Religion and Morals

What are the Connections Between Morals and Religions?

Morals and Religions are very connected with one-another.

Religions are based on morals or suggest and provide morals to live by. In Buddhist beliefs, they center and focus their religion on the moral of being kind and respectful to all. In Hindu beliefs, they focus on the moral of kindness and non-violence. Most all rules to follow in a religion are to follow certain morals. Morals are the rules and guidelines for being a good and ethical person. Most religions believe that is important to live and lead a good life in order for good things to happen to you after death (karma). All religions have some sort of goal they wish to reach, this can also only be reached if a person has lived a moral and good life. Religion relies on morals. Religious Followers use the morals in their religion to guide them and to help them in their lives. They follow and refer to these morals when they make choices and decisions.

This I Believe

This I Believe is a site that has various voice recordings and essays about personal experiences connected with peoples beliefs. We were asked to reflect and write about a recording we watched.

The name of the recording I listened to was called A Duty to Family, Heritage, and Country recorded by Ying Ying Yu at the age of 13. The Belief being discussed was responsibility.

Ying Ying Yu has lived her whole life being pressured by her parents and teachers to do well in school. In China, her home country, grades mean more to them than the compassion and caring given by a family. Teachers were strict and beat students when they got a bad grade. Her life was based on her parents dreams of her becoming a lawyer, even when she hoped and wanted to be a gardener. She felt that she had no choice than to follow her parents dream. She thought that she could not let all her parents and teachers hard work to get her where she is now, go to waste. Even though people have also told her to follow her heart and wants, she thinks that it is her duty to become a lawyer and follow her parents and teachers wishes. She wants to make them all proud. Ying Ying Yu talks of how she believes in duty and how "duty can bring her to something greater than herself".

This appealed to me because she was at an age close to my own. It made me feel lucky that I am not beaten when I get a bad grade and that I am not pushed and have choices in what I want to do with my life. It makes me wonder how so much pressure can be pushed on one person, especially when your just 13.

Domi-Know Profile

We were learning about our domi-know profiles today in humanities and what they can teach us about our learning. and learning styles. Here are some of the things I learnt.

I learn best when I am focusing visually and studying the details of information. I need to see the details in order for me to learn. I learn best visually and kinesthetically. I may need to learn something visually, the learn the same thing kinesthetically.

I need to work on being able listening to, remembering and being able to write down the details in an organized fashion after seeing the details.

Some strategies/activities that would help me include reading out loud, listening for the words of a song and following along and doing activities that involve both sides of my brain such as drawing and knitting. It may also help me to doodle or play with something such as clay, during class.

I want my teachers to know that doodling helps me relax and de-stress. My Domi-know profile suggests I doodle as it would be beneficial to me.

Hero book Chapter Summary

Chapter 4, Two Heads Are Better Than A Hundred, Summary.

50 Word Summary:

The gods give Hercules gifts as they think Hera is up to something. Hercules and Iolaus are sent to defeat the Hydra. He cut the heads of the Hydra then burned the neck so the head didn’t grow back. They return and Hercules is ordered to kill the golden stag.

Complete Summary:

Hermes, Athena and Apollo give Hercules gifts to help him on his travels and journeys. They believe Hera is up to no good. Hercules is sent to kill the Hydra with Iolaus ,by the king. When they find the Hydra, they start to chop its heads off to kill it. For every head that is chopped off, two more heads start to grow back. Iolaus tries to convince Hercules that they should just take one or two of their heads and leave. They would say that they killed the Hydra. Hercules believes that this is wrong and untruthful and that he has an idea. Every time Hercules cuts of one of the Hydra’s heads, he would burn the neck so the head couldn’t grow back. Hercules and Iolaus finally kill the Hydra and return back home. The king is impressed and in disbelief. The king then sends Hercules to go and kill the stag with the golden antlers.

My Name

Stephanie, my name is from Greek origins. It means “Crown” or “Crowned One”. It comes from the Greek male name, Stephanos.

My parents used to live in a small town north of Kuala Lumpur, called Kuala Lipis. They would commute from there to Kuala Lumpur for doctor’s visits when my mum was pregnant with me, a two-hour drive. To pass the time they would discuss and decide baby names as they drove along. They both agreed on the name Stephanie after Princess Stephanie of Monaco. My middle name, Grace, was chosen after an old family friend and also Princess Grace of Monaco.

I have always been happy with my name. It isn’t to short or to long; it’s in the middle. Kind of like Goldilocks and the three bears! Most people can say it properly and not mispronounce it or misspell it. I can’t remember a time where I have ever wanted to change my name, nor can I remember a time where I was teased about my name.

