Plant Research

Amanda Alipio

Period 1 and 2

Research on Plants to Plant

Tulip

-The tulip is a flower that is part of the Liliaceae family.

-They are a spring flower but are a cold weather flower. Although they only bloom in the spring they need a period of cold weather so they can rest between each blooming season. The tulip grows from a bulb that needs to be chilled before it is planted in the ground.

-They need to be planted in soil that has good drainage, it is also recommended organic material and fertilizer is mixed in with the soil it is planted in.

-Although the plant blooms in the spring I have researched how to force the flower to bloom during the time you want. In order to do that you would need to plant the bulbs in a place where it is cool and kept moist, then moved to the sunlight when the plant starts sprouting up around two inches.

-Tulips don’t need much space width wise, the sprout up to be about eight inches tall.

-When the bulb is planted they should be close together but not touching each other, maybe one or two inches apart.

-It is recommended that organic material and fertilizer is mixed in with the soil for the tulip but it is not required. Bone material is another idea for nourishment. Other then that, the soil just needs to be kept moist.

-The tulip likes neutral soil.

-This plant needs to be watered often enough to keep the soil moist. Maybe everyday by the sprinkler.

Interesting Fact- There are over 3,000 different varieties of the tulip

http://www.theflowerexpert.com/content/aboutflowers/exoticflowers/tulips

http://www.gardenguides.com/plants/find-plant.asp?q=tulip+flower

Poppy

-The poppy is a flower.

-Poppies can grow in almost any type of soil. They can grow in warm weather conditions and grow fairly fast.

-They are grown from seeds.

-There are many different varieties of the poppy and they come in different colors such as yellow, white, red, pink, yellow, orange, and blue.

-It doesn’t take long for poppies to grow. They can even withstand droughts. They bloom during midsummer.

-It is recommended that this flower has at least eight inches in room to grow depending on which type of poppy you are planting. They can grow to be twelve to eighteen inches high.

-They should be fertilized once a month to keep them growing at a steady pace.

-Poppies prefer slightly acidic soil.

-This plant should be watered at least every other day by a sprinkler. Although this plant should be watered it can go without water because it is a drought tolerate plant.

Interesting Fact- In some areas of the world, such as parts in Europe, the poppy is considered to be a weed.

http://www.gardenersnet.com/flower/poppy.htm

http://www.gardenguides.com/plants/find-plant.asp?q=Poppy+flower

Third Choice- Calla Lillies

What is one in thing in the natural world that you are curious about?

One thing in the natural world that I am curious about is bugs. Why are there so many and is there a way to get rid of them and if we do would that be bad for the environment surrounding them? Also, how do we as the humans affect the insects and their environment. How do the bugs help the plants? Do some plants need the bugs and which plants don't need them.

Last Honors Blog

How has your thinking changed regarding American history or literature?

My outlook on literature has changed by me taking the time to think about what I am reading to help better understand the story and plot better. While taking honors literature I read books that I would normally never pick up and try to read. I found some of them to be interesting and noticed literary techniques that I learned from reading the SAT literature prep book. I have a better understanding literary techniques and it helps me understand how the plot is developed. Overall, my thinking of literature has gone from a boring and unnecessary subject to a more interesting and intriguing subject.

Another Magazine Reflection

What did you learn?
Throughout this project I have learned many different styles of writing. While reviewing my peers articles in class, Randy pointed out a technique that Wyatt used in his article that throws the reader off but is used to enhance the reader's attention. I thought this was a useful skill because I noticed that when I read Wyatt's article it kept my full attention, I wasn't too sure on how or why but when pointed out I could understand how this kept my attention. Something else I learned was the importance of drafting and revision. I knew before that drafting and revision was important but I didn't realize until this project how useful it could actually be. Each time I made a new draft I could find something that I could fix.

How did I learn it?
I learned it by taking responsibility for my own work and trying the best I can to make it as interesting and informative as possible. By doing this, I naturally learned how to condense my writing to be more precise and to the point.

Why is this important?
It is important to learn what I learned because it makes my writing more interesting for the reader and gives them as much information as I possibly can without boring them. It is also important to know the significance of drafting and revision because it is not only used in school but also in the real world. We used drafting and revision at my internship when making my internship project. That was an example for me of using it in the real world.

Magazine Reflection (Part 2)

1. Overall, when you think about the big picture of your writing, what improved? How did it get better? Why?

The main thing that stands out to me that shows improvement in my own writing is how I condensed my article so that it is straight and to the point. With the first draft of my article I had many unnecessary paragraphs that was filled with irrelevant information. Through many critiques I was able to cut those paragraphs out as well as "filler" sentences and words. With this particular project I had the most drafts of writing then I ever had, I was able to get many critiques and each time I made a new draft the paper became more precise and I was able to get my ideas down and conveyed without having "sledgehammer" words.

