support of farms vs. people in support of cities, traditional views vs. progressive views, and more.

To make this project, we started out by looking at pictures and deciding what divisions they represented. Then, we organized them on our poster and began writing our analyses for them. We wrote about the things that the photos represented and about the divisions being caused by differing perspectives. We were also able to explain what these perspectives led to for some of the photos. Finally, we shared our ideas with the rest of the class in a short presentation.

This project changed the way I think by showing me the importance of not letting your views cause divisions. The divisions that we saw in this project created a lot of problems in history. If people of both viewpoints would have been civilized and listened to the other side, some of the division could have been avoided. There still would have been disagreements, but there could have been respect for each other in the midst of it. This project helped me strengthen my analysis skills. I also learned how to interpret cartoons better.

It was very influential to get to look at both sides of the story in this assignment, and it helped me to be more aware of the different views that people have. This will help me to look further into my own perspectives and the perspectives of people that I disagree with in the future.

To view the artifact, click this link: https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1lMbRNk01PKRVf5bkbZA7af0ZE_VDvVRDn53tZTVsKpc/edit?usp=sharing

This artifact is a handout from a club called 4u that I helped start during the beginning of my sophomore year. Over the summer before the 2019-2020 school year, three friends and I felt called to start a Bible study/Christian club at the high school. We knew that the school already had two clubs- Impact and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes- and we wanted to further reach people in our school.

This matches the ISSN Domain of “Take Action” because we had an idea, planned it out, and then acted on it in hopes to make change in the high school and spread the good news of Jesus to as many people as would listen. I couldn’t start this alone, so I collaborated with my friends to create the club. We saw the hurt, anxiety, and overall brokenness of the people in our generation and we wanted to do something about it. We believe that, above all else, people need Jesus, and that He alone can change the brokenness that we saw. Once we started the club, we continuously had to assess what was working and what we thought needed to be different in the club.

To start the club, we had to get permission from Mr. Kracker and find a teacher to be our advisor. We then sat down to discuss what we wanted the club to be. We wanted to create a space for Christian community where we read God’s word, encourage one another, and learn together as we follow Jesus. We also wanted the club to be at a time when most people could come. After school activities are very common, so we decided to make the club before school. Once we got permission to start the club, we planned out what we were going to do during our meetings.

Starting the club has changed the way I think by causing me to place more importance on building relationships with people and seeing them grow in their faith in Jesus. It has really put into perspective how much greater of an importance God is than anything else. Additionally, I have learned skills like how to organize and plan meetings, how to teach on the Bible, and how to speak in front of large groups of people without being nervous.

This artifact has helped me be bold to take action, commit to things I am passionate about, and learn how to lead others well. In the future, this will help me to not be afraid to take action in order to make a change to things that aren’t the way they should be.

For this project, we had to make a slideshow presentation about our Spanish “family” (a group of students within our Spanish class) and present it to the class. My family’s last name was Valdez and we were moving to Argentina from the United States.

This matches the ISSN Domain of “Communicate Ideas” because we had to use the Spanish language to present our project to the class. We also had to make a slideshow to help everyone understand what we were talking about. We were not supposed to use many words on the slides, so we had to decide which pictures would create the best visual for our audience. Not only were we speaking about the topic, but we also used our slideshow as a resource to best communicate the information. We each took turns speaking about different portions of the presentation.

To complete our project, we started out by deciding what our family roles would be. I was the mother of two members of our family and the daughter of one member, and my job was a history teacher. After everyone had decided their roles, we took pictures to include in our presentation. Using the pictures, we each created a slide about ourselves. Then, we researched information about Argentina. We looked at traditional food, music, dance, famous people, the flag, and more. Finally, we added pictures of the information we would be talking about.

This project changed the way I think by making me more confident in my Spanish speaking abilities. This was one of the first presentations we did in class that year, and it helped me in the future to be less nervous about speaking in front of people in Spanish. I learned the skill of memorizing information in Spanish, since we did not have many words on our slideshow to go off of.

This project helped me to become more globally competent by allowing me to communicate in front of a group of people and use a different language than my primary language. It taught me to use my resources well and that it’s alright to not include a ton of text when using a slideshow, depending on the audience and the situation. I’m thankful for the experience I gained in communication from this project.

To view the full artifact, click this link: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1NDR49o4zdDBaQMlVKr47lfh66PRb-9BdMnl5xVJ4L4M/edit?usp=sharing

This artifact is a lab report that we completed in Chemistry. We did this lab in order to answer the question, “What is the empirical formula of a metallic oxide?”. This lab was completed during class, and then we answered questions about it and did calculations to make a lab report. I worked with two lab partners.

This artifact matches the ISSN Domain of “Investigate the World”, because in this lab we posed a question about a chemistry concept and then experimented to reach an answer. Chemistry is very important to the world and has many real life applications, and in this project we got to investigate empirical formulas. We also got to learn how magnesium and oxygen are turned into magnesium oxide and then create it ourselves in the lab. I got to learn more about the composition of magnesium oxide and I got to use my knowledge of calculating empirical formulas to find the one for the compound that we created in the lab.

To run the lab, we started off by getting the materials out. Then, we lit the Bunsen burner and heated the crucible to get rid of any impurities. After heating, we massed the crucible. Next, we coiled a piece of magnesium ribbon, massed it, placed it in the crucible, and heated it up. After a little while of heating, the magnesium ribbon ignited and turned into magnesium oxide, and we stopped heating the crucible and contents. Once the lab was done, we cleaned up. Finally we calculated the mass of the oxygen, the empirical formula, the percentage by mass of oxygen, the percentage it should have been, and the percentage error.

This lab changed the way I think by allowing me to understand the empirical formula better. I was able to actually witness a compound being formed, and it was much cooler than just learning about it in class. Through this lab, I learned how to carefully experiment things in order to answer a question. I also improved at lighting a Bunsen burner. Additionally, I gained more experience with doing empirical formula calculations, which helped me in class.

Doing this lab was very fun, and it showed me how to investigate a question by conducting an experiment. In completing this assignment, I learned more about chemistry and was able to become more globally competent.

To view the full artifact, click this link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1gRRtTmdoT5sT11Nyao6PuROVkBDuxWIuR7VzYxAiCO0/edit?usp=sharing