Lots of my friends shorten my name and just call me Steph. My brother used to call me “Di Di” when he was small and couldn’t say my name yet. He got it off a cartoon in which the older sisters name was Di Di. He never calls me that anymore. My parents sometimes call me “Pooks”, after a book I used to like when I was small.

Classic Greek Myths

During humanities today, we watched two short films on classic Greek myths. The first was about the great inventor, Daedalus and his son Icarus. The second was of Theseus and the Minotaur.

Out of the two films viewed, my favourite was the story of Daedalus and his son Icarus. I preferred it to the other story as it was faster paced. It went from one exciting event to the next. I enjoyed the characters more than the story. I found the character’s personalities were very unpredictable. Daedalus was surprising, one minute he is creating and building, the next he is flinging his nephew over a building!

Some themes that are common in the two stories include regret, sadness, loneliness and hatred. Daedalus regretted killing his nephew and blamed himself for the death of his son Icarus. Theseus regretted not putting up the white sail on his ship, which caused his father to commit suicide. Daedalus lived the rest of his life alone and in sorrow. Theseus lived in sadness, knowing that if he had put the white sail up, his father would have still been alive. Both men had enemies or the hatred for something or someone. Daedalus had King Minos searching for him all over Greece and Theseus hated the Minotaur for taking the lives of innocent people.

Overall I enjoyed both of the stories. After hearing several Greek myths, I have noticed that most don’t usually have a happy ending!

Bio Poem

Stephanie

Fun, Kind, Smart, Responsible, Kind and Honest

Sister of Bryce Vesel

Who loves pandas,performing arts and her family

Who feels happy with her family and friends, also when reading, dancing and acting

Who needs food, her computer, and her family and friends

Who gives company, kindness and respect to her friends and family

Who fears haunted houses, venomous snakes and failing a class

Who would like to see Egypt, Disney World and the terracotta army in Xi'an, China

Who shares her experiences, jokes and memories and secrets with her friends

Who is twelve years old, tall and learning Mandarin

Who is a resident or Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Vesel

The End Of The Road

Sixth grade has been fun, but sadly it must come to an end. Here is a reflection I filled out to reflect on my performance throughout sixth grade.

REFLECTION

1. What piece of work and learning are you most proud? Explain.

The piece of work I am most proud of is my blog. I believe I have put the most time and effort into it. I spent a lot of time throughout the year working on my blog at home and at school. I have used it to showcase a variety of my work in sixth grade. The reason I am so proud of it is that it shows how much I have grown throughout sixth grade. When you compare my early blog posts to my more recent posts you can see the difference. I include more personal thoughts.

2. What were your greatest challenges? Explain.

My greatest challenge was homework, but really only towards the start of the year. When I first came to middle school, I found that there was a lot more homework here than in fifth grade. I found it hard to deal with at first, I would stay up late doing work and be tired in the morning. As the year progressed, I got used to the amount of homework I got and gained better time management skills.

3. Reflecting on your growth this year, what did you learn about yourself as a learner?

I learnt that I work best during individual work. I find that it is much easier. When working in groups, some people tend to slack off as they figure the others will do it for them. I sometimes like working in groups, when everyone pulls their own weight.

4. To evaluate your work habits, choose 1 of the following from each category and provide explanations.

a) Behavior

Perfect - the model student

Explanation:

I am very rarely the one that is always yelling or misbehaving. I tend to be one of the more mature ones in the class room. I do not usually talk to my friends during class. I try my best to be nice to everyone and to be as kind as I can be. I do my best to follow the middle school core values.

b) Participation


Actively participate in class

Explanation:
If a teacher is asking the class a question, I usually put my hand up. Even if I am unsure whether or not I am correct or not. I try and stay focused on what the teacher is talking about allowing me to respond if they ask a question. I will share my ideas and thoughts if needed in class.

c) Organization

Satisfactory

Explanation:

My locker is an absolute mess! I have stuff crammed, scattered and jammed in every which way. There are loose papers, old worksheets, etc., everywhere. Sometimes it is hard to even close it. In this sense, I am very poorly organized. Even with my locker being like this, I am able to find my homework, supplies, etc. for every class. I am able to organize my time during and after school in order to finish all the things I have to do. In this sense, my organisation skills are okay.

d) Effort


I usually go above and beyond what is required.

Explanation:

I always try my hardest to make sure I put my best effort in all my work. I usually do extra work or write more than necessary in a blog post or an essay. I will try and make projects as creative and as unique as possible, even if it is not necessary.

6. Is there any more information about yourself that you would like the teachers to know?

I would like my teachers to know that I am a fairly independent person. I will do things that need doing without being told to do them. I don't need people constantly reminding me what I am supposed to be doing.

7. What was your favorite activity lesson in Humanities this year? What did you enjoy about it?
My favorite activity in humanities was tic-tac-toe. The main reason I liked it was that it allowed me to be creative and artistic. I usually enjoy hands on activities which involve me making or creating something. Tic-tac-toe was all about that. The more creativity that was put into making it, the better the grade.

8. What activity do you wish we could have spent more time on?
The activity I wish our class could of spent more time on is our memory books. I was excited at the start of the year to create a book full of memories from sixth grade. Sadly as the year progressed we had other things to do and we forgot all about it.

9. Finally, cast your minds back to the first few months of middle school (when you arrived in Grade 6 ) what "Words of Wisdom" or "Advice" could you pass on to the Class of 2018?

I would tell them not to get stressed out about the homework. It can be hard to get used to, but if you stress out about it, it just makes it harder. As the year progresses, homework becomes less stressful and a lot easier to deal with.

Books, Books, Books

Title: The Hunger Games

Author: Suzanne Collins

This book made me think about a lot of things. One of main things I thought about was how the society in the book was run. In the book, people lived in small huts, ate whatever they could find and wear clothes made out of old shabby materials and animal skin. (No this is not why it is called the hunger games!) The government in the book is very controlling. They force two teenagers every year into a fight till death game called the hunger games. Each of the 12 brings one girl and one boy into the games. Out of them only one person survives. They have to hunt and find their own food and water. They help bring wealth into the government.

This book challenged me to re-read books. After completing the book, I enjoyed it so much I was really tempted to re-read the book. I chose to do so and understood the book so much better after re-reading it again. I had found many important details to the story plot I had missed the first time round. This has taught me to re-read books.

Dont read this book if you are not prepared to read the other two in the series. Trust me, once you read the first book you will want to read the other two. Also be prepared to become obsessed with the book. For the next few weeks after completing the series, all I could think about was the books.

The Hunger Games is a great book. It covers many genres including sci-fi, fantasy, a bit of violence and romance.

Linked:

Hunger Games Book URL

Literature Circles #5:The Giver by Lois Lowry

Throughout chapters 16-18, the book 'The Giver by Lois Lowry expresses many themes of freedom and choice.


When Jonas transmits memories to Gabriel to calm him down, he made the choice to share some of his memories with Gabriel.By making this choice, he could lose the memory to Gabriel, who will not able able to return it. He did not have to or get told to do so, he just did. Jonas had the freedom to do whatever he liked with the memories that were shared with him. (eg. sharing them with Gabriel).


Also when Jonas decides to discontinuing taking the anti-stirring pills, themes of freedom and choice were expressed. By making the decision he has put himself at risk, what if something bad happens, what if there was another reason as to why people in the community took the pills. Jonas had his freedom to make his own choices, he did not alert his parents about this.


In chapters 16-18, more themes of freedom and choice were shown. When Jonas plays 'Good Guys, Bad Guys' with Asher, Fiona and the others, he decides to stop playing. He decided on his own will that he would not play anymore. He had the freedom to make his own choice and opinion about this game.


Overall, I believe that throughout chapters 16-18 many themes of freedom and choices were shown.

The Giver-Would you want your future to be decided by others ?

The Giver by Lois Lowry is a book about Jonas, a boy who lives in a community where everyone's future is decided for them at the age of twelve. Each and everyone is placed in a job by the higher officials of the community. If you do not like the job you are given, you can apply for a change. Even when applied for, it is very rare for a change in jobs to occur. In class we have been asked to answer and reflect on the following question:


Would you want your future to be decided by others?


I would not want my future to be decided for me. I would like to be able to have some sort of say in my future. I don't want someone to have full control of my future. If someone did not like their job/position they would apply for a change, which were very rarely honored. It is a VERY important decision which would effect the rest of your life. I don't believe someone can make this big of a decision for you. Even if they knew you really well, they still may not chose the correct thing for you. This big of a decision needs to be made personally.

Although the community appears to be 'Perfect' there are a lot of faults. The choosing of the community's future being one of these faults. I do NOT believe that a single person or a group of people, just by observation and limited communication, can decide one's future. They would not know your own, personal feelings about everything. There might be an mistake in the person's feelings, and may not like what was chosen for them at all. Even Jonas says in the book felt like they had chosen the wrong person for the job and didn't like it.

Even though in Jonas's community usually everyone seems to like the jobs they are given, I still believe it would be better if everyone were in control of their own future.

So to answer the question, NO! I would definitely not want someone to be in control of my future.

I-Movie Rubrics

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Besides making our I-Movie and then reviewing our own movies, we were asked to grade our selves and 4 other groups. Each groups I-Movie needed to be about a different pharaoh. Here are my rubrics.

I-MOVIE RUBRICS:

I- Movie Presentation

Group members: Stephanie & Kennedy

Pharaoh: Hatshepsut Grade 27/30

Your movie should be approximately 3 minutes in length ( no more than 4 minutes)

Content Rubric
Introduction~ A description of the pharaoh is relevant, factual and correct. Time he/she ruled is correct.	5	4	3	2	1
Pharaoh’s accomplishments ~ Clearly explains the important contributions the pharaoh made during his/her rule.	5	4	3	2	1
Architectural Achievements ~Clearly describes and explains the important buildings/monuments that were built during this time. Explain how evidence of their religious beliefs is shown in these buildings.	5	4	3	2	1

Skills Rubric
images ~ All images are relevant, interesting and of good quality (saved properly as a jpg). Images match narration throughout.	5	4	3	2	1
Narration ~ Voices are clear, loud and fluent with good intonation. It is obvious you have practiced your part before recording. No background noise.	5	4	3	2	1
Transitions & Effects ~ Subtle transitions between the parts of the presentation are used throughout. Any effects used only enhance the message and are compatible with the image content.	5	4	3	2	1

Notes:

• Our introduction gave background information on Hatshepsut and how she became pharaoh. It was clear and relevant. It included the time period and the dynasty in which she ruled.
• We explained the achievements of Hatshepsut and how these achievements effected Ancient Egypt.
• We gave examples of some of Hatshepsut's architectural achievements but we did not explain how her religious beliefs were shown as well as we should of.
• Our narration did not match the images that were shown on screen yet they were all relevant and most were interesting. Also most were of good quality
• Our narration was clear and loud and there was little background noise.
• Our transitions and effects were placed in good proportion. There were not to many nor were there too few.
• Our MLA citations were correct for websites and books but our image citations were incorrect. Overall I think we did OK.

I- Movie Presentation

Group members: Viet & Owen

Pharaoh: Ramses II Final Grade 28 /30

Your movie should be approximately 3 minutes in length ( no more than 4 minutes)

Content Rubric
Introduction~ A description of the pharaoh is relevant, factual and correct. Time he/she ruled is correct.	5	4	3	2	1
Pharaoh’s accomplishments ~ Clearly explains the important contributions the pharaoh made during his/her rule.	5	4	3	2	1
Architectural Achievements ~Clearly describes and explains the important buildings/monuments that were built during this time. Explain how evidence of their religious beliefs is shown in these buildings.	5	4	3	2	1

Skills Rubric
images ~ All images are relevant, interesting and of good quality (saved properly as a jpg). Images match narration throughout.	5	4	3	2	1
Narration ~ Voices are clear, loud and fluent with good intonation. It is obvious you have practiced your part before recording. No background noise.	5	4	3	2	1
Transitions & Effects ~ Subtle transitions between the parts of the presentation are used throughout. Any effects used only enhance the message and are compatible with the image content.	5	4	3	2	1

Notes:

· Their introduction was clear, relevant, correct and was also entertaining. It also included the time period and dynasty in which he ruled.

· They clearly explained the achievements Ramses II made during his reign.

· They described and explained the architectural achievements Ramses II made during his reign. They forgot to include how his religious beliefs were shown in these structures.

· Most images were interesting, relevant and were of good quality but there were some that were not all relevant. (For Example, the random Egyptian chair!)

· Their narration was clear fluent and easy to understand. Little background noise could be heard.

· The transitions and effects used helped to improve the imovie. At no time did they get annoying.

· It was really hard to see the MLA citations (TOO FAST!)

I- Movie Presentation

Group members: Tem & Yu Ern

Pharaoh: King Tut Final Grade 27/30

Your movie should be approximately 3 minutes in length ( no more than 4 minutes)

Content Rubric
Introduction~ A description of the pharaoh is relevant, factual and correct. Time he/she ruled is correct.	5	4	3	2	1
Pharaoh’s accomplishments ~ Clearly explains the important contributions the pharaoh made during his/her rule.	5	4	3	2	1
Architectural Achievements ~Clearly describes and explains the important buildings/monuments that were built during this time. Explain how evidence of their religious beliefs is shown in these buildings.	5	4	3	2	1

Skills Rubric
images ~ All images are relevant, interesting and of good quality (saved properly as a jpg). Images match narration throughout.	5	4	3	2	1
Narration ~ Voices are clear, loud and fluent with good intonation. It is obvious you have practiced your part before recording. No background noise.	5	4	3	2	1
Transitions & Effects ~ Subtle transitions between the parts of the presentation are used throughout. Any effects used only enhance the message and are compatible with the image content.	5	4	3	2	1

Notes:

· They acted out the beginning of the movie, then gave detail information on King Tuts past (Background Info). They also included the time period and dynasty in which King Tut ruled.

· They only explained 1-2 of King Tut's accomplishments, yet these were explained in great detail.

· A few architectural achievements were included and they described how this showed King Tuts religious beliefs were showed through these structures.

· They included interesting images which were relevant to the subject and their pictures matched their narration.

· The narration was clear and background noise could sometimes be heard. It seemed like they had practiced beforehand.

· There were few transitions in their movie which helped further improve their movie.

· They had their image URL’s on their movie but they did not do the proper MLA format.

I-Movie Presentation

Group members: Ashika & Alvin

Pharaoh: Queen Nefertiti Final Grade 24/30

Your movie should be approximately 3 minutes in length ( no more than 4 minutes)

Content Rubric
Introduction~ A description of the pharaoh is relevant, factual and correct. Time he/she ruled is correct.	5	4	3	2	1
Pharaoh’s accomplishments ~ Clearly explains the important contributions the pharaoh made during his/her rule.	5	4	3	2	1
Architectural Achievements ~Clearly describes and explains the important buildings/monuments that were built during this time. Explain how evidence of their religious beliefs is shown in these buildings.	5	4	3	2	1

Skills Rubric
images ~ All images are relevant, interesting and of good quality (saved properly as a jpg). Images match narration throughout.	5	4	3	2	1
Narration ~ Voices are clear, loud and fluent with good intonation. It is obvious you have practiced your part before recording. No background noise.	5	4	3	2	1
Transitions & Effects ~ Subtle transitions between the parts of the presentation are used throughout. Any effects used only enhance the message and are compatible with the image content.	5	4	3	2	1

Notes:

· Their introduction was about Egypt in general, not queen Nefertiti. Also they did not include the time period in which Queen Nefertiti ruled.

· They did not explain her accomplishments Nefertiti made during her rule.

· Described the monuments she had created and how this reflected on her religious beliefs.

· Their images were relevant, interesting and of good quality. Their narration usually matched their text.

· Their narration was loud but they spoke too fast, it was hard to understand what they were saying at times.

· Their transitions were in proportion, not to many nor were there to little.

· Their MLA citations were TOO FAST to see!

Presentation

Group members: Pasha & Justin

Pharaoh: Khufu Final Grade 25 /30

Your movie should be approximately 3 minutes in length ( no more than 4 minutes)

Content Rubric
Introduction~ A description of the pharaoh is relevant, factual and correct. Time he/she ruled is correct.	5	4	3	2	1
Pharaoh’s accomplishments ~ Clearly explains the important contributions the pharaoh made during his/her rule.	5	4	3	2	1
Architectural Achievements ~Clearly describes and explains the important buildings/monuments that were built during this time. Explain how evidence of their religious beliefs is shown in these buildings.	5	4	3	2	1

Skills Rubric
images ~ All images are relevant, interesting and of good quality (saved properly as a jpg). Images match narration throughout.	5	4	3	2	1
Narration ~ Voices are clear, loud and fluent with good intonation. It is obvious you have practiced your part before recording. No background noise.	5	4	3	2	1
Transitions & Effects ~ Subtle transitions between the parts of the presentation are used throughout. Any effects used only enhance the message and are compatible with the image content.	5	4	3	2	1

Notes:

· Introduction was clear and relevant and included the time period in which Khufu ruled. Would be better if they mentioned the dynasty and the time period in which he ruled at the same time, not during two different points in the movie.

· They only had one of Khufu’s accomplishments included in their movie (The Great Pyramid of Giza). This was the same accomplishment they used for his architectural achievements. It was well explained though.

· They did not mention how ‘The Great Pyramid of Giza’ showed Khufu’s religious beliefs.

· Pictures were interesting, of good quality and were sort of synchronized. Some pictures were shown a little to early so they did not make any sense (like the golden 23)

· Their Narration was loud and clear but background noise got in the way some of the time.

· There were few transitions in their imovie. It was fine as it was but a few more transitions would have been nice.

· Could not understand your MLA citations, they were really blurry and fuzzy.