2. Overall, when you think about the big picture of your writing, what still needs work? What do you think will help you improve? Why?

Something that could still use improvment on my writing is the amount of evidence use. Although I did use a good amount of evidence I would like to try to in cooperate more. The problem I have with this is it take a good amount of time and effort to find the exact information you need, I grow impatient trying to find this information and end up not using as much as I want. A way I feel I can improve on this is by using different types of evidence. Something I learned this year is that it is better to use different sources of evidence rather then using the internet to find all the answers. I find that when you look for evidence in a book or talk to someone about it it tends to be a lot more interesting then if you were to read it off a website.

3. Specifically, show us something that improved and describe the path it took to get better. You can quote your article, your drafts, link to evidence, etc.

Specifically, something that I am proud of that improved was my first paragraph. It changed drastically for the better because it was able to capture readers attention and at the same time state my stance on the subject at hand. The intro paragraph I started out with had nothing to do with what I was writing about, through many drafts and critiques from my peers I was able to transform it into a more interesting and stronger intro.

1st intro paragraph:
"During my junior year at HTHMA I received an internship which gave me a better understanding of the adult work world ad how I could fit into it. I have learned so much form having an internship and have learned the significance of how the economy can intermingle with the work world."

Revised:
"......While pondering thoughts on how to better our environment I established a connection between the economy, the work world, and the environment. By realizing a solution to one, it leads to solutions to another which for all of the others, improving all of them."

4. Describe something specific (or a few things!) that you learned about writing.

During the course of this project I have learned a lot of different writing techniques from Randy such as the use of "sledgehammer "words which are unnecessary over used words, the concept of the loop writing structure which will allow you start strong and end strong as well ,and others.

Magazine Reflection

1. What went well for you during the process of creating this magazine?

Something that went well for me during magazine project was that I was able to use my time efficiently and it definitely made for a better quality product. Since I used all the extra time I had to critique my own paper and also get critiques from others it made my writing more informative and straight to the point. By the time we had to turn it in I had a final product that I was proud to show off. 

2. What challenges did you face as you moved from an early draft or idea to a final product?

The challenges I faced for this project I did not face recently but rather when I first started writing the blog that I then turned into an essay to turn in. When I first wrote my economic advice in the blog form I struggled quite a bit because I had to do a large amount of research and structure my blog in such a way that flowed. I did the best I could for the blog with the amount of time I was given. 

When hearing about the magazine project I knew I wanted to contribute a piece of writing that differed from everyone else's so I used the economic advice blog. I didn't struggle quite so much this time around when revising and editing it. The most work I had to do was cutting out the excess words I did not need and structuring it so that it would flow exactly how I wanted it to.

3. What other examples of work—student and professional—stood out as exemplary and served as a good model for your own work?

While working on my article before going to internship one day I came across a draft of Wyatt's work. I read his article and I found it to be well written and filled with his wit. It made me want to keep reading and held my attention the entire time. I thought it served as a good model for myself because my main goal in my writing is to keep the readers attention from start to finish so that they read my entire piece. Wyatt demonstrates this very well in his writing and modeled what I hope I did with my final product.

Obama Socialism

When I googled Obama socialism the first news article that came up was an article about Obama's agenda to socialism. The article talked about how socialism isn't nearly as threatening as fascism. It also talks about past politicians who have tired the same plan that Obama is trying to follow and how it hasn't worked very well.

“I think it’s very unfortunate. I don’t think President Obama really understands, perhaps out of lack of experience in international affairs, the importance of symbolism,” said Reich, who was policy adviser on Latin America for John McCain’s presidential campaign."

I think that when it comes to the word socialism some may use it without really knowing the meaning of it which will in turn make the word inappropriate for a certain topic. When it comes to Obama's plan I think many may misunderstand his plan and may think it is socialism but it really isn't.

“We’ve so overused the word ‘socialism’ that it no longer has the negative connotation it had 20 years ago, or even 10 years ago,” Mr. Anuzis

In the article I found it says that yes what Obama wants to try has actually been tried before by past politicians. A part of the article that talks about previous issues of this states

"In his come-from-behind 1948 victory, President Harry S. Truman, a Democrat, likened a vote for the Republican challenger, Thomas E. Dewey, to a vote for fascism. Four years later, as a vice-presidential candidate trying to break the Democrats’ 20-year grip on the White House, Richard M. Nixon ripped the Democratic nominee for president, Adlai E. Stevenson, as a graduate of the “cowardly college of Communist containment.”"

As I went on to read the article it started connecting the past events to Obama's current day plans and it states that the word fascism can't be applied because he is not a fascist, he's a liberal.

Link to the